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.