The Land of Severed Hands

How Colonial Exploitation Led to Millions of Deaths and a Global Human Rights Outcry

Children mutilated during King Leopold II’s rule (Source: )

Belgian King Leopold II, from 1885 to 1908, implemented an exceptionally horrific system of exploitation system in the Congo, which led to the deaths of millions of people in the country, according to a report cited by Le Nouvel Observateur magazine.

The report, prepared in collaboration with the French National Library’s “Retronews” website, stated that what happened in this African country was a part of history that has been forgotten, despite its cruelty. The victims of this mass slaughter, which lasted for more than two decades, are estimated to be several million indigenous people.In 1885, Leopold II, obsessed with the idea of owning the Congo, made the region his “private property,” by hiring a private army to occupy it. He modernized the region, developed infrastructure, encouraged trade and agriculture, and established cities.However, at the same time, he seized the country’s natural wealth of rubber and ivory. From 1891 onward, he monopolized the exploitation of these resources. The administration of what was called the “Congo Free State” then created a repressive and brutal system to force the indigenous people to serve Belgium’s interests in enjoying the wealth of the…