Why did king Leopold colonized the Congo?

King Leopold colonized the Congo to gain a monetary profit. :/

He felt that he was not truly ruling Belgium because of parliament and felt the need for some recognition. He decided to gain that recognition by ruling a colony and then gaining money from it to be used to make monuments and parks.

It is a very interesting story on how he did it.

For further reading there is a very good book called "King Leopold's Ghost" by Adam Hochschild. Many college courses use it and there are also several books at libraries. It is a very interesting topic that has been sadly overlooked too much.