BELGIUM: THE INNOCENT BYSTANDER 



259 



choosing a national congress, 200 strong, 

 which met in Brussels and decided on 

 having an independent country, a con- 

 stitutional hereditary monarchy, and one 

 in which the Orange-Nassau family 

 should have no part. 



The new constitution was next drawn 

 up, and Leopold, of Saxe-Coburg, was 

 chosen King. No sooner did he assume 

 the kingship than the Dutch stormed the 

 g'ates of his country again, with a force 

 twice as large as the Belgian army, which 

 was routed near Louvain. Thereupon 

 the French came to the rescue of the 

 Belgians, and the Dutch withdrew, after 

 a convention was drawn up which pro- 

 vided that both sides should retire from 

 Belgian soil. 



The London conference, which had 

 assembled upon the plea of Holland, now 

 drafted a treaty for the two countries 

 to sign. Under it the Belgians got far 

 less than they had hoped. The Grand 

 Dutchy of Luxemburg was divided, one 

 part going to each country, but Holland 

 keeping the fortress and getting a part 

 of the province of Limburg to compen- 

 sate her. The Maastricht district was 

 also divided, but Holland got the fortress 

 there. The Scheldt River was to be open 

 to both countries. 



But the Dutch king was not ready to 

 accept the terms laid down by outside 

 powers, and refused to give up Antwerp. 

 Thereupon England and France decided 

 to use force to bring him to terms, and 

 the French laid siege on his troops at 

 Antwerp. They capitulated, but refused 

 to give up two forts commanding the 

 Scheldt seaward from Antwerp. Terms 

 w^ere finally arranged and the treaty was 

 reluctantly signed by Holland. . 



DKFENDliD HER NEUTRALITY 



Belgium thereafter passed successfull}/' 

 through a number of domestic vicissi- 

 tudes. In 1870 it began to look as 

 though the country was again to become 

 the victim of a great game of war. 

 France and Germany had determined to 

 try conclusions with the sword, and it 

 was not a bright outlook that confronted 

 Belgium. The government immediately 

 prepared to meet any emergency. A 

 large war credit was voted and the army 



mobilized on the frontiers. Meanwhile 

 England, realizing the possibilities, served 

 notice on Germany and France that she 

 would have to insist upon a respect for 

 the neutrality of Belgium under the 

 treaty of 1839. Both countries agreed 

 to respect that neutrality, and so the 

 Franco-Prussian War was fought with- 

 out Belgium's being entered by the armies 

 of the warring countries. Wherever a 

 few scattered troops did enter Belgium, 

 both pursuers and pursued were dis- 

 armed and interned until the end of 

 hostilities. 



STORY OE THE CONGO 



How Belgium became one of the prin- 

 pal beneficiaries in the partition of 

 Africa constitutes an interesting story. 

 In 1876 King Leopold summoned the 

 geographers of Europe to a conference 

 which resulted in the organization of 

 "The International Association for the 

 Exploration and Civilization of Africa." 

 Although the work was launched first as 

 an international project, Leopold's en- 

 ergy and money gradually made it Bel- 

 gian in character and support. Finally 

 the "International Association of the 

 Congo" secured recognition as a sov- 

 ereign State, the United States leading 

 ofif in this recognition, and Leopold was 

 practically its owner. Under his will he 

 bequeathed to Belgium all "our sovereign 

 rights" in the Congo. Step by step the 

 relations of Belgium and the Congo were 

 brought together until, in 1908, the Bel- 

 gian government formally annexed the 

 territory. 



The Belgian Congo is nearly one-third 

 as large as continental United States, 

 lying in the very heart of Equatorial 

 Africa. It has a population of about 

 20,000,000, some of the tribes being 

 among the most remarkable in the Dark 

 Continent. The government lies rather 

 lightly upon the natives, each tribe hav- 

 ing largely an autonomous rule. It is 

 almost coextensive with the Valley of 

 the Congo, which is one of the most 

 fertile river valleys in the world. The 

 serious handicap in the development of 

 Belgian Congo is the great heat. Lying 

 immediately under the Equator, the cli- 

 mate is torrid in the extreme, the ther- 



