Quotessence
Home / Topics / Leopold Ii Quotes

Leopold Ii Quotes

Browse 210 quotes about Leopold Ii.

Leopold Ii Quotes

“Scholarly studies have made missionaries the "pillars" of Belgian colonization, while, at least, evangelization and freedom of religion were compulsory programs of the Treaty of Berlin in 1885. Anticlericalism was thus militant and reductive, and falsified many aspects of history. It linked the low level, although widespread and free, of education to the racism of missionaries who would not have believed in the intellectual capacities of Blacks, even though they had started by training black priests or pastors’ counterparts.”

CongoLeopold IiCongo Free StateMissionariesAnticlericism
Author:Marcel Yabili
Create image

“It was put in the books that Thomas Kanza was the first university graduate, but he was a secular and a Congolese from Belgium (1956). The very first graduate was Paul Panda Farnana, an agronomist trained in Belgium (1907). But considering post-secondary education, it is father Stefano Kaoze (1917) who is the first graduate trained in Congo.”

CongoLeopold IiCongo Free StateBelgian CongoPaul Panda
Book:The Greatest Fake News of All Time: Leopold II, The Genius and Builder King of Lumumba
Create image

“The custom of chopping hands of death enemies was a local custom and was introduced in the Congo by the Arabs from the Muslim sharia law to punish thieves. The first penal code introduced by Leopold II in 1888, strictly forbids this cruel practice. The report of "The Inquiry Commission" of 1905 is absolutely clear in this respect. Though this report was extremely severe in denouncing such crimes, King Leopold II did not hesitate to have it published - in extenso - in the "Journal Officiel de l'Etat Indépendant du Congo" and issued no less than 24 royal decrees to put an end to all those malpractices.”

SlaveryCongoLeopold IiCongo Free StateArab SlaveryArab Slave Trade
Author:André de Maere d'Aertrycke
Create image

“At the time when the Arabs were ruling our country, they were taking us, our wives and children, as slaves. They burned our villages. The white man never burns villages and when we bring him hens or bananas, he pays us well. He also pays us fairly for the mupira (rubber) that we collect. The white man has put an end to slavery… But we, black people, nevertheless wish that the white men go home, since we are forced to maintain roads and may no longer fight neighbour tribes and eat our prisoners, because if we eat them, we are hanged!”

SlaveryCongoLeopold IiCongo Free StateArabsArab Slavery
Author:Manangame of Avakubi
Create image

“Adam Hochschild caused a stir with 10 million people killed in the Leopold Holocaust. He clearly says in the introduction of his book that he had learned on a plane, the estimated population of Congo in 1880 and that he had subsequently discovered, in a library, that the figure had diminished after the red rubber episode. But he then invented and maintained the intangible toll of 10 million disappeared people by a simple calculation of subtraction between two uncertain and changing censuses.”

CongoLeopold IiCongo Free StateAdam Hochschild
Book:The Greatest Fake News of All Time: Leopold II, The Genius and Builder King of Lumumba
Create image

“Papers from Count Jules Greindl, who was the main collaborator of Leopold II in this curious affair, the author has drawn a very precise account, supplemented by documents. To take advantage of the financial ruin of Spain to make the Philippines a kingdom of its own, distinct from Belgium and then to form a company which would exploit the islands in the name of Spain, such were the successive ideas of Leopold. They failed both for lack of capital and for the reaction of Spanish pride. But they show, in Leopold II, the progress of the colonial idea with all the aspects that will then be found in the Congolese affair. When Henry Morton Stanley discovered the Congo, Leopold was ready.”

CongoLeopold IiCongo Free StateHenry Morton StanleyBelgian ColonialismBelgian Colonial EmpireBelgian EmpireJules Greindl
Book:A la recherche d'un Etat Independent: Léopold II et les Philippines
Create image

“Leopold II has always been a bit of an obsession for me. In 1955 I was appointed to the order named after him, I didn't quite know what to do with it, I defiantly walked around with the ribbon in the hope that some colonel would say: "Vlerk, what are you doing with that?" It never happened unfortunately. I've read 42 books about him, documented thoroughly about the interest rate in 1882, and you can't help but feel admiration for that man. He has been the last great king, a kind of dinosaur. When he said or wrote 'we', you don't know whether he's talking about himself, his family, his country or his dynasty.”

