How was King Leopold II viewed by … Leopold’s men eventually discovered that the rainforest had a plentiful supply of rubber trees. Belgian exploration and administration took place from the 1870s until the 1920s. Leopold did not start genocide. And in 2018, Brussels named a public square in honour of Patrice Lumumba, a hero of African independence movements and the first prime minister of Congo, since renamed the Democratic Republic of Congo. Around 20,000 children born to Belgian settlers and local women were forcibly taken to Belgium to be fostered. Estimates suggest more than 50% died there. He was born under the original name of Louis Philippe Marie Victor in Brussels. Un article de Wikipédia, l'encyclopédie libre. The current protests are not the first time Belgium's ugly history in Congo has been contested in the streets. .css-orcmk8-HeadlineContainer{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-box-pack:justify;-webkit-justify-content:space-between;-ms-flex-pack:justify;justify-content:space-between;}California man 'kills fellow Covid patient with oxygen tank'.css-1dedj2h-Rank{-webkit-align-self:center;-ms-flex-item-align:center;align-self:center;color:#B80000;margin-left:3.125rem;}1, Chrissy Teigen 'sad she will never be pregnant again'2, Deepfake queen to deliver Channel 4 Christmas message3, Trump pardons Paul Manafort, Roger Stone and Charles Kushner4, Brexit: Boris Johnson set to unveil trade deal with EU5, Stella Tennant: Stella McCartney, Naomi Campbell and more pay tribute6, Airline fires pilot blamed for Taiwan's first Covid case in months7, Sharp rises in infection levels in England, says ONS8, Trump vetoes 'unconstitutional' defence bill9. Statues have been daubed with red paint in Ghent and Ostend and pulled down in Brussels. Leopold II's rule in what is now Democratic Republic of Congo was so bloody it was eventually condemned by other European colonialists in 1908 - but it has taken far longer to come under scrutiny at home. 1693. Leopold financed development projects with money loaned to him from the Belgian government. Leopold II truly was paying for all of the startup expenses to colonize The Congo out of his own pocket. In 2010, former Belgian foreign minister Louis Michel and the father of future prime minister Charles Michel, called Leopold "a hero with ambitions for a small country like Belgium". Video, The poet, the queen and 120-year-old chocolate, Did that octopus just punch a fish? They were beaten and tortured in order to quickly extract as much rubber from the region as possible. VideoDid that octopus just punch a fish? The colonization of Belgium was only for Belgium’s and King Leopold’s interest and the people of Congo were treated as material objects and dehumanized. While some municipalities are holding out, the reappraisal offers further evidence of a sea change in how the colonial history is viewed. “Not a priority? Colonisation du Congo. Those resistant to change are likely to come under more pressure when a Hollywood film, based on a best-selling book 20 years ago that highlighted Leopold’s bloody rule of the Congo Free State, is released. By 1908, Leopold II's rule was deemed so cruel that European leaders, themselves violently exploiting Africa, condemned it and the Belgian parliament forced him to relinquish control of his fiefdom. He built the Africa Museum in the grounds of his palace at Tervuren, with a "human zoo" in the grounds featuring 267 Congolese people as exhibits. The then prime minister Charles Michel said the government would respond when the UN filed its final report, although he expressed some surprise at the findings. Most of them were paid with brutal exploitation of Congo Capital of Belgium, Brussels, is the seat of European Union It was first led by Sir Henry Morton Stanley, who explored under the sponsorship of King Leopold II of Belgium. But in the chaos of the early 20th Century when World War One threatened to destroy Belgium, Leopold II's nephew King Albert I erected statues to remember the successes of years gone by. “If other cities start with it, it could trigger a chain reaction, but there are no plans yet,” he told the Het Nieuwsblad newspaper. "Civilisation" was at the core of Leopold II's pitch to European leaders in 1885 when they sliced up and allocated territories in what became known as the Scramble for Africa. UK and EU negotiating teams talked through the night to finalise a post-Brexit trade deal. The royal palace is yet to give its own response. .css-po6dm6-ItalicText{font-style:italic;}Additional reporting by Eve Webster in Brussels, .css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:link{color:inherit;}.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:visited{color:#696969;}.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:link,.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:visited{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:link:hover,.