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King Leopold II Imperialism

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In the age of imperialism, which was said to last from 1870 to 1914, was another one of those time periods where nations would compete for international power. As such, there were plenty of atrocious events that almost every imperialistic nation is responsible for, that would define this time period as one of the most gruesome time periods of mankind. At the time, it was Europe who was leading this new revolution of imperialism, and almost every country within Europe wanted a piece of this power that was waiting to be obtained, even countries as small as Belgium.
The King of Belgium at the time of imperialism was King Leopold II. Born in 1835, he would become the new King of Belgium after the death of his father, King Leopold I, only 30 year later. Wanting to continue the glory of his family name, King Leopold II decided to put the minuscule country of Belgium into the game of Imperialism, Going towards Africa for his imperial spread, like …show more content…

Many soldiers of the congo were killed during these invasions, and even after the invasions, the violence ceased to decline. Those who would oppose to collect rubber would have their hands and ankles removed, leaving most to bleed out if not left alive completely immobile. It became so violent that once King Leopold was discovered of his brutality, other countries stepped in and the government of Belgium itself wanted Leopold to cease his control of the Congo. Eventually he would give the congo back in 1908, after he was given a hefty compensation, and then died a year later. Imperialism was a race to see who would become a world power. And because of Imperialism, mercy was absent in most events of invasion of other countries, leaving many to be in a horrible state after. If this was an insight of just one country, then the acts of other countries as they spread their imperialistic ways might have been on par, if not even worse than that of belgium. And that is a frightening

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