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

Britain he had always envisioned being part of as the prince consort. The problem was
that Britain, especially as Palmerston and the average British citizen viewed it, did not
include Leopold.
In this sense Leopold wanted empire whereas the government wanted trade, and
if necessary, colonies with which to improve this trade. Leopold was an imperialist first,
a colonialist second. The government, if it was anything at all, was colonialist. This can
be seen in Leopold’s attempts to gain sovereignty over not only part of Guatemala but
Nicaragua also, even if it was done surreptitiously and out of the sight of the chambers.
The political motivation that marked later European imperialism was certainly lacking
in the government but not the king. In this way Belgium’s colonial attempts were
different than Europe’s. Leopold I’s intense personal interest in colonialism, if not
imperialism, separated him from almost all later imperialists with the possible exception
of Bismarck, who also viewed colonialism as part of the badge of nationhood. Although
it is possible to imagine the Conference for Berlin in 1885 as having convened and
accomplished its goals without Leopold, it certainly would not have been as definitive
or final without his direction. Bismarck, who did not disdain Leopold II as he had his
father, helped Germany achieve imperial status, at least partially as a result of the
influence of Leopold II.
Leopold II had learned how to avoid the messy complications of constitutional
government that had plagued his father. He sought empire in his personal capacity, not
as king of the Belgians. This was a truly brilliant answer to the confinements of
constitutional monarchy. Leopold II could do this because he was one of the richest
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