The Butcher Of Congo: King Leopold The Second Of Belgium

King Leopold II of Belgium is historically notorious for orchestrating the deaths and severe maltreatment of 10 million Congolese Africans in the late 19th century, a grim legacy that significantly contributed to the wealth of modern-day Belgium. This period exemplifies the extreme brutality of European colonialism and imperialism at its peak. In the 1880s, as European powers partitioned Africa amongst themselves, Leopold II claimed the Congo Free State, an area 76 times larger than Belgium itself, rich in rubber—a highly sought-after resource in industrial Europe of that era.

In 1876, Leopold established the International African Association, claiming it was a philanthropic venture, while in actuality, it was a front for his exploitative ambitions in Africa, aiming to elevate Belgium's international status. This organization was essentially a tool for enslaving the people of the Congo River Basin to enrich Leopold.

During Leopold's rule over the Congo from 1885 to 1908, he inflicted appalling atrocities on the African population, including mutilation, whipping to death, forced labor, and village burnings—all without ever setting foot in the Congo himself. This horrific episode was not unique to the Congo; similar brutalities were inflicted upon indigenous peoples across the world by other 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. However, the scale and severity of the abuses in the Congo garnered widespread condemnation, prompting Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to write "The Crime of the Congo" in 1909, exposing the atrocities.

The Congolese tribal chiefs, unable to read or write, were deceived into trading their people's freedom for trivial amounts of cloth, unknowingly surrendering their sovereign rights and resources to Leopold's association. Those who failed to meet the imposed rubber collection quotas faced brutal punishments, including flogging with the chicotte—a whip made from hippopotamus hide that could cause unconsciousness or death—or having their hands cut off.

Leopold's reign of terror was enforced by the Force Publique, a private army consisting of white officers commanding black soldiers, who were often cannibals from northern tribes or kidnapped children trained as missionaries. They executed raids with extreme brutality, including beheadings and crucifixions.

Leopold amassed an enormous fortune estimated between $100 million and $500 million, which was eventually handed over to the Belgian government upon his death. Today, the Democratic Republic of Congo possesses mineral resources valued at $24 trillion, including vast diamond reserves. Following its independence from Belgium in 1960, the Congo saw a brief period of democracy before descending into a cycle of corruption, coups, and conflict, highlighting the long-lasting impacts of colonial exploitation.