Difference between revisions of "Le Congo Leopold"

Revision as of 17:26, 29 December 2005

Le Congo Leopold

Flag of Le Congo Leopold
Motto: To Civilize Darkest Africa
Region	African Continent
Capital	Leopoldstaadt
Official Language(s)	French, Dutch, Lingala, Kingwana, Kikongo, Tshiluba
Leader	Kurtz
Population	Over One Billion
Currency	Ivory Chit
NS Sunset XML

Nation States Page

UN Category: Corporate Police State

Civil Rights: Few

Economy: All-Consuming

Political Freedoms: Outlawed

Overview: The Free State of Le Congo Leopold is a massive, devout nation, notable for its complete absence of social welfare. Its hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical population of 1.084 billion are ruled with an iron fist by the corrupt, dictatorship government, which oppresses anyone who isn't on the board of a Fortune 500 company. Large corporations tend to be above the law, and use their financial clout to gain ever-increasing government benefits at the expense of the poor and unemployed.

The minute, corrupt, pro-business government, or what there is of one, juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Defence, and Commerce. Income tax is unheard of. A powerhouse of a private sector is led by the Arms Manufacturing, Soda Sales, and Information Technology industries.

History

Early History

Le Congo Leopold was once a region of the Belgian Congo, formerly the Congo Free State, a personal posession of King Leopold II of Belgium (1835-1909). After the independence movement, Le Congo Leopold lost all contact with Belgium. It was merely a collection of former trading stations along the Congo River. A mysterious figure known only as Kurtz emerged and united the trading stations together to form a new nation, based, unfortunately, on the worst of the atrocities commited when King Leopold II was in power. Little is known about Kurtz. Some say he is related to the Kurtz described in "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad. Others say that he has merely taken on the name. Kurtz tries to disguise his vile deeds under a weak story that it is a philanthropic mission to help the congolese. Many of the Europeans living in Le Congo Leopold have gone a bit mad. Some of them, most notably Kurtz, worship King Leopold II as if he were a saint or demi-god. As perverse as this belief sounds, it is catching on. Little news comes out of Le Congo Leopold, but stories of atrocities filter out from time to time.

The Van Eyck/Rothschilde Affair

The Van Eyck/Rothschilde affair was the cause of the deep mistrust between Le Congo Leopold and Neo-Macedonia. Two NeoMacedonian businessmen, Erich van Eyck and Jan Rothschilde, were travelling within Le Congo Leopold when they mysteriously disappeared. Some believe that they were killed by the Leopoldan government because they had seen too much. NeoMacedonia demanded an explanation, and Hercule l'Poissonet, a spokesman for Kurtz, claimed that the two men had been killed by Azande tribesmen deep in the Congolese jungle. Neo-Macedonia refused to accept this explanation, and secretly sent a team to investigate the true situation in Le Congo Leopold. What they found disgusted them. The following is an excerpt from the official report:

"This report is a compilation of first hand and eyewitness accounts of the society which is Le Congo Leopold . First off, the main form of punishment is being whipped, and punishments of over 100 lashes are quite common for trifling offenses. The natives are practically enslaved. When the government needs work to be done, they will take the Force Publique (the army) in to villages and hold all the women hostage. If the men do not want their wives killed, they are forced to work. The entire nation runs on the quota system. If people do not make their quotas, they are severely punished. When the people try to rebel, or question the government, the Force Publique goes in an massacres them. To prove the number of people that they have killed, they are forced to cut the hands off of their victims and present them to their superior officer. Their is even a quota for the number of hands a soldier in the Force Publique must acquire. This encourages them to cut the hands off of people who are not dead. There is even a person in each unit whose job it is to smoke the hands so that they do not spoil in the heat of the jungle. Many of the trading stations are run by sadistic, evil, twisted, vile people who will not let anything stand in the way of making a profit. We even saw one official who has even surrounded his garden with the severed heads of natives stuck on poles. People are forced to work in chain gangs. The government deals secretly with the slave trade. People are overworked. The natives are not allowed to use money, only thin brass rods. The soldiers conscripted into the Force Publique quickly become murderous and rapacious. We even found that they use the severed hands as offerings at the shrines to Saint-King Leopold as part of the rather perverted little religion of the whites in the area."

Hercule l'Poissonet promptly denied this report, and claimed that it was merely a heinous lie by the Neo-Macedonians. For a time, the international community was extremely interested in this issue, but then attention turned to other matters, and Le Congo Leopold was allowed to continue on as before.

Kurtz's "Reforms"

After the van Eyck/Rothschilde affair, international focus on Le Congo Leopold died down. Kurtz was worried, though. He did not want the international community to see Le Congo Leopold as an evil and racist state. The Antebellum South (South Africa) had recently been invaded for reinstating slavery. Kurtz decided to implement a series of "reforms" to improve Le Congo Leopold's image. He even appointed a native African, Ruega Mtisi, as an advisor and aid. However, Many nations suspect that Le Congo Leopold is still committing the same terrible atrocities as it always has.

The South African Revolution

When revolution struck South Africa, Le Congo Leopold was quick to intervene. "Aid Workers" were sent to the city of Ladysmith and the surrounding area in order to "help the inhabitants." The aid workers were really members of the Force Publique sent to acquire more land for Le Congo Leopold. Le Congo Leopold is still in posession of a small chuck of South Africa.

