If I asserted that the Belgians ran the Congo like the world's largest death camp, I might be accused of hyperbole. Folks could cite the evidence of the efforts to bring western civilization -- literacy, medicine, plumbing and drainage -- to the region. But King Leopold's embezzlement of money that should have been invested in infrastructure, as well as his leasing concessions (including the workers living there) to corporations for 50% of the profits, reveal the Belgian government's real concerns. And as for the Ivory and rubber companies, they were no better than you would expect, even if you expected the worst.
Isidore was baptized in the Congo just two years before the Congo Free State became an official colony of the Belgian government. Of course, the Free State wasn't really free anyway -- it was just the personal property of King Leopold, but eventually he had to surrender it to his government. Isidore was a young stone mason, and he wore the scapular of a Christian catechist (teacher of Christianity to those who might convert).
The Belgian company agents did not like Christians of any type. Mocking them all as "mon pere," they believed that Christianity would interfere with the productivity of the rubber plantations and other works, i.e. they'd start invoking the Fourth Commandment. They probably also resented the presumed equality before God; whether or not they themselves had any faith, the presumption of social equality would be a bitter thing.
Working on a rubber plantation, Isidore refused to stop teaching Christianity. So he was flogged, but still he refused to remove his scapular. He was whipped one hundred times with elephant hide and then chained down for twenty-four hours (as if he'd be moving after such a beating).
One of the government inspectors came through the plantation so the agents tried to hide Isidore but the poor man hid until he could intercept the agent. Here's the agent's own account of his encounter with Isidore: "I saw a man come from the forest with his back torn apart by deep, festering, malodorous wounds, covered with filth, assaulted by flies. He leaned on two sticks in order to get near me - he wasn't walking; he was dragging himself."
The agent tried to kill Isidore, but of course it looked a little fishy to shoot the wretch right in front of the inspector. Instead, the inspector got him out of there and brought him home to heal. And here, the storyline takes an uncomfortable twist. Isidore lasted another six months, dying with his scapular on, his rosary in hand, and two missionaries at his side, praying with him. What we don't hear is that the inspector's report cited inhumane treatment of workers. Whether or not such a report was ever filed, what is certainly not true is that the Belgian government did anything to curb such abuse.
The image on the left is a Carmelite icon of Isidore and another beatus. The image on the right is a colorized photo of Isidore with his scapular. The Carmelites, by the way, celebrate his feast on the 12th of August.
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