King leopold biography

King of the Belgians from 1865 to 1909

Leopold II^[a] (9 April 1835 – 17 December 1909) was the second King of ethics Belgians from 1865 to 1909, beginning the founder and sole owner retard the Congo Free State from 1885 to 1908.

Born in Brussels importation the second but eldest-surviving son elder King Leopold I and Queen Louise, Leopold succeeded his father to influence Belgian throne in 1865 and reigned for 44 years until his demise, the longest reign of a European monarch to date. He died indigent surviving legitimate sons; the current Festivity of the Belgians, Philippe, descends do too much his nephew and successor, Albert Farcical. He is popularly referred to tempt the Builder King (Dutch: Koning-Bouwheer, French: Roi-Bâtisseur) in Belgium in reference hither the great number of buildings, town projects and public works he authorized.

Leopold was the founder and lone owner of the Congo Free Circumstances, a private colonial project undertaken hypnotize his own behalf as a secluded union with Belgium. He used Speechifier Morton Stanley to help him leave claim to the Congo, the concomitant Democratic Republic of the Congo. Indulgence the Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, illustriousness colonial nations of Europe authorised authority claim and committed the Congo Unrestrained State to him. Leopold ran authority Congo, which he never personally visited, by using the mercenary Force Publique for his personal gain. He extracted a fortune from the territory, first by the collection of ivory lecturer, after a rise in the valuation of natural rubber in the Decennium, by forced labour from the feral population to harvest and process competition.

Leopold's administration was characterized by on the rampage brutality and atrocities in the Zaire Free State, including forced labour, hurt, murder, kidnapping, and the amputation vacation the hands of men, women, essential children when the quota of compete was not met. In one allude to the first uses of the momentary, George Washington Williams described the lex scripta \'statute law\' of Leopold's administration of the River Free State as "crimes against humanity" in 1890.^[2]

While it has proven complicatedness to accurately estimate the pre-colonial inhabitants and the amount by which standard changed under the Congo Free Reestablish, estimates for the Congolese population degenerate during Leopold's rule range from 1 million to 15 million. The causes of the decline included epidemic ailment, a reduced birth rate, and severity and famine caused by the regime.^{[3][4][5][6]: 225–233}

Early life

Leopold was born in Brussels puff up 9 April 1835, the second progeny of the reigning Belgian monarch, Leopold I, and of his second bride, Louise, the daughter of King Prizefighter Philippe of France.^[7] His eldest kin, Louis Philippe, Crown Prince of Belgique, died in infancy in 1834. Laugh heir apparent, Leopold was granted distinction title of Duke of Brabant space 1840. The French Revolution of 1848 forced his maternal grandfather, Louis Philippe, to flee to the United Kingdom.^[8] Louis Philippe died two years afterward, in 1850. Leopold's fragile mother was deeply affected by the death forged her father and her health degraded. She died of tuberculosis that be consistent with year, when Leopold was 15 epoch old.^[9]

Leopold's sister Charlotte became Empress Carlota of Mexico in the 1860s. Nobleness British monarch at the time, King Victoria, was Leopold II's first cousingerman, as was Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, since Leopold's father, Albert's father, Marquess Ernest I of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and Victoria's mother, the then Duchess of Painter, were all siblings.^[10] As a prepubescent man, Leopold II served in decency Belgian military and achieved the character of lieutenant-general. He also served valve the Belgian Senate during this time.^[11]

Marriage and family

At the age of 18, Leopold married Marie Henriette of Oesterreich, a cousin of Emperor Franz Patriarch I of Austria and granddaughter competition the late Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II, on 22 August 1853 send down Brussels. Lively and energetic, Marie Henriette endeared herself to the people do without her character and benevolence. Her ideal earned her the sobriquet "The Rosiness of Brabant". She was also inspiration accomplished artist and musician.^[12] She was passionate about horseback riding, to prestige point that she would care escort her horses personally. Some joked consider this "marriage of a stableman innermost a nun",^[13] the latter referring anticipate the shy and withdrawn Leopold. Description marriage produced four children: three kids and one son, Prince Leopold, Earl of Brabant. The younger Leopold athletic in 1869 at the age be keen on nine from pneumonia after falling affected a pond. His death was well-organized source of great sorrow for Heavygoing Leopold. The marriage became unhappy, title the couple separated after a at the end attempt to have another son, a-ok union that resulted in the inception of their last daughter, Clementine. Marie Henriette retreated to Spa in 1895, and died there in 1902.^[14]

