Ainsley Salaz: King Leopold II by

King Leopold II

822599 — 2025-04-22 15:54:54 UTC

King Leopold II was born on April 9, 1835, in Brussels, Belgium, and he ruled as the King of the Belgians from 1865 to 1909. In 1885, he led Europe's initial efforts to develop the Congo River basin, making the Congo Free State under his personal control. While he played a significant role in shaping Belgium, his legacy is known because of the widespread atrocities committed against the Congolese people under his rule. Because of him the Congolese people were under forced labor, brutal mistreatment, and exploitation. This led to millions of deaths and and extreme amount of suffering. Despite his contributions to Belgium’s development, his reign is shadowed by the human cost.

Evidence 1

822599 — 2025-04-22 16:02:55 UTC

"Force Publique officers sent their soldiers into the forest to find and kill rebels hiding there. To prove they had succeeded, soldiers were ordered to cut off and bring back the right hand of every rebel they killed".

Reasoning 1

822599 — 2025-04-23 17:16:56 UTC

This evidence shows the brutal methods that were employed by the Force Publique. Cutting off hands was not only a way to prove kills but also a method of fear and maintaining control over the local population. This evidence strengthens my claim that King Leopold II is responsible for the deaths of 10 million people because Leopolds administration forced harsh labor policies, leading to starvation, disease, and killings. The overall death toll during his rule is estimated around 10 million people, largely due to forced labor, violence, and neglect. This evidence connects to this because it shows how there was violence under his command.

Argument

822599 — 2025-04-24 15:01:15 UTC

King Leopold II is the person most responsible for the deaths of 10 million people during his rule over the Congo Free State. Leopold controlled the Congo as his private property, so that way he could gain wealth and power. He took advantage of the congos natural resurcous to extract rubber and other resources, forcing Congolese workers into relentless labor. The Force Publique, his military force, were ordered to kill any Congolese that were not working and they would keep their body parts as souiveneirs. These combined with disease and displacement caused by forced labor, led to an extreme death toll. As the creator of this system, Leopold should take the ultimate responsibility for the lives lost and the suffering on the Congolese people.

Reasoning 2

822599 — 2025-04-24 15:06:42 UTC

As you can see this evidence shows the exploitation of the Congo when King Leopold II ruled. King Leopold II took advantage and benefited from the region's ivory resources, but as ivory supplies started to decrease and global demand for rubber increased, he focused on harvesting rubber from the Congo's natural resources.

Harvesting rubber in the Congo was incredibly labor-intensive. To get as much rubber as possible, King Leopold's created a system of forced labor, enslaving the local population. People were anxoius under threat of violence so they would collect rubber. The violence intensified and rubber became a highly profitable resource for Leopold's personal wealth. The atrocities that were committed during this time included human rights violations, with millions of Congolese suffering and dying under King Leopold's reign.

Evidence 2

822599 — 2025-04-24 15:07:46 UTC

"The Congo was rich in rubber-producing vines, and Leopold transitioned his exploitative focus from dwindling ivory supplies to the burgeoning rubber market. Rubber harvesting is labor-intensive and slavery, exploitation and the reign of terror continued and even increased".

Evidence 3

822599 — 2025-04-24 17:43:28 UTC

"In the early 1890s, Leopold's private African army, the Force Publique (Public Force), drove the powerful Muslim slave traders out of the Congo. While Leopold portrayed this as a great humanitarian act, his real purpose was to gain control of the upper Congo River and to acquire more workers".

Reasoning 3

822599 — 2025-04-25 00:05:11 UTC

As you can see, this evidence shows that by removing slave traders King Leopold II positioned himself as the primary authority. Leopold's creation of the Force Publique shows King Leopold’s manipulative tactics. Leopold acted like he was doing something good by getting rid of slave traders in the Congo, but he was really just hiding his true goal of taking over the area and making money. He set up a system where people were forced to work under horrible conditions, all while pretending he cared about helping them. Leopold wasn’t being generous or kind and everything he did was carefully planned to make sure he got what he wanted (control and wealth). He even got rid of people who were in his way to take more workers for himself. This shows how his actions were based on greed, not on any real concern for the people living there.