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It was in a search for raw materials— particularly palm oil—that Lord Leverhulme became involved in the greatest of his enterprises—the development of the Belgian Congo. Situated in the least illuminated portions of darkest Africa, first explored by the famed Sir Henry Morton Stanley, the Belgian Congo consists of 900,000 square miles of tropical jungle, crossed by the Equator and watered by the Congo River. It was long-bearded, farsighted, savagely-flayed Leopold II of Belgium who first saw in the Congo district an opportunity for taking up the White Man's burden and the Black Man's resources. Leopold created the Congo Free State, fought with natives and slavers, built railroads, finally (1908) made the Congo a Belgian colony as his gift to the Belgian people. In 1909 Leopold began an attempt to interest British capital in the Congo, sent one Dr. Max Horn to Lord Leverhulme. Dr. Horn pointed out that many a fine waving palm tree grew in the Congo, that many a cake of Sunlight could be made from Congo oils. While negotiations were in progress. King Leopold died (December 1909), to be succeeded by Albert, with whom the Congo concession was finally concluded.
Ratified in 1911, the Lever concession granted to Lever Bros, some 1,860,000 acres, gave the company the authority to build roads, canals, railways and telegraph systems. In 1920 Lever Bros. acquired control of the Niger Co., a trading company which had functioned in West Africa much as famed Lord Clive's British East Indian Co. had during the previous century functioned in India. Lever Bros, remains today the dominating figure in West African trade.
In 1911, William Lever became Sir William Lever; in 1917 he became Lord Leverhulme. His political career was not outstanding, for though able and active, he was more used to commanding than to persuading and somewhat impatient with differences of opinion. Yet he was frequently in the company of George of England and Albert of Belgium. On one occasion when militant suffragettes burned one of his houses, the King sent him a personal letter regretting the outrage.
Lord Leverhulme was in many ways a typical middle class Britisher—even in his appearance he looked somewhat like the cartoonist's conception of John Bull. He was almost always out of bed by 6:30 a. m. and in bed by 10:30 p. m. On the occasion of the opening of the Lady Lever Art Gallery at Port Sunlight, Lord Leverhulme attributed his success to his wife's "gracious influence," adding, however, that it would be a poor compliment to her to say that she was a business woman. "She was a womanly woman and her knowledge of business was nil." During the last few years of his life he rose at 4:30 a. m., spent 20 minutes in exercises, anticipated Calvin Coolidge in the use of an electric horse. For some years, however, he rode each morning a flesh-and-blood horse, always went the same distance on the same roads, and even changed from a walk to a trot and back to a walk again at exactly the same places. Daily he read from the Bible.