116 years ago today, December 17, 1909 (November 5, 1909 in the lunar calendar), King Leopold II of Belgium passed away. Leopold II (April 9, 1835-December 17, 1909), King of Belgium (1865-1909), King of Congo (1885-1908), full name Leopold Louis Philippe Marie Victor, succeeded his father Leopold I as King of Belgium in 1865. He is the founder and owner of the Congo Free State. Only through the direct connection between the suzerain-state and the colonies can we preserve the export of goods and capital, while obtaining the supply of cheap raw materials-Leopold II opened up the only area on earth that had not yet been entered and civilized it, breaking through the darkness that shrouded all the local residents. I dare say boldly that this was a crusade; This expedition is well suited to our progressive era-Leopold II's opening speech at the International Geographical Conference-The Belgian royal family is a rising star among European royal families. As the southern part of the Netherlands, Belgium once fled to the rule of France, Austria, and the Netherlands. Belgium became independent from the Netherlands after the September Revolution in 1830 and was recognized by many major powers at the London Conference in 1831. In the same year, the National Assembly adopted the Constitution, stipulating Belgium as a kingdom. The Belgian Parliament finally selected Prince Leopold of the small German states of Saxony-Coburg and Gotha as king. This was one of the few candidates acceptable to his own citizens and major European countries in the complex international and domestic environment at that time. One, the prince became the first king Leopold I in Belgian history. During his reign, Belgium pursued a neutral policy. After 35 years of steady management, this new small country in the cracks finally survived various growing troubles and gained a firm foothold on the fertile soil of the eastern coast of the Atlantic Ocean. In 1865, Leopold II succeeded his father's throne, and he became Belgium's first native-born king. His rule is considered to be relatively successful. He implemented a free trade policy, which enabled Belgium to catch the train of the Second Industrial Revolution. In line with the trend of history, universal suffrage was achieved in Belgium in 1893. During his rule, he also solved a major issue that troubled Belgium. He abandoned his father's insistence during his reign that a unified country should have a unified language and made Dutch the official language on equal status with French. Since 1886, all Belgian coins and banknotes have been printed in Dutch and French. This enabled the Dutch-speaking Flemish people in the north to reconcile with the French-speaking Valais in the south and safeguarded the unity of the country. But the main reason why Leopold II was included in the rankings in this book is not this, but the International Geographical Conference he organized and chaired in Brussels in 1876. The King of Belgium, who was interested in establishing an overseas colonial empire, cordially invited an American journalist named Henri-Merton Stanley to visit Brussels. Mr. Stanley has become a well-known African expert after many years of inspections in Central Africa. The two hit it off on many issues in exploring and developing Africa and began a long-term cooperation. With a confident mind, Leopold invited important officials from major countries such as Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and Austria to Brussels to hold a meeting. It was known in history as the "International Geographical Conference". The purpose of the conference was to open up Africa,"the only remaining civilization on earth that has not yet entered." The "International African Society" was established to coordinate the actions of various countries, and branches were established in various countries. Leopold also established a Belgian branch. The substantive role of the "International Geographical Conference" was to enable European powers to accelerate the pace of invading inland Africa and strengthen cooperation in the process of dividing up Africa. The impact of this meeting was immediate. In 1876, European powers occupied only 10.8% of Africa's land, mainly coastal strongholds. But by 1900, 90.4% of Africa's land had been divided. In this pie sharing movement, Leopold II, the initiator, himself also shared a large piece. In the name of the Belgian branch of the International African Society, he signed a five-year agreement with Stanley, stipulating that Stanley should build a 200-mile road east from the mouth of the Congo River to the upper lake area, so that the chiefs of the lower Congo River would recognize and accept the protection of the International African Society. But the Belgian parliament was not interested in the project and was unwilling to allocate funds to the king, so Leopold simply paid out of his own pocket to fund Stanley. Since 1879, Stanley, as an agent of Leopold II, carried out a series of activities in the Congo River Basin, enticing local chiefs to sign more than 450 treaties and establish 22 "trading stations." However, Stanley's activities in Congo were boycotted and opposed by France, Portugal, Britain and other countries. African issues became one of the key issues at the Berlin International Conference in 1884-1885. The conference finally recognized Leopold II's rule on the south bank of the Congo River and stipulated that any country that acquires land in Africa in the future must notify other countries and implement "effective occupation." This meeting prompted European powers to speed up the seizure of African land, and the process of dividing up Africa was further accelerated. Since the occupation of Congo was carried out in the personal name of Leopold II, the Belgian Parliament also recognized Congo as the king's private domain. Leopold II established the Free State of Congo and became King of Congo. It was not until 1908, a year before his death, that the Belgian Parliament allowed Congo to become a colony of the country. Belgians generally believe that he has made contributions to the development of Africa, but it is said that during his rule of Congo, he forced Congolese to mine rubber and brutally killed a large number of Congolese, thus being criticized by future generations. In order to showcase his achievements in Africa, he built an "African Palace" outside Brussels, which has now become a target of reflection on colonial behavior. Leopold II's merits and demerits in Africa are being fiercely commented by later generations, but this is not the focus of this discussion. This article mainly discusses his role in the colonization of Africa and its integration into the global system. Judging from the huge numerical contrast (as mentioned above, from 10.8% in 1876 to 90.4% in 1900), the role of the 1876 "International Geographical Conference" in accelerating the process of colonization in Africa is still obvious, and Leopold II played a great personal role in it. But Africa in the 19th century was different from the Americas in the 15th century. It was not a paradise isolated from other civilized areas. The footprints of Europeans have long spread all over the coast of Africa; Moreover, since the divisible land of other continents in the world had basically been divided up by the great powers at that time, Africa became inevitable as the focus of competition among the capitalist powers at the end of the 19th century. Without Leopold II's "International African Association", this historical process would surely continue. Therefore, Leopold should rank behind Queen Isabel I of Spain and King João I of Portugal in this list, but is still ranked ahead of many famous emperors, ranking 73rd. Comments: Belgium is a small country caught between great powers, and Leopold II is the second generation of this small country's foreign royal family. The resulting strong sense of crisis may be a key factor that prompted him to become a pioneer in exploring the African interior. At the same time, as a small country, the colonization of Africa was inseparable from the understanding of major powers, which prompted him to actively establish the "International African Association." The division of Africa began in the form of collaboration with the "International African Association" rather than the intrusion of a few major powers. This is undoubtedly Leopold's historical influence.