A short history of Belgium

by Léon van der Essen

CHAPTER XIII

INDEPENDENT BELGIUM

In 1832 King Leopold I married Louise-Marie, daughter of the French King Louis-Philippe, who, through her womanly virtues, had made herself greatly beloved. The first Queen of the Belgians died in 1850, leaving three children: Leopold, Duke of Brabant, who afterward became King Leopold II; Philippe, Count of Flanders; and Charlotte, who married Archduke Maximilian of Austria. Under the patronage of Napoleon III, Maximilian was for some years Emperor of Mexico, and 2,000 Belgian volunteers followed him into that country. Napoleon III abandoned him when political troubles broke out in Mexico, and, notwithstanding the stubborn resistance he offered to the army of the Republicans, Maximilian fell into the hands of his enemies and was shot at Queretaro in 1867 by order of Juarez. As a result of this tragedy Empress Charlotte became insane.

Meanwhile the first King of the Belgians had developed the economic resources of Belgium. He was determined in his policy of maintaining the permanent neutrality of the country, as imposed by the Treaty of London. He preserved very friendly relations with Queen Victoria of England, and the correspondence between the two sovereigns shows that the first King of the Belgians would have found in her a mighty protector in the hour of trial. In a letter dated from Buckingham Palace in 1852, Queen Victoria, dealing with the fear of a coup d’état on the part of “such an extraordinary man” as Louis-Napoleon—the future Napoleon III—asserted that any violation of Belgian neutrality would mean a casus belli for her government.

How strongly the throne of Leopold I was established among his own people was shown by the fact that during the Revolution of 1848, which nearly resulted in the overthrow of all the thrones of Europe, Belgium alone kept herself aloof from the European turmoil, and some French adventurers who had tried to cross the frontier and, with the help of some unpatriotic Belgians, to proclaim a republic on Belgian soil, were quickly disarmed in the skirmish at Risquons-Tout, near Mouscron, in West Flanders. King Leopold consistently regarded himself as a constitutional king, and won thereby the confidence and the respect of the nation. During his reign Belgium gave many proofs of her spirit of enterprise and economic vitality. In 1835 she constructed the first railway that existed on the Continent, connecting Brussels and Malines. The country likewise prepared itself for defense against foreign invasion, and built the fortifications of Antwerp, making this city the ultimate bulwark of national defense. In 1860, the octrois, a sort of communal customs levied upon entering Belgian towns, were abolished; and in 1863 the tolls of the Scheldt, paid to the Dutch by all vessels coming from Antwerp, were discontinued.

From a political point of view the old union of 1828 between Catholics and Liberals had disappeared. From 1847 the personnel of the ministries was no longer composed of members of both parties, but of representatives of one party only, to the exclusion of those of the other. The Liberals were in power from 1847 to 1855; the Catholics followed, and they in turn retired before a street riot in 1857; the Liberals again held power throughout the reign of Leopold I. The first King of the Belgians died on December 10, 1865.

The Duke of Brabant succeeded him under the name of Leopold II. Born on April 9, 1835, in 1853 he married Marie-Henriette, archduchess of Austria, who died in 1902. The only son of this marriage, the Count of Hainaut, died at the age of ten years, in 1869.

The birth of the young prince Leopold gave occasion to many rejoicings among the people, who were extremely happy to see the future of their national dynasty assured. Leopold inherited from his father an acute knowledge of men and things, unusual tact, sound common sense, and respect for his mission as a constitutional sovereign.

On April 9, 1853, when he was already Duke of Brabant (the title given to the Belgian crown prince) he was made a member of the Belgian Senate. On this occasion the King, his father, presenting him to the assembled senators, said of him: “I found in him much discretion and common sense, so I taught him all that is essential and useful for the conduct of political affairs.” On August 22, 1853, Leopold married Henriette, archduchess of Austria; this marriage united again the new Belgian dynasty with the heirs of Maria Theresa and Charles V.

Then began for Leopold a very interesting and important period. By touring the world and visiting foreign countries, he prepared himself for the principal task of his royal life—to teach the Belgians how to take up commercial and colonial expansion. For, if Leopold I especially consolidated the young Belgian kingdom, from an interior as well as from an exterior point of view, King Leopold II was the pioneer of the expansion which resulted in the commercial and industrial prosperity of his country.

From 1854 to 1855, Leopold visited successively Egypt, Palestine, Greece, Italy, and Switzerland; he met with a splendid reception at Jerusalem. In 1860, he undertook a new journey in Turkey and Asia Minor. In 1862-63 he went through Spain, Algeria, Tunisia, Malta, and Egypt. Finally, he spent the years 1864 and 1865 visiting India.

