Stanley became interested himself in African land and set out to trace the course of the Congo River himself. His expedition caught the interest of King Leopold II of Belgium, who eventually hired Stanley to assist him of acquiring Congo land. Stanley was able to sign treaties with many African chiefs in the course of three years. These very treaties gave King Leopold II control of these land. Leopold's justified his actions was to diminish the slave trade and to promote Christianity. However, he began to license companies that forced Africans to collect saps from rubber plants which eventually resulted in more than 10 million Congolese dead. His cruelty eventually resulted in angry humanitarians and a demand for change. In 1908, the Congo was taken from Leopold by the Belgium government.