v19_1896 - CONGO - CONGO FREE STATE - LEOPOLD II 5 francs, 2e type 1891 Bruxelles

CONGO - CONGO FREE STATE - LEOPOLD II

(1885-1908)

Leopold II (9/04/1835-17/12/1909) is the eldest son of Leopold I and Louise d'Orléans. He married Marie-Henriette, Archduchess of Austria, who bore him three daughters: Louise, Stéphanie, and Clémentine. He relied on England to repel the expansionist visions of Napoleon III in 1866-1869. His reign was marked by the economic development of Belgium on the industrial level. Belgium became a great colonial power thanks to the personal annexation of the Congo by the king at the Congress of Berlin in 1885. Without a male heir, his nephew Albert I succeeded him in 1909. King Leopold II had bequeathed the Congo to Belgium in 1908.