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Leopold II of Belgium Quotes

Leopold II reigned as the King of the Belgians from 1865 to 1909 and became known as "the Butcher of Congo" for the founding and exploitation of the Congo Free State as a private venture and the atrocities perpetrated there under his rule.

Born in Brussels as the second but eldest surviving son of Leopold I and Louise of Orléans, he succeeded his father to the Belgian throne in 1865 and reigned for 44 years until his death – the longest reign of any Belgian monarch. He died without surviving male heirs. The current Belgian king descends from his nephew and successor, Albert I.

Leopold became 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, the present-day 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 Leopold essentially ignored these conditions. He ran the Congo using the mercenary Force Publique for his personal enrichment. 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.

Leopold extracted a fortune from the Congo, initially by the collection of ivory, and after a rise in the price of rubber in the 1890s, by forced labour from the native population to harvest and process rubber. Under his regime millions of the Congolese people died. Modern estimates range from one million to fifteen million, with a consensus growing around 10 million.

Several historians argue against this figure due to the absence of reliable censuses, the enormous mortality of diseases such as smallpox or sleeping sickness and the fact that there were only 175 administrative agents in charge of rubber exploitation.Reports of deaths and abuse led to a major international scandal in the early 20th century, leading the Belgian government to force Leopold to relinquish control of the colony to Belgian civil administration in 1908.

✵ 9. April 1835 – 17. December 1909
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Leopold II of Belgium: 34   quotes 2   likes

Famous Leopold II of Belgium Quotes

“I do not want to miss a good chance of getting us a slice of this magnificent African cake.”

Leopold II of Belgium

Thomas Pakenham, The Scramble for Africa: White Man's Conquest of the Dark Continent From 1876 to 1912, New York: Avon Books, 1992, 22.

“The Congo Free State is unique in its kind. It has nothing to hide and no secrets and is not beholden to anyone except its founder.”

Leopold II of Belgium

Clive Foss, The Tyrants: 2500 Years of Absolute Power and Corruption, London: Quercus Publishing, 2006, ISBN 1905204965

“Do I still need to tell you that I am not guided by selfish motives? No gentlemen, although Belgium is small, it is happy and content with its fate. I have no ambition other than to serve it. In this century, our civilized society imparts unprecedented values to barbarian communities in other parts of the world.
Leopold II, King of the Belgians in a speech at the Brussels Geographic Conference on September 12, 1876. Quoted from the book "Zaïre, Ketens van Koper (translated: Zaire, Chains of Copper)" Chapter 2: From Leopold II to Bwana Kitoko, page 16. Leuven, Kritak Fonds, 1978. ISBN 9063030185”

Leopold II of Belgium

“Santo Tomas was based on emigration and was therefore bound to fail, Belgians do not emigrate.
Tu ne verras pas Verapaz?”

Leopold II of Belgium

Documentary about former Belgian colony in Santo Tomas de Castilla, Guatemala.

“India has never cost England one centime. it paid back What it cost. India provides a livelihood for all benjamins of English families.”

Leopold II of Belgium

Source: https://klara.be/leopold-ii-aflevering-3 Leopold II, Het hele Verhaal, Johan Op De Beeck Horizon, 2020] ISBN 9789463962094 Prince Leopold II In Singapore in a letter to his father King Leopold I expressing admiration for British colonialism. note: Quotes related to the Belgian Colonial Empire

“In the Far East, compulsory labor can work wonders, just like here... If only Belgium wanted to see that. This could create "inexhaustible resources and exploiting the soil and peoples of the Far East can only be brought to civilization and well-being in this way."”

Leopold II of Belgium

ISBN 9789463962094 Prince Leopold II in a 1863 travel note in admiration for Ferdinand de Lesseps when visiting Egypt and the digging sites of the Suez Canal by tens of thousands of cheap workers.
Source: https://klara.be/leopold-ii-aflevering-3 Leopold II, Het hele Verhaal, Johan Op De Beeck Horizon, 2020

Leopold II of Belgium Quotes about people

“Trading posts and colonies, gentlemen, have not only strengthened the commercial positions of the peoples concerned; these nations owe their greatness to these institutions.”

