But what about the mass murder of somewhere in between 2 and 15 million Congolese natives? Together with epidemic disease, famine, and a falling birth rate caused by these disruptions, the atrocities contributed to a sharp decline in the Congolese po… 6. Leopold was born in Brussels on 9 April 1835, the second child of the reigning Belgian monarch, Leopold I, and of his second wife, Louise, the daughter of King Louis Philippe of France. Workers who failed to meet their quota were chopped to pieces and killed. Answer the question by taking notes from the readings in the boxes below and share out with each other. KING LEOPOLD II AND THE CONGO Directions: With your partner, each of you will be assigned a reading on King Leopold’s rule over the Congo. In … During this period, the country was forced to endure the systematic exploitation of its natural resources, especially ivory and rubber. Why did Leopold want the Congo? The takeover of the Congo for Leopold’s personal rule had been complete. Leopold presented his work in the Congo as being humanitarian - improving the lives of the locals, bringing Christianity, etc. In the last years of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th, King Leopold II of Belgium ruled the Congo Free State with a tyranny that was peculiarly … (Leopold II’s colony is generally called the Congo Free State in English. More than 10 million Africans died when the king ruled over the Congo from 1885 to 1908. King Leopold II's rule over the Congo met fierce resistance. in 1908 Congo became a Belgian colony and Leopold received 50 million francs for as compensation for it. The Congo Free State was then meant to be a free trade area and buffer state between British and French spheres of influence. King Leopold II took ownership of two-thirds of the Congo land by force and mandated the real owners of the land to work for him as slaves. He died the year after having become the most hated man in Europe. Under intense public pressure, Leopold gave control of the Congo over to the government of Belgium in 1908, which began to scale back the atrocities. More than 10 million Africans died when the king ruled over the Congo from 1885 to 1908. He led the first European efforts to develop the Congo River basin. Leopold II, the King of Belgium, reduced the population of the Congo from 20 million estimated to 10 million and still managed to retain his reputation as a great monarch. Between 1885 and 1908, the Belgian King Leopold II personally ruled the Congo Free State, which was also known as the Independent State of the Congo. While men did the hard work, children and women were sent to retrieve rubber from rubber trees. King Leopold II is a person that many believe should be put in the same sentence with Hitler, Stalin and other dictators of the modern world. This is how it largely remained, until Congo was given independence on 30 June 1960. Leopold’s crowning in 1865 permitted him to travel overseas and eventually reach his goal of creating Belgian colonies in the African continent. King Leopold II ruled Congo as a private slave state — his brutal legacy is finally being acknowledged and abhorred Belgium’s most prominent black politician, Pierre Kompany, says the … In the far south, for example, a chief named Mulume Niama led warriors of the Sanga people in a rebellion that killed one of the king's officers. But there was a time, at the peak of European imperialism in Africa, when Belgium’s King Leopold II ran a personal empire so vast and cruel, it rivaled – and even exceeded – the crimes of even the worst 20th century dictators. Similarly, how did King Leopold justify the conquest of the Congo? These atrocities were particularly associated with the labour policies used to collect natural rubberfor export. A few accounts mentioned that the people were paid pennies for their labor, but it was soon stopped, and then they were forced to … King Leopold II gave up direct control in 1908, and Belgium formally annexed the country, renaming it the Belgian Congo. When an entire village failed to meet its quota or refused to pay the rubber tax, soldiers were sent in. Under Belgian rule, brutality in the Congo declined – although the country remained a colony until 1960. The results proved devastating to the region in many ways. Of the Europeans who scrambled for control of Africa at the end of the 19th century, Belgium's King Leopold II left arguably the largest and most horrid legacy of all. Leopold’s thinly veiled colonial ambitions paved the way for the Berlin West Africa Conference (1884–85), which set the rules for colonial conquest and sanctioned his control of the Congo River basin area to be known as the Congo Free State (1885–1908). Because of the human rights abuses suffered under King Leopold II’s rule, Congo rubber was eventually nicknamed “red rubber,” in reference to the blood of the Africans killed during production. This smokescreen had effectively deceived Europe and even gained the recognition of the United States. This empire was known as the Congo Free State and Leopold II stood as its undisputed slave master. ... even the Wikipedia page for the History of genocides, never states the genocide that Leopold did in Congo. In 2020, the events of the Congo were suddenly evoked when Belgians inspired by the international Black Lives Matter movement began protesting the numerous Leopold II statues dotted across the country. The worst part about this was that the King of Belgium, King Leopold II, authorized brutal abuse if the