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 Concurring 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 Africa, Great Britain dominated the breadth of the African continent from Egypt to South Africa, Ethiopia and the African-American state of Liberia remained independent. According to Leopold, the best way to acquire wealth was to establish an African colony during the "Scramble for Africa" era. In 1870, more than 80% of Africa south of the Sahara was under rule of indigenous chiefs or kings. One of the reasons why he took over Congo was for ivory. It was the main source of great wealth that Leopold and his associates needed. While they were there, other parts of the Congo economy from road building to chopping wood for steamboat boilers, were operated by forced labor as well. By the early 1890s, rubber was new and was a source for the riches that was needed. They used rubber for inflatable bicycle tires, automobiles, and the use of rubber in industrial belts and gaskets. An advantage to controlling Congo was that Leopold was able to issue bonds. This essentially became another source of revenue almost equal to rubber. He issued bonds worth more than a hundred million francs, or roughly have a billion of today's dollars.

Leopold's Negative Impact on Congo 

Congo state officials swept through the country on ivory raids, shooting elephants, or simply confiscating them. The people of Congo had been hunting elephants for a long time, but were now forbidden to sell or deliver ivory to anyone other than an  agent of Leopold. Leopold was responsible for horrible crimes committed under his rule against his colonial subjects. Many of the women were either starved or raped to death, and many of the men worked to their deaths. Not only were adults affected, but so were the children. Almost all land was divided into concession companies. For example, forced labor, slave chains, hostages, starving porters, burned villages, and the chicotte. Families were held hostage until men had finished their work which would often cause the men to be overworked and weak. Thus, causing them to get whipped by the chicotte. What is the chicotte? A chicotte was a vicious whip made out of raw, sun-dried hippopotamus hide, cut into a long sharp-edged cork-screw strip. This was used on Africans if they disobeyed and or were rebellious. A numerous amount of strokes would either leave them unconscious, or, at times kill them. One of the most know cruelest things done under Leopold's rule was the chopping of hands. For each bullet expended, a Congolese soldier of the Force Publique had to present to his white officer the severed hand of a rebel killed. Often baskets full of hands from Congo villagers were filled  to prove that they killed villagers but also Congolese who failed to meet rubber collection quotas. From 1885 to 1908, between 10 and 23 million people died during Leopold's rule. Not all died as a direct result of physical violence, but, starvation and work exhaustion also played a huge role. 

The Aftermath 

In 1908, opposition and criticism from the Catholic Party and Labour Party caused the Belgian parliament, which caused Leopold to cede Congo to Belgian. Congo was then turned into a Belgian colony known as the Belgian Congo. Leopold did everything in his power to hide potential evidence of wrongdoing during his time as ruler. In order for this to happen, he had to burn the entire archive of Congo. On December 17 1909, Leopold II died at Laeken and the crown was passed down to his nephew, Albert. His funeral cortege was allegedly booed by the crowd. Once Congo gained its independence in the mid-20th century, it was renamed three times. At first, it was called the Republic of Congo. Second, it was called Zaire. Lastly, it was changed to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Till this day, King Leopold II remains a controversial figure in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He had a statue in the DRC that was later taken down after they got their independence. People often ask why Leopold is not talked as much like Hitler is. They both committed massacres and wanted to do things their way. In the end, Congo is no longer a free state and no longer are the people their being treated horribly. 

Sources

- Hochschild, Adam. "Leopold II." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 11 Feb. 2015. Web. 28 Mar. 2017.

- Hochschild, Adam. King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa. London: Pan, 2012. Print.

- Jeal, Tim. The Impossible Life of Africa's Greatest Explorer. London: Faber and Faber, 2007. Print

- "When You Kill Ten Million Africans You Aren't Called 'Hitler'." Diary of a Walking Butterfly. N.p., 10 Dec. 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2017.

- Writer, Leaf Group. "The Effects of King Leopold on the Population of the Congo." Synonym. Synonym, 03 Oct. 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2017.