“Feelings of humanity and commiseration erupt on their own when we deliberate with our feet in the blood.” Quote by Auguste Baron Lambermont
“Never have I had the impression of such a moral and civic downfall. In no country, not even the last of the last, what is happening here would be possible.” CongoLeopold IiBelgiumCongo Free StateBelgian Congo Author:Auguste Baron Lambermont
“There is no such thing as exclusively national thinking. The work intended to benefit science and humanity necessarily interests everyone, but Belgium and its Sovereign will indirectly derive honor and great moral benefit from it; in this sense, there is a truly and usefully Belgian thought. We do not have a view of colonial acquisition, but over time trade will undoubtedly find its value there as well.” DiplomacyBelgiumBelgian Diplomacy Author:Auguste Baron Lambermont
“It is the King who supports the State from his pocket, to challenge the State for the products of his estates is to force the King from his pocket to cover deficits, a good part of which will come from the free abandonment of the land. 'exploitation of State estates to commercial houses to fatten them on a voluntary basis, houses which not only do nothing for the progress of civilization but which have delayed it with all their might and would like to delay it further in order to be States, tyrants in the State.” CongoLeopold IiBelgiumCongo Free StateIndependant State Of The Congo Author:Edmund Van Eetvelde
“I want to show those who are going to peddle that I am the man of all jobs, that at least I am not, just to keep my place. And I hold it all the more so as I can put up with the current boycott, a few months, but that I could not bend my life to it forever.” CongoLeopold IiBelgium Author:Edmund Van Eetvelde
“Personally, I have no other ambition than to devote to the service of the King all the goodwill and effort of which I will still be capable. I know it's a small thing.” CongoLeopold IiBelgiumKing Leopold IiBelgian EmpireOf Belgium Author:Edmund Van Eetvelde
“Having a proper sense of her duty, and the means to carry it out, Belgium has mapped out her own course, and intends to keep to it. It entails a policy of humanity and progress. To a nation whos only aim is justice, the mission of colonization can only be a mission of high civilization: a small nation proves it greatness by carrying it out faithfully. Belgium has kept her word.” CongoBelgiumColonizationBelgian Congo Author:Albert I of Belgium
“In short, there is a great deal of stagnation among the settlers and the medium-sized enterprises. The native there is often mistreated, exploited and has no medical care. In the Menteau farm, we observed a considerable number of varicose ulcers, which hardly exists at UM and La Forminière. There is no dispensary on this farm. The small settler can succeed in the Congo, one can doubt it, he lives by the exploitation of the native whom he makes work like a convict and moreover, he takes back his meager salary by selling him bad goods. The settler is often doubled as a trafficker, they complement each other, the system truck. Besides, the whole colonial edifice rests on the negro's shoulders. He alone is the source of profit, thanks to the excessive exploitation of which he is the object. In a colony, where there are few transport routes, where those that exist demand exorbitant prices, where there is little or no mechanical handling, no workhorse, only the degradation of the workforce - work can maintain the commercial level of the cost price. Large companies have the merit, through their tools, their medical assistance, their works of providing more treatment and of not wasting manpower.” ColonialismCongoBelgiumBelgian Congo Author:King Albert I of Belgium
“The British people realise that they are fighting for the hegemony of the Empire. If necessary we shall continue the war single-handed.” World War IBelgiumWw I World War 1 Author:King Albert I of Belgium
“The negro workers are still unaware of the force that can give them union organization; happy industrialists.” CapitalismUnionsSocialismCongoBelgiumBelgian CongoIndustrialismIndustrialists Author:King Albert I of Belgium
“The prevailing opinion at court was that the founding of a colony was beyond the strength of the Sovereign of a small state and that he would swallow up his private fortune, unable to create anything lasting. The King sought for the execution of his designs collaborators possessed of the faith which he himself had and which lifts mountains.” CongoLeopold IiBelgiumCongo Free StateBelgian Congo Author:Eugène Napoléon Beyens