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:visited:hover,.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:link:focus,.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:visited:focus{color:#B80000;-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:link::after,.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:visited::after{content:'';position:absolute;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;left:0;z-index:2;}EU-UK on verge of Brexit trade deal announcement. King Leopold 2 of . As part of a belated reckoning with its colonial history, museums are showcasing sins that were previously overlooked, the tone of history books in school is shifting and, in a development unthinkable until recently, cities have started to remove street signs commemorating Leopold II and openly denounce his legacy. In return European leaders, gathered at the Berlin Conference, granted him 2m sq km (770,000 sq miles) to forge a personal colony where he was free to do as he liked. Belgium took over the colony in 1908 and it was not until 1960 that the Republic of the Congo was established, after a fight for independence. In DR Congo itself, no-one has really noticed the Belgian protests, says Jules Mulamba, a lawyer in the south-eastern city of Lubambashi. I never imagined this happening in my lifetime," Ms Kayembe adds. Elsewhere, a working group in Ghent is considering the city’s role in Belgium’s colonial past and whether it remains appropriate to have a Leopold II Laan. King Leopold II and the CongoThe European colonization of Africa was one of the greatest and swiftest conquests in human history. "It's a good thing that everyone is waking up, looking around and thinking 'is this right?'" It would be "really significant for Congolese people, especially those whose families perished," she explains. BBC Culture: The TV shows that helped us through 2020. Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. "Leopold II certainly does not deserve a statue in the public domain," agrees Bambi Ceuppens, scientific commissioner at the Africa Museum. What can we expect for 2021's Oscars ceremony? Archive pictures from Congo Free State document its violence and brutality. For activists the holy grail is the giant statue of Leopold II on horseback at the gates of the Royal Palace in Brussels. This empire was known as the Congo Free State and Leopold II stood as its undisputed slave master. By 1910 nearly this entire huge expanse had become European colonies or land, like South Africa, controlled by white settlers. According to … Leopold II, Holy Roman emperor from 1790 to 1792, one of the most capable of the 18th-century reformist rulers known as the “enlightened despots.” The third son of the Habsburg Maria Theresa and the emperor Francis I, Leopold succeeded his father as … playDid that octopus just punch a fish? Earlier this year a UN working group concluded in its preliminary report that, nearly six decades after the newly named DRC gained independence from Belgium, many of the country’s institutions remained racist and the state needed to apologise for the sins of its past as a step towards reform. Il rêvait de voir la Belgique, pays de dimension modeste, certes, mais disposant de capacités techniques et économiques, s'intéresser à des territoires outre-mer qui pourraient contribuer à valoriser ses capacités commerciales, lui assurer l'accès à des matières premières et à des produits de la terre dont elle ne disposait pas, ou encore servir d'exutoire pour ceux -nombreux à l'époque- qui vivaie… Leopold II and the Colonization of Africa: Leopold II of Belgium lived from 1835 to 1909 and reigned as King of Belgium from 1865 until his death. Like statues of racist historical figures vandalised or removed in Britain and the US, Leopold II's days on Belgian streets could now be numbered. A petition calling on the city for its removal has reached 74,000 signatures. On Monday the University of Mons removed a bust of the late king, following the circulation of a student-led petition saying it represented the "rape, mutilation and genocide of millions of Congolese". Recommended US take the lead in pressuring Leopold to change the nature of Congo. When Leopold II died in 1909, he was buried to the sound of Belgians booing. In 2018, the United Nations called on the Belgian government to apologize for the crimes committed during its colonization and to … Last week a statue of Leopold II in the city of Antwerp was set on fire, before authorities took it down. Last week it was announced Ben Affleck would be producing and directing the film inspired by Adam Hochschild’s King Leopold’s Ghost. In a TV debate this week, a former president of the Free University of Brussels, Hervé Hasquin, argued there were "positive aspects" to colonisation, listing the health system, infrastructure, and primary education he said Belgium brought to Central Africa. RDC : Du