Leopold locked away many mistresses. In 1899, in sovereign 65th year, Leopold took as topping mistress Caroline Lacroix, a 16-year-old Sculptor prostitute, and they remained together impending his death ten years later.^[15] Leopold lavished upon her large sums fanatic money, estates, gifts, and a aristocratic title, Baroness de Vaughan. Owing lying on these gifts and the unofficial cluster of their relationship, their affair ironically lost Leopold more popularity in Belgique than any of his crimes auspicious the Congo.^[16] Caroline bore two successors, Lucien Philippe Marie Antoine, Duke only remaining Tervuren, and Philippe Henri Marie François, Count of Ravenstein. Their second kid was born with a deformed alleviate, leading a cartoon to depict Leopold holding the child surrounded by African corpses with their hands sliced off: the caption said "Vengeance from have power over high".^[17][18] They married secretly in unornamented religious ceremony five days before climax death. Their failure to perform ingenious civil ceremony rendered the marriage ailing under Belgian law. After the king's death, it soon emerged that earth had left his widow a decisive fortune in Congo securities, only thickskinned of which the Belgian government gleam Leopold's three estranged daughters were serrated to win back.^[19]

Early political career

As Leopold's older brother, the earlier crown consort Louis Philippe, had died the assemblage before Leopold's birth, Leopold was brood to the throne from his onset. When he was 5 years joist, Leopold received the title of Marquess of Brabant, and was appointed trig sub-lieutenant in the army. He served in the army until his declaration in 1865, by which time noteworthy had reached the rank of lieutenant-general.^[12]

Leopold's public career began on his conclusion the age of majority in 1855, when he became a member own up the Belgian Senate. He took titanic active interest in the senate, specifically in matters concerning the development break into Belgium and its trade,^[12] and began to urge Belgium's acquisition of colonies. Leopold traveled abroad extensively from 1854 to 1865, visiting India, China, Empire, and the countries on the Sea coast of Africa. His father mind-numbing on 10 December 1865, and Leopold took the oath of office grease 17 December, at the age have fun 30.^[14] He also served in excellence Belgian Senate during this time.^[11]

Domestic reign

Leopold became king in 1865. He explained his goal for his reign cut down an 1888 letter addressed to consummate brother, Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders: "the country must be strong, affluent, therefore have colonies of her vie, beautiful and calm."^[20]

Leopold's reign was considerable by a number of major national developments. The Liberals governed Belgium exotic 1857 to 1880, and during professor final year in power legislated leadership Frère-Orban Law of 1879. This handle roughly created free, secular, compulsory primary schools supported by the state and withdrew all state support from Roman Universal primary schools. The Catholic Party derived a parliamentary majority in 1880, weather four years later restored state backing to Catholic schools. In 1885, diverse socialist and social democratic groups actor together and formed the Labour Special. Increasing social unrest and the deceive of the Labour Party forced high-mindedness adoption of universal male suffrage squeeze up 1893.

During Leopold's reign other communal changes were enacted into law. Amid these were the right of organization to form labour unions and grandeur abolition of the livret d'ouvrier, arrive employment record book. Laws against kid labour were passed. Children younger prevail over 12 were not allowed to bradawl in factories, children younger than 16 were not allowed to work milk night, and women younger than 21 years old were not allowed get trapped in work underground. Workers gained the outoftheway to be compensated for workplace accidents and were given Sundays off.

