[12], List of monuments and memorials removed during the George Floyd protests, "Belgians Target Some Royal Monuments In Black Lives Matter Protest", "Al meer dan 16.000 handtekeningen voor petitie om standbeelden Leopold II uit Brussel weg te nemen, Tommelein wil beeld in Oostende niet verwijderen", "Het Debat. Historians estimate that at least half a million people died under Leopold's misrule, but its. A statue of Belgium’s King Leopold II, who became ultra wealthy from the enslavement of Congolese people in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, was removed by … Last week, Belgium's parliament approved a national inquiry into Belgian colonialism. [6] Sculptor Alfred Courtens (1889-1967), was commissioned, together with his brother, the architect, Antoine Courtens (1899-1969). ", Belgium's first black mayor, Pierre Kompany, also believes a better understanding of history will change people's minds. Statue of Belgium's King Leopold II is removed in Antwerp after it was vandalised by anti-racism protesters because of his colonial rule. He does, though, support a national conversation on their fate. // }); MORE: Couple travelled to collect heroin with two-year-old in back seat. His early rule, starting in 1885, was famous for its brutality, which some experts say left as many as 10 million dead. // googletag.enableServices(); The profits Leopold made off the backs of slavery in Congo funded a series of grand monuments to cement his legacy, from Brussels' imposing. Noah, a slight teenager wearing jeans and sneakers, is dwarfed by the bronze statue of Belgium's King Leopold II astride a horse. Campaigners want statues of King Leopold II, who killed millions in Central Africa, to be removed. Leopold was responsible for a particularly cruel part of that conquest, during the so-called "Scramble for Africa. // googletag.pubads().enableLazyLoad({ ‘I can’t breathe’: Leopold II statue defaced in Ghent. Those in authority may now be listening. Leopold sent in a private army to force local people to collect ivory and rubber. [9] At the bottom left a larger than life sculptural group, also in bronze, depicting "Thanks of the Congolese to Leopold II for freeing them from slavery among the Arabs". ", "It was so brutally racist that people were throwing bananas, they were throwing food to them," explained Gryseels. As statues linked to slavery and racism began to tumble in the US and Europe, Noah set up an online petition to have Brussels' memorials to Leopold torn down. The approaching "truth and reconciliation" commission is a historical reckoning that Belgium has put off for generations. // googletag.cmd.push(function(){ The removal of the monarch's likeness on Tuesday took place only hours after Belgium's King Philippe expressed his "deepest regrets" for the violence the one-time colonial power inflicted on Congo and its people during the late 19th century and early 20th century. // googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest(); // }); A statue of former Belgian king Leopold II has been removed in the city of Ghent as Belgium marked the 60th anniversary of the end of its colonial rule in the Democratic Republic of Congo. // [10] He used explorer Henry Morton Stanley to help him lay claim to the Congo, an area now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. // Brussels, Belgium (CNN)Noah, a slight teenager wearing jeans and sneakers, is dwarfed by the bronze statue of Belgium's King Leopold II astride a horse. A first cousin of Queen Victoria, he ruled at a time when Europeans were colonizing -- that is, conquering -- other parts of the world. It will be the first time that Belgium has embarked on such a broad effort to confront its colonial sins. Leopold ruled Belgium during 1865-1909 and plundered DR Congo as if it were his personal fiefdom, forcing many of its people into slavery. The "zoo" featured more than 250 Congolese people, who were kept in four "authentic" African villages. [1], The statue was vandalised in 2020 as part of the global Black Lives Matter movement after the death of George Floyd. Adam Hochschild, the US author of the best-selling book "King Leopold's Ghost," concluded that roughly half the population died under the Belgian monarch's rule. A statue of former Belgian king Leopold II has been removed in the city of Ghent as Belgium marked the 60th anniversary of the end of its colonial rule in the Democratic Republic of Congo. ", Last year, a group of UN human rights experts visited several cities in Belgium and found "clear evidence that racial discrimination is endemic in institutions in Belgium .". A statue of King Leopold II in Brussels was vandalized in protest at his misdeeds in what was once known as the Congo Free State. [1] This was a reference to how Congolese slaves' hands were cut off if they did not produce enough rubber during Leopold's colonial regime. (CNN)While statues of slave traders, imperialists and US Confederate leaders are being torn down, removed or protested against in the English-speaking world, Belgium has begun removing statues of its one-time King Leopold II. ", Leopold hired the adventurer Henry Morton Stanley to explore the Congo River basin, signing purported treaties with local leaders along the way. By Scott McLean and Sebastian Shukla, CNN. perhaps because many Belgians have done humanitarian work in Congo, and African migration to Belgium has only arrived in recent decades, says Van Hoof, the Belgian MP. Belgium was not the only European country to debate colonial statues in recent days. King Leopold II oversaw the enslavement and murder of 10 million Congolese people – but statues and monuments across Belgium still celebrate the reign of the country's former ruler. Leopold ruled Congo as a fiefdom, forcing many of its people into slavery to extract resources for his personal profit. Naturally, there were rebellions against the "proprietor," who suppressed them with particular cruelty: His troops were ordered to produce the severed hand of a rebel for each bullet they expended. Officially, the manifestation was not allowed to continue, but because everyone wore face masks, kept their distance and stayed calm, the authorities did not intervene. People shuffle past, rarely stopping to visit, unaware of the history beneath their feet. [9] This gives a form of a kind of double L monogram (two L's turned away from each other), the monogram that Leopold II often used. // var adsmobileslot; "I hope young people of my age and younger start to take responsibility and talk and make their voices heard," he says confidently. Under Leopold II’s colonial regime, millions of Congolese people died. In recent years, a consensus of around 10 million deaths has been reached among historians. "We don't have to cover up the bad things or the good things, and that's what has happened I think.". It was inhumane. The statue has been defaced several times before, but … The statue, set high on … German, Czech, Italian virus records deepen Europe worries, Every Senior In United States Urged To Wear This $49 SmartWatch, Large Belgian university moves online again because of virus, Cycling: Cavendish plays down retirement talk, Gareth Southgate backs Harry Maguire to come through ‘difficult period’, Maguire off on bad night for England in Nations League, Mbappe gets France winner, ‘WHAT THE HELL DO YOU HAVE TO LOSE!! The king ruled from 1865 to 1909. // googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest(); An effigy to the slave trader George Colston was toppled in the British city of Bristol on Sunday and tossed into ariver, prompting the mayor of London to order a review of the capital's statues and street names. The statue of King Leopold II in the Belgian city of Ostend is located on the Royal Galleries by the beach. The monument to the former king has long been a target due to his brutal rule in Belgium's African colonies. The statue was daubed with paint during protests over the weekend. A huge fortune, for starters, based first on ivory and then on rubber when the automobile and bicycle industries took off. // addSize([980, 200], [[970,90], [970,250], 'fluid']). A statue of King Leopold II in the Belgian town of Antwerp was removed on Tuesday with its long-term future set for a museum, just days after being daubed with paint by anti-racism protesters. The bust of King Leopold II of Belgium, who orchestrated the colonial genocide of 10 million Congolese people, has been defaced by protesters in Ghent, Belgium.
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