He cut off the limbs of Congolese who did not meet their daily quota on the plantation.
At the end of his rule, he had killed 15million Congolese people. But we are taught only about Hitler. ðŸ˜ðŸ˜
On February 5, 1885, Belgian King Leopold II established the Congo Free State by brutally seizing the African landmass as his personal possession.
He privately owned the region, robbing the Congolese people of their land, resources, and freedom.
Leopold financed development projects with money loaned from the Belgian government claiming his goal was to bring civilization to the Congo.
However, his reign became infamous for brutality Congolese were forced into labor for resources, leading to widespread suffering and death
The presence of rubber companies such as ABIR exacerbated the effect of natural disasters such as famine and disease.
ABIR's tax collection system forced men out from the villages to collect rubber which meant that there was no labor available to clear new fields for planting.
This in turn meant that the women had to continue to plant worn-out fields resulting in lower yields, a problem aggravated by company sentries stealing crops and farm animals.
The post at Bonginda experienced a famine in 1899 and in 1900 missionaries recorded a "terrible famine
From 1885 to 1908, the Congo Free State became a realm of horrors. Labor policies, epitomized by the "Red Rubber system," created a nightmarish existence for the Congolese, compelled into servitude for rubber.
Failing to meet rubber quotas meant facing death. The Force Publique's macabre practice of providing severed hands as proof of their deeds stands as a haunting testament to the inhumanity.
Leopold II reportedly disapproved of dismemberment because it harmed his economic interests.
He was quoted as saying "Cut off hands—that's idiotic. I'd cut off all the rest of them, but not hands. That's the one thing I need in the Congo.
Leopold's disdain for dismemberment wasn't out of compassion, but because it disrupted his economic interests.
Taking hostages, including wives and family members, was a sinister tactic to force rubber collection
Violence permeated the Free State, tied to wars and rebellions. Native states resisting colonial subjugation were ruthlessly suppressed. The presence of rubber companies exacerbated natural disasters and famine.
Leopold sanctioned the creation of "child colonies" in which orphaned Congolese would be kidnapped and sent to schools operated by Catholic missionaries in which they would learn to work or be soldiers; these were the only schools funded by the state.
More than 50% of the children sent to the schools died of disease, and thousands more died in the forced marches into the colonies.
In one such march 108 boys were sent over to a mission school and only 62 survived, eight of whom died a week later.
The suffering extended beyond indigenous Congolese. Imported laborers, including 540 Chinese, faced appalling conditions, resulting in thousands of deaths.
One practice used to force workers to collect rubber included taking wives and family members hostage.
Leopold never proclaimed it an official policy, and Free State authorities in Brussels emphatically denied that it was employed.
Nevertheless, the administration supplied a manual to each station in the Congo which included a guide on how to take hostages to coerce local chiefs.
The hostages could be men, women, children, elders, or even the chiefs themselves. Every state or company station maintained a stockade for imprisoning hostages.
The Congolese genocide which ensued as a result of Leopold's detesting of black people is a chapter of modern history with 1.5 to 13 million lives lost. This harrowing legacy serves as a stark reminder of the unspeakable atrocities endured.
Indigenous Congolese were not the only ones put to work by the free state. 540 Chinese laborers were imported to work on railways in the Congo; however, 300 of them would die or leave their posts.
Caribbean peoples and people from other African countries were also imported to work on the railway in which 3,600 would die in the first two years of construction from railroad accidents, lack of shelter, flogging, hunger, and disease.
King Leopold II's legacy is one of unimaginable brutality, a dark stain on the annals of the Congo's history.
The Congolese genocide with 8 to 10 million victims, amongst other human rights abuses that have gone unpunished and escaped notice are a testament to the depths of human cruelty, often overshadowed by other atrocities.