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The transition from the Congo Free State to the Belgian Congo was a turning point, but it was also marked by a considerable continuity. The last Governor-General of the Congo Free State, Baron Wahis, remained in office in the Belgian Congo, and the majority of Leopold II's administration with him. [19]
In 1885, Leopold's efforts to establish Belgian influence in the Congo Basin were awarded with the État Indépendant du Congo (CFS, Congo Free State). By a resolution passed in the Belgian Parliament, Leopold became roi souverain , sovereign king, of the newly formed CFS, over which he enjoyed nearly absolute control.
King Leopold II, whose rule of the Congo Free State was marked by severe atrocities, violence and major population decline.. Even before his accession to the throne of Belgium in 1865, the future king Leopold II began lobbying leading Belgian politicians to create a colonial empire in the Far East or in Africa, which would expand and enhance Belgian prestige. [2]
Roughly 98% of Belgium's overseas territory was just one colony (about 76 times larger than Belgium itself) – known as the Belgian Congo. The colony was founded in 1908 following the transfer of sovereignty from the Congo Free State, which was the personal property of Belgium's king, Leopold II. The violence used by Free State officials ...
Instead, Leopold's conquest of the Lado Enclave pleased the British government, at least initially, which welcomed any aid in their ongoing war with the Mahdist State. But frequent raids outside of Lado territory by Belgian forces based in Rejaf caused alarm and suspicion among British and French officials wary of Leopold's imperial ambitions. [20]
[78] Following the war and large losses that Belgium suffered, Leopold reorganised national defence, disbanded the Garde Civique and legislated the army's numbers at 80,000 men. When the Dutch abandoned Belgium, they left a garrison force that closed the Scheldt to Belgian shipping, meaning that the port of Antwerp was effectively useless. [ 79 ]
King Leopold II reportedly owned the three skulls that date back to the Congo Free State colonial period. ... From 1908 until 1960, the Belgian Congo was a Belgian colony in Central Africa. In the ...
Colonization of the Congo Basin refers to the European colonization of the Congo Basin of tropical Africa.It was the last part of the continent to be colonized. By the end of the 19th century, the Basin had been carved up by European colonial powers, into the Congo Free State, the French Congo and the Portuguese Congo (modern Cabinda Province of Angola).