Leopold II of Belgium

Source: Leopold II, Het hele Verhaal, Johan Op De Beeck Horizon, 2020 https://klara.be/leopold-ii-aflevering-2-0 ISBN 9789463962094 Prince Leopold II in his function of Senator in the Senate of Belgium.

“A People which is content with its homeland and which shreds at even the shadow of a conflict lacks the characteristics of a superior race.”

Leopold II of Belgium

Source: BBC Documentary based on Adam Hochschild's 'King Leopold's Ghost'
Congo: White King, Red Rubber, Black Death

“Small country, small people.”

Leopold II of Belgium

King Leopold's Ghost https://vimeo.com/ondemand/kingleopoldsghost Leopold II, Hair to the Belgian throne, 1866.

Leopold II of Belgium Quotes about the world

“I have only one goal and one desire, namely to give myself a practical instruction, to get to know the world and its inhabitants. There will come times when this knowledge will be of use to me.”

Leopold II of Belgium

https://klara.be/leopold-ii-aflevering-1-0 Prince Leopold II on his second wedding trip in a letter to his father Leopold I of Belgium in 1854.

“If instead of talking about neutrality, the Chamber took care of our trade, Belgium would become the richest in the world.”

Leopold II of Belgium

All the King's Men' A search for the colonial ideas of some advisers and "accomplices" of Leopold II (1853-1892). (Hannes Vanhauwaert), Preface:A historiographical picture of Leopold II (1835-1909) http://www.ethesis.net/leopold_II/leopold_II.htm#2.%20 Leopold to Edouard Blondeel, the Belgian Consul in Egypt, 1855.

“Nothing is more difficult than arriving at a court where nobody knows anyone in the world, add to that the Austrian Etiquette, and you can imagine what kind of evening I had to endure.”

Leopold II of Belgium

Leopold II - Het Hele Verhaal (Aflevering 1) https://odysee.com/@BelgianCongo:3/Leopold-II-Het-Hele-Verhaal-Aflevering-1:1 Prince Leopold in a letter to his brother Prince Philippe and sister Princess Carlota, on being received by the Austrian court to meet his future bride 'Marie Henriette of Austria'.

Leopold II of Belgium Quotes

“It is very curious to see how in China and Morocco the vanquished pay for the costs of the expedition that crushed them.
[https://klara.be/leopold-ii-aflevering-3 Leopold II, Het hele Verhaal, Johan Op De Beeck Horizon, 2020] ISBN 9789463962094 Prince Leopold II in a travel note after reading in the Spanish Archive "Archivo General de Indias" in Sevilla in 1862.”

Leopold II of Belgium
Travel , Reading

“I sleep poorly. This long abstinence is destroying me. My nature needs frequent contacts with the beautiful gender. I don't understand how priests can live like this.”

Leopold II of Belgium

Source: Leopold II, Het hele Verhaal, Johan Op De Beeck Horizon, 2020 https://klara.be/leopold-ii-aflevering-2-0 ISBN 9789463962094 Prince Leopold II in a letter to his father Leopold I on may 1861 when recovering from a cold on vacation in villa Solitude in Austria complaining how he misses female company.

Sleep , Beauty , Understanding , Nature

“I believe we must set up three children's colonies, the aim of these colonies is above all to furnish us with soldiers.”

Leopold II of Belgium

Source: King Leopold's Ghost https://vimeo.com/ondemand/kingleopoldsghost Leopold II in a letter to the Congo Governor General: Camille Janssen, 1890.

Children

“I have no other desire than to leave Belgium bigger, stronger and more beautiful.”

Leopold II of Belgium

Pierre Vercauteren: A king unjustly maligned. (Page 18) https://www.memoiresducongo.be/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Leo2-Vercauteren.pdf Leopold II on the evening of his accession in 1865 confided to the baron Lambermont. Léopold II, Count Louis de Lichtervelde (p.55).
Quotes related to Belgium

Beauty

“Whoever has a cold is stupid, because he just had to avoid catching a cold.”

Leopold II of Belgium

Source: Did you know: Leopold II was a hypochondriac. https://www.rtbf.be/culture/article/detail_le-saviez-vous-leopold-ii-etait-hypocondriaque?id=10710184

Stupidity

“Our only programme is the work of moral and material re-generation.”

Leopold II of Belgium

CONGO FREE STATE. HC Deb 20 May 1903 vol 122 cc1289-332 https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1903/may/20/congo-free-state
Quotes related to Congo

“I will give them my Congo, but they have no right to know what i did there.”

