Leopold II was the second King of the Belgians from 1865 to 1909, and the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free State from 1885 to 1908. Under his rule, between one million and fifteen million congolese people were massacred or killed as a result of his colonial exploitation.
Belgium is a constitutional, hereditary and popular monarchy. The monarch is titled King of the Belgians and serves as the country's head of state and commander-in-chief of the Belgian Armed Forces. There have been seven Belgian monarchs since independence in 1830.
The Cinquantenaire Arcade is a memorial arcade in the centre of the Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark in Brussels, Belgium. The centrepiece is a monumental triple arch known as the Cinquantenaire Arch. It is topped by a bronze quadriga sculptural group with a female charioteer, representing the Province of Brabant personified raising the national flag.
Thompson Elk Fountain, also known as the David P. Thompson Fountain, David P. Thompson Monument, Elk Fountain, the Thompson Elk, or simply Elk, is a historic fountain and bronze sculpture by American artist Roland Hinton Perry. The fountain with its statue was donated to the city of Portland, Oregon, United States, in 1900 for display in Downtown Portland's Plaza Blocks. It is owned by the City of Portland.
An outdoor 1992 bronze sculpture of Christopher Columbus by Joe Incrapera was installed in Houston's Bell Park, in the U.S. state of Texas. It was later removed in 2020 after a history of vandalism.
From 1885 to 1908, many atrocities were committed in the Congo Free State under the absolute rule of King Leopold II of Belgium. These atrocities were particularly associated with the labour policies used to collect natural rubber for export. Together with epidemic disease, famine, and a falling birth rate caused by these disruptions, the atrocities contributed to a sharp decline in the Congolese population. The magnitude of the population fall over the period is disputed, with modern estimates ranging from 1.5 million to 13 million.
A statue of the Confederate naval officer Raphael Semmes was displayed in Mobile, Alabama, since June 1900. It was removed on 5 June 2020 during the George Floyd protests, and was Relocated to the History Museum of Mobile.
A statue of Edward W. Carmack was installed in Nashville, Tennessee, United States in 1924. The statue was the work of American sculptor Nancy Cox-McCormack. Carmack was an opponent of Ida B. Wells and encouraged retaliation for her support of the civil rights movement.
The Equestrian Statue of Leopold II is a monument erected in Ostend, Belgium, in memory of King Leopold II, second King of the Belgians. It is located on the Royal Galleries by the beach. The king was commemorated here as a benefactor of Ostend and the Belgian Congo. The inauguration was on 19 July 1931.
Shortly after protests seeking justice for George Floyd, an African-American who was murdered during a police arrest, began in the United States, some people in Belgium protested to show solidarity with Americans protestors and to demonstrate against issues with police or racism. Vigils and protests of up to thousands of participants took place nationwide.
A statue of Thomas Guy stands in the forecourt of Guy's Hospital in the borough of Southwark in Central London. The statue is Grade II listed.
A bronze statue of Captain John Fane Charles Hamilton was installed for seven years, in Hamilton, New Zealand, from in 2013 until removal in June 2020.
A statue of Christopher Columbus was installed in Wilmington, Delaware, United States. It was produced by the sculptor Egidio Giaroli in Rome, and was cast and molded in the Italian city of Pistoia. The statue was unveiled on October 12, 1957, and was removed in June 2020, its status and future currently is unclear, and its impromptu removal controversial and the subject of political debate.
The Middletown, Connecticut Christopher Columbus statue was a memorial to Columbus that was installed in the city's Harbor Park. The sculpture was donated to the city in 1996 by the Italian American Civic Order, the Italian Society of Middletown and local Italian-American families.
La Jornada is a statue by Reynaldo "Sonny" Rivera and Betty Sabo which depicts Juan de Oñate leading an expedition of Spanish settlers.
The Howitzer Monument was installed in Richmond, Virginia, in the United States. It commemorated the Richmond Howitzers, a Confederate artillery unit. The statue was created by Caspar Buberl. It was located on Virginia Commonwealth University's Monroe Park campus.
Belgian apologies to the Congo are the subject of a societal debate in Belgium over the expression of apologies for the role that country has played in the atrocities that have been committed in the Congo Free State and the Belgian Congo between 1885 and 1960, as well as the colony of Ruanda-Urundi (1924–1962).
The Equestrian Statue of Leopold II is a bronze equestrian statue erected in Brussels, Belgium, in memory of King Leopold II, second King of the Belgians. It was created by the sculptor Thomas Vinçotte in 1914, but it was not finalised until 1926 by the architect François Malfait, when it was inaugurated in honour of the king.
