King Leopold II
From Conservapedia
King Leopold II (1835-1909) was the king of Belgium from 1865 up until his death. He is most known for his rule of terror over the rubber extraction in the Congo Free State, in the present day Democratic Republic of the Congo. Although the Congo Free State was named as the Free State, it was actually the private plantation of the King, through which he extracted rubber and ivory, using the people of the Congo, as slaves, blackmailed through their families, and their own lives. He was involved in the mass killings of many Congo People, especially due to the rubber and ivory extraction.
King Leopold II became the king of Belgium, shortly after its independence from France. Thus, King Leopold II involved himself into European affairs, by claiming the Congo, via the Berlin Conference.
His death is mysterious, although he was rapidly losing power, in the late 1890s and early 1900s. His extreme terror on the Congo People was revealed by British Press, and other Europeans. After his terrible secrets began to be disclosed, he was forced to profess the truth. Also, due to his increasing debts to the Belgian Government, he decided to hand over the Congo Free State to the Belgian government, as a colony, instead of willing to his daughter.
Further reading
- Ascherson, Neal. The King Incorporated: Leopold II in the Age of Trusts (1963) online edition
- Emerson, Barbara. Leopold II of the Belgians: King of Colonialism. (1979). 324 pp.
- Slade, Ruth. King Leopold's Congo: Aspects of the Development of Race Relations in the Congo Independent State (1962) online edition
