Leopold II, king of the Belgians

Leopold II, 1835–1909, king of the Belgians (1865–1909), son and successor of Leopold I Leopold I, 1790–1865, king of the Belgians (1831–65); youngest son of Francis Frederick, duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. After serving as a page at the court of Napoleon I and as a general of the Russian army, he married (1816) Princess Charlotte, daughter
..... Click the link for more information. . His reign saw great industrial and colonial expansion. In 1876 he organized, with the help of H. M. Stanley Stanley, Sir Henry Morton, 1841–1904, Anglo-American journalist and empire builder, b. Denbigh, Wales. Originally named John Rowlands, he took the name of his adoptive father in New Orleans, where Stanley went in 1857.
..... Click the link for more information. , the International Association for the Exploration and Civilization of the Congo. At a European conference (Berlin, 1884–85), the Congo Free State was established under Leopold's personal rule (see Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the, formerly Zaïre (zī`ēr, zäēr`), republic (2005 est. pop.
..... Click the link for more information. ). He proceeded to amass a huge personal fortune by exploiting the Congo directly and by leasing concessions. Forced labor was extorted from the natives, frequently by barbarous methods, until scandal compelled Leopold to turn over the Congo to the Belgian government (1908). In Belgium itself the Conservative Catholic party replaced (1880) the Liberals in power. Increasing social discontent and the rise of the Labor party forced the introduction (1893) of universal male suffrage, but unrest continued because of the appalling condition of industrial workers. Leopold's private life was as scandalous and dissolute as his public conduct. He was succeeded by his nephew, Albert I Albert I, 1875–1934, king of the Belgians (1909–34), nephew and successor of Leopold II . He married (1900) Elizabeth, a Bavarian princess. In World War I his heroic resistance (1914) to the German invasion of Belgium greatly helped the Allied cause.
..... Click the link for more information. .

Bibliography

See A. Hochschild, King Leopold's Ghost (1998).

Leopold II, grand duke of Tuscany

Leopold II, 1797–1870, grand duke of Tuscany (1824–59). Liberally inclined at first, he granted some reforms and undertook public works. In 1848 he approved a constitution and joined Sardinia in its war against Austria (see Risorgimento Risorgimento (rēsôr'jēmĕn`tō) [Ital.
..... Click the link for more information. ). Refusing the demands of the extremists, however, Leopold left Tuscany in Feb., 1849, and returned several months later in the wake of Austrian troops. In 1852 he repealed the constitution, and in 1859 he was forced to abdicate in favor of his son, Ferdinand IV, who was deposed in 1860.

Leopold II, Holy Roman emperor, king of Bohemia and Hungary

Leopold II, 1747–92, Holy Roman emperor (1790–92), king of Bohemia and Hungary (1790–92), as Leopold I grand duke of Tuscany (1765–90), third son of Maria Theresa. Succeeding his father, Holy Roman Emperor Francis I, in Tuscany, Leopold reorganized the Tuscan government, abolished torture and the death penalty, equalized taxation, and sought to gain control over the church. When Leopold succeeded (1790) his brother Joseph II Joseph II, 1741–90, Holy Roman emperor (1765–90), king of Bohemia and Hungary (1780–90), son of Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I , whom he succeeded. He was the first emperor of the house of Hapsburg-Lorraine (see Hapsburg ).
..... Click the link for more information. as emperor and as ruler of the Hapsburg lands, he took over a nearly disrupted state. To pacify his subjects in the Austrian Netherlands (see Netherlands, Austrian and Spanish Netherlands, Austrian and Spanish, that part of the Low Countries that, from 1482 until 1794, remained under the control of the imperial house of Hapsburg . The area corresponds roughly to modern Belgium and Luxembourg.
..... Click the link for more information. ), in Hungary, and in Bohemia, he repealed most of Joseph's reforms. Unlike Joseph, he had himself crowned king at Pozsony in Hungary (now Bratislava) and at Prague in Bohemia; he was the last crowned king of Bohemia. Having reached an agreement (1790) with Frederick William II of Prussia, who wished to prevent Austrian expansion in the east and was about to side with the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) in its war against Russia and Austria, Leopold abandoned his alliance with the Russian czarina, Catherine II. He concluded a separate peace treaty at Sistova (1791) with Turkey by which the pre-war borders were substantially restored. Leopold's troops marched into the Austrian Netherlands and suppressed the Belgian insurrection in 1790. Although he hoped to avoid war with revolutionary France, Leopold instigated (1791) the Declaration of Pillnitz Pillnitz (pĭl`nĭts), district of Saxony, E central Germany, on the Elbe River.
..... Click the link for more information. , by which the emperor and the king of Prussia stated that if all other European powers would join them, they were prepared to restore Louis XVI to his lawful powers by force. Contrary to his expectations, this declaration was a basic cause of the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars a few weeks after Leopold's death. Leopold was succeeded by his son, Francis II. Leopold II is generally considered a ruler of outstanding diplomatic and administrative abilities.

Leopold II

orig. Léopold-Louis-Philippe-Marie-Victor

(born April 9, 1835, Brussels, Belg.—died Dec. 17, 1909, Laeken) King of the Belgians (1865–1909). Succeeding his father, Leopold I, he led the first European efforts to develop the Congo River basin. In 1876 he founded an association to explore the Congo area, with Henry Morton Stanley as his main agent. Leopold formed the Congo Free State in 1885 and ruled as its sovereign. Under Leopold, the Congo became the scene of barbarous cruelty by the colonial masters; when news of the conditions there broke c. 1905, it provoked an international scandal. Under British and U.S. pressure, the region was removed from Leopold's personal rule and annexed to Belgium in 1908 as the Belgian Congo. Leopold was succeeded by his nephew, Albert I.

Leopold II

(born May 5, 1747, Vienna—died March 1, 1792, Vienna) Holy Roman emperor (1790–92). Son of Maria Theresa and Emperor Francis I, he became duke of Tuscany in 1765. A practitioner of what has been termed enlightened despotism, he built an efficient state government and encouraged representative institutions. In 1790 he succeeded his brother Joseph II as emperor and retained many of Joseph's reforms. In 1792 he allied with Prussia against revolutionary France, precipitating the French Revolutionary Wars.

Leopold II

1. 1747--92, Holy Roman Emperor (1790--92). He formed an alliance with Prussia against France (1792) after the downfall of his brother-in-law Louis XVI

2. 1835--1909, king of the Belgians (1865--1909); son of Leopold I. He financed Stanley's explorations in Africa, becoming first sovereign of the Congo Free State (1885)