BELGIAN KINGS
A trying period of fifteen years followed the battle of Waterloo. The
Congress of Vienna made Holland and Belgium one kingdom under the name
of the United Netherlands. But this ill-advised union failed. The Dutch
King, William I, was tyrannical and tactless, and ruled entirely in the
interests of Holland. Although the population of Belgium was 1,500,000
more than that of the northern states of the Netherlands, four-fifths of
the army officers and by far the larger part of the government officials
were Dutch. Belgians were forced to pay the public debt of Holland, and
the poorer classes, under the weight of intolerable taxes, faced
starvation. They had fought too long for freedom to endure subjugation.
Only a little encouragement was needed to spur them on to action.
The throng that was assembled in the Brussels Théâtre de la Monnaie on
the evening of the 25th of August, 1830, listened for a time quietly
enough to Auber's new opera of "Musette de Portici." But when the
Italian tenor in a stirring solo made an appeal to his countrymen to
rise against foreign tyranny, the excitement of the audience could not
be controlled. Springing to their feet, they caught up the words of the
refrain and sang them over and over again. They rushed from the opera
house into the street, still singing,
"_A mon pays je dois la vie,
Il me devra la liberté!_"
[Illustration: THÉÂTRE DE LA MONNAIE, BRUSSELS.]
The revolution begun in this dramatic fashion continued until Belgium
took its place as a nation among the European powers. The new
Constitution made it one of the freest countries in the world, with
representative government, freedom of the press, trial by jury, freedom
of education, and complete religious tolerance. The family of
Orange-Nassau was forever excluded from the throne, and Prince Leopold
of Saxe-Coburg was chosen king.
Although a Protestant, Leopold proved an excellent king of a Catholic
country, by his wisdom and prudence tiding the nation over several
political crises and firmly establishing the kingdom. While still
prince, he had married Princess Charlotte, heir to the crown of Great
Britain. If she had lived, he would have become Prince Consort of
England, but both the Princess and her only child died the following
year. After assuming the crown of Belgium, Leopold formed an alliance
with France by marrying Emilie Louise, daughter of Louis Philippe.
Leopold's eldest child, a boy, died in babyhood. The daughter,
Charlotte, became the wife of the unfortunate Maximilian, whom Napoleon
III sent to establish a monarchy in Mexico during our Civil War. She
accompanied him to Mexico, was crowned Empress at his side, and when the
Mexicans rose against them, returned to Europe to seek aid. Maximilian
was shot in her absence. At the news of his death she lost her reason,
but she always remembers the fatal date, and shuts herself up in her
château near Brussels and refuses to see any one on that day. She never
forgets that she has been an Empress. In the first days of her madness
she thought she was being poisoned, but this fear was finally overcome
and she was persuaded to eat by one of her favourite ladies-in-waiting.
The third son of Leopold I was Philip, Comte de Flandre, father of King
Albert. Philip died in 1905. It was the second son, Leopold II, who,
in 1865, began a reign of nearly forty-five years. When only eighteen,
he married the Archduchess Marie Henriette of Austria, a woman of many
prejudices and peculiarities, who cared for little but horses and dogs.
She did not approve of tennis; she objected to Wagner. She was an
invalid for many years, and it is charitable to suppose that the King's
lack of home life was accountable for some of the scandals associated
with his name.
[Illustration: LEOPOLD I.]
Leopold's only son died before he was ten years old, but there were
three daughters--Louise, who married Duke Philip of Saxe-Coburg;
Stephanie, who married Crown Prince Rudolph of Austria; and Clémentine,
the wife of Prince Victor Napoleon. The marriage of Louise was most
unfortunate, and she left her husband, who was said to be unkind to her.
She has married several times since, and has contracted large debts.
