The reign of Louis Philippe of Belgium (r. 1865–1904)

[NotDavidSoslan]

Early life of Louis Philippe of Belgium (1833–1865)


Louis Philippe as a child

Louis Philippe, the King of Belgium between 1865 and 1904, was born at the Laeken Palace in Brussels on 24 July 1833, and named after the then King of France. The eldest son of King Leopold of Belgium with his wife Louise of Orleans, he had a younger brother, Prince Leopold (1835–1909), who was a strong advocate of colonialism, but was never considered as a successor to the throne.

In 1842, Louis Philippe received the title of Duke of Brabant, and was named a first lieutenant in the army. He served in the army until ascending to the throne in 1865.

Nine years later, Louis Philippe became a member of the Belgian Senate, as the Constitution gave him a seat there upon his majority. He took an active interest in promoting democracy and liberal values, as well as support for the bourgeois, and opposed proposals for a colonial empire. He later became a positivist and humanist, and visited Russia, Hungary, Egypt, Portugal and Spain between 1854 and 1861. Leopold I died on 10 December 1865, and Louis Philippe took an oath of office one week later, at 32.

 

[NotDavidSoslan]

Early reign of Louis Philippe of Belgium (1865–1871)


In 1866, Louis Philippe named Walthère Frère-Orban Prime Minister of Belgium, who implemented several liberal reforms.

Louis Philippe sought to reform the Belgian government along classical liberal and humanist lines, and keep the bourgeoisie politically dominant; he opposed both traditional conservatism and radical left-wing ideologies. This made Walthère Frère-Orban his greatest ally and collaborator, although the two sometimes disagreed.

In 1866, Frère-Orban was named Prime Minister. His cabinet removed government support from religious schools, abolished an unemployment recording book, and lowered tariffs in order to promote free trade. Strikes and unions remained illegal until the 1890s.

Louis Philippe abolished the possibility of paying substitutes to avoid military service, and removed the lottery element from the Belgian Army. His military doctrine did not build fortresses, instead seeking to make the army small but professionalized, with access to telegraphs and railways in order to defend Belgium from the ambitions of France and the emerging German state under Bismarck.

He opposed colonies, viewing them as a waste of effort and resources, and thought they should have been focused on domestic reforms and development. This led to tension with his brother Leopold, who was a major proponent of colonialism and buying the Philippines or some other territory, and the two did not talk for years.

During the Franco-Prussian War, Louis Philippe declared Belgium neutral, and did not allow either the North German Confederation or France to deploy troops in his territory. However, his French sympathies led to the Prussian High Command considering an invasion of Belgium in order to install Leopold as King, a plan that Bismarck strenuously rejected, to avoid war with Britain. The war led to the Catholic Party winning a landslide the following general election, and restoring funding for religious schools.