Léopold II, King of the Belgians, 1835-1909

British Foreign Secretary Grey updates President Roosevelt about James Bryce’s plans regarding his upcoming trip to Canada and the ongoing conversations about the best position to take at the International Peace Conference. Grey hopes the diplomatic debacle following Jamaican Governor James Alexander Swettenham’s refusal of American help after the Kingston Earthquake is blowing over, as well as the conflict between the Japanese Government and America regarding California. Grey thinks that King Léopold II of Belgium should relinquish control of the Congo, which he believes should pass to the Belgian Government.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-02-12

Ambassador Francis informs William Loeb about the Wiener Männergesang-Verein and its plan to visit the United States next year. He asks if President Roosevelt would allow the choir to visit him at the White House and give a private concert.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-12-14

President Roosevelt is disappointed in Assistant Secretary of State Alvey A. Adee’s replies to the telegrams of congratulations, which pertain to Roosevelt’s escape from a carriage accident. Four examples are enclosed from Emperor Franz Joseph I; Leopold II, King of the Belgians; Arthur James Balfour; and George Sydenham Clarke, Governor of the Australian State of Victoria.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-09-09

President Roosevelt was very interested in Senator Lodge’s talk with Belgian King Léopold II. Roosevelt also liked Lodge’s thoughts of John Hay, although he feels that they should not be melancholy, as Hay had had a long, successful life. He reflects on his choice of Elihu Root as the new Secretary of State. There is no new information regarding the Russian and Japanese peace negotiations. Roosevelt is enjoying his time at Oyster Bay with his family.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-07-18

President Roosevelt thanks Maria Longworth Storer for the picture of himself in uniform by Encke. Bellamy Storer is to give King Léopold II of the Belgians, Roosevelt’s greetings if they meet again. Roosevelt has followed Leopold’s career and is impressed with Belgium’s role in the development of Africa. Finally, President Roosevelt judges his first year as President and provides an update on the members of the Roosevelt family.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-12-08

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1897-09-28

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Recipient

Storer, B. (Bellamy), 1847-1922

F. R. Wingate discusses the arrangements he is making and is planning to make for President Roosevelt’s upcoming safari in Africa. Roosevelt will visit the Sudan in the later part of his trip, and Wingate says it would be helpful if Roosevelt could communicate with him during the first part of the trip so that he knows which arrangements to make. In particular, Wingate discusses Roosevelt’s chances of shooting elephants, buffalo, lions, and white rhinoceros in the Sudan.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-11-05

Assistant Secretary of State Loomis met with the King of Belgium and Morgan. Morgan is interested in retaining Henkow railway.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-07-22

Senator Lodge tells President Roosevelt that while he was in Paris, Leopold II, King of the Belgians, invited Lodge to lunch in Brussels. They briefly discussed the Congo, and then had an in-depth discussion about the Chinese building a railroad and Chinese politics. Lodge hopes he correctly understood Roosevelt’s position on these issues, and he gives a lot of weight to the opinions of U.S. Ambassador to China, Rockhill. Lodge thinks the King of the Belgians is a shrewd, able, businessman who is doing good economic work for the people of Belgium. Lodge then spoke about people known to both men who were also in Brussels.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-07-06

Clara Louise Stone Hay writes to President Roosevelt that her husband, Secretary of State Hay, is not well. Her husband’s doctor in Paris has advised that though his heart is no longer dilated, it is still weak. The doctor recommends that Hay needs to rest in a quiet place without the excitement and troubles of political life and receive no visitors but family. Roosevelt has offered Hay the whole summer off, and the Hays will take advantage of it.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-05-31

This brief summary of recent Congo international relations (through 1904) outlines the parameters of a new treaty between the United States and Congo.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-10-12

Booker T. Washington writes about the poor conditions currently existing in the Congo Free State. Léopold II, King of the Belgians, has created a state of extreme cruelty by removing African’s ability to independently gather and trade goods, essentially enslaving an entire nation. Washington quotes a passage from a report by William H. Sheppard to illustrate this, in which Sheppard has met with a tribe of cannibals who had been employed by the state to raid villages who had not harvested the required amount of rubber. Washington hopes by writing this article to call the attention of civilized nations to this treatment in order to improve conditions.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-08-04

A clipping from London-based newspaper The Times (with no author credit) sent to President Roosevelt by second secretary in the American Embassy at London John R. Carter. The article talks about recent activity in the Congo. The article mentions the Belgian government’s annexation of the area. The clipping ends with a long quote from Walter Runciman, 1^st Viscount Runciman of Doxford, regarding the British government’s opinion of the situation.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-12-20

Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Austria-Hungary Bellamy Storer informs President Roosevelt of a recent visit by King of the Belgians Léopold II. Storer discusses tensions in the Congo between the British and Belgian governments and European colonization in the Congo, referencing editorials in The Times, the Treaty of Berlin, the French explorer Pierre Savorgnon de Brazza, and rumors of Belgian atrocities in Congo, using Belgian explorer Henry M. Stanley as an exemplar.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-10-22

Bellamy Storer writes in commendation of Lieutenant Floyd W. Harris of the 4th Calvary, who recently departed Brussels. Harris performed his duties in an admirable manner, the ministers and high officials of the Belgian government have a high regard for him, and “the King himself spoke very kindly of him” and hopes for his return.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1897-08-05