Leopold II - Belgium

9 April 1835 - 17 December 1909 is the king of Belgium. He was born as the son of Leopold I, and both inherited the powers of his father in 1865 and became king until his death. He is the sibling of Belgium, and Charlotte's first cousin of Queen Victoria.

Was King Leopold II the benevolent early constitutional monarch he's often portrayed as, motivated by an enlightened knowledge of economic principles, or was he motivated and constrained by personal, financial, and political gains as presented to him at the time, gains that left a legacy of corruption which persist today in the Congo from when he monarchically owned it? Weigh and consider these contemporary economic views and resources that were available to Leopold II