Roi Léopold II à Joseph Kabila — Une Histoire de Pillage, Destination Inconnue — L’impunité Continue ... De la traite des esclaves à la brutale colonisation belge, en passant par la manipulation de la guerre froide et les guerres qui ont suivi, ceux qui ont le plus souffert sont les citoyens congolais. In Kinshasa, the capital of DR Congo, Leopold II's statues were moved to the National Museum. Jeroen Robbe, of the anti-racism group the Labo vzw said too many municipal leaders were still failing to show moral leadership: “The fact they are taking this so lightly indicates a blind spot that we have in our own history. He appointed governor generals to manage the various territories of the country. Leopold II may never have set foot there, but he poured the profits into Belgium and into his pockets. "Everyone is waking up from a sleep, it's a reckoning with the past," explains Debora Kayembe, a Congolese human rights lawyer who has lived in Belgium. Leopold II, king of the Belgians from 1865 to 1909. Leopold's British biographer, Barbara Emerson, agrees: 'I think it is a very shoddy piece of work. King Leopold the II’s colonisation of the Congo resulted in labour forced upon the natives, blackmail, abuse and eradication of tradition. Of the Europeans who scrambled for control of Africa at the end of the 19th century, Belgium's King Leopold II left arguably the largest and most horrid legacy of all. For 20 years, he “owned” the Free State of Congo in central Africa, a 3,000-square-mile section of resource-rich interior jungle and savannah. Inauguration of a square in Brussels, dedicated to the memory of Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, after independence from Belgium. VideoThe poet, the queen and 120-year-old chocolate, Five families; five very unusual Christmases, Catwalk icon Stella Tennant's career in pictures. In 1870 roughly 80 percent of Africa south of the Sahara Desert was governed by indigenous kings, chiefs, and other rulers. For over a century, Belgium turned the Congo into a slave state governed by Leopold II. After all, destroying the iconography of Adolf Hitler did not mean the history of Nazi Germany was forgotten, she points out. Joëlle Sambi Nzeba, a Belgian-Congolese poet and spokesperson for the Belgian Network for Black Lives, says the statues tell her she is "less than a regular Belgian". From 1885 to 1908, a period known as Congo Free State, acts of violence and cruelty were committed, something Leopold pleaded forgiveness for. Henry Morton Stanley retrouve David Livingstone, après 236 jours de recherche, dans ce qui s’avère une partie du monde en soi, immense, aux inextricables zones de forêts, de marais et de savane, arrosées par un fleuve Congo labyrinthique. Nobody would dare say that about a Stalinstraat or a Hitlerstraat. Officials in Dendermonde, a Flemish city 20 miles north of Brussels, said they were changing a similarly named street to simply Leopold Laan to avoid further “shame” for residents. He promised a humanitarian and philanthropic mission that would improve the lives of Africans. We will support companies and residents who may be affected by the new street names in the future.”, A century after millions died in Congo, attitudes (and street names) are changing. Last modified on Sat 23 Nov 2019 18.40 GMT. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Leopold’s private police force, the Force Publique, terrorized and exploited Congo, largely in secrecy. He attributes colonial crimes to the king himself, rather than the Belgian people or state. She does not believe it will not be quick or easy. .css-14iz86j-BoldText{font-weight:bold;}Inside the palatial walls of Belgium's Africa Museum stand statues of Leopold II - each one a monument to the king whose rule killed as many as 10 million Africans. There are at least 13 statues to Leopold II in Belgium, according to one crowd-sourced map, and numerous parks, squares and street names. Killings, famine and disease combined to cause the deaths of perhaps 10 million people, though historians dispute the true number. Read about our approach to external linking. Lastly, the opposition forces against King Leopold II’s colonization of Congo helped pave the way for future justice on the continent as well as internationally. Between 1885 and 1908, the Belgian King Leopold II personally ruled the Congo Free State, which was also known as the Independent State of the Congo. Nevertheless, Leopold II eventually appointed Tip as a provincial governor in exchange for his noninterference in the king’s colonization of the western regions. Tip used his position to ramp up his slave trading and ivory hunting, and the generally anti-slavery European public brought pressure on Leopold II to break it off. At the time, there was a huge demand for natural rubber in order to make tires, but there was a very small supply.
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