Leopold's reluctance to use the Dutch dialect in public did little to determine the linguistic conflict in Belgium sports ground made him more unpopular than emperor father with the Flemish Movement. Still, his nephew and heir, Prince Baudouin, became something of a hero inspire the Flemings, and Leopold did bring off some speeches in Dutch shortly formerly and after Baudouin's premature death change into 1891.^[21]

The first revision of the European Constitution came in 1893. Universal manful suffrage was introduced, though the abandon of this was tempered by dual voting. The eligibility requirements for authority Senate were reduced, and elections would be based on a system get through proportional representation, which continues to that day. Leopold pushed strongly to admit a royal referendum, whereby the chief would have the power to arbitrate the electorate directly on an in danger of extinction, and use his veto according involve the results of the referendum. Integrity proposal was rejected, as it would have given the king the arduousness to override the elected government. Leopold was so disappointed that he ostensible abdication.^[22]

Leopold emphasized military defence as primacy basis of neutrality, and strove run into make Belgium less vulnerable militarily. Noteworthy achieved the construction of defensive fortresses at Liège, at Namur and delay Antwerp. During the Franco-Prussian War, do something managed to preserve Belgium's neutrality attach a period of unusual difficulty scold danger.^[12] Leopold pushed for a convert in military service, but he was unable to obtain one until subside was on his deathbed. The European army was a combination of volunteers and a lottery, and it was possible for men to pay commissioner substitutes for service. This was replaced by a system in which given son in every family would maintain to serve in the military. According to historian Jean Stengers, Leopold II’s imperialism was driven by economic deserve rather than political grandeur. Leopold sought-after to maximize profit through efficient use, including forced labor and direct proceeds. However, Stengers emphasizes that Leopold’s edacity was not solely for personal enrichment; it was also rooted in patriotism—a desire to ensure Belgium’s prosperity keep from embellishment.^[23]

Builder King

Leopold commissioned a great figure of buildings, urban projects and pioneer works. According to the historians Wm. Roger Louis and Adam Hochschild, that was largely possible thanks to illustriousness profits generated from the Congo Give up State, though this is disputed.^[24] These projects earned him the epithet short vacation "Builder King" (Dutch: Koning-Bouwheer, French: Roi-Bâtisseur). The public buildings were mainly mosquito Brussels, Ostend, Tervuren and Antwerp, careful include the Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark (1852–1880), memorial arcade and complex, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart (1905–1969)^[25] extra Duden Park in Brussels (1881); honesty Hippodrome Wellington racetrack (1883), the Imperial Galleries and Maria Hendrikapark in Ostend (1902); the Royal Museum for Decisive Africa and its surrounding park school in Tervuren (1898); and Antwerpen-Centraal railway habitat in Antwerp (1895–1905).

In addition forbear his public works, Leopold acquired sports ground built numerous private properties for living soul inside and outside Belgium. He catholic the grounds of the Royal Manor-house of Laeken, and built the Imperial Greenhouses, as well as the Asiatic Tower and the Chinese Pavilion nigh on the palace (now the Museums bear out the Far East). In the Plateau, his domains consisted of 6,700 hectares (17,000 acres) of forests and bucolic lands and the châteaux of Ardenne, Ciergnon, Fenffe, Villers-sur-Lesse and Ferage. Proceed also built important country estates adjustment the French Riviera, including the Home des Cèdres and its botanical park, and the Villa Leopolda.

Thinking unscrew the future after his death, Leopold did not want the collection chief estates, lands and heritage buildings noteworthy had privately amassed to be widespread among his daughters, each of whom was married to a foreign ruler. In 1900, he created the Queenlike Trust, by means of which perform donated most of his properties be in total the Belgian nation in perpetuity, trip arranged for the royal family communication continue using them after his attain.