CongoLeopold IiCongo Free StateBelgian ColonialismBelgian Colonial Empire
Author:Hugo Claus
Create image

“Millions of dead' appears nowhere in the rich oral tradition of my ancestors, nor in Lumumba's speeches. Nor does it appear with Mobutu, who was born and raised in the Equator province, where the ABIR and the Anversoise exploited rubber.”

CongoRubberLeopold IiCongo Free StateBelgian CongoLumumbaMobutu Sese SekoAnversoiseAbirPatrive Lumumba
Book:The Greatest Fake News of All Time: Leopold II, The Genius and Builder King of Lumumba
Create image

“The much-criticised rubber regime of Leopold II had only a brief heyday and disappeared from the tables of Congolese resources shortly after 1900 in favour of palm oil and palm nuts. The production tables also show that the population increased from 1890 onwards and was not exterminated. In 1888, And revenue from the 'red' rubber largely went to the Free State for public expenditure, including road construction and the army. These budgets, too, are never cited by the narrators, ever. Ditto for the rubber tables, which show that far more rubber arrived in Antwerp from French Congo and Angola than from the Free State in the early period. Rubber from Congo Free State accounted for barely 10 per cent of world production. The big supplier was the Amazon with 70%.”

CongoRubberLeopold IiCongo Free StateBelgian CongoRed Rubber
Book:The Greatest Fake News of All Time: Leopold II, The Genius and Builder King of Lumumba
Create image

“Demographer Jean-Paul Sanderson, estimated the decline of the Congolese population during the reign of Leopold II and after, between 1885 and 1920 at several hundred thousand, and there were several reasons for this: diseases, malnutrition (including because men worked in the rubber harvest rather than farming), fewer births. Professor Anatole Romaniuk of the University of Alberta in Canada wrote a study on this, showing that almost half of the women in Congo in the second half of the 19th century suffered from Afro-Arab slavery and did not give birth to a single living child because of 'une stérilité massive pathologique d'origine vénérienne', i.e. because of massive infertility due to venereal disease. This factor trumped all other causes.”

SlaveryGenocideCongoLeopold IiFake NewsCongo Free StateArab SlaveryRuvver
Book:The Greatest Fake News of All Time: Leopold II, The Genius and Builder King of Lumumba
Create image

“Jules Marchal, Adam Hochschild, Lucas Catherine and Daniel Vangroenweghe deliberately did not publish reliable figures and did not read the 1905 investigation report, set by Leopold II. They are spreaders of fake news.”

CongoLeopold IiCongo Free StateAdam HochschildLeopold S Ghost
Book:The Greatest Fake News of All Time: Leopold II, The Genius and Builder King of Lumumba
Create image

“L'Américain Adam Hochschild, sans aucune connaissance solide de l'Afrique, a propagé le livre d'horreur Le fantôme du roi Léopold, 1998, à partir du carnet de voyage en anglais de Stanley, et Ben Affleck pousse encore plus loin le mensonge, basé sur les affabulations de Hochschild, dans un film qui sortira bientôt.”

CongoLeopold IiAdam HochschildCongo Belge
Book:Le roi génial et bâtisseur de Lumumba: un exercice de critique historique sur le plus grand fake news
Create image

“White American, Adam Hochschild, with no solid Africa knowledge, purveyed the horror book King Leopold's ghost, 1998, from Stanley's English-language travelogue, and Ben Affleck further presses the lie, based on Hochschild's fabrications, in a film soon to be released.”

CongoLeopold IiCongo Free StateBelgian CongoAdam HochschildBen Affleck
Book:The Greatest Fake News of All Time: Leopold II, The Genius and Builder King of Lumumba
Create image

“Stanley raamde met wat hij zag langs de Congostroom en zijrivieren het bewonersaantal van het bekken op 40 miljoen, een cijfer dat hij in de Franse vertaling halveerde, en die gefantaseerde bevolkingsberg is medio de twintigste eeuw, door ernstig demografisch onderzoek, geslonken tot 10 à 15 miljoen.”

CongoLeopold IiHenry Morton Stanley
Book:The Greatest Fake News of All Time: Leopold II, The Genius and Builder King of Lumumba
Create image

“Nergens zijn er aan de Evenaar onder Leopold II, of zijn Belgische opvolgers na 1908, volkerenslachtingen geweest à la de zieke heersers Hitler, Stalin of Pol Pot. Wel hebben Lucas Catherine, Jules Marchal en Daniel Groenweghe het bestrijden van het imperialisme — of het wegschrijven van hun ontgoochelingen in Afrika — gezien als de overtreffende trap van het antikapitalisme. En auteurs als Mark Twain, Arthur Conan Doyle en Hugo Claus hebben met een bloeiende verbeelding en de insteek van Don Quichote, een potpourri gemaakt van Congo Vrijstaat en zijn stichter.”

