The Congo Free State, also known as the Independent State of the Congo (French: État indépendant du Congo), was a large state and absolute monarchy in Central Africa from 1885 to 1908. It was privately owned by King Leopold II , the constitutional monarch of …

Civilian victims of mutilation by Free State authorities. From 1885 to 1908, many atrocities were committed in the Congo Free State (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo) under the absolute rule of King Leopold II of Belgium.

On February 5, 1885, Belgian King Leopold II established the Congo Free State by brutally seizing the African landmass as his personal possession. Rather than control the Congo as a colony , as other European powers did throughout Africa, Leopold privately owned the region .

2025年1月10日 · Congo Free State, former state in Africa that occupied almost all of the Congo River basin, coextensive with the modern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was created in the 1880s as the private holding of a group of European investors headed by Leopold II, …

2024年12月13日 · He called it État Indépendant du Congo, the Congo Free State. It was the world’s only private colony, and Leopold referred to himself as its “proprietor.” The king then embarked on an ultimately successful effort to make a vast fortune from his new possession.

2024年5月28日 · The establishment of the Congo Free State represents one of the most infamous episodes in the history of European imperialism in Africa. This vast territory, now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was a personal possession of King Leopold II …

Leopold II [a] (9 April 1835 – 17 December 1909) was the second King of the Belgians from 1865 to 1909, and the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free State from 1885 to 1908. Born in Brussels as the second but eldest-surviving son of King Leopold I and Queen Louise , Leopold succeeded his father to the Belgian throne in 1865 and reigned ...

2023年1月20日 · The Congo Free State, also known as the Independent State of the Congo, was a private possession owned by King Leopold II of Belgium from 1885 to 1908. King Leopold II became interested in the region during Sir Henry Morton Stanley’s exploration of the Congo River between 1874 and 1877.

2022年11月16日 · Between 1885 and 1908, King Leopold II of Belgium ruled the Congo Free State as his personal possession and extracted untold riches while murdering millions. The most brutal genocide you've never heard of.

2022年3月26日 · As part of this agreement, Leopold II of Belgium gained personal control over the Congo region. In fact, Leopold II officially formed the Congo Free State in 1885 and ruled over it as his own private possession. He used his control over the region to as a way of amassing a fortune for himself.