The Congo Reform Association exposed gross and rampant abuses of labor in King Leopold II of Belgium's Congo Free State, leading to the annexation of Congo by Belgium in 1908. In 1904 Edmund Dene Morel and Roger Casement founded the Congo Reform Association. The movement was formed to aid the people of the Congo by drawing attention to their plight. Branches of the association were established as far away as the United States. The Congo Reform Association gained the support of famous writers such as Joseph Conrad (whose Heart of Darkness was inspired by a voyage to Belgian Congo), Anatole France, Arthur Conan Doyle and Mark Twain. Morel was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1924 for his work with the association. King Leopold II His Majesty King Leopold II of the Belgians (Louis Philippe Marie Victor) (April 9, 1835–December 17, 1909), succeeded his father, Leopold I of Belgium, to the Belgian throne in 1865 and remained king until his death. ... The Congo Free State was a kingdom privately and controversially owned by King Leopold II of Belgium that included the entire area now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. ... George Edmond Morel de Ville ( Paris, 15th July 1873, Devonshire, 12th November, 1924), better known as Edmund Dene Morel (anglicised form of his name), was an Anglo - French journalist and politician. ... Roger Casement, commemorated on an Irish stamp Roger David Casement (September 1, 1864 – August 3, 1916) was a British diplomat by profession and a poet, Irish revolutionary and nationalist by inclination. ... Joseph Conrad Joseph Conrad (December 3, 1857 – August 3, 1924) was a naturalized British novelist of Polish origin. ... Anatole France (April 16, 1844 – October 12, 1924) was the pen name of French author Jacques Anatole François Thibault. ... Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (May 22, 1859 – July 7, 1930) is the British author most famously known for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, which are generally considered a major innovation in the field of crime fiction. ... Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was a famous and popular American humorist, novelist, writer and lecturer. ... The Nobel Institute in Oslo, Norway. ...

External Links

• Edmund Dene Morel