50+ Congo Free State King Leopold Ii Gif. The newly named congo free state was handed over to leopold essentially as his personal country. Between 1885 and 1908, the belgian king leopold ii personally ruled the congo free state, which was also known as the independent state of the congo.

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Because he ruled the state personally, he had total control of its resources and had to answer to no one. Become a simple history member. He led the first european efforts to develop the congo river basin.

King leopold ii ruled over the congo during one of the genocides in human history, so why haven't more people heard of him?

>did king leopold ii and the congo free state kill 10 million? This was a private project undertaken by the king to extract rubber and ivory from his personal colony. Outside of belgium, however, he is chiefly remembered as the personal owner of the congo free state. Stanley had already explored and mapped most of the congo river and had experience with the people who lived there.