Stephanie's marriage was also unhappy, and ended in the mysterious death
of her husband, who either took his own life or was murdered in his
shooting lodge near Vienna. They had one son, who died in boyhood. His
death, as well as that of King Albert's elder brother, occurred in
January, and it is for that reason that the Belgian royal family say
that January always brings them ill luck. Stephanie is now the wife of
an Austrian Count, and I have heard that during this war she has become
a nurse on the Austrian side. Clémentine and her husband were living in
Brussels at last accounts, and they have two sons. The King prevented
this marriage for some years, as he felt it might make complications
with Republican France. While we were in Belgium, they very kindly
received us.
A charming French lady-in-waiting took us directly into the salon, where
we saw a fine collection of Napoleonic relics. The Princess soon
entered. We found her regal, with dark eyes and blonde hair. She struck
us as a clever woman, with a good deal of power and dash. After a little
while the Prince entered. He was good looking, of medium size, with dark
hair and moustache and handsome eyes. We had a very pleasant half hour.
With all the pageantry of Burgundian days, in a splendid procession of
church dignitaries, troops, and officials of the Government, and
surrounded by royalties, Leopold began his reign with a Joyous Entry
into Brussels, and was duly presented with the keys of the city. The
capital was his immediate care. His first speech from the throne was
upon the subject of beautifying the city and improving its sanitary
condition. It is said, "He found Brussels a city of brick and left it a
city of marble," that "he found a weak kingdom and left a strong one."
Belgium had now a sovereign who was strong, both physically and
mentally. He entered the Senate while still Duc de Brabant, and was soon
recognized as a thinker and orator. But before all else, he was an able
man of business. He had the foresight and breadth of view of a
statesman, with the financial ability and power to handle men that
belong to a captain of industry. He was interested in the construction
of roads and tramway lines, in the extension of the canal system, and in
measures for restoring Antwerp and Bruges, and other Belgian towns to
their ancient position as queens of commerce.
In every way the King sought to develop the resources of his realm, and
the marvelous prosperity of the country before the present war broke out
is proof that he succeeded. In addressing the delegates of industry and
commerce, early in his reign, he said, "We have been the first on the
Continent to construct railways; let us understand how to prolong them
by lines of navigation." It was not many years before Belgian steamship
lines were formed. Under his rule the army was strengthened, and if he
had been allowed to carry out his plans, the country would have had at
least the nucleus of a navy. He had new forts built and the army
increased. It was decided that the army was deficient in numbers and in
quality. The latter defect was owing to a system of recruiting which
allowed any man called to the barracks by the ballot, who did not wish
to serve, to find a substitute, who for a small sum of money, would take
his place. The law doing away with substitutes in the army was one of
the last signed by King Leopold before his death.
An early riser and indefatigable worker, Leopold often summoned his
attendants at five o'clock in the morning and remained at his desk until
evening. All day long, a procession of orderlies on bicycles, in swift
succession, bore his orders from the study at Laeken, where he worked,
to his secretary's office in Brussels.
Although in the previous reign the two political parties, Clericals and
Liberals, had fought some hard battles, the Liberals continued in power
more or less for twenty years. The return of the Catholic party was
effected in 1884, and although their rule has been bitterly contested by
the Opposition, they have held the reins of government for thirty
years.
[Illustration: LEOPOLD II.]
While still Duc de Brabant, Leopold traveled in Morocco and Tunis, and
Algeria and Egypt, as well as in China. On his return he presented to
the statesmen of Belgium a Grecian stone, on which he had inscribed, "Il
faut à la Belgique des Colonies." Ten years later, his dream of
colonization began to be realized.
At the Geographical Congress held in Brussels in September, 1876, which
was attended by representatives from all the great Powers, the question
of the suppression of the slave trade in Africa was discussed. Leopold
wanted to open Africa to civilization, and records and letters of the
time show that he was apparently quite sincere in wishing to suppress a
traffic of unspeakable cruelty, carried on by Arabs and Portuguese
adventurers of the worst type.
The King's speech before the Congress contained the following words:
"The Slave Trade, which still exists over a large part of the African
continent, is a plague spot that every friend of civilization would wish
to see disappear. If we succeed in establishing stations along the
routes followed by the slave merchants this odious traffic will be wiped
out. The stations, while serving as points for travelers, will
powerfully contribute toward the evangelization of the blacks and toward
the introduction to them of commerce and modern industry."
