page_title: Belgium in "the long nineteenth century"
section_title: Reign of Leopold II
hierarchical_section_title: Belgium in "the long nineteenth century" / Periods / Reign of Leopold II
caption_attribution_description: ქართული: ორმოცდაათი წლისთავის პარკის სამხედრო მუზეუმი და ტრიუმფალური თაღი English: Parc du Cinquantenaire, Bruxelles 30/05/2006
context_page_description: The history of Belgium from 1789 to 1914, the period dubbed the "long 19th century" by the historian Eric Hobsbawm, includes the end of Austrian rule and periods of French and Dutch occupation of the region, leading to the creation of the first independent Belgian state in 1830.
  In the years leading up to 1789, the territory today known as Belgium was divided into two states, called the Austrian Netherlands and Prince-Bishopric of Liège, both of which were part of the Holy Roman Empire. The area was captured by the French during the French Revolutionary Wars and incorporated into the French First Republic from roughly 1794 to 1815. In the aftermath of Napoleon's final defeat in 1815, the Congress of Vienna added the territory of Belgium to the United Kingdom of the Netherlands.
  In 1830, with the Belgian Revolution the Belgian provinces declared their independence, but only finally gained it in 1839. From 1885 the creation of a personal colony by Leopold II, the Congo Free State caused and international outcry over human rights abuses, and forced the Belgian state to annex the region in 1908, forming the Belgian Congo.
context_section_description: Leopold II was sworn in as king of the Belgians in 1865. His reign coincided with the Belle Époque and rapid economic expansion from the 1880s. It was characterized by the resurgence of the Catholic Party, political confrontation over military action, educational and franchise reform and his creation of a personal empire in Central Africa.
  
  One of Leopold's long-term preoccupations was increasing the international standing and influence of his country. Throughout much of his early reign, Leopold hoped to regain the territories which had been ceded to the Netherlands in 1839, particularly Luxembourg, which he viewed as an integral piece of Belgian territory. He also pushed for the implementation of conscription and reforms to the military, many of which would only be realized after his death. From the 1870s, he tried to persuade several Belgian prime ministers to support the creation of an overseas colony in the Far East or Africa to increase Belgian wealth and political influence. After being repeatedly turned down, he launched a personal venture to colonize the Congo river basin in central Africa, without the backing or support of the Belgian state. Some of the vast personal wealth he accumulated from the colony was spent on construction of grandiose public buildings across Belgium, earning him the nickname "Builder King" (roi batisseur). 
  Most of these projects were focused in Brussels, where he constructed two large palaces, and Ostende, where a vast colonnaded arcade was built along the seafront in an attempt to turn the town into a fashionable seaside resort. During Leopold's reign, Belgium hosted five prestigious World Exhibitions, in 1885, 1888, 1894, 1897 and 1905, as well as a major national exhibition in 1880 to mark the 50th anniversary of Belgian independence.
  Politically, Leopold disliked the Socialist party, preferring to negotiate with the Catholic Party, which held power for much of his reign. He was widely distrusted by politicians, who saw him as meddling in state business and seeking to expand the power of the monarchy. Towards the end of his reign, public awareness of the atrocities committed under his colonial regime, as well as his marital infidelity, led to a significant fall the monarchy's popularity. Following his death in December 1909, his funeral cortege was booed.
  Although Belgium was officially neutral throughout his reign, significant numbers of Belgians volunteered to fight for right-wing causes abroad. From 1860, large numbers of Belgian Catholic volunteers went to Italy in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to defend the independence of the Papal States against Giuseppe Garibaldi's revolutionaries. The Zouaves, as they were known, were ultimately unsuccessful and the Papal States fell in 1870. A volunteer Belgian Legion fought alongside French forces in the Mexican Adventure from 1864 on behalf of Mexican Emperor Maximilian I, whose wife was the daughter of Leopold I. The unit suffered heavy casualties at the Battle of Tacámbaro in 1865, and after heavy fighting was disbanded in December 1866.
caption: View of the Cinquantenaire park and arch, started under Leopold II in 1880. It was only finished in 1905.
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