Jules Van Praet

Jules Van Praet (2 July 1806 – 29 December 1887) was a Belgian diplomat and personal secretary of King Leopold I of Belgium. He was born in Bruges, and died in Brussels aged 81.

Quotes

 * I thought about it carefully and I remained convinced that there is no place in Belgium that it could be more desirable for me to represent than Antwerp. ... I have always been imbued with the conviction that matters which particularly affect the prosperity of Antwerp should have a large part in the care of the government. Belgium had its era of commercial activity, because at that time it had ready-made means of selling the products of its manufactures. I think that the efforts of the government must tend to restore life to maritime trade, to multiply the means of exchange with overseas countries, to replace the colonial outlets which we have lost, to facilitate commercial relations with a liberal legislation.
 * All the King's Men' A search for the colonial ideas of some advisers and "accomplices" of Leopold II (1853-1892). (Hannes Vanhauwaert), 4. Viceroys without colonial aspirations? Jules Van Praet (1806-1887) DISCAILLES, E. Charles Rogier (1800-1885) from unpublished documents, III, 1894, 9.


 * Always tell the truth, even if it should make him jump out of his shoe.
 * All the King's Men' A search for the colonial ideas of some advisers and "accomplices" of Leopold II (1853-1892). (Hannes Vanhauwaert), 4. Viceroys without colonial aspirations? Jules Van Praet (1806-1887) He certainly did not play his role of chief of staff to the king as that of a submissive slave: this is apparent from a preserved quote from him in Bruges in which he was determined to be his king. VIAENE, V. “Leopold I, Belgian Diplomacy and the Culture of the European Concert, 1831-1865”, 130. Van Praet then rebelled against the fact that Leopold I had already had several mistresses there, which according to the private secretary was detrimental to the popularity of the monarchy.


 * His Majesty has long been imbued with the immense utility which would result for Belgium from the possession of some commercial establishment outside her territory, outside the European continent. This thought constantly preoccupied the King.
 * All the King's Men' A search for the colonial ideas of some advisers and "accomplices" of Leopold II (1853-1892). (Hannes Vanhauwaert), 4. Viceroys without colonial aspirations? Jules Van Praet (1806-1887) In a letter to consul Edouard Blondeel van Cuelebroeck in 1837 DUCHESNE, A. A la recherche d'une colonie belge: le consul Blondeel and Abyssinie (1840-1842): contribution à l'histoire précoloniale de la Belgique. Royal Belgian Colonial Institute. Moral and Political Science Section. Papers in-8 30.3. Brussels, 1953, 47. Blondeel would later also exert an influence in favor of Belgian colonialism on the heir apparent of Leopold I.


 * There is no longer a single government that colonizes. There is only individual colonization.
 * All the King's Men' A search for the colonial ideas of some advisers and "accomplices" of Leopold II (1853-1892). (Hannes Vanhauwaert), 4. Viceroys without colonial aspirations? Jules Van Praet (1806-1887) The colonization of Santo Tomas in Guatemala marked a turning point in Belgium's young colonial history. The fiasco in Guatemala traumatized Belgian politics and also played a part in the increasing reticence of Van Praet, who passed on to the Duke of Brabant (Leopold II) the liberal criticisms of Minister Frère-Orban against the old-fashioned techniques of colonization with privileged societies or differential systems. JANSSENS, G. STENGERS, J. New light on Leopold I and II. The Goffinet Archive, 253.


 * My dear Mr. Banning, I am returning the 2nd sheet to you. I find this of extreme interest. You would have to read many volumes to acquire the geographical notions that you have so condensed into a few pages. I read this with great charm. You're giving the matter a nice boost. I have no comments to make. I made a small cross at the top of page 28, because I thought it was better to put "revise" instead of "revis" or "undertook" instead of "undertakes." A thousand friendships. (s) Jules Van Praet.
 * All the King's Men' A search for the colonial ideas of some advisers and "accomplices" of Leopold II (1853-1892). (Hannes Vanhauwaert), 4. Viceroys without colonial aspirations? Jules Van Praet (1806-1887) ARAB. Paper Banning, III. correspondence. Lettres de Jules Van Praet, 30. After a discussion in their publications between Auguste Roeykens and Professor Jean Stengers, the letter was dated 18 November 1877. See: ROEYKENS, A. Léopold II et la Conférence Géographique de Bruxelles (1876). Brussels, 1956, 15-16, footnote 4.

Quotes about Jules Van Praet

 * He was not the result of an eminent virtue: a small dose of male selfishness, coupled with a certain contempt or rather a slight disdain for women, always kept him away from the sacrament of marriage.
 * All the King's Men' A search for the colonial ideas of some advisers and "accomplices" of Leopold II (1853-1892). (Hannes Vanhauwaert), 3. Family and Friendly Ties Under a Dynasty, The small world of the elite. DE HAULLEVILLE, C.A. “Jules Van Praet.” In: Portraits and silhouettes. First series, I, Brussel, 1892, 323.


 * No one knows if Leopold I made Van Praet, or if Van Praet made Leopold I.
 * All the King's Men' A search for the colonial ideas of some advisers and "accomplices" of Leopold II (1853-1892). (Hannes Vanhauwaert), 4. Viceroys without colonial aspirations? Jules Van Praet (1806-1887) Adolphe Dechamps (1807-1875) wrote of the very close relationship between the king and the private secretary as follows. BRONNE, C. Jules Van Praet, 23.


 * He is hardly interested in foreign matters, except when they are of direct and immediate interest to the country.
 * All the King's Men' A search for the colonial ideas of some advisers and "accomplices" of Leopold II (1853-1892). (Hannes Vanhauwaert), 4. Viceroys without colonial aspirations? Jules Van Praet (1806-1887) DAYE, P. Léopold II. Brussel, 1934, 156.


 * Van Praet and Devaux were not concerned with the Congo. They both expressed a desire to be kept out of the "African adventure." For Mr. Van Praet, laden with years and involved for half a century in the history of the dynasty, this abstention was natural. As for his nephew, he had not concealed from the King, with his usual frankness, the disappointments and the dangers he faced. The prevailing opinion at court was that the founding of a colony was beyond the strength of the Sovereign of a small country and that he would encompass his private fortune, without being able to create anything lasting. ... He (Leopold II) did not try to overcome Mr. Devaux's disbelief and did without his services.
 * All the King's Men' A search for the colonial ideas of some advisers and "accomplices" of Leopold II (1853-1892). (Hannes Vanhauwaert), 4. Viceroys without colonial aspirations? Jules I en Jules II During the reign of Leopold II, Van Praet delved completely into his historical books and kept aloof from the colonial adventures of the monarch. Baron Eugène Henri Léonard Beyens “Souvenirs sur Leopold II and the court of Belgium.” In: General Review. I: May 15, 1934, 545.

Quotes addressed Jules Van Praet

 * 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.