The most important result of the Conference was the formation of the
International Association for the Suppression of the Slave Trade and the
Opening of Central Africa. Leopold was made president, and it was due to
his energy and wisdom that Belgium persevered in this undertaking. In
answer to his appeal for money and men, men of good standing applied,
and money poured in from his people--a little came from other
countries--and his private fortune was freely spent in opening up the
Dark Continent.
When Stanley returned to Europe in 1878, Leopold's agents met him at
Marseilles and secured his services to conduct the work of the
International Association on the Congo. In five years six expeditions
were sent out, and many lives were lost. Stanley planted forty stations,
and established a line of steamers on the river to connect with the
caravan route from the coast. Stations were granted by chiefs in
exchange for guns, coats and other articles that pleased their fancy.
America was first to recognize the new State. At the Congress of Berlin,
in 1884, it was recognized by the great Powers, was declared open to
the commerce of all nations, and the slave trade was prohibited. Ten
years later, the extinction of the African slave trade was accomplished.
Baron Dhanis, with a large force of Belgian troops, conquered the Arab
traders, and completely broke up their iniquitous traffic.
By the decree of 1885 all "vacant" land in the Congo was declared the
property of the State, but in reality it became the property of Leopold.
Land was considered vacant when not actually occupied by buildings or
cultivated for foodstuffs. Not until 1892, however, was this theory made
the actual rule of administration. Before that time, in the words of the
distinguished Belgian Socialist leader, M. Vandervelde (whose wife has
lately been lecturing in America in the cause of Belgian Relief), "The
rights of the natives were recognized, not only over the land they
cultivated, and over the land upon which they had built their
habitations, but also over the forests which form the markets of their
villages; the forests where, from time immemorial, they and their
ancestors hunted the elephant and the antelope, collected palm oil and
kernels, and gathered rubber either for the purposes of sale or for home
use. During that period the Congo State acted as sovereign and not as
merchant."
To secure rubber now became, however, the single aim of the man who
ruled the Congo. Three commissioners were appointed to enforce the
"system"; a governor-general was selected and district commissioners
were chosen. Under these governors of districts were native captains, or
"_capitas_." The agents in charge of these _capitas_ were paid according
to the amount of rubber collected, so most of them were unscrupulous as
to the means used in obtaining it. The capitas were also paid in
proportion to the quantity of rubber they were able to squeeze from the
natives, and they were so brutal that often whole villages rose up and
killed them.
From travelers, from missionaries, and finally from the British consul
in the Congo came reports of the cruelties practised on the natives. In
July, 1903, a memorable debate took place in the Belgian Chamber, in
which M. Vandervelde and M. Lorand fiercely denounced the policy of
Leopold in the Congo.
M. Vandervelde began by saying he had never denied the greatness of the
effort accomplished by some of his compatriots in Africa. He went on to
say that the object of the discussion was solely to learn if the Congo
State had fulfilled its international obligations; that Belgium had put
fifteen million francs into the Congo railway, had lent thirty-five
million francs to the State; it had given money and men. Among other
things, he emphasized that the commercial question was closely and
inseparably linked to the question of the treatment of the natives.
"The Congo State," said M. Lorand, "has not only become the greatest
vendor of ivory and rubber in the world, but has been enabled with its
surplus revenues to conduct enterprises in China and elsewhere, to
purchase property in Belgium, and concessions at Hankow."
Though there was no immediate result from the agitation in the Belgian
House, the efforts of English reformers made it necessary to take some
action in regard to the complaints. Leopold accordingly appointed a
Commission of Inquiry, composed of a Belgian, an Italian and a Swiss,
all able men. They went out to the Congo, where they examined a
multitude of witnesses, and at the end of a year their conclusions were
published. In this report they practically reiterated--though in
diplomatic language--all the charges of the reformers.