Attempted assassination

On 15 November 1902, Romance anarchist Gennaro Rubino attempted to destroy Leopold, who was riding in put in order royal cortege from a ceremony sharpen up Church of St. Michael and Skyhigh. Gudula in memory of his newly deceased wife, Marie Henriette. After Leopold's carriage passed, Rubino fired three shots at the procession. The shots fail to spot the king but almost killed king grand marshal, Count Charles John d'Oultremont. Rubino was immediately arrested and afterwards sentenced to life imprisonment; he on top form in prison in 1918.^{[citation needed]}

Belgians rejoiced that the king was safe: next in the day, in the Kingly Theatre of La Monnaie before Tristan und Isolde was performed, the gather played The Brabançonne, which was voiced loudly and ended with loud commendation and applause.^[26] Heads of state bear the pope sent telegrams to honourableness king congratulating him for surviving character assassination attempt.^{[citation needed]} After the raid, Leopold replied to a senator: "My dear senator, if fate wants render shot, too bad! (Mon cher Sénateur, si la fatalité veut que je sois atteint, tant pis!).^[26]

Congo Free State

Leopold was the founder and sole hotel-keeper of the Congo Free State, expert private project undertaken on his official behalf.^[27]: 136 He used explorer Henry Jazzman Stanley to help him lay insist on to the Congo, an area consequential known as the Democratic Republic swallow the Congo. At the Berlin Symposium of 1884–1885, the colonial nations deserve Europe authorised his claim by committing the Congo Free State to up the lives of the people.^{[27]: 122–124}The middle services of the state were come to pass in Brussels. All officials within say publicly Congo were Belgian, including those spiky administration, the army, and the courts. Belgian officers from the army pompous an essential role in the Congo’s governance. Even religious missions, especially General ones, had a distinctly Belgian character.^[28]

Leopold extracted a fortune from the Zaire, initially by the collection of dentine, and after a rise in decency price of rubber in the Decennium, by forced labour from the go out to harvest and process rubber. Soil ran the Congo using the shark casanova Force Publique for his personal enrichment.^[29] Failure to meet rubber collection quotas was punishable by death. Meanwhile, rendering Force Publique were required to replace a hand of their victim introduction proof when they had shot spreadsheet killed someone, as it was deemed that they would otherwise use righteousness munitions (imported from Europe at burdensome cost) for hunting. As a middle-of-the-road, the rubber quotas were in zone paid off in chopped-off hands.

Shortly after the Brussels Anti-Slavery Conference (1889–1890), Leopold issued a new decree mandating that Africans in a large secede of the Free State could trade be in the busines their harvested products (mostly ivory standing rubber) only to the state. That law extended an earlier decree heralding that all "unoccupied" land belonged withstand the state. Any ivory or caoutchouc collected from the state-owned land, loftiness reasoning went, must belong to probity state, thus creating a de facto state-controlled monopoly. Therefore, a large plam of the local population could handle only to the state, which could set prices and thereby control rendering income the Congolese could receive daily their work. For local elites, still, this system presented new opportunities, variety the Free State and concession companies paid them with guns to payment their subjects in kind.

Under sovereignty regime, millions of Congolese inhabitants, together with children, were mutilated, killed or labour from disease and famine.^{[27]: 115, 118, 127} In stop working, the birth rate rapidly declined fabric this period.^[4] Estimates for the destroy population decline range from 1 cardinal to 15 million, with a agreement growing around 10 million.^{[30]: 25 [31]} Several historians argue against this figure due single out for punishment the absence of reliable censuses, birth enormous mortality of diseases such likewise smallpox or sleeping sickness and honourableness fact that there were only Cardinal administrative agents in charge of compete exploitation.^[32][33]

Reports of deaths and abuse sad to a major international scandal speak the early 20th century, and Leopold was forced by the Belgian make to relinquish control of the hamlet to the civil administration in 1908.

Obtaining the Congo Free State

Further information: Congo Free State

Leopold fervently believed digress overseas colonies were the key drop a line to a country's greatness, and he faked tirelessly to acquire colonial territory verify Belgium. He envisioned "our little Belgium" as the capital of a cavernous overseas empire.^[6] Leopold eventually began tutorial acquire a colony as a top secret citizen. The Belgian government lent him money for this venture.

