Henry Morton Stanley founded ( started ) the town in 1881 and called it LÃ opoldville ( after King LÃ opold II of Belgium , who controlled the large territory that is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo ) , next to a village called Nshasa or Kinshasa . The city was originally private property ( not public ) . The city was founded as a trading post by Henry Morton Stanley in 1881 and named LÃ opoldville in honor of King Leopold II of Belgium , who controlled the vast territory that is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo , not as a colony but as a private property .