Finally, in 1908, this vast African dependency was annexed to Belgium,
which secured complete parliamentary control over the whole region. The
next year, Prince, now King, Albert and the Colonial Minister, M.
Renkin, visited the Congo State, entering it from opposite sides, and
reform work was soon inaugurated. Forced labour was suppressed, payments
to the natives were made in money, and several zones were opened up to
free trade. The African colony pays its own expenses to-day, but it
contributes little money to Belgium. King Albert refused to receive an
annuity from its revenues, and that money has been used as a pension
fund for those who have served well in the Congo.
In the early days many Belgians went to the Congo to escape debt; today,
they pass examinations, and, if fitted for the positions, are given good
salaries. As the climate is very trying for whites, and the deadly
sleeping sickness still exists, carried by the tsetse fly, the number of
Belgians there, from latest accounts, is only one thousand six hundred.
This includes over three hundred priests. No men from the larger
countries of Europe are wanted in the service of the State, but there
are some fifty Swedes, Americans, Swiss and Italians among the
officials. The justices of the courts are of mixed nationality, but the
most important civil and military positions are kept for Belgians.
Boma, the capital of the Congo State, is now a flourishing town, with
several hundred European houses, a Governor's palace, the Palace of
Justice, and other government buildings, both Protestant and Catholic
churches, a Red Cross hospital, and a telegraphic service to the
interior.
[Illustration: KING ALBERT.]
A large part of Leopold's revenue from the Congo was expended in
beautifying Brussels and doing over both the royal palaces. The Congo
Museum, with its fine park and drives, the Colonial School, and the
Cinquantenaire Museum, erected to commemorate fifty years of Belgian
nationality, with its splendid Arch of Triumph, were all built by this
means.
Leopold's long reign came to an end in 1909. His nephew, Prince
Baudouin, who should have succeeded him, died suddenly, so, as women do
not inherit, the crown descended to Baudouin's brother Albert. As I have
said, Albert's father was Philip, Comte de Flandre, the younger brother
of Leopold, and his mother was Marie-Louise-Alexandrine-Caroline, of
Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen.
King Albert was born in his father's palace in Brussels, on April 8,
1875. He has the best of French and German blood, that of the Orleans
and the Saxe-Coburgs. It is said he resembles his grandfather, Leopold
I. His sister Josephine is the wife of Prince Charles of Hohenzollern,
a cousin of the Kaiser, and his other sister, Henriette, married the Duc
de Vendôme. Prince Charles, who was fair, with a pointed beard, was
bright and amusing when we met him; his wife, although very handsome,
was a little deaf. The Duchesse de Vendôme was distinguished looking,
tall and blonde, like her brother, and the Duke, although rather short,
was most attractive.
Albert's boyhood was spent quietly in study and outdoor life on his
father's estate at Ciergnon. He went through the usual preparation for
military service under the supervision of General Jungblüth, then Chief
of Staff of the Belgian army. From the moment he became heir to the
throne, he set to work to prepare himself for the high position. He
studied political economy with M. Waxweiler, a distinguished member of
the Liberal party, who was at the head of the Sociological Institute.
That he might not be one-sided in his opinions, he became the pupil of
two Catholic priests, one a Jesuit of notable courage and fairness, the
other a Dominican friar. And, finally, it was from Baron Lambremont, one
of the greatest of Belgian diplomats, that he learned the difficult art
of dealing with governments.
Even before the present war, the King's mechanical tastes led him to
take a deep interest in the problems of engineering construction, of
shipbuilding and of aviation. While traveling in this country in 1898,
he is said to have studied American railways under the tutelage of Mr.
James J. Hill, and ten years later, to have gone to Great Britain
incognito in order that he might become familiar with conditions in the
shipyards there. Finally, he is known as a skilful and daring chauffeur.
