The Belgian King Leopold II's desire to "do something in Africa" led to the Congo Free State's horrific massacre. Despite his initial claim of working towards peaceful and humanitarian goals, he authorized the killing of countless innocent Congolese people. The Belgians' first kind treatment towards the natives was short-lived, and soon the chiefs were forced to put their mark on the Latin alphabet paper, leading to a bloody massacre. Sadly, Leopold's vicious deeds were soon forgotten due to the prevalent white supremacist thoughts and World War II's devastating effect. As George Santayana's quote says, those who do not remember the past are bound to repeat it.