Did Leopold really write to missionaries and instruct them that "Your principal objective in our mission in the Congo is never to teach the n-------- to know God"? Doc in post.

by punchthedog420

If you google that, a document comes up. Is this real, I'm having trouble confirming its authenticity?

Now, I'm not in need of help about Leopold being, well, Leopold. I've read King Leopold's Ghost and much else on this. It's this specific document that I'm curious about. I suspect it's fake and was part of the campaign to expose him or something more recent.

davepx

This was raised on H-Africa shortly after its Oct 2005 online appearance (scroll down to "L" - there are two threads). Contributors seem agreed that the document is almost certainly fake, this response citing academic debunking. A Congolese scholar recalls an earlier version incorporating a fictitious royal visit to the "Free State", suggesting that it was used by independent religious groups to undermine the Catholic church.