Colonial elites and the choice between British and Belgian rule

Would Belgium take more territory if France lost its colonies?

The reply expects resistance to Belgian expansion, arguing that some neighboring elites preferred British control. It qualifies that claim as a choice by rulers, not the general population.

A proposed Belgian expansion into former French colonies leads to an argument about local responses to colonial conquest. In the account offered here, some rulers near the Congo preferred British control to the brutality they saw under Leopold's rule. A follow-up qualification identifies the people seeking that accommodation as local aristocracies, rather than the population as a whole. Their expected ability to retain status under British rule is compared with that of some princes and maharajas in India. The final correction distinguishes Leopold's personal possession of the Congo from Belgian state ownership.