Patty Barrett: Suspect Board by

King Leopold

820315_3 — 2025-04-22 17:36:40 UTC

King Leopold II was the king of Belgium. Belgium is a small country with little power which motivated Leopold to gain control of another region. Leopold decided to conquer the Congo Free State. This led to the death of 10 million innocent Congolese people. King Leopold hired people to do his dirty work for him and never had to set foot in the Congo himself so he could still trick people into thinking he was a humanitarian. Even once he was caught he made people continue his work and further destroyed the Congo.

Evidence #1

820315_3 — 2025-04-22 17:42:37 UTC

"You paid off journalists like Mary French Sheldon to write newspaper articles about you as a philanthropist."

Evidence #2

820315_3 — 2025-04-23 17:09:50 UTC

"Your wealth and power was used to enslave the people of the Congo to work with you."

Evidence #3

820315_3 — 2025-04-23 17:16:47 UTC

Once your crimes were uncovered you sold your colony to the Belgium government, knowing they would continue your exploitation."

Reasoning #2

820315_3 — 2025-04-24 16:59:02 UTC

This evidence shows that Leopold was a wealthy and powerful man who could easily control others. He was worried about his success and reputation more than anything else. This makes him guilty because he took advantage of people in Belgium and the Congo to get his way. Leopold used his authority to get the men of Belgium to go to the Congo and take over. Then his men were forced to take advantage of the language barrier and knowledge to steal the Congo.

Reasoning #3

820315_3 — 2025-04-24 21:09:44 UTC

This evidence shows Leopold was so desperate to have as much power as possible that he would continue torturing the Congolese even after he was caught. With Belgium being a small country they had little power compared to other regions. This motivated Leopold to finish the mission he started. This makes Leopold a bad person because he continuously harmed these people even once people realized his true intentions.

Reasoning #1

820315_3 — 2025-04-24 21:16:00 UTC

This evidence shows that Leopold didn't want his reputation to be ruined. This makes Leopold a bad person because he was not truthful