Belgian Colonial Empire

"The British Municipal Council was empowered to install gas, water, and electric supply; tramways, or other means of facilitating transit of wayfarers or goods, or to grant concessions to others to do so”."

"The foreign areas look for all the world like modern Western cities, with great modern Temples of Finance, massive business premises, and well-built residences."

"The beginning of the first two concessions, the British and the French, were “foul and noxious swamps, around them, on the dryer grounds, were the numerous graves of many generations of people”."

"As the chairman of the Municipal Council of the British Concession in Tianjin, W. W. Dickinson, reported to the consul in Tianjin, these regulations were “based on those which obtain in Shanghai and in the British Concession, and the committee made modifications and additions as past experience and present exigency seem to justify."

"I was detailed with the 15th Infantry to rescue missionaries that were being trapped there. It was like they were prisoners — they couldn't even come out of their billets without getting fired on or having rocks thrown at them."

"Japanese actions during the Tianjin incident is part of its 'new order' policy meant to completely squeeze out British influence in China"

"For three or four Chinese coppers, I could ride in a rickshaw from my home, in England, to Italy, Germany, Japan, or Belgium. I walked to France for violin lessons; I had to cross the river to get to Russia, and often did, because the Russians had a beautiful wooded park with a lake in it."

"Although China attracted Belgian investors and missionaries from the 1860s, it is especially after 1900 that major investments began to take place in various industrial, financial and commercial sectors, such as banking, railways, metallurgy and real estate. The most famous companies were the Banque sino-belge, the Compagnie financière belgo-chinoise, the Société belge d’entreprise en Chine, the Compagnie générale des chemins de fer en Chine and the cfeo. The Beijing-Hankou (present Wuhan) railway line, the mines of Lincheng, the trams of Tientsin and the steel mills of Hanyang were among the most successful results of the Belgian “informal empire.”"

"Anyone, whether in public places or gatherings, by utterances, cries or threats, or by any writing, printed matter, pictures or symbols, which are seized, distributed or sold, for sale or displayed before the eyes of the public, is guilty of insulting the person of the King, shall be punished by imprisonment of six months to three years and a fine of 300 to 3,000 francs."

"The moment the remnants of the Belgian legion are going to return to their country, it is necessary to demonstrate all the folly of the undertaking, not to fall out against the foregoing, but to keep public sentiment on its guard against new undertakings. If one were to attempt such. All the dream images that people had conceived of that adventurous expedition have now disappeared."

"As for the Belgians, it seems that, since the unfortunate Tacamburo affair, the Belgian service in Mexico is over."

"Since castles, monumental conservatories and other parts of royal domains have great patrimonial and historical value, it is logical that their maintenance requires more financial resources than is the case for other properties."

"It is understandable that a colonial establishment organized under such conditions cannot fail to prosper. We are also convinced that the example of the Empress' s guards will be followed by a large number of our compatriots who, trusting with reason in the new situation in Mexico, will take advantage of all this set of circumstances so exceptionally advantageous, to to go bring the contribution of their arms and their intelligence to the beautiful work of civilization undertaken by the emperor Maximilian and the empress Charlotte, his august companion."

"Thanks to the care of the Belgian military authorities, the volunteers returned to their homeland, we were able to find asylum in the barracks in Antwerp."

"The Court of Audit, for example, analyzes us every year. In the last three years we have received confirmation that the entire administration and the way we work is in accordance with all standards that can be found. But no one ever asked for more information"

"The Belgian corps is very weak: it has lost a lot of officers; fighting and disease have thinned our ranks to such an extent that if we are not sent reinforcements from Belgium, our body will merge either with the French corps or with the Austrian corps."

"This glorious fight gave the Belgian volunteers a reputation for bravery and dedication that the future will only increase."

"The bulk of the maintenance costs of the Domain of Laeken relate to the Royal Greenhouses (which are only open to the public three weeks a year, ed.) and the priceless collection of plants whose maintenance has been accepted by the state. In addition, in addition to our own works, government contracts are regularly put out to tender for the renovation of monumental greenhouses. Such as the Congo greenhouse in Laeken, for which around 1.7 million euros has been budgeted in recent years."

"Nobody knows how much the property is actually worth. The Royal Trust itself does not know. The last estimate dates from twenty years ago and is still in Belgian francs. In 1999, the assets were estimated by the public finance department at 221 million euros."

"We manage to balance our budget and keep our patrimony in good condition – despite the heavy burdens resulting from the Donation made by King Leopold II – by respecting all the rules that apply to a public institution of the state, under supervision of the Minister of Finance and the Court of Audit."

"On the occasion of my 65th birthday, I wish to hand over to the State my properties that contribute to the attractiveness and beauty of the places where they are located."

"Why is it necessary that this precious blood be shed for a cause without a very avowable character, for a cause for which the faults of the emperor Maximilian who personifies her, removed what they could inspire of real interest and of deep sympathy ?"

"We have said that the catastrophic question of Mexico is only at the beginning: when eighteen hundred Belgians are thrown into the mouth of that monster they call Mexico, there will be a number of consequences that will fall on our country itself.. After the mourning in the families, perhaps the mourning for the national neutrality, which we have tried to preserve since 1830, because it was indeed our great strength."

"The majority of the costs goes to places used by the Royal Family, like the Royal Estate in Laeken and their country residence in the Estate of Ardenne because castles, monumental greenhouses and other parts of Royal Estates have great patrimonial and historical value, it is logical that their maintenance takes up more financial resources than is the case for other properties."

