Development Factors in the Era of King LeopoldAmnah AltaherUniversity of DaytonDevelopment Factors in the Era of King LeopoldSeveral kings ruled for many years, but there are no manifestations of development and improvement in the countries they governed. However, some rulers who have ruled countries for years, have brought about several positive changes in those societies. King Leopold II became king of Belgium; controlled and privately owned the Congo Free State from 1885 to 1908. In 1908, the area was annexed by Belgium as a colony known as the Belgian Congo. Leopold used his personal control to deprive the county of vast amounts of wealth, much of it in the form of ivory and rubber. These labor-intensive industries were served by slave labor, and local populations were forced to labor by various means, including torture, incarceration, mutilation, and terror. There are three factors that are relevant in explaining how King Leopold of Belgium acquired an African empire in the Congo: exploration, industrial technology, and media. The first factor, exploration, was consider an important factor that played a good role for the idea of ​​King Leopold acquiring his empire. There were several explorers who helped him explore the rare keys that allowed him to rule the empire. The first character is Sir Henry Morton Stanley who was a Welsh journalist and explorer, famous for several expeditions to Africa. In the first chapter the author has drawn a perfect background of his life; he traveled a lot from place to place. One point is that he was the founder of Dr. Livingston and The important thing that he In 1874, Stanley returned to Africa and, starting from Zanzibar, crossed the continent the entire length of the...... middle of paper... ...linked to Leopold's control of the media. On the other hand, Leopold's opponents also used the media, but in a different way. Morel founded his own illustrated weekly newspaper, which served as an unofficial clearinghouse for stories about the Congo and African atrocities. While Leopold spent large sums of money, Morel devoted a lot of time. His willingness to oppose Leopold made him the natural recipient of any anti-Leopold news, and Morel regularly received information deliberately leaked from the Congo. Finally, official government dealings were largely outside of Leopold's direct control. Thus, the Casement Report and the Report of the Commission of Inquiry both had a profound impact on the media representation of Leopold's colony. The fact that the colony was eventually annexed by Belgium is a fitting testimony to the manipulative power of the media, an obviously secondary theme in the text.