EARLY BELGIAN COLONIAL EFFORTS - The University of Texas at ...

Between 1850 and 1855 Cohen continued to request from the Belgian
government additional money and recognition of the commercial opportunities. By
1852 the full two million francs authorized for development had been expended and
Cohen was simply not able to raise any interest in further government spending,
although he was able to raise private capital at various times.
Early in 1848, 363 Cohen had visited Leopold personally to discuss the Rio
Nunez. He referred to the king’s positive reception to the idea in three letters to
d’Hoffschmidt. 364 But with all available funding dissipated and Leopold’s decision that
the risks of personal intervention were too great, 365 Cohen was not able to raise
additional funds from the government. Privately funded trade continued. As a result of
the scandal over misuse of funds and the cessation of the annual visits by the Belgian
navy, however, trade with the Rio Nunez began a precipitous decline beginning in 1858.
What continued throughout this period, however, was the presence of a ship
belonging to the Belgian navy. For a period of eight years one of the two ships of the
Belgian navy, the Louise Marie and the Duc de Brabant, made yearly trips to the Rio
Nunez until the final revocation of the treaty in 1855.
The Louise Marie made seven of the trips and the Duc de Brabant 366 one. Van
Haverbeke was the captain for six and Petit, involved in the initial trip to Santo Tomas
in 1842, the remaining two. Each of these trips included a physician in the service of the
363
Massinon, 16.
364
Cohen to Leopold, 10 July 1849, 21 September 1851 and 16 February 1852. AMAE 2024 and
Massinon, 16.
365
Ibid., 31.
366
The Duc de Brabant was put back in service in 1852.
169