CongoLeopold IiAfrika
Book:Mijn ‘waarheid’ over Leopold II: Nepnieuws ontkracht
Create image

“In the 19th century, many European countries sought colonies. Leopold II long cherished the ambition to give a colony to Belgium. He came into contact with British explorer Stanley, who found no interest in Central Africa in London. Later, the British would regret it. They discredited the Congo Free State to get their hands on Katanga and its mining resources. In 1908 London tried to sabotage Belgium’s takeover of the Congo Free State by formulating conditions. But other countries did not follow that line. In 1911, the British signed a secret agreement with Germany on a reallocation of Africa; the Germans would not follow through. In 1937 British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain offered Hitler ‘half of the Belgian Congo’ in exchange for peace in Europe; but the Fuhrer refused.”

BritishLondonCongoLeopold IiCongo Free StateBelgian CongoAdolf Hitler
Book:Léopold II Le plus grand chef d'Etat de l'histoire du Congo (Études africaines)
Create image

“Leopold II laid the foundation for a common culture through education, a multi-ethnic ‘Force Publique’ that spoke Lingala, a meticulous administration and laws based on ‘zero tolerance’. He signed the state and is thus the father of Congo.”

CongoLeopold IiCongo Free StateBelgian CongoBelgian Empire
Book:Léopold II Le plus grand chef d'Etat de l'histoire du Congo (Études africaines)
Create image

“Leopold II paved the way for a Congo that could be independent from other countries, but that is currently very disappointing, in 1960 — the year of independence — Congo is an emerging and prosperous country. The Congolese at that time have the highest standard of living in all of Africa.”

CongoLeopold IiCongo Free StateBelgian Congo
Book:Léopold II Le plus grand chef d'Etat de l'histoire du Congo (Études africaines)
Create image

“a comeback is possible for the Congolese. but for that, the country needs an extraordinary leader, someone of the caliber of Leopold II, someone who organizes the state, a genius in state administration, a know-it-all manager.”

CongoLeopold IiCongo Free StateBelgian CongoDrcModern Drc
Book:Léopold II Le plus grand chef d'Etat de l'histoire du Congo (Études africaines)
Create image

“Zijn onderneming herleiden tot tomeloze zelfverrijking doet geen recht aan de nationale en sociale motieven van zijn imperialisme. België was nog jong en labiel, met Nederlands-Limburg en Luxemburg had het grote delen van zijn territorium verloren, katholieken en liberalen lustten elkander inmiddels rauw, het proletariaat begon zich te roeren : een explosieve cocktail. Het land leek wel “ een stoomketel zonder ventiel ”, vond Leopold. Congo werd dat ventiel.”

CongoLeopold Ii
Book:Congo: een geschiedenis
Create image

“Lumumba praised Leopold as a genius and builder of the Congo; in his fierce speech of June 30, 1960, he denounced 9 forms of violence, but the "severed hands" and the "chicotte" (whip) were not among them. The chicotte was part of the sharia and the Arab slave traders, but it was banned in the law that was introduced by Leopold after 1885 for Congolese citizens.”

SlaveryCongoLeopold IiCongo Free StateShariaPatrice LumumbaLumumba
Book:The Greatest Fake News of All Time: Leopold II, The Genius and Builder King of Lumumba
Create image

“It was only in 1926, long after Leopold II, that the whip was introduced in local courts with Congolese chieftains and dignitaries as judges. In 1959 the use had completely disappeared, but Laurent Kabila reintroduced it in 1997 and now the whip is a common torture of the police.”

CongoLeopold IiCongo Free StateBelgian CongoWhipLaurent Kabila
Book:The Greatest Fake News of All Time: Leopold II, The Genius and Builder King of Lumumba
Create image

“Ik ontdekte dat er twee Leopolds bestaan. Hij had een januskop, hij was een man met twee gezichten die over zichzelf in de derde persoon sprak. Je hebt de Leopold II die we leerden kennen als koning der Belgen (1865-1909) en de soeverein van Congo-Vrijstaat (1885-1908), soms twee totaal tegengestelde figuren. Het Congo-verhaal verdonkeremaant vandaag dat hij voortdurend gefocust was op het overleven van België.”

