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Why did Belgium take control of the Congo Free State from King Leopold II in 1908?

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Cluster of small houses in a village nestled among green hills beside the wide Congo River, with more hills visible in the background, Democratic Republic of Congo. — Central Africa A small village in the hills along the banks of the Congo River, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa.

Belgium took control of the Congo Free State from King Leopold II in 1908 primarily due to intense international outrage over the horrific abuses committed under his personal rule.12

Leopold II had established the territory as his private holding, where his regime became notorious for the widespread use of forced labour to extract resources such as rubber, palm oil, and ivory. To enforce production quotas and suppress resistance, his private army, the Force Publique, employed extreme brutality, including the kidnapping of families, the burning of villages, and the mutilation of Congolese people, including children.13

These atrocities were exposed by the Congo Reform Association, missionaries, and figures such as the journalist E.D. Morel and the writer Mark Twain. As public indignation grew across Britain and other parts of Europe, the Belgian government was pressured to intervene. Consequently, in 1908, the Belgian parliament voted to annex the territory, effectively ending Leopold’s private ownership and replacing the Congo Free State with the Belgian Congo under formal state administration.132