Leopold II (Belgium)

Leopold II 1835-1909, king of the Belgians (1865-1909), son and successor of Leopold I . His reign saw great industrial and colonial expansion. In 1876 he organized, with the help of H. M. Stanley , the International Association for the Exploration and Civilization of the Congo. At a European conference (Berlin, 1884-85), the Congo Free State was established under Leopold's personal rule (see Congo, Democratic Republic of the ). He proceeded to amass a huge personal fortune by exploiting the Congo directly and by leasing concessions. Forced labor was extorted from the natives, frequently by barbarous methods, until scandal compelled Leopold to turn over the Congo to the Belgian government (1908). In Belgium itself the Conservative Catholic party replaced (1880) the Liberals in power. Increasing social discontent and the rise of the Labor party forced the introduction (1893) of universal male suffrage, but unrest continued because of the appalling condition of industrial workers. Leopold's private life was as scandalous and dissolute as his public conduct. He was succeeded by his nephew, Albert I .

Bibliography: See A. Hochschild, King Leopold's Ghost (1998).

Leopold II (1835–1909) King of Belgium (1865–1909). He initiated colonial expansion and sponsored the expedition (1879–84) of Henry Stanley to the Congo. In 1885, he established the Congo Free State, under his own personal rule. Following Roger Casement's reports of appalling exploitation, he was forced to cede the Congo to the Belgian state in 1908.

Leopold II (1835–1909) King of the Belgians (1865–1909). His reign saw considerable industrial and colonial expansion, due in large part to the wealth gleaned from the CONGO. The Berlin Colonial Conference (1884–85) had recognized Leopold as independent head of the newly created Congo Free State and he proceeded to amass great personal wealth from its rubber and ivory trade. Thanks to the report of an Englishman, Edmund Morel, his maltreatment of the Congo native population became an international scandal (1904) and he was forced to hand over the territory to his parliament in 1908.