June 1909, King Leopold II visits Antwerp in honor of the Colonial Week

In 1909, the city of Antwerp organized grand colonial celebrations in response to the law of November 18, 1908, which made Congo a Belgian colony - Congo was extremely important for Antwerp trade. The old King Leopold II and his daughter Princes Clementina were the guests of honour. The actual celebrations, with a big pageant, were on June 5 and 6. The king's reception was exceptionally cordial and the king returned the following week. Then he visited the mission exhibition in the Sint-Jan Berchmanscollege. He regaled the students with a speech and incited them to study, emphasizing that "young men as well as nations cannot achieve their goals except by effort".

Leopold II's sovereignty over the Independent Congo State was recognized at the Berlin Conference in 1885 but had ceased to exist after Belgium took over Congo as a colony. Even after this takeover, the king tried to reserve the rights in part of the colony for himself.

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