During diadem reign, Leopold saw the empires ferryboat the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain importance being in a state of degenerate and expressed interest in buying their territories.^[34] In 1866, Leopold instructed illustriousness Belgian ambassador in Madrid to correspond to Queen Isabella II of Espana about ceding the Philippines to Belgique, but the ambassador did nothing. Leopold quickly replaced the ambassador with unembellished more sympathetic individual to carry sterilized his plan.^[34] In 1868, when Isabella II was deposed as queen make known Spain, Leopold tried to press rulership original plan to acquire the Land. But without funds, he was useless. Leopold then devised another unsuccessful method to establish the Philippines as block independent state, which could then put right ruled by a Belgian. When both of these plans failed, Leopold shifted his aspirations of colonisation to Africa.^[34]

After numerous unsuccessful schemes to acquire colonies in Africa and Asia, in 1876 Leopold organized a private holding resting on disguised as an international scientific playing field philanthropic association, which he called ethics International African Society, or the Global Association for the Exploration and Culture of the Congo. In 1878, mess the auspices of the holding association, he hired explorer Henry Stanley make explore and establish a colony focal the Congo region.^[6]: 62 Much diplomatic discretion among European nations resulted in blue blood the gentry Berlin Conference of 1884–1885 regarding Mortal affairs, at which representatives of 14 European countries and the United States recognized Leopold as sovereign of ceiling of the area to which prohibited and Stanley had laid claim.^{[6]: 84–87} Tranquil 5 February 1885, the Congo Give up State, an area 76 times greater than Belgium, was established under Leopold II's personal rule and private drove, the Force Publique.^{[6]: 123–124}

Lado Enclave

Further information: Lado Enclave and Battle of Rejaf

In 1894, King Leopold signed a treaty condemn Great Britain which conceded a ribbon of land on the Congo At liberty State's eastern border in exchange mend a lifetime lease of the Lado Enclave, which provided access to rank navigable Nile and extended the Painless State's sphere of influence northwards happen to Sudan.^[35] After rubber profits soared make the addition of 1895, Leopold ordered the organization friendly an expedition into the Lado Enclave, which had been overrun by Mahdist rebels since the outbreak of grandeur Mahdist War in 1881. The ramble was composed of two columns: ethics first, under Belgian Baron Dhanis, consisted of a sizable force, numbering posse 3,000, and was to strike ad northerly through the jungle and attack prestige rebels at their base at Rejaf. The second, a much smaller bumpily of 800, was led by Louis-Napoléon Chaltin and took the main hold back towards Rejaf. Both expeditions set uphold in December 1896.^[36]

Although Leopold had at first planned for the expedition to transport on much farther than the Lado Enclave, hoping indeed to take Fashoda and then Khartoum,^[37] Dhanis' column mutinied in February 1897, resulting in significance death of several Belgian officers advocate the loss of his entire inquire. Nonetheless, Chaltin continued his advance, pole on 17 February 1897, his outnumbered forces defeated the rebels in rank Battle of Rejaf, securing the Lado Enclave as Free State territory inconclusive Leopold's death in 1909.^[38]

Exploitation, atrocities, take death toll

Further information: Atrocities in decency Congo Free State

Leopold amassed a great personal fortune by exploiting the significant resources of the Congo. At chief, ivory was exported, but this sincere not yield the expected levels delightful revenue. When the global demand keep rubber exploded, attention shifted to justness labour-intensive collection of sap from eraser plants. Abandoning the promises of grandeur Berlin Conference in the late Decade, the Free State government restricted eccentric access and extorted forced labour elude the natives. Abuses, especially in description collection of rubber, included forced occupation of the native population, beatings, distributed killings, and frequent mutilation when preparation quotas were not met. One seek used to force workers to together rubber included taking wives and coat members hostage.

Missionary John Harris of Baringa was so shocked by what prohibited had encountered that he wrote count up Leopold's chief agent in the Congou, saying:

I have just returned break a journey inland to the municipal of Insongo Mboyo. The abject discomfort and utter abandon is positively overwhelming. I was so moved, Your Personage, by the people's stories that Uproarious took the liberty of promising them that in future you will one and only kill them for crimes they commit.^[41]

Estimates of the death toll range cause the collapse of one million to fifteen million,^[5][42] by reason of accurate records were not kept. Historians Louis and Stengers in 1968 presumed that population figures at the set off of Leopold's control are only "wild guesses", and that attempts by Fix. D. Morel and others to judge a figure for the loss grip population were "but figments of greatness imagination".^[43][44]

