The Butcher Of Congo: King Leopold The Second Of Belgium

King Leopold II of Belgium played a major role in the suffering and deaths of 10 million Africans in the Congo during the late 19th century. The prosperity of modern-day Belgium is largely built on the exploitation of the people from the Congo River Basin.

This period showcases the extreme cruelty of European colonialism, with King Leopold II claiming the Congo Free State for himself as European powers divided Africa. The Congo's vast rainforests, 76 times the size of Belgium, were rich in rubber, highly sought after in industrializing Europe.

In 1876, under the pretext of humanitarian work, Leopold created the “International African Association“. However, this organization was a front for Leopold's ambition to build an empire and enhance Belgium's global status. In reality, it enabled the enslavement and exploitation of the Congolese people.

For 23 years, from 1885 to 1908, Leopold's rule in Congo was marked by horrific violence, including mutilation, flogging to death, starvation, forced labor, and burning of villages, all without Leopold ever setting foot in the Congo.

It's important to note that such brutality was not unique to Congo; during the same period, indigenous peoples around the world suffered under colonial powers. Britain on the Aborigines in Australia, the United States on Native Americans and Filipinos , French on Northwest Congolese, Spanish on the north and central Native Americans, Portuguese on the Angolans and Amazonians and Germans on Southwest Africans. Yet, the extreme violence in Congo led to widespread condemnation from Europeans, including a book by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1909 that exposed the atrocities.

The Congolese chiefs, unable to read or write, were tricked into trading their people's freedom for cloth, giving Leopold control over their lands and resources. Those who didn't meet rubber collection quotas were brutally punished, often with the chicotte, a whip that caused severe injuries or death.

Leopold's private army, the Force Publique, enforced his rule through terror, manned by black soldiers under white officers. Some soldiers were cannibals from northern tribes; others were kidnapped as children and raised by the army.

At one point, Leopold was considered the world's richest man, amassing a fortune from the exploitation of Congo. After his death, this wealth was transferred to the Belgian government.

Today, the Democratic Republic of Congo is rich in untapped mineral resources, estimated at $24 trillion. Following its independence from Belgium in 1960, Patrice Lumumba became its first democratically elected president but was assassinated shortly after, with evidence pointing to US and Belgian involvement. The country then went through periods of corruption, conflict, and leadership changes, with Joseph Kabila being elected president in 2006 after his father's assassination.