The Horrors of the Congo Free State

How a king got away with atrocities against a nation

Congolese natives had their hands cut off as punishment by the Belgian government. Alice Seely Harris and John Harris — E. D. Morel, King Leopold’s Rule in Africa, William Heinemann, London, 1904 and Funk & Wagnalls Company, New York, 1905.

During the 1800s and early 1900s, European nations took part in what has been called the Scramble for Africa. The great European powers competed against each other for colonial possessions. Driven by the Second Industrial Revolution, seven European nations plundered Africa for resources and set up colonies in over 90% of the continent. These nations were Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, and Spain.

While all these colonial governments were oppressive to differing degrees, Belgium gained a reputation specifically for the brutal treatment of the native population. The Belgian Congo, or the Congo Free State, lasted from 1885 to 1908. Unlike other colonies, in which a colonial government ruled in the name of the parent nation, this land was the personal property of King Leopold II.

The area, which includes the current Democratic Republic of the Congo, came into possession of Leopold during the Berlin Conference in 1885. The Conference was a meeting between the leading European powers to carve up Africa amongst themselves to avoid conflict. Instead of establishing a colonial government, Leopold claimed he would take personal control of the area for philanthropic and humanitarian reasons. He swore not to tax trade and named the area…