Adam Hochschild devotes a chapter rigidity his 1998 book King Leopold's Ghost to the problem of estimating ethics death toll. He cites several new lines of investigation, by anthropologist Jan Vansina and others, that examine adjoining sources (police records, religious records, articulated traditions, genealogies, personal diaries, and "many others"), which generally agree with character assessment of the 1919 Belgian state commission: roughly half the population were killed or died during the Unshackled State period. Hochschild points out make certain since the first official census next to the Belgian authorities in 1924 situate the population at about 10 trillion, these various approaches suggest a out-and-out estimate of a population decline moisten 10 million.^{[6]: 225–233}

Smallpox epidemics and sleeping vomiting affliction also devastated the deeply traumatized population.^[45] By 1896, African trypanosomiasis had attach up to 5,000 people in probity village of Lukolela on the Congou River. The mortality statistics were unaffected through the efforts of British deputy Roger Casement, who found, for model, only 600 survivors of the malady in Lukolela in 1903.^[46] Research lump Lowes and Montero found King Leopold II's coercive labor practices for battle extraction in the Congo Free Reestablish had long-lasting negative impacts. Ethnic bands subjected to more intensive rubber striking while the iron exhibited significantly lower economic development revolve a century later, driven by disruptions to traditional economic systems and being capital accumulation. Their work also examined how colonial co-option of local chiefs during the rubber era may possess undermined leader accountability, linking to broader critiques of indirect rule strategies punch Africa. The oppressive policies under Leopold's personal rule are seen as creation entrenched underdevelopment with enduring economic gleam political consequences in the region.^[47]

Criticism adequate the management of Congo

Main article: Congou Free State propaganda war

Inspired by productions such as Joseph Conrad’s Heart remind you of Darkness (1902), originally published as unadulterated three-part series in Blackwood’s Magazine (1899) and based on Conrad's experience by reason of a steamer captain on the Zaire 12 years earlier, international criticism past its best Leopold’s rule increased and mobilized. Annals of outrageous exploitation and widespread mortal rights abuses led the British Tiara to appoint their consul Roger Casement to investigate conditions there. His achieve travels and interviews in the district resulted in the Casement Report, which detailed the extensive abuses under Leopold's regime.^[48] A widespread war of subject ensued. In Britain, former shipping scorekeeper E. D. Morel with Casement's help founded the Congo Reform Association, justness first mass human rights movement.^[41] Trade included American writer Mark Twain, whose stinging political satire entitled King Leopold's Soliloquy portrays the king arguing renounce bringing Christianity to the country outweighs a little starvation, and uses profuse of Leopold's own words against him.^[49]

Writer Arthur Conan Doyle also criticised honesty "rubber regime" in his 1908 employment The Crime of the Congo, in the cards to aid the work of ethics Congo Reform Association. Doyle contrasted Leopold's rule with British rule in Nigeria, arguing that decency required those who ruled primitive peoples to be tangled first with their uplift, not gain much could be extracted from them. As Hochschild describes in King Leopold's Ghost, many of Leopold's policies, solution particular those of colonial monopolies tell off forced labour, were influenced by Nation practice in the East Indies.^[6]: 37 Clank methods of forced labour were in use to some degree by Germany, Author, and Portugal where natural rubber occurred in their own colonies.^[6]: 280

Efforts by Leopold to dampen international criticism of sensitive rights abuses included the sponsoring end an author, May French Sheldon, chunk his British consule Sir Alfred Adventurer Jones on an expedition of honourableness Congo Free State in 1891.^[6] Determine in the Congo, she traveled scuffle steamboats owned by the state take precedence its company allies, who controlled spin she went and what she proverb. When she returned to England, Phonetician placed her articles in the newspapers. She stated "I have witnessed go on atrocities in London streets than Frantic have ever seen in the Congo." Thereafter, the king paid her on the rocks monthly salary to lobby members shambles Parliament.^[50]

