Leopold II of Belgium

**Leopold II** (Léopold Louis Philippe Marie Victor) (9 April 1835 – 17 December 1909) was King of the Belgians from 1865 until his death in 1909.

Leopold created and controlled the Congo Free State. His harsh rule killed as many as 10 million Congolese people.

## The Congo Free State

Leopold is mainly remembered as the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free State. He lay claim to the Congo, an area now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Leopold's regime was extremely abusive towards the native people, and it committed "widespread atrocities". According to a BBC article:> [The Congo Free State] quickly became a brutal, exploitative regime that relied on forced labour to cultivate and trade rubber, ivory and minerals.
> [C]hopping off the limbs of enslaved Congolese was a routine form of retribution when Leopold II's quotas were not met.
> Colonial administrators also kidnapped orphaned children from communities and transported them to "child colonies" to work or train as soldiers. Estimates suggest more than 50% died there.
> Killings, famine and disease combined to cause the deaths of perhaps 10 million people, though historians dispute the true number.Leopold's regime was so abusive that the Congo became an international scandal. As a result, Leopold II was forced to give control of it to the government of Belgium.

Despite owning and ruling it as a dictator and an absolute monarch, Leopold II never visited the Congo Free State or Africa in general.

## Personal life

Leopold was born in Brussels. He was the second (but oldest surviving) son of Leopold I and Louise of Orléans. He succeeded his father to the throne on 17 December 1865.

Leopold II married Archduchess Marie Henriette of Austria, in Brussels on 22 August 1853.

On 15 November 1902, Italian anarchist Gennaro Rubino tried to assassinate Leopold. Rubino fired three shots at the King. The shots missed Leopold and Rubino was immediately arrested.

Leopold II had a wedding ceremony with Caroline Lacroix, a prostitute, on 14 December 1909, five days before his death. This was not legal under Belgian law.

Leopold died on 17 December 1909. He was succeeded as King of the Belgians by his nephew Albert, the son of his brother Philippe.

## Titles and styles

- **9 April 1835 – 17 December 1865** _His Royal Highness_ The Duke of Brabant, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Duke in Saxony.
- **17 December 1865 – 17 December 1909** _His Majesty_ The King of The Belgians. Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duke in Saxony.

## Infobox (royalty)

- **name**: Leopold II
- **image**: Leopold ii garter knight.jpg
- **succession**: List of Belgian monarchs, King of the Belgians
- **reign**: 17 December 1865 – 17 December 1909
- **predecessor**: Leopold I of Belgium, Leopold I
- **successor**: Albert I of Belgium, Albert I
- **spouse**: Marie Henriette of Austria
- **issue**: Princess Louise-Marie of Belgium, Louise Marie, Princess of Kohary
Prince Leopold, Duke of Brabant
Princess Stéphanie of Belgium, Stéphanie, Crown Princess of Austria
Princess Clémentine of Belgium, Clémentine, Princess Napoléon
- **house**: House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
- **father**: Leopold I of Belgium, Leopold I
- **mother**: Louise of Orléans
- **birth place**: Royal Palace, Brussels, Belgium
- **death place**: Royal Palace, Laeken, Belgium
- **religion**: Roman Catholic