Congolese didn't work or tried to rebel against the authority. At the Berlin Conference of 1884-85, the territory controlled by Leopold (totaling 2,350,000 km2) was recognized by other European leaders. By the time Leopold II succeeded his father as king, he had travelled around the world much and had become a … He was granted the Congo Free State for his own personal use at the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885. What King Leopold II actually did with the organization was to send Henry Morton Congo in 1879 to show the world that he wanted to drive the Arab slavers out of the Congo and establish free trade. To enforce his authority, Leopold relied upon a violent … The Congolese did not need people to come and rule them, but at the time it was presented as if King Leopold came to Congo to bring civilisation. While King Leopold II was ruling the Congo, some parts of the world didn’t look at him at great respect. In the 23 years (1885-1908) Leopold II ruled the Congo he massacred 10 million Africans by cutting off their hands and genitals, flogging them to death, starving them into forced labour, holding children ransom and burning villages. During the rule of the Congo, many Congolese were put to work and they barely got any pay if they even got any. Leopold II’s reign in the Congo became an international scandal due to large-scale mistreatment of the indigenous peoples, including frequent mutilation and murder of men, women, and children to enforce rubber production quotas. Failure to meet the rubber collection quotas was punishable by death. King Leopold II and the Congo Free State Introduction Often times people know Belgium for it’s chocolate, french fries, and beer.. Rubber’s profits rose. Belgian intellectuals and religious leaders in Brussels also criticized the King and annexation of the colony was almost inevitable thereafter. Image: 1900: Exploration of Congo … Although he played a significant role in the development of the modern Belgian state, he was also responsible for widespread atrocities committed under his rule against his colonial subjects. He used Henry Morton Stanley to help him lay claim to the Congo, the present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo. Women And Children Were TorturedThe horrors of the Congo Free State had a purpose—they were meant to scare people into working. The Belgians didn’t… The country lasted from 1885 to 1908. By 1908, global public pressure and diplomatic manoeuvres led to the end of Leopold II's rule in Congo, but by the time the Belgiun atrocites were finally stopped in 1908, the population of the Congo was reduced by half and as many as 10 million Congolese lost their lives due to the Belgian inhumane and genocidal colonisation of their lands. Leopold II ruled the Congo as his personal dominion from 1885 to 1908. An army of men… When laborers didn’t meet the condition of King Leopold II, they were treated with punishments. King Leopold II's rule over the Congo met fierce resistance. Marie Henriette gave birth to their first and only son in 1859, but he tragically died … State troops pursued them, trapping Mulume Niama and his soldiers in a large cave. After gaining control of Congo, King Leopold II of Belgium immediately set out to make as much money as possible. Premature Death. Leopold II was the king of Belgium from 1865 to 1909 and was the founder of Congo Free State (Present-day The Democratic Republic of Congo). The history of Leopold's rule over the Congo has long been known. Now, Antwerp has become the first Belgian city to remove a statue of Leopold … One sees the French term État Libre du Congo and the Flemish terms Onafhankelijke Staat Congo and Onafhankelijke Kongostaat much less frequently.) Many Congolese were killed as a result of Leopold's policies in the Congo before the reforms of direct Belgian rule. King Leopold II (1835-1909) of Belgium created the Congo Free State in 1885 as part of a professed desire to bring civilization and modernity to Africans. Leopold II (9 April 1835 – 17 December 1909) was King of the Belgians from 1865 to 1909.Leopold was the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free State, a private project undertaken on his own behalf. Leopold the second became the King of Belgium on 12/17/1865 and lasted until his death on 12/17/1909, coincidentally the same day he was named King 44 years prior. In the period from 1885 to 1908, many well-documented atrocities were perpetrated in the Congo Free State (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo) which, at the time, was a colony under the personal rule of King Leopold II of the Belgians. Leopold II, king of the Belgians from 1865 to 1909. Rubber revenue went directly to King Leopold II, who paid the Free State for the high costs of exploitation. In 1865 the most brutal ruler Belgium has ever seen came to power. King Leopold of Belgium ruled the Congo between 1885-1908. King Leopold II would rule… He was able to colonise the Congo by persuading alliances with great plans and intentions for the Congo as well as a return of local supplies. Colonial rule in the Congo began in the late 19th century. This article shows some bad things that he did and shows him for what he really was. The French Revolution of Similarly, you may ask, what did King Leopold do in the Congo? King Leopold II was granted personal control over huge areas around the Congo river basin - what would become known as the Congo Free State.

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