A missionary of the evangelising Saint-Esprit order (Pères Spiritains) based in Tanzania, Le Roy responded to Cardinal Lavigerie's call for communications at the 1889-90 Brussels Antislavery Congress. His paper examines the current situation with regard to slavery in Africa, common errors in the press, and ways of ending African slavery. Le Roy describes slavery as a disease which had spread over four centuries throughout the African "body" (18). He saw European colonialism as a way of combatting slavery by encouraging 'civilisation' and missionary activity, and patrolling the coastlines of Africa, but he was critical of the violent and exploitative methods of colonisation which were being employed: "It is a mistake to expect too much from governments and businesses who, under the guise of 'civilising Africa', are dividing it up between themselves" (13). Le Roy believed that the European colonisation of Africa was both necessary and inevitable, however, and he calls for greater cooperation between European explorers, colonisers, missionaries and abolitionists in achieving their goals.