Leopold II Biography
Leopold II was the second King of the Belgians, and is chiefly remembered for the founding and exploitation of the Congo Free State as a private venture. Born in Brussels as the second son of Leopold I and Louise of Orléans, he succeeded his father to the throne on 17 December 1865, reigning for 44 years until his death. This was the longest reign of any Belgian monarch.
Leopold was the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free State, a private project undertaken on his own behalf. He used explorer Henry Morton Stanley to help him lay claim to the Congo, an area now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. At the Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, the colonial nations of Europe authorized his claim by committing the Congo Free State to improving the lives of the native inhabitants. From the beginning, however, Leopold essentially ignored these conditions. He ran the Congo using the mercenary Force Publique for his personal gain. He used great sums of the money from this exploitation for public and private construction projects in Belgium during this period. He donated the private buildings to the state before his death, to preserve them for Belgium. Source: Wikipedia
Biography Snapshot
- Name:
- Leopold II
- Nationality:
- Belgium
- Profession:
- Politician
- Religion:
- Catholicism
- Date of Death:
- December 17, 1909
- Age at Death:
- unknown
Cite this page
APA Style
Leopold II. (2023). The HistoryHop.com website. Retrieved 7:54am UTC, Dec 6, 2023, from historyhop.com/famous-people/leopold-ii/bio.
Harvard Style
Leopold II. [Internet]. 2023. The HistoryHop.com website. Available from: historyhop.com/famous-people/leopold-ii/bio [Accessed 06 Dec 2023].
MLA Style
"Leopold II." Bio. The HistoryHop.com website, 2023. Web. 06 Dec 2023.
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