It was known as the worst time of European Imperialism in Africa when King Leopold II the King of Belgium allegedly killed 15 million Congolese people and chopped off the hands of many who failed to meet his daily ration of grains, ivory and the Sap collection for rubber making. It was one of the darkest chapters in the history of European imperialism in Africa. Many others suffered rape and torture. He was called a butcher because of his inhumane practices of forced labor and tax collection, which helped him to amass wealth of over $1 Billion at current value. Some estimates suggest that under his brutal rule, half of the Congolese population died from punishment, murder or malnutrition.
The rule of Leopold II in the Congo Free State during the late 19th and early 20th century is known as one of the darkest periods of European Imperialism across the entire African continent. His brutal treatment of the Congolese people has left unforgettable memories in the region and around the world.
Leopold II captured and exploited the Congo Free State because of the presence of rich and vast natural resources. He claimed personal ownership of the country and made it into his private colony, under the charade of a humanitarian cause to bring civilization and development to Africa.
Rubber was a highly sought-after commodity then, and Leopold II planned to maximize his worth by hook or crook. He imposed forced labor on the Congolese people to extract rubber that was naturally produced in the dense rainforests of Africa. Many villagers were forced to comply with impossible tax requirements and those who failed faced severe consequences. The sight of amputated hands became a horrifying symbol of the cruelty inflicted upon the Congolese people under Leopold’s rule.
Leopold II’s administration implemented a punishment system that was beyond brutal for people who could not meet his daily requirements of rubber and ivory collection. The most severe was the chopping off of the hands. The baskets of severed hands of men, women, and children, set down at the feet of the European post commanders, became the symbol of the Congo Free State under Leopold II’s barbaric rule.
“Force Publique” soldiers brought them to the stations in place of rubber; they even went out to harvest them instead of rubber. They became a currency. They came to be used as a threat for shortfalls in rubber quotas and to remind the people of the demands of the forced labor gangs and their fate.
“Force Publique” soldiers were paid their bonuses based on how many hands they collected. Estimates of some contemporary observers suggest that the population decreased by half during this period. Entire communities were decimated as a result of Leopold’s insatiable greed and disregard for human life.
One of the most harrowing incidents of Leopold II’s brutal regime in the Congo Free State involved the unimaginable cruelty of forcing a father to bury his own son alive. This atrocity occurred as a form of punishment and terror because the father, like many others, was unable to meet the impossible demands for rubber extraction.
In a twisted display of power and inhumanity, Leopold’s enforcers chose to make an example of his family. The father was compelled to dig a grave and bury his son while still breathing, a heart-wrenching act of unimaginable pain and psychological torment that exemplified the extreme lengths to which Leopold’s regime would go to maintain its stranglehold on the Congolese people. The father died a few days later from a “broken heart.” This incident, among countless others, underscores the depth of the suffering and the horrific nature of the colonial exploitation perpetrated by Leopold II.
The international community was largely unaware of the extent of the atrocities in the Congo Free State initially. However, reports of brutality began to emerge, particularly through the keen awareness of Edmund Dean Morel who worked with the British shipping line, which had the monopoly on rubber out of the Congo. It was through his acute observation that he noticed that the ships that came loaded with rubber and ivory returned loaded with “nothing but soldiers, firearms and ammunition.” He surmised then that this was not coming from trade but from slave labor. Morel, counted “15 million souls.” His efforts on human rights were tremendous. When he tried to speak out about this, he was told to cast a blind eye. He quit his job and became an activist, starting with investigative journalism.
E.D. Morel’s work and like-minded contemporaries eventually drew strong public attention and opinion, which proved to be a catalyst against Leopold II’s barbarism. The widespread condemnation eventually led to diplomatic pressure and increased scrutiny.
In 1908, Leopold II resigned as the King of the Congo Free State under severe international pressure from human rights organizations and democratic countries, which resulted in the takeover of his administration by the Democratic Republic of Belgium. However, the scars left by Leopold II’s brutal rule continued to affect the Congolese people for generations, both physically and mentally.
The wealth generated from the rubber and ivory trade contributed majorly to Leopold II’s wealth. It was collected at the expense of countless Congolese lives and amputated hands. It was gained through the systematic abuse of an entire population of a country where people lived below human standards.
The legacy of Leopold’s savage rule serves as a stark reminder of the human cost of unchecked greed and exploitation in the pursuit of wealth and power.