CongoLeopold IiBelgisch CongoCongo Vrijstaat
Book:Leopold II: Het hele verhaal
Create image

“Het hart van Afrika belandde pas later, bijna stoemelings, in zijn schoot. Toen de Britten ontdekkingsreiziger Henry Morton Stanley wandelen stuurden, huurde hij hem in om handelsposten naast de huidige Congostroom in te palmen. Op zijn kenmerkend sluwe manier – zijn vader vergeleek hem als kind al met een vos die eerst alle opties onderzoekt voor hij de rivier oversteekt – bleef hij er de koloniale grootmachten een stapje voor.”

CongoLeopold IiHenry Morton Stanley
Book:Leopold II: Het hele verhaal
Create image

“Ik heb het geschreven contract tussen de van Leopold II en Tippo Tip opgenomen in mijn boek. Het is een uniek document. Het zegt alles over de toenmalige krachtsverhoudingen in Afrika. De slavenlegers waren sterker op dat moment. Omwille van realpolitik sloot hij daarom een verbond met de duivel. Hij benoemde Tippo Tip zelfs tot gouverneur van Stanley Falls. Hypocriet was dat. Op hetzelfde moment ijverde hij hier arm in arm met de Franse kardinaal Lavigerie tégen de slavernij. Uiteindelijk maakte hij daar ook wel komaf mee, maar de weg ernaartoe liep niet over rozen.”

CongoLeopold IiHenry Morton StanleyTippu TipTippo Tip
Book:Leopold II: Het hele verhaal
Create image

“Over Anversoise en ABIR valt nog een boekje open te doen. Leopold II zat in die maatschappijen mee aan de kassa, maar de Antwerpse zakenmilieus lieten er dingen gebeuren die Leopold II choqueerden. Anversoise-directeur Louis Liebrechts werd door een Belgische magistraat een ‘vulgaire moordenaar’ genoemd ‘die met zijn pistool de chefs afknalde van dorpen die niet voldoende rubber opbrachten’. Anversoise-topman Alexandre de Browne de Tiège werd daarom door Leopold II de mantel uitgeveegd. Voor mij staat het buiten kijf dat de toenmalige Belgische zakenwereld mee verantwoording droeg. Wat er in Congo gebeurde, overstijgt de figuur van Leopold II alleen. Toch was het de fout van de koning dat hij naast de exploitatie ook de politionele ordehandhaving aan ze overliet, een abdicatie van de staat.”

CongoLeopold IiAntwerpenCongo VrijstaatKamer Van KoophandelAnversoiseAntwerpse Kamer Van KoophandelVoka
Book:Leopold II: Het hele verhaal
Create image

“De kritiek op Leopold II kwam dikwijls van de Angelsaksische kant, die zo niet hoefde te praten over hun eigen smerige winkel. Het afhakken van handen van doden door soldaten om munitiegebruik te verantwoorden bijvoorbeeld, was een verminkingspraktijk die ook de Britten toepasten in Sierra Leone, de Duitsers in Kameroen, Fransen in Brazzaville enzovoort.”

EnglandCongoLeopold IiCongo VrijstaatGroot Brittannië
Book:Leopold II: Het hele verhaal
Create image

“Hele stukken van Congo werden nooit bezet bij gebrek aan personeel: in 1908 waren er maar een paar honderd blanken op ca. 100 posten voor een gebied zo groot als West-Europa (76 x België) met 10 à 15 miljoen inwoners. De oorspronkelijke koningen en chefs bestuurden hun gebied in naam van Leopold II en daarna van België. Ze kozen de kant van de kolonisator in ruil voor westerse goederen en een afzetmarkt voor hun ivoor”

CongoRubberLeopold IiBelgisch CongoIvoor
Book:Koloniaal Congo - Een geschiedenis in vragen
Create image

“Only by proving that we are superior to the savages, not only through our power to kill them but through our entire way of life, can we control them as they are now, in their present stage; it is necessary for their own well-being, even more than ours. (Stanley writes this on his first expidition commissioned by King Leopold II of Belgium after describing with horror the horrible scenes of atrocities and cannibalism that take place in the Congo.)”

CongoLeopold IiCongo Free StateBelgian CongoHenry Morton Stanley
Book:Through the Dark Continent:Volume 1
Create image