The speech of King Leopold II of Belgium delivered to missionaries traveling in the Congo describes an attempt by the king to justify the enslavement of the Congolese people for the benefit of the Belgian economy. King Leopold addressed his speech to Catholic missionaries who were considering working with the indigenous population of the Congo in 1883. Leopold, blinded by racism and imperialist greed, emphasized that missionaries should selectively interpret their biblical teachings in a way that seems to rationalize. the oppression and exploitation of the indigenous Congolese population. In doing so, the missionaries helped Leopold achieve his goal of transforming Belgium into an imperialist country with international influence. Leopold's use of incendiary diction, allusions to Bible scriptures, and repetition of a dominant inflection in his speech convinced his myopic audience to commit terrible atrocities in his name. However, it should be noted that his lack of logical development, which includes inconsistencies in his reasoning, ultimately undermines his already weak arguments that he believes justify the enslavement of the Congolese population. King Leopold begins his speech by informing his missionaries that they will carefully interpret the principles of the Bible in a way that will benefit the Belgian state during the Belgian colonization of the Congo. He clearly sets out his strictly imperialist program by declaring: "The main aim of your mission in the Congo is not to teach the blacks the knowledge of God, for they already know him" (Par. 1). Using this frank and direct method, Leopold made no effort to conceal the devious nature of his orders. Under the guise of spreading generalizations about Congolese culture and people and qualifying them as inferior to his own without providing any proof. He also advocated for atrocities to be committed in his name without any moral justification other than his own opinion. Furthermore, even his use of the Bible as a sort of justification is flawed once we consider the entire message of the Bible. The holy scriptures of Catholicism promote lessons of love, equality, and universal companionship and run completely counter to Leopold's arguments for superiority. Any audience can see the irony inherent in Leopold's speech whenever he alludes to the Bible, given that his message is the opposite of the violation of human rights he advocates. Works Cited Leopold, King, II. “African Global Network (AGN).” African Global Network (AGN). Afrika Global Network, nd Web. February 18. 2014.