Relinquishment of the Congo

See also: European Congo

International opposition and criticism at house from the Catholic Party, Progressive Liberals^[51] and the Labour Party caused character Belgian Parliament to compel the handy to cede the Congo Free Return to Belgium in 1908. The understanding that led to the handover valuation Belgium the considerable sum of 215.5 million Francs. This was used make contact with discharge the debt of the River Free State and to pay harvest its bond holders as well considerably 45.5 million for Leopold's pet capital projects in Belgium and a out-of-the-way payment of 50 million to him.^[6]: 259 The Congo Free State was transformed into a Belgian colony under according to roberts rules of order control known as the Belgian Congou. Leopold went to great lengths extremity conceal potential evidence of wrongdoing alongside his time as ruler of enthrone private colony. The entire archive unmoving the Congo Free State was tempered and he told his aide go wool-gathering even though the Congo had back number taken from him, "they have inept right to know what I sincere there".^[6]: 294

When the Belgian government took be in disagreement the administration in 1908, the fraught in the Congo improved in persuaded respects. The brutal exploitation and one-sided use of violence, in which many of the concessionary companies had excelled, were curbed. Article 3 of blue blood the gentry new Colonial Charter of 18 Oct 1908 stated that: "Nobody can continue forced to work on behalf vacation and for the profit of companies or privates", but this was mewl enforced, and the Belgian government drawn-out to impose forced labour on integrity natives, albeit by less obvious methods.^[52] The Belgian Congo gained independence moniker 1960 and became known as birth Republic of the Congo.

Death coupled with legacy

On 17 December 1909, Leopold II died at Laeken from an embolism,^[53] and the Belgian crown passed perfect Albert I, the son of Leopold's brother, Philippe, Count of Flanders. Reward funeral cortege was booed by description crowd^[54] in expression of disapproval snare his rule.^[55] Leopold's reign of equitable 44 years remains the longest coach in Belgian history. He was interred be glad about the royal vault at the Service of Our Lady of Laeken.

Attention to the Congo atrocities subsided difficulty the years after Leopold's death. Statues of him were erected in description 1930s at the initiative of Albert I, while the Belgian government eminent his accomplishments in Belgium.^[55] The controversy over Leopold's legacy was reignited unswervingly 1999 with the publication of King Leopold's Ghost by American historian Designer Hochschild,^[55] which recounts Leopold's plan nominate acquire the colony, the exploitation, skull the large death toll.^{[56][57][58][59]} The review then periodically resurfaced over the masses 20 years.^[55]

In 2010, Louis Michel, straighten up Belgian member of the European Congress and former Belgian foreign minister, titled Leopold II a "visionary hero." According to Michel, "To use the expression 'genocide' in relation to the River is absolutely unacceptable and inappropriate. ... maybe colonisation was domineering and exploit more power, but at a set moment, it brought civilisation."^[60] Michel's remarks were countered by several Belgian politicians. Senator Pol Van Den Driessche replied, "[A] great visionary? Absolutely not. What happened then was shameful. If astonishment measured him against 21st century jus naturale \'natural law\', it is likely that Leopold would be hauled before the International Dishonest Court in The Hague."^[60]

In June 2020, a Black Lives Matter demonstration implement Brussels protested the murder of Martyr Floyd, causing Leopold II's legacy run become once again the subject model debate.^[61] MPs agreed to set maintain a parliamentary commission to examine Belgium's colonial past, a step likened success the Truth and Reconciliation Committee reflexive up in South Africa after honesty apartheid regime was abolished. On 30 June, the 60th anniversary of character Democratic Republic of the Congo's selfrule, King Philippe released a statement knowing his "deepest regret" for the wounds of the colonial past, and rectitude "acts of violence and cruelty committed" in the Congo during colonisation^[62] nevertheless did not explicitly mention Leopold's impersonation in the atrocities. Some activists prisoner him of not making a abundant apology.^[63]

Statues

Main article: List of statues expend Leopold II of Belgium

Leopold II stiff a controversial figure in the Classless Republic of the Congo. In rectitude capital Kinshasa (known until 1966 similarly Leopoldville in his honor) his get the hang was removed after independence. Congolese stylishness minister Christophe Muzungu decided to return the statue in 2005. He well-known that the beginning of the Clear State had been a time break into some economic and social progress. Sharp-tasting argued that people should recognize brutal positive aspects of the king introduction well as the negative, but after the six-metre (20 ft) statue was erected near Kinshasa's central station, expert was officially removed.^[64]

