37 Quotes by Leopold II

You should purchase as much land as you will be able to obtain without losing one minute from all the chiefs from the mouth of the Congo to Stanley falls, i will send you more people and raw materials, and perhaps Chinese couriers.

I will give them my Congo, but they have no right to know what i did there.

A People which is content with its homeland and which shreds at even the shadow of a conflict lacks the characteristics of a superior race.

There are no small countries, only small minds.

Nations that renounce ambition are nations with no future.

I undertook the Congo project in the interest of Civilization and for the good of Belgium.

Do I still need to tell you that I am not guided by selfish motives? No gentlemen, although Belgium is small, it is happy and content with its fate. I have no ambition other than to serve it. In this century, our civilized society imparts unprecedented values to barbarian communities in other parts of the world.

We must ensure that it is not too clear that the Association of Congo and the African Association are two different businesses. The public doesn't understand that. It will assume that there are two phases, the first of which is no longer relevant.

It is not about Belgian colonies. It is about establishing a new state that is as large as possible and about its governance. It should be clear that in this project there can be no question of granting the Negroes the slightest form of political power. That would be ridiculous. The whites, who lead the posts, have all the power.