Pierre Emmanuel Félix Chazal

Pierre Emmanuel Félix Chazal (Tarbes, January 1, 1808 – Uzos, January 25, 1892) was a Belgian army officer, liberal and major figurehead of the Belgian revolution. His father Jean-Pierre Chazal, a prominent official in revolutionary France, had settled in Brussels as a political exile after the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte at the Waterloo. When resistance against the Dutch regime erupted in full force in the streets of Brussels in 1830, he showed his military talents by organizing a makeshift vigilante and by doing so laid the foundation stone for a Belgian army. In 1846 he became aide-de-camp to King Leopold I who appointed him to lieutenant general and Minister of War in 1847. In 1875 he retired to his castle in France where he wrote his memoirs and died in January 1892.

Quotes

 * I think sire, that you would be wrong to give the slightest publicity to this writing, and even to communicate it to the person who asked you for it.
 * 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 Importance of General Chazal in Colonial Politics. Minister Chazal to Prince Leopold about a booklet he wrote "Completion of the work of 1830" in which he openly pleads for the invasion of the Netherlands, for the reunification of Catholics under one crown, and his ambitions to create a colonial overseas empire, disregarding the neutral status of the newly born Belgian state. KMLKG, Papiers Chazal, 65/1, Chazal to the Duke of Brabant, June 28, 1859. The work may have been commissioned by Leopold I, who had sent his son to the study so that he could gain experience with the complex political landscape.


 * I am not telling you this, Monsignor, in the interest of the project that I am going to defend in the chamber and in front of the country, but in your personal interest. Believe me, Monsignor, we are entering an era where a Prince cannot be too circumspect and cautious. Avoid getting into our discussions and our controversies, avoid taking sides in our struggles.
 * 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 Importance of General Chazal in Colonial Politics. Minister Chazal to Prince Leopold about a booklet he wrote "Completion of the work of 1830" in which he openly pleads for the invasion of the Netherlands, for the reunification of Catholics under one crown, and his ambitions to create a colonial overseas empire, disregarding the neutral status of the newly born Belgian state.KMLKG, Papiers Chazal, 65/1, Chazal to the Duke of Brabant, June 28, 1859.

Quotes addressed to Pierre Emmanuel Félix Chazal

 * I'm still working, but we have to start by putting forward a diplomatic arrangement. This point obtained, we would have a good chance of success. For the moment, the Belgian shipping word in China should not be used at any price.
 * 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 Importance of General Chazal in Colonial Politics. Minister Chazal, who had little ambition in an almost impossible Chinese adventure, Confronting the French practicalities and the British stubbornness of that expedition was most likely the last thing on his mind. Even the experienced king had already given up all hope. The enthusiastic young Leopold did not give up and started to advise the minister himself. KMLKG, Papiers Chazal, 111/13, the Duke of Brabant to Chazal, October 4, 1859.


 * A Prince must not speak the language of the tribunes and proclaim absolute principles in terms which are likely to deeply offend those who are of another opinion than his own.
 * 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 Importance of General Chazal in Colonial Politics. KMLKG, Papiers Chazal, 65/1, Chazal aan de hertog van Brabant, 28 juni 1859.