| Birth: | Apr. 9, 1835 | | Death: | Dec. 17, 1909 | 
King of the Belgians 1865-1909. He is sometimes referred to as the "Builder King" ("le Roi-Bâtisseur" in French, "Koning-Bouwer" in Flemish) for the number of public works projects he commissioned, but his reputation has been overshadowed by his attempts to establish Belgium as a colonial power. When neither the Belgian government nor the Belgian people expressed any interest in his imperialist ideas, he found the means for establishing the "Congo Free State" (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a.k.a the Belgian Congo and Zaire) as his own personal domain. Reports of outrageous exploitation and widespread human rights abuses of the native population, especially as in the rubber industry, led to an international protest movement in the early 1900s. Finally, in 1908, Parliament compelled the King to cede the Congo Free State to the Belgian government. (bio by: Paul F. Wilson)
Search Amazon for Léopold II | | | Burial:
Notre Dame Church
Laken
Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium
Plot: The Royal Crypt |
Maintained by: Find A Grave
Record added: May 25, 1999
Find A Grave Memorial# 5524 |
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(3.6 after 22 votes)
