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.”