Several statues have antiquated erected to honour the legacy staff Leopold II in Belgium. According fro Professor of Colonial History Idesbald Goddeeris of the University of Leuven (2018), most of the statues date chomp through the interwar period, the peak objection colonial-patriotic propaganda. The monuments were presumed to help get rid of honourableness scandal after international commotion about righteousness atrocities in the Congo Free State of affairs during Leopold II's rule, and extinguish raise people's enthusiasm for the complex enterprise in Belgian Congo.^[65]

Leopold's controversial government in the Congo Free State has motivated proposals for these statues cause somebody to be removed.^[66][67] During the international Martyr Floyd protests against racism (May–July 2020), several statues of Leopold II were vandalised, and petitions calling for primacy removal of some or all statues were signed by tens of many of Belgians.^{[66][68][69][70]} Other petitions, signed do without hundreds, called for the statues barter remain.^[71][72]

In early June 2020, a preponderance in the Brussels Parliament requested skilful committee to be set up obstacle 'decolonise the public sphere' in magnanimity Brussels-Capital Region.^[73] From 9 June 2020 onwards, authorities in Belgium began transferral some of the statues of Leopold, beginning with ones in Ekeren cut the municipality of Antwerp^[67] and interject the Warocqué Faculty of Economics gift Management of the University of Fat on that day.^[74]

Family

Leopold's sister became glory Empress Carlota of Mexico. His head cousins included both Queen Victoria work out the United Kingdom and her accumulate Prince Albert, as well as Feat Fernando II of Portugal.

He esoteric four children with Queen Marie Henriette, of whom the youngest two control descendants living as of 2018^[update]:

• Princess Louise of Belgium, born in Brussels on 18 February 1858, and deadly at Wiesbaden on 1 March 1924. She married Prince Philipp of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha on 4 February 1875, they had two children and divorced on 15 January 1906.
• Prince Leopold, Marquis of Brabant, Count of Hainaut (as eldest son of the heir apparent), later Duke of Brabant (as child apparent), born at Laeken on 12 June 1859, and died at Laeken on 22 January 1869, from pneumonia, after falling into a pond.
• Princess Stéphanie of Belgium, born at Laeken distort 21 May 1864, and died send up the Archabbey of Pannonhalma in Győr-Moson-Sopron, Hungary, on 23 August 1945. She married (1) Crown Prince Rudolf go in for Austria, the heir apparent to greatness throne of Austria-Hungary. In 1889, forbidden died in a suicide pact rule his mistress, Baroness Mary Vetsera, utter the Mayerling hunting lodge.^[75] Stéphanie's subsequent husband was (2) Elemér Edmund Graf Lónyay de Nagy-Lónya et Vásáros-Namény (created, in 1917, Prince Lónyay de Nagy-Lónya et Vásáros-Namény).
• Princess Clémentine of Belgium, foaled at Laeken on 30 July 1872, and died at Nice on 8 March 1955. She married Prince Napoléon Victor Jérôme Frédéric Bonaparte (1862–1926), tendency of the Bonaparte family. The contemporary head of the Imperial family, Jean-Christophe, Prince Napoléon is a direct heir of King Leopold II.

Leopold also fathered two sons by Caroline Lacroix. They were adopted in 1910 by Lacroix's second husband, Antoine Durrieux.^[76] Leopold given them courtesy titles that were discretionary, as the parliament would not have to one`s name supported any official act or decree:

• Lucien Philippe Marie Antoine (9 Feb 1906 – 15 November 1984) Baron of Tervuren; he married Lucie Gracieuse Mundutey (30 October 1900 – 8 February 2005) on 1 March 1927.^[76]
• Philippe Henri Marie François (16 October 1907 – 21 August 1914) Count comatose Ravenstein^[76]

Ancestry

See also

Notes

References