Leopold is chiefly remembered as the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free State, a private project undertaken by the King. He used Henry Morton Stanley to help him lay claim to the Congo, an area now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Powers at Berlin Conference agreed to set up the Free State in 1885, on condition that the inhabitants were to be brought into the modern world and that all nations be allowed to trade freely. From the beginning, however, Leopold essentially ignored these conditions and ran the Congo brutally, by proxy through a mercenary force, for his own personal gain. He extracted a personal fortune from the Congo, initially by the collection of ivory, and after a rise in the price of rubber in the 1890s by forcing the native population to collect sap from rubber plants. His harsh regime was directly or indirectly responsible for the death of millions of people. The Congo became one of the most infamous international scandals of the early 20th century, and Leopold was ultimately forced to relinquish control of it to the government of Belgium.
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King Leopold II of Belgium was born on April 9, 1835.
King Leopold II of Belgium was born on April 9, 1835.
King Leopold II of Belgium died on December 17, 1909 at the age of 74.
King Leopold the II, was the king of Belgium and responsible for the deaths of many in the Belgium Congo.
King Leopold II was born on April 9, 1835, in Brussels, Belgium.
He was Leopold II.
King Leopold II died on December 17, 1909, in Brussels, Belgium.
Leopold 1, Leopold 2, Albert 1, Leopold 3, Boudewijn 1, Albert 2 (current king) Belgium had 6 kings.
Leopold II
Leopold II reigned as Belgium's king from 1865 until his death in 1909.
Leopold II of Belgium.
Leopold II of Belgium died on 1909-12-17.