In view of this fact, the well known journalist, Major Seaman, shortly
returned from Belgium, told me the story was true that King Albert
(accompanied only by his chauffeur) when motoring one day from one part
of the lines to another, noticed that they were taking the road toward
the German trenches. He directed the man to change his course, but soon
found they were still going in the wrong direction. After a second order
had proved unavailing, the King shot the chauffeur and himself drove the
car to his destination, thus defeating an attempt to betray him into the
hands of the Teutons. The money given to the traitor by the Germans was
found on his body.
The Brussels Exposition was held the year after Albert became King. With
his usual conscientiousness, the King not only attended innumerable
congresses that were held in Brussels that year, but personally
entertained the delegates at the royal palace; and, with all this, he is
said to have found time to visit, with the Queen, every exhibit in every
section of the Exposition.
Even before the present war, he was known as "The People's King," and
during this war he has shown himself a man and leader, this hero King,
whose name will be honoured through the centuries. Queen Elizabeth, too,
has their hearts' devotion. "Queen Elizabeth is over there with King
Albert in the midst of the fighting troops. From town to town, from camp
to camp, from trench to trench she goes. She inspires the living, she
consoles the dying; she smiles upon them, she binds up their wounds.
There she is, so gentle, so pitying, in that Flemish land, that sad
Country wrapped in heavy mist, a gray winding sheet softly falling over
so many rigid shrouds. Queen errant, but more a Queen than ever has been
the consort of the most puissant King, she symbolizes her Country, that
Country which is so gashed and wounded, but which will not die. Far from
proud cities and sumptuous palaces, she goes to the soldiers fallen
beneath the leaden rain, and as she passes near them the eyes of the
dying are lifted up to her for a last look, a last tear."[3]
[3] Roland de Marès (_Le Temps_).
[Illustration: QUEEN ELIZABETH.]
The Crown Prince, although only thirteen years old, is in the Belgian
army. The Queen entered a meek protest against her husband's taking
their son to the front, but he answered, "I have him with me to teach
him how serious a thing it is to be a King."
In an interview with Mr. Hall--a journalist whom I met at the Belgian
Legation in Washington,--one of the most striking things King Albert
said was this:
"This war was unavoidable. It had been postponed several times within
the last few years, and if it had not been for England's efforts it
would have come at the time of the last Balkan crisis. Germany had been
piling on armament for years, had been building up a war machine so
perfect and so powerful that at a given time it was bound to start
itself. When you have built a monster ship, you cannot continue piling
on weight all the time, or the day will come when the vessel will slip
off the ways of her own accord. This thing has happened in more than one
shipyard.
"When the crisis came I had hopes that the protection of international
treaties would be sufficient to protect Belgium, but in any case there
was no question as to what the Belgian people would do. The violation of
our territory united every faction, and although we were taken by
surprise we did our best and offered what resistance we could."
Mr. Hall writes: "After the defense of Liège King Albert took the field
with his army and fought back all the way to Antwerp. He led both the
sorties from Antwerp in person, and fought with the rear guard that
covered the retreat of his army to the Yser."
The Germans drove the Belgian army from one position to another until
only a strip of Belgium was left. "The King continued to fight in the
bogs and marshes of western Flanders, still undaunted, still defiant,
still calm and serene."
An Englishman asked a Belgian soldier if King Albert was beloved. The
answer was, "No, Monsieur, he is not beloved.... Before the war he was
beloved--today he is adored."
Emile Verhaeren wrote in King Albert's book: "At this moment you are the
one King in the world whose subjects, without exception, unite in loving
and admiring him with all the strength of their soul. This unique fate
is yours, sire. No leader of men on earth has had it in the same degree
as you.
"In spite of the immensity of the sorrow surrounding you, I think you
have a right to rejoice, the more so as your consort, Her Majesty the
Queen, shares this rare privilege with you.
"Sire, your name will be great throughout the ages to come. You are in
such perfect sympathy with your people that you will always be their
symbol. Their courage, their tenacity, their stifled grief, their pride,
their future greatness, their immortality all live with you. Our hearts
are yours in their very depths. Being yourself, you are all of us. And
this you will remain."