Australia’s King Leopold Ranges Shed Name of Former ‘Tyrant’

(Bloomberg) -- The King Leopold Ranges in Australia’s iconic Kimberley region have been renamed to honor Aboriginal Australian landowners, shedding the name of the former Belgian ruler responsible for brutal oppression and enslavement of African people.

The new name, the Wunaamin Miliwundi Ranges, was decided upon after consultation with the Wilinggin Aboriginal Corporation and Bunuba Native Title Corporation, and is a hybrid of the Ngarinyin and Bunuba traditional names for the area in Australia’s northwest that spans almost 600 kilometers (373 miles) and is renowned for its stunning landscapes.

The name change comes amid a global reckoning on race and equality, including how and whether to honor famous figures from colonial history with infamous legacies toward people of color. In Belgium, that has meant rethinking whether King Leopold II merits the statues and busts erected in his honor, considering the atrocities committed in his name more than a century ago in what’s now the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Belgium’s King Philippe earlier this month expressed his “deepest regrets” for the “violence and horror” during King Leopold II’s rule of Congo and for the “suffering and humiliations” in the subsequent Belgian colonial period. Though short of an apology, it was the first time since independence 60 years ago that the Democratic Republic of Congo was offered such a statement.

Western Australia’s Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Ben Wyatt, emphasized the importance of acknowledging Aboriginal Australians’ history and connection to the land and expressed concern that the ranges had kept the former name for so long.

“It has troubled me for years that an extraordinary area of Western Australia should be named in honor of a person who is widely regarded as an evil tyrant with no connection to our state,” he said in a statement Friday. “The Traditional Owners of the region have always known the Ranges by their own name, so it’s momentous to finally remove reference to King Leopold II and formalize the name.”

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