Leopold II of Belgium

Quotes related to Congo
Source: King Leopold's Ghost https://vimeo.com/ondemand/kingleopoldsghost King Leopold Ii in Letter to aid, 1908.

“In dealing with a race composed of cannibals for thousands of years, it is necessary to use methods which will best shape their idleness, and make them realize the sanctity of work.”

Leopold II of Belgium

Quotes related to the Congo Free State
Source: King Leopold's Ghost https://vimeo.com/ondemand/kingleopoldsghost Newspaper interview, 1906.

“We must put an end to anarchy and its continuing preaching.”

Leopold II of Belgium

Leopold II, Het hele Verhaal, Johan Op De Beeck Horizon, 2020 https://klara.be/leopold-ii-aflevering-6 ISBN 9789463962094 Leopold II in 1885 about the protests and Social unrest due to extreme poverty among the many farmers in Belgium.

“At the moment, neither the Spanish, the Portuguese, nor the Dutch are willing to sell. I intend to discreetly inform myself if in Africa if there is nothing to do.”

Leopold II of Belgium

All the King's Men' A search for the colonial ideas of some advisers and "accomplices" of Leopold II (1853-1892). (Hannes Vanhauwaert), 6. Baron Auguste Lambermont (1819-1905), A key figure in the background of early Belgian colonialism http://www.ethesis.net/leopold_II/leopold_II.htm#_ftn194 Leopold II in a key letter to Baron Lambermont after the failed colonial efforts in the Philippines and Tonkin, On August 22, 1875. AMBuZa. Papiers Lambermont, volume V, section 9, Leopold II to Baron Lambermont, August 22, 1875. For publication and photographic reproduction: ROEYKENS, A. Les débuts de l'œuvre africaine de Léopold II, 1875-1879, 95-96.
Quotes related to the Belgian Colonial Empire

“If God gives me a long life and allows me to carry out my task, then Brussels will become a city of exceptional category.”

Leopold II of Belgium

Leopold II, Het hele Verhaal, Johan Op De Beeck Horizon, 2020 https://klara.be/leopold-ii-aflevering-2-0 ISBN 9789463962094

God , Life

“I want it to be and it will be.”

Leopold II of Belgium

All the King's Men' A search for the colonial ideas of some advisers and "accomplices" of Leopold II (1853-1892). (Hannes Vanhauwaert), Emile Banning (1836-1898): The Don Quichotte of the ‘liberal civilization’ in Congo http://www.ethesis.net/leopold_II/leopold_II.htm#_ftn194 Banning had a final private meeting with the king, which, according to the anecdotal press, culminated in this bitter altercation. WALRAET, M. Emile Banning. Un grand Belge, 54.

“I want the great effort which must permanently open Africa to civilization to take a date in Belgium.”

Leopold II of Belgium

Quotes related to the Belgian Colonial Empire
Source: Inculturation of Christian marriage in the Belgian Congo. 1919-1950. The Policy Making of the Mission Superiors on Polygamy; their directives to the missionaries and influence on the policy of the State. (Betty Eggermont) CHAPTER 3. THE COLONIZING GOVERNMENT. http://www.ethesis.net/polygamie/polygamie_deel_I_hfst_3.htm Leopold to Jean-Baptiste Nothomb in June 1876. cited in STENGERS (J.), op.cit., p.VII.

Effort

“Hopefully they won't mess up my Congo!”

Leopold II of Belgium

Quotes related to the Congo Free State
Source: Mémoires du Congo - Shame or Pride https://www.memoiresducongo.be/nl/schaamte-of-fierheid/

“I'm still working, but we have to start by putting forward a diplomatic arrangement. This point obtained, we would have a good chance of success. For the moment, the Belgian shipping word in China should not be used at any price.”

Leopold II of Belgium

Quotes related to the Belgian Colonial Empire
Source: All the King's Men' A search for the colonial ideas of some advisers and "accomplices" of Leopold II (1853-1892). (Hannes Vanhauwaert), 5. A prospectus by the military Chazal and Brialmont, The Importance of General Chazal in Colonial Politics. http://www.ethesis.net/leopold_II/leopold_II.htm#2.%20 Minister Chazal, who had little ambition in an almost impossible Chinese adventure, Confronting the French practicalities and the British stubbornness of that expedition was most likely the last thing on his mind. Even the experienced king had already given up all hope. The enthusiastic young Leopold did not give up and started to advise the minister himself. KMLKG, Papiers Chazal, 111/13, the Duke of Brabant to Chazal, October 4, 1859.

