the Monument to King Leopold II of Belgium on Troonplein (Throne Square), Brussels. In 1885 he declared the Congo his personal property which he called “Congo Free State”. During his rule marked by unspeakable greed and brutality an estimated 5-15 million Congolese died in his pursuit to extract as much ivory and rubber as possible for his personal enrichment and to build lavish buildings all over Belgium. He earned himself a place in history alongside Hitler, Stalin and Mao #leopold #leopoldii

27K views · 1.3K reactions | You won’t learn this in school, about King Leopold II of Belgium letter sent to white missionaries in the Congo during colonialism. #Africa #colonialism | Typical African | Facebook

The horrific atrocities that took place in the Congo Free State are often compared to the Holocaust, with king Leopold II of Belgium being compared to the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. Between 1885 and 1908, Leopold II personally ruled the Congo, in sub Saharan Africa, which was largely unexplored at this time, as only the coastal areas had been claimed by other European countries. He named it the “Congo Free State,” which is rather ironic when you realise what went on there. The local population wa

Leopold II (born April 9, 1835, Brussels, Belgium—dì.èd December 17, 1909, Laeken) was the king of the Belgians from 1865 to 1909. Keen on establishing Belgium as an impèrial power, he led the first European efforts to develop the Congo River basin, making possible the formation in 1885 of the Congo Free State, annexed in 1908 as the Belgian Congo and now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Although he played a significant role in the development of the modern Belgian state, he was also respon