Leopold II
The article will focus on two villas that were not only the most expensive, but also the largest in the world. They were built with money, completely soaked in blood, and became a gift for a prostitute who fascinated, first of all, not with her body, but with delicious chocolate.
King Leopold II of Belgium is remembered as the most evil King who colonized the Congo. He was greedy for children, a racist who considered whites better than the rest, and once he was given the nickname "Satan and Mammon rolled into one." He was also called the most greedy, but at the same time promising European king. He unleashed a war in Africa in the 1880s, which historians later called the "Christian Scramble for Africa."
The whole world believed the astute king, who said that he was seizing land in the Congo solely for humanitarian reasons. However, as history has shown, humanity and religiosity were definitely not his number one goal. The Greedy King seized more than 1.1 billion, which he spent mainly on a hectic, fun and very expensive life, as well as gifts for his many mistresses and prostitutes, whom he rapidly changed. This did not suit the Jesuits, who wanted to gain influence on African countries and prevent the spread of Islam on the continent. For countries around the world, King Leopold II was a humanist who invaded the African continent in order to save poor Muslim and Arab slave traders, as well as bring Christian commandments to Africa (in Stanley's words, the "Dark Continent").
The book "The Ghost of King Leopold" described how the military was able to achieve their goals. Thus, using more modern technology and British weapons, "a few thousand white men who worked for the king dominated some 20 million Africans." Congo became a kind of concentration camp in which the entire population became slaves. They were forced to work in the extraction of beans and rubber, and those who refused were simply killed or cut off their arms and legs with a machete, sparing neither children nor women.
King Leopold II gave the name of his new colony - the Congo Free State, although in essence it was not one.
The military was not content with mere domination. They were unreasonably cruel: they burned entire villages, shot the local population just for fun and pleasure, tortured them, chopped off their hands and feet. Often people were forced to work until they fell to the ground exhausted, and then they were simply finished off. This is much worse than sadism. To increase the pain, the military used shikot - these are whips that were made from the skin of a hippopotamus. When struck, he left a scar that did not go away all his life. 20 hits and the victim is unconscious. 100 hits and the victim dies.
It is known for certain that Leopold simply adored chocolate. He could not live a single day without this "Divine Drink". Perhaps it was because of this that he decided to colonize the Congo, since this country is home to the largest producers of cocoa beans. Leopold II wanted to make Belgian chocolate the best in the world. In 1884, a law was passed in Belgium that regulated the use of cocoa in chocolate. Less than 25% could not be used, which prevented the use of low quality fat sources.
The story of King Leopold II's acquaintance with his new mistress, Blanche Zelie Josephine Delacroix (who later became Caroline Delacroix) begins in 1899. Then Caroline was only 16 years old, she worked as a prostitute and was of Romanian origin, and the king was then already 65 years old.
Blanche Zelia Josephine Delacroix
She was young and very beautiful. She neglected schooling, and instead she was the mistress of a retired French military officer, Antoine-Emmanuel Durier. He supported both himself and the young Caroline, earning on bets. However, luck could not always be on the side of the Frenchman. He lost big and decided to make money differently: he sold the body to his mistress to his clients, and paid off his debts with the proceeds.
The king did not hide his great passion for chocolate, so Durie, knowing about it, came to the Jesuit monk for a unique recipe for chocolate, which, according to historians, “destroyed the heads of all men and introduced them into erotic ecstasy.”
For the recipe, Durieux paid a relatively low cost, but the best chocolate in the world opened up for him the possibility of full access to the royal box. The operation was planned to the smallest detail, and after it began to be called the “Honey Trap”.
In 1900, the King came to Paris for gifts for his next passion and heard that there is a girl who created the most delicious chocolate in the world, which in all qualities surpasses everything that he ate before him. Leopold II made an appointment for her the next day in a secluded room. There the King arrived with two of his assistants. They interviewed Blanche, while Leopold II tasted a work of chocolate art created by a girl. After the first bite, the King experienced with he was extremely excited, and his sensations he could not compare with anything. From that moment on, the King's brain was completely in the hands of the young girl. Very soon they flew to Austria, and the next day they brought a large sum of money for Blanche. The king was completely subordinate to the girl and her chocolate, and in her hands was not only the mind of Leopold II, but also all his blood-soaked money.
The relationship of the already elderly king (he was 65) with the young 16-year-old Blanche immediately became the most discussed topic, and everyone called the King intoxicated with chocolate and depraved. Caroline was definitely not the only mistress of the King (for which he was also called the “King of the Belgians and Beauties”), but it was their relationship that the public considered unique, they were described in novels and newspapers for many more years. The most amazing thing was that the King suddenly received the erotic power of a young guy, which gave him the opportunity to come to his beloved several times a day.
The king spent a huge amount of money on the young girl, he acquired for Caroline a title of nobility and estates and the title of Baroness de Vaughan. Another gift for Blanche was the royal villa of Leopold II himself. Caroline constantly rode to Paris, so that the craftsmen would sew new clothes or hats especially for her. Once, during a conversation, the girl boasted that she had left 3 million francs in one of the Parisian boutiques.
The King is increasingly criticized by the public for his greed and colonization of the Congo Free State. He considered the Congo his own colony. The popularity of Leopold II in Belgium fell sharply when citizens realized that the funds that the King receives from the colony are not used for the development of the country, but for the joy of the King's mistress, who was even called the Queen of the Congo (La reine du Congo).
Caroline became the mother of two children. The two boys were illegitimate royal sons. Later, when Leopold II was 74 years old, they decided to get married and even held a religious ceremony. However, the King died 5 days after her, so the marriage was invalid under the laws of Belgium. However, in his will, Leopold II left virtually all of his fortune to young Caroline, including bonds from the Congo Free State. All these riches made the young girl a multimillionaire.
Only 7 months have passed since the death of the king, and Blanche becomes the wife of the same retired French officer Durie, whom she has been in love with since her teenage years. It is known that during Caroline's relationship with the King, she cheated on him with Durie. Together they stole all the necessary papers, which allowed them to protect the wealth they received from the family of the late King.
For many years, the children of Leopold II, as well as the Belgian government, tried, with varying success, to return the fortune left by the king to his mistress. The King hid most of his possessions, so his many children ended up inheriting pennies.
Blanche and Durieu divorced soon enough, and the girl was able to retain almost the entire royal fortune that she inherited (Durier received only $ 1 million in exchange for a promise not to claim custody of Caroline's sons). Later, various rich and famous suitors wooed her, among whom are mentioned Count Boni de Castellane and Gaston Bonnefoy.