The Monument to King Leopold II of Belgium on Troonplein (Throne Square), Brussels. In 1885 he declared the Congo his personal property which he called “Congo Free State”. During his rule marked by unspeakable greed and brutality an estimated 5-15 million Congolese died in his pursuit to extract as much ivory and rubber as possible for his personal enrichment and to build lavish buildings all over Belgium. He earned himself a place in history alongside Hitler, Stalin and Mao #leopold #leopoldii

Wer war Belgiens König Leopold II., dessen Statuen riesige Proteste ausgelöst haben? | Euronews Deutsch

Watch as a 150-year-old statue of King Leopold II of Belgium, whose forces seized Congo in the late 19th century and ran an exploitative regime that led to the deaths of millions, was removed from a public square in Antwerp on Tuesday. Read more. https://nyti.ms/2AUpsDn | The New York Times