King Leopold II and Belgian Imperialism Essay -- European History Essa

superpower Leopold II and Belgian Imperialism In 1865, King Leopold II succeeded his father to the thrown of Belgium and thus began one of the most unforgiving and insensitive periods of imperialism ever to exist. From manipulative treaties to straight forward intimidation, Leopold dominated his empire like no other. He was cruel, deceptive, and downright evil, yet it took the world over twenty years to recognize this. The record of King Leopolds atrocity is an interesting account of how a jealous man could inflict some of the most unsavoury forms of oppression upon his fellow members of the human race. When Leopold came to power in 1865, he was incredibly disappointed at Belgiums lack of power in the imperial world. every(prenominal) other western European nation by had this time had taken on colonies as part of their empire and therefore had been acquiring incredible wealth due to their new markets and exploitation of the native peoples they encounter ed. Belgium, itself, was a small country, and unlike their neighboring nations, they had not yet entered into the colonial scene. This all changed when the famous explorer total heat M. Stanley accepted Leopolds proposal to return to the Congo acting as an agent of the crown whose mission was to obtain the signatures of all the native chieftains living in the Congo. Using despicable and manipulative tactics, Stanley was able to acquire over 450 treaties which paved the way for the declaration of nearly one million square miles of the Congo River basinful as the property of King Leopold II. The land Leopold had obtained was about eighty times larger than that of Belgium itself. Plus, Leopold was proclaimed the sovereign ruler of all the Congo Free Sta... ...BibliographyAfrica Imperialism accounting of Imperialism. 1998-2002. 5 Oct. 2002.Constitutional Rights Foundation. 2000. 5 Oct. 2002 http//www.crf-usa.org/bria/bria16_2.html. Leopold II- King of the Bel gians World History King Leopolds heart of Darkness. 2000. 5 Oct. 2002 Other Sourceshttp//members.aol.com/TeacherNet/World.htmlAfricaThis link brings the leader to a website consisting of umpteen links regarding African Imperialism.http//www.crf-usa.org/bria/bria16_2.htmlThis link brings the reader to a website focusing on King Leopold II of Belgium.http//ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Tielemans/hp50marc.htmThis link provides the reader with a short biography of King Leopold II.