It is then not surprising to hear him, when, in 1855, he made his first speech in the Senate, saying: “We must show the Belgian flag all over the world. A young nationality must be daring and always love progress.” He showed henceforth great interest in science and arts and public works and recommended many times the creation of Belgian navigation lines.

In 1859 he began his great campaign for colonial expansion. He told the Belgians they should create everywhere markets for their commerce and exchanges for their industry. In connection with this scheme, he enjoined them to make the port of Antwerp the best and greatest port of the Continent. All this was done and said before Leopold himself became a king. On December 17, 1865, he succeeded his father as king of the Belgians. During his reign he kept pleasant relations with all the countries of Europe, and this friendship was sealed by the visits many kings paid to Brussels. The Belgian capital greeted successively William I of Prussia, William III and Queen Emma of the Netherlands, Alfonso XII of Spain, William II, the young German Emperor. Leopold himself went, in 1872, to visit England and took part at a great dinner where the celebrated Disraeli welcomed him and spoke with much respect of the late King Leopold I, the wise man, “who was virtually a British prince.” Peace and international friendship thus favored the first years of Leopold’s reign, when suddenly, in 1870, the Franco-German War broke out.

We have already mentioned Great Britain’s interventions in order to preserve the neutrality of Belgium. But the Belgians themselves took their part in the defense of that neutrality. On hearing of the declaration of war, the Belgian government ordered general mobilization of the army and sent troops to the frontiers, in order to prevent any attempt by the belligerents to use the territory. On September 1, 1870, great danger arose: the French, defeated at Sedan, seemed resolved to try to escape capitulation by seeking a refuge and continuing the fight on Belgian soil. But this event did not happen and the Belgian army preserved the frontiers of the country untouched.

When peace returned, Leopold II interested himself in science and created, in 1874, the “Prix du Roi” for scientific research, hoping thereby, as he said himself, to stimulate the enterprises of the Belgian scientists and to have the world devote its attention to Belgian life and interests. In 1876 the King took advantage of the Congress for Eugenics held in Brussels for promoting interest in the social welfare of the poorer classes and for urging the construction of cheap houses for workmen.

On September 12, 1876, a great event took place. The King presided at the Brussels Geographical Conference, where representatives of the various European countries assembled. Out of this conference grew the Association internationale africaine, which undertook the exploration of the Congo and the fight against the slave-drivers in Africa. As a consequence of all this, in February, 1888, the International Conference of Berlin took place, which created the Independent Congo State, with the king of the Belgians as sovereign. This state, by the will of the King, the consent of the powers, and the vote of the Belgian Parliament, became a Belgian colony in 1908.

Another great task of the King’s life, was the defense of the country. Leopold always proclaimed his faith in the treaties of 1839, but he never neglected to advocate the reinforcement of the army and the construction of fortresses, in order to repel any possible invasion. In 1885, when international peace seemed to be in danger, the King, after a vigorous campaign, obtained a vote from Parliament, resolving to erect the fortresses of the Meuse—the forts at Liège and Namur, which, in 1914, stopped for some time the German advance. Things did not always go smoothly, and the King became very unpopular with many people, who, absolutely confident in the treaties of 1839, termed the King’s enterprise as “militarism.” Leopold once taunted a member of the Belgian Parliament, who was opposed to the contemplated fortification, saying: “Never go out without an umbrella, Sir!”

In 1905 the Belgians celebrated splendidly the seventy-fifth anniversary of Belgian independence. The King went all over the country, encouraging the feeling of patriotism which was then manifest and taking advantage of that spirit for urging the enlargement of the works of the port of Antwerp and the construction of a circle of outer forts, which should defend the city. After a great fight, he obtained the vote from Parliament, although the proposed system of fortification was not entirely accepted by the politicians.

His last victory was the reinforcement of the Belgian army, the suppression of the old Napoleonic system, called “le tirage au sort,” and the establishment of personal service. The bill of the new law was brought to him to be signed on his deathbed. Before leaving this world, he confirmed with his royal signature the law which he had finally obtained from his all-too-pacifist subjects. With a sigh of supreme satisfaction, the great King died in December, 1909.

During his life he had many enemies. A constitutional king, he sometimes went farther than the limits of his power, but he did it with the greatness and the security of his country always in his mind. Politicians more than once attacked him violently, but history will avenge him, saying: “He made it possible for his country to defend itself in the hour of great trial.”