The backdrop of Heart of Darkness is one of the most outrageous humanitarian and environmental crimes in modern history: the late nineteenth-century plunder of the Congo by Leopold II of Belgium.Prompted by greed and jealousy of the colonial might of other European nations, Leopold sought power and wealth by taking personal possession of the Congo,enslaving the people and ravaging land for its natural resources, including ivory and rubber. Several million natives of the Congo died during the period between 1885 and 1908, prompting an international outcry, even from other imperialistic nations.