Leopold II

Japanese: レオポルド[2世]（英語表記）Leopold II

1835‐1909
The second King of Belgium. Reigned 1865-1909. Eldest son of Leopold I. During his reign, Belgium experienced a period of intense political and social conflict (conflict between Catholics and the Liberal Party, with education at its peak, the advance of socialist forces, the Flemish language issue, etc.), and he was accused of acting as an unconstitutional monarch by intervening in party politics in an attempt to mediate between the conflicts. He was also keen to acquire colonies from his time as crown prince, and in 1885 the great powers recognized him as the King's personal possession of the Congo Free State (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). However, his inhuman treatment of the local population drew worldwide criticism, and in 1908 he handed it over to the Belgian state.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

1835‐1909
ベルギーの第2代国王。在位1865‐1909年。レオポルド1世の長子。在位時代は，ベルギーの激しい政治的･社会的対立(教育問題を頂点とするカトリックと自由党の対立，社会主義勢力の進出，フラマン語問題など)の時期に当たっており，彼はその調停を企てて政党政治に介入して，非立憲君主的行動を非難された。また皇太子時代から植民地獲得に熱心で，1885年列強から，国王個人による〈コンゴ自由国〉(現，コンゴ民主共和国)の領有を認められたが，現地住民の非人道的な酷使が世界の非難を受け，1908年，これをベルギー国家に譲渡した。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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