

Instead, Leopold ruled the territories of the Congo by means of the CFS, a colonial state of his own design and legally distinct from Belgium - he became the roi-souverain or ‘king sovereign’ of the Congo.Įventually, the CFS reached a size nearly 80 times that of Belgium, but in 1885 Leopold II’s agents on the ground in central Africa controlled little of the vast territories he claimed.
EMPIRE CFS FREE
Leopold’s newly declared colony was baptized the Congo Free State (CFS), although it was ‘free’ only in the sense that it was not controlled by any European country.

In the mid-1880s, he parlayed this involvement into an assertion of control over the Congo River basin area, which was affirmed by the major European powers at the 1884–85 Berlin Conference.īust of king Leopold II made from Congolese ivory By underwriting voyages of exploration, hosting a Brussels Geographical Conference in 1876, creating front organizations, and hiring explorers including Henry Morton Stanley, by the early 1880s Leopold had emerged as a leading figure (albeit behind the scenes) in European claim-making in central Africa during a time of intensifying foreign activity there. Even before he ascended the throne in 1865, he dreamed of acquiring an overseas colony, and once king - and faced with Belgians’ decidedly un-imperialistic ambitions - he plotted to get one on his own. A tall king with big ambitions, Leopold felt trapped inside his small, constitutional monarchy. Leopold II spearheaded Belgium’s colonial rule in central Africa. Stanard, in the introductory text, ‘it is a visible and enduring legacy of Europe’s last age of empire.’ Belgium’s Enduring Imprint of Empire ‘Now six decades removed in time from the Congo’s independence, Belgium’s imperialist inheritance in bronze, stone, and other visual forms continues to weigh upon the country,’ states Professor of History, Matthew G. July 31, 2020.In his book Leopold’s Legacy, out soon, Oliver Leu presents an eclectic collection of visual research, focusing on various topics from colonial monuments and prestigious architecture to antique postcards and collaged sculptures for alternative monuments. Treatment of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome. Fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome and myofascial pain. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