Chance , Success

“Of all the outlets, the safest and most stable, both for products and for capital, is obviously that of a colony.”

Leopold II of Belgium

Quotes related to the Belgian Colonial Empire
Source: All the King's Men' A search for the colonial ideas of some advisers and "accomplices" of Leopold II (1853-1892). (Hannes Vanhauwaert), Preface:A historiographical picture of Leopold II (1835-1909) http://www.ethesis.net/leopold_II/leopold_II.htm#2.%20 STENGERS, J. “The place of Leopold II in the history of colonization.” The New Clio, I-II (1949-1950), 517.

“If I do not promise Belgium a splendid government like that which founded its independence, nor a great King like him whom we mourn, then at least i believe to be a Belgian King in heart and soul, whose whole life belongs to the country.”

Leopold II of Belgium

Source: Bulletin Officiel de Congo Belge - Années 1908 et 1909, page 174. https://archive.org/details/bulletin-officiel-de-congo-belge-annees-1908-et-1909/page/n373/mode/2up King Leopold II in a speech on 17 december 1865.

Soul , Country , Heart , Life

“A Prince must not speak the language of the tribunes and proclaim absolute principles in terms which are likely to deeply offend those who are of another opinion than his own.”

Leopold II of Belgium

Source: All the King's Men' A search for the colonial ideas of some advisers and "accomplices" of Leopold II (1853-1892). (Hannes Vanhauwaert), 5. A prospectus by the military Chazal and Brialmont, The Importance of General Chazal in Colonial Politics. http://www.ethesis.net/leopold_II/leopold_II.htm#2.%20 KMLKG, Papiers Chazal, 65/1, Chazal aan de hertog van Brabant, 28 juni 1859.

“You just have to dare to succeed.”

Leopold II of Belgium

Source: All the King's Men' A search for the colonial ideas of some advisers and "accomplices" of Leopold II (1853-1892). (Hannes Vanhauwaert), Preface:A historiographical picture of Leopold II (1835-1909) http://www.ethesis.net/leopold_II/leopold_II.htm#2.%20 Parliamentary Annals of Belgium. Legislative session of 1855-1856. Senate. Brussel, n.d., 67.

“On the occasion of my 65th birthday, I wish to hand over to the State my properties that contribute to the attractiveness and beauty of the places where they are located.”

Leopold II of Belgium

Source: Immo Royal, In Belgium you can find more than 7,500 hectares of royal real estate. Journalists conducted an in-depth investigation into the patrimony of the Royal Donation for the first time in 90 years. https://www.koningshuizen.be/ King Leopold II in a letter to the Minister of Finance on April 9, 1900, in honor of his 65th birthday.

Beauty , Birthday

“If the knowledge of foreign languages is particularly useful in our time, that of national languages is a necessity. It is necessary to have them taught to the youth simultaneously, and it is to be desired that their use should become more and more common to all Belgians.”

Leopold II of Belgium

Source: J. Steur, Netherlands. Volume 63 Article from 1959. Quoted from J. Vuylsteke, "Flemish Belgium since 1830: Studies and sketches collected by the general board of the Willemsfonds on the occasion of the Jubilee Year 1905", Willemsfonds, 1905, p. 222. https://www.dbnl.org/tekst/_nee003195901_01/_nee003195901_01_0114.php King Leopold II and the Queen are invited by the mayor of Brussels, Karel Buls, to attend the first performance in the renovated Flemish theatre, where he gives a speech in Flemish. This was followed by thunderous applause such as 'Long live our Flemish King!'

Time , Knowledge , Youth

“Young trees need stakes to support them, but the stakes must be removed once the trees begin to grow, precisely so not to hinder their growth.”

Leopold II of Belgium

Source: Leopold II, King of the Belgians in a letter to his minister, Charles Woeste, dated June 9, 1901. https://archive.org/details/TheBelgo-congoleseRoundTable/page/n1/mode/2up

Tree , Support

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