King Leopold II
Who is King Leopold II? King Leopold II was the king of the Belgians from 1865 to 1909. At the age of 18, he married his wife Marie Henriette of Austria. Leopold succeed his father to the Belgian throne in 1865 and reigned for 44 years until his death. During his reign, he built urban projects, public works and many buildings in Belgium. He was the longest reign of any Belgian monarch and played a significant role in the development of modern Belgian state. Leopold led the first European efforts to develop the Congo River basin. Leopold was most widely known for the founding and exploitation of the Congo Free State as a private venture. He ruled Congo for 23 years. The C oncurring of King Leopold II Given notice by King Leopold II, the Europeans sprung into action to take over Congo. Within forty years later, virtually all of it had been turned into European colonies, protectorates, or territories ruled by white settlers. By 1914 and the end of the scramble for Afr...