Leopold II - Brussels, Belgium
Posted by: 
Metro2
N 50° 50.428 E 004° 21.869
31U E 596071 N 5632971
Leopold II reigned for 39 years and is remembered for his extreme exploitation of the Congo and its peoples.
Waymark Code: WMHDEW
Location: Brussels, Belgium
Date Posted: 06/26/2013
Views: 18
This sculpture of Leopold is located near the grounds of the Royal Palace in Brussels. he is depicted, it would appear, slighter larger than life-sized, atop a horse. The figure has a long beard and looks aged. He wears a long cloak and holds the reins with his left hand. The horse has all four hooves on the ground and would appear to be standing in place. The piece is set on a tapered stone plinth about 6 feet high and has the inscription:
"LEOPOLDO II
REGI BELGARUM
1865-1909
PATRIA MEMOR"
This website (
visit link) informs us:
"This equestrial statue of king Leopold II was inaugurated the 15th november 1926, at near bout the very place where Leopold II took the oath. This bronze statue was made by the scuptor Thomas Vinçotte and the architect François Malfait .
The statue was paid with private money. Some 2,5 million € were collected for this statue. The sculptor, who worked for it several long years, didn't have long pleasure of it. He died a few days after finishing the statue."
and Wikipedia (
visit link) adds:
"Leopold II ... (9 April 1835 – 17 December 1909) was the King of the Belgians, and is chiefly remembered for the founding and exploitation of the Congo Free State. Born in Brussels the second (but eldest surviving) son of Leopold I and Louise-Marie of Orléans, he succeeded his father to the throne on 17 December 1865 and remained king until his death. Due to his many female lovers, he was also called "The Belgian Bull".
Leopold was the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free State, a private project undertaken on his own behalf. He used Henry Morton Stanley to help him lay claim to the Congo, an area now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. At the Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, the colonial nations of Europe committed the Congo Free State to improving the lives of the native inhabitants. From the beginning, however, Leopold essentially ignored these conditions and ran the Congo using a mercenary force for his personal gain.
Leopold extracted a fortune from the Congo, initially by the collection of ivory, and after a rise in the price of rubber in the 1890s, by forcing the population to collect sap from rubber plants. Villages were required to meet quotas on rubber collections, and individuals' hands were cut off if they did not meet the requirements. His regime was responsible for the death of an estimated 2 to 15 million Congolese. This became one of the most infamous international scandals of the early 20th century, and Leopold was ultimately forced to relinquish control of it to the Belgian government."