Le Congo Leopold Expands

At first, Le Congo Leopold only controlled the northern Congo, but this would not do. Kurtz felt that he needed to control the rest of the unoccupied Congo in order to appease Saint-King Leopold. He claimed that Saint-King Leopold appeared to him in a dream. This is the actual statement Kurtz wrote:

"While I was asleep last night, Saint-King Leopold came to me. He sat upon the bed, and spoke to me. His voice was airy and diffused, but strong. He told me of his Divine Plan for Africa. He told me what I must do, He told me what His plan for Le Congo Leopold is. He told me of the terrible famine in the South. He told me how His children cried out for His benevolent hand to protect and to preserve them. He told me that the rest of the Belgian Congo must come under His Divine Protection. He assured me that Ivory in the South was plentiful. He assured me that the presence of the Loving, Protecting, Guiding, and, Civilizing hand of Le Congo Leopold would create a new and beautiful life for the peoples of the unoccupied Congo. He showed me the light. He told me what I must do."

Le Congo Leopold announced its intention to annex the southern congo, and the Force Publique marched in. Reports of terrible atrocities committed by the Leopoldans continually filter out, but the Leopoldan government constantly makes statements to the contrary.

Important Facts

Conventional long form: The Free State of Le Congo Leopold

Conventional short form: Le Congo Leopold

Government Type: Brutal Dictatorship

Administrative Divisions: None Known

National Holiday: King Leopold II's Birthday, April 9

Suffrage: None

Chief of State and Head of Government: Kurtz

Cabinet: None

Legislative Branch: None

Judicial Branch: None

Economy: Ivory based. Le Congo Leopold is dependant on black market operations to sell most of its ivory. Also some trade, miniscule manufacturing sector.

Ethnic Groups: Belgian: 20%, Indigenous Tribes, including Mongo, Kongo, Luba, Azande: 35%, Other Tribes: 45%

Religions: Most whites in Le Congo Leopold practice the Adoration of Saint-King Leopold. Most natives practice indigenous religions, which often include aspects of the Adoration of Saint-King Leopold.

National Animal: Okapi

Religion: The Covenant of the Adoration of Saint-King Leopold

===Origins=== After the Belgians left the Congo to its own devices, many trading-station managers stayed on along the Congo River. These were people involved in the ivory trade, rubber harvesting, etc. But times were tough for these men. For one thing, someone had told the natives that they were independent. This caused trouble, as many of the natives wanted to learn to read, get an education, and, shockingly, they even wanted to make real money for a change. This did not sit well with the station managers, and they would harken back to the good old days, when King Leopold II owned the Congo as a private business, and squeezed profit out of it for all it was worth. It was because of this nostalgic pining that Kurtz, the leader of the trading-station managers, decided to bring things under their control again. They began to pit the tribes of the Congo against eachother, and eventually Kurtz, and his white compatriots, retook the northern half of the Congo. He began an opressive regime, and it seemed like the good old days were back, until the humanitarian aid groups came. When they saw the bloody oppression of the white Belgians in the Congo, they made a public outcry. Kurtz soon realized that they would have to conduct their oppression on a much more secretive scale. They closed the borders, made a public apology, and began to oppress the Congolese away from the prying eyes of the International Community. Though stories of the horrors manage to leak out, and sometimes flood out, and often there is talk of sanctions against Le Congo Leopold, Kurtz knows that everyone needs rubber, and that people will pay an outrageous amount of money for ivory, even if he has to ship it out illegally. But there is hope, for one day Saint-King Leopold shall return to Le Congo Leopold, and he shall rule, with Kurtz at his right side, and all shall be as it once was.

===Major Beliefs=== The foremost belief of The Covenant of the Adoration of Saint-King Leopold is that King Leopold II of Belgium will return one day to rule Le Congo Leopold, with Kurtz as his right hand man. They believe in blood-sacrifice to the essence of King Leopold. They also believe that the future can be ordained, but only after a human sacrifice. While cannibalism is not officially supported by the followers of Leopold, it is widespread. Kurtz has done nothing to stop it. The Leopoldians believe in the inherent superiority of Europeans over all other races, and that it is the right of Europeans to rule the rest of the world. They also believe that the acquisition of profit is pleasing to Leopold, and that the more profit they can attain, the sooner Leopold will return. Leopoldans are also very superstitious. They often believe that the Gods of the tribes in the Congo are evil spirits who try to stop their quest for Profit and who hinder Leopold in his return to them.

===Organization=== Kurtz is the undisputed head of The Covenant of the Adoration of Saint-King Leopold. Though he is never seen by the general populace, he often participates in rituals to please Leopold. His palace is decorated with the severed heads of Congolese who dared to oppose the government. This is also an offering to Leopold. Under Kurtz in the chain of command is Hercule l'Poissonet, who is the public face of the Leopoldans. Below l'Poissonet there are a series of "Personnalités Adorables," or "Worshipful Personages," each with a district under their jurisdiction. They ensure orthodoxy among the "Pères Vénérables" or "Venerable Fathers," each of whom are at the head of a congregation of worshippers, called "Les Enfants De Leopold" (Leopold's Children).

===Holidays=== The night of April 31-May 1 is the holiest holiday for the Leopoldans. This is the night when major sacrifices are made, and it is believed that Leopold will return at midnight on this date. The second holiest day for the Leopoldans is April 9, as this is King Leopold II's birthday. December 17th is considered a day of mourning, because this is the day that King Leopold II died. Other minor holidays are scattered throughout the year.

===Note=== Obviously, the Le Congo Leopoldan government hides these practices from other nations. In fact, there has never been a non-Le Congo Leopoldan member of the Covenant of the Adoration of Saint-King Leopold. Kurtz is very secretive, and any who begin to dissent from the Leopoldan ways, or who shows dissatisfaction with the religion, is killed. Once you are a member of the Leopoldans, you remain one for the rest of your life.