Final answer:
The Congo Free State, ruled personally by King Leopold II, inflicted notorious and extreme suffering on its people, which is documented as part of Congo's brutal history. Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness highlighted these atrocities, leading to international critique and the eventual transfer of the Congo to Belgian parliamentary control. The long-term effects of colonial brutality and exploitation have continued to impact the Congo region, with conflicts resulting in millions of deaths.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Congo Free State is an infamous example of colonial brutality, controlled personally by King Leopold II of Belgium. Under his rule, the people of Congo suffered immensely as they were subjected to extreme exploitation and brutal history for the extraction of resources like rubber. International outcry over these human rights abuses led to the founding of the Congo Reform Association, which pressured for change, resulting in the Belgian Parliament taking control in 1908 and renaming it the Belgian Congo.
Heart of Darkness, a novella by Joseph Conrad, depicted the darkness of the Congo Free State and helped to elicit international criticism. This helped to prompt actions that eventually ended King Leopold II's tyrannical control over the region. The long-term effects of Leopold's regime and the subsequent conflicts have contributed to the unstable conditions in the Democratic Republic of Congo, leading up to and following its independence from Belgium in 1960.
The region's woes continued through the late 20th and early 21st centuries, with the First and Second Congo Wars resulting in the death of millions of people, highlighting the ongoing struggles due to outside interference, exploitation, and ethnic conflicts exacerbated during the colonial period.
Learn more about the Congo Free State