Henri Alexis Brialmont

Henri-Alexis Brialmont (Venlo, 25 May 1821 – Brussels, 21 July 1903), nicknamed The Belgian Vauban after the French military architect, was a Belgian army officer, politician and writer of the 19th century, best known as a military architect and designer of fortifications. Brialmont was also an active pamphleteer and political campaigner and lobbied through his career for reform and expansion of the Belgian military and was also involved in the foundation of the Congo Free State.

Today, Brialmont is best known for the fortifications which he designed in Belgium and Romania and would influence another in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The fortifications he designed in Belgium at the end of the 1880s around the towns of Liège, Namur and Antwerp would play an important role during the early stages of the German invasion of Belgium during World War I.

Quotes

 * Should it not, this essentially producing country, search all parts of the globe and seek to fight with other nations, by exploring in advance the countries likely to favor industries, by studying local needs and resources, by indicating the nature and time of the shipments to be made, etc.?
 * All the King's Men' A search for the colonial ideas of some advisers and "accomplices" of Leopold II (1853-1892). (Hannes Vanhauwaert), 5. A prospectus by the military Chazal and Brialmont, The military centipede Henri-Alexis Brialmont (1821-1893) Brialmont in 1853 On The need for a stronger merchant fleet, protected by a naval force, he was amazed that it still did not exist in Belgium, despite the unbridled economic boom that Belgium had entered in, and that had one of the largest ports in Europe. CROKAERT, P. BRIALMONT, A. Brialmont, Eloge et mémoires, 399.


 * The Duke of Brabant (Leopold II) takes me for a statistical office.
 * All the King's Men' A search for the colonial ideas of some advisers and "accomplices" of Leopold II (1853-1892). (Hannes Vanhauwaert), 5. A prospectus by the military Chazal and Brialmont, The military centipede Henri-Alexis Brialmont (1821-1893) Brialmont was happy to study the overseas expansion of Belgium together with Leopold II, whereupon Leopold must have involved him in his studies. young Leopold overwhelmed his new comrade in arms with study proposals and encouragement for a new brochure on the necessity of Belgian colonialism. DAYE, P. Leopold II, 83.


 * The best way to create opportunities is to send, from time to time, expeditions to countries with which there is a chance to establish commercial relations.
 * All the King's Men' A search for the colonial ideas of some advisers and "accomplices" of Leopold II (1853-1892). (Hannes Vanhauwaert), 5. A prospectus by the military Chazal and Brialmont, The military centipede Henri-Alexis Brialmont (1821-1893) Brialmont and Leopold II speculate on controlling multiple trading posts, which would be more beneficial than a Colony under economic liberalism. BRIALMONT, H.A. Completion of the work of 1830: establishments to be created in the transatlantic countries: future of Belgian commerce and industry. Brussel, 1860, 65-66.


 * He wanted to transform his little Belgians into an imperial nation capable of dominating and enlightening others.
 * All the King's Men' A search for the colonial ideas of some advisers and "accomplices" of Leopold II (1853-1892). (Hannes Vanhauwaert), 5. A prospectus by the military Chazal and Brialmont, The military centipede Henri-Alexis Brialmont (1821-1893) CROKAERT, P. BRIALMONT, A. Brialmont, Eloge et mémoires, 422.


 * He desires a strong Belgium so that his wealth ceases to arouse envy among his neighbors; he also desires her to be strong, so that she can increase her heritage, float her flag on the seas, settle on distant beaches.
 * All the King's Men' A search for the colonial ideas of some advisers and "accomplices" of Leopold II (1853-1892). (Hannes Vanhauwaert), 5. A prospectus by the military Chazal and Brialmont, The military centipede Henri-Alexis Brialmont (1821-1893) LOMBAERDE, P. Leopold II. King-Builder. Ghent, 1995.


 * A man of struggle and controversy, discussed and often vilified by the small press, I have always been an embarrassment to those who have employed me. My character and my faults are not an obstacle to my useful service in the active army, but they will make me ill-suited to fulfill the duties of the King's aide-de-camp which require extreme reserve and prudence.
 * All the King's Men' A search for the colonial ideas of some advisers and "accomplices" of Leopold II (1853-1892). (Hannes Vanhauwaert), 5. A prospectus by the military Chazal and Brialmont, The military centipede Henri-Alexis Brialmont (1821-1893) On December 23, 1865, Brialmont replied negatively to a letter from Jules Van Praet requesting the new king to follow in the footsteps of his father Henri-Alexis Brialmont to become aide-de-camp to the new king Leopold II. Brialmont kindly thanked him for the honour. LECONTE, L. “Brialmont, Henri.”, 216-221.


 * The economic crisis which weighs on Europe since the industry took such a big development, carries the nations towards the colonial companies. Belgium could not remain a stranger to this movement without seriously compromising its material interests; our King (Leopold II) understood this, and this is what determined him to substitute his individual initiative for the persistent inaction of the government and the nation.
 * All the King's Men' A search for the colonial ideas of some advisers and "accomplices" of Leopold II (1853-1892). (Hannes Vanhauwaert), 5. A prospectus by the military Chazal and Brialmont, The military centipede Henri-Alexis Brialmont (1821-1893) LECONTE, L. “Brialmont, Henri.”, 216-221.


 * At the time when the government intervened in the Guatemalan affair, the European colonies were closed to Belgian trade by prohibitive laws or high differential duties ... We therefore had to think about creating our own bases of operations for trade. national. From this point of view, we can only applaud the idea of ​​forming a Belgian colony on the vast American continent. ... Since this initiative, which our lack of initiative and perseverance alone failed, the situation has changed completely. Under the impetus of the great economic reform, led by the illustrious Robert Peel, ideas about free trade have gained ground in Europe, and the time may not be far off when all the powers will remove the barriers with which they have surrounded their transatlantic possessions. Therefore, the need to create agricultural colonies to promote the development of trade and national industry will no longer exist to the same degree.
 * All the King's Men' A search for the colonial ideas of some advisers and "accomplices" of Leopold II (1853-1892). (Hannes Vanhauwaert), 6. Baron Auguste Lambermont (1819-1905), A key figure in the background of early Belgian colonialism Henri-Alexis Brialmont In The Completion of the Work of 1830. BRIALMONT, H.A. Complètement de l’œuvre de 1830, 65-66.

Quotes addressed to Henri Alexis Brialmont

 * Never have I had the impression of such a moral and civic downfall. In no country, not even the last of the last, what is happening here would be possible.
 * All the King's Men' A search for the colonial ideas of some advisers and "accomplices" of Leopold II (1853-1892). (Hannes Vanhauwaert), 6. Baron Auguste Lambermont (1819-1905), The Anti-Slavery Conference and the Relaxing Relationship with Leopold II Lambermont in a 1895 letter to Henri Alexis Brialmont after the failed attempt to annex the Congo State by Belgium. WILLEQUET, J. Le baron Lambermont, 113-114.