Belgium's Heart of Darkness.

LEOPOLD II, King of the Belgians, 1835-1909; REIGN of Leopold II, Belgium, 1865-1909; RUBBER industry; FORCED labor (International law); ATROCITIES; HISTORY of the Congo (Democratic Republic), to 1908; HISTORY

CONGO (Democratic Republic)Report Available; BELGIUMReport Available

The article discusses the imperial policies of King Leopold II of Belgium in the Congo Free State between 1885 and 1908, when the Belgium government was forced to administer the colony in response to international outrage over atrocities committed. The rubber industry created a slave state in which natives were forced to reach quotas of rubber or face execution by the colonial gendarmerie. The author compares the atrocities committed by Leopold to those committed by Nazi leader Adolph Hitler and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.