"This is undeniably the case: the Royal Endowment has its own legal personality and full financial autonomy. It is completely outside the scope of the federal spending budget."

"The Royal Donation is financially completely independent: it is responsible for its own income and expenditure, and manages its own goods and personnel."

"Certainly, in such conditions there is enough to seduce those of our young officers whom Belgian neutrality condemns to a rest of which they are somewhat impatient. The honor of carrying with dignity abroad the name of the fatherland and that of defending the august daughter of a beloved sovereign will soon, we have no doubt, fill the ranks of the Belgian-Mexican legion."

"Whatever opinion one forms of the enterprise to which Archduke Maximilian has just devoted his life, it is not possible for us Belgians to forget that the princess who shares the destinies of the new emperor is also the beloved daughter of our king, that she grew up among us, that our homeland is her own, and that she has the right to count on the sympathies and the wishes of her compatriots ."

"This is no proof that our Belgian people are not as foolish as some think, and that there are few in Belgium who voluntarily play soldier."

"Almost all the Belgian officers intend to leave Mexico in November 1866, at the end of their military service. They will be followed by many soldiers, because it is all too good for the Belgians in this land of promises!"

"The Royal Trust should be able to operate financially autonomously. Now the personal interests of the royal family are too much taken into account. We need to conduct a thorough investigation, after which all options are open, including the cancellation of the Royal Trust and the return of certain domains to the royal family so that they can bear the costs themselves"

"You would remember that when I decided that the state would exploit its domain and that any vacant land would be claimed by it as its own, you found me absolutely absolute. You have nevertheless very vigorously and very skillfully supported me. For the Nile, I also ask you to follow my instructions faithfully. I will not lead you to the shipwreck, I promise you. For the time being, I want to be as powerful as possible on the Nile."

"Personally, I have no other ambition than to devote to the service of the King all the goodwill and effort of which I will still be capable. I know it's a small thing."

"Every historical event is the result of a convergence of many contributing conditions. A different convergence might result in a different event which, influenced by all the remaining factors, would in turn lead to consequences different from those that in fact occurred and, thus, there would begin on an entire chain of events and phenomena -a different variant of development. The history of European imperialism can therefore be written only in a polycentric fashion. Whether we deal with white expansion in Africa, or with any other great instance of cultural diffusion on a continental scale, no unitary theory will ever untangle for us the richness and variety of the historical skein."

"In ten years or so, when rubber starts to decline, it will be agriculture that will have to ensure our public income and our trade."

"The King was very ignorant… he lacked education. ... He was ignorant of geography, the teachings of history and the science of international law"

"It is the King who supports the State from his pocket, to challenge the State for the products of his estates is to force the King from his pocket to cover deficits, a good part of which will come from the free abandonment of the land. 'exploitation of State estates to commercial houses to fatten them on a voluntary basis, houses which not only do nothing for the progress of civilization but which have delayed it with all their might and would like to delay it further in order to be States, tyrants in the State."

"By blowing up the isolated facts, the British sought to cover up their territorial greed under the guise of philanthropy."

"Europe is the light of the world, and the ark of knowledge: upon the welfare of Europe, hangs the destiny of the most remote and savage people."

"I want to show those who are going to peddle that I am the man of all jobs, that at least I am not, just to keep my place. And I hold it all the more so as I can put up with the current boycott, a few months, but that I could not bend my life to it forever."

"Maximilien Strauch was the most active and intimate collaborator of the King. (Leopold II)"

"I think sire, that you would be wrong to give the slightest publicity to this writing, and even to communicate it to the person who asked you for it."

"I am not telling you this, Monsignor, in the interest of the project that I am going to defend in the chamber and in front of the country, but in your personal interest. Believe me, Monsignor, we are entering an era where a Prince cannot be too circumspect and cautious. Avoid getting into our discussions and our controversies, avoid taking sides in our struggles."

"I'm still working, but we have to start by putting forward a diplomatic arrangement. This point obtained, we would have a good chance of success. For the moment, the Belgian shipping word in China should not be used at any price."

"A Prince must not speak the language of the tribunes and proclaim absolute principles in terms which are likely to deeply offend those who are of another opinion than his own."

"No monopoly or favour of any kind in matters of trade."

"The trade of all nations shall enjoy complete freedom in the Conventional basin of the Congo."

"It would never do, to renew the colonial experience gained in the sixteenth century, when Colonies were brought to ruin by those who pretended to fix in Europe, from a purely metropolitan point of view, their financial and administrative existence."

"As to the question whether this modification is opportune, the fact must not be lost sight of that the Berlin Conference never intended to fix unalterably the economic system of the Free State, which, as was already then foreseen, would undergo radical modifications under the influence of progress, nor of establishing for an indefinite period regulations which may hinder, check, and even arrest its development. Provision was wisely made for the probability of future changes, which would require a certain latitude in economic matters in order to secure their easy realization... The moment has now come when the marvellous progress made by the infant State is creating fresh needs, when it would be only in accordance with wisdom and foresight to revise an economic system primarily adapted to a creative and transitional period. Can we blame the infant State for a progress which, in its rapidity, has surpassed the most optimistic forecasts? Can we hinder and arrest this progress in refusing her the means necessary for her development? Can we condemn the Sovereign who has already made such great sacrifices to support for an indefinite period a burden which daily becomes heavier, and at the same time impose upon him new and heavy expenses necessitated by the suppression of the slave-trade? We are convinced that there will be but one answer to these questions."

"All the powers exercising sovereign rights in the said territories will protect and promote, without distinction of nationality and religion, all religious, scientific and charitable institutions and enterprises."