I have heard that Napoleon III wished to annex Belgium and Luxembourg, however could he actually do this without starting a serious confrontation with Britain?
I have heard that Napoleon III wished to annex Belgium and Luxembourg, however could he actually do this without starting a serious confrontation with Britain?
The Belgian parliament would have never agree to that. A war with the dutch is not impossible but belgium would not be the agressor if such a war happend.You don't need someone from belgium, you need someone who knows about British foreign policy. Would Britain in the 19th century go to war over Belgium? My gutt feeling says yes and probably would find countries like Prussia on its side.
The only way I can see France attacking Belgium without other countries responding, if is Belgium forsake its neutrality for some (offensive) reason. Leo II at one point wanted to attack the Netherlands, hoping to annex the catholic south. If he does that for some reason (no idea how though, Belgian parliament would not agree), I can see France helping the Netherlands, kick some Belgian ass and annex part of it, without Britain reacting (Belgium was the agressor in the war after all). I doubt France will (or can) annex all of Belium in this case though. Both France and the Netherlands will probably only get small parts, while Belgium remains mostly intact.
The only way I can see France attacking Belgium without other countries responding, if is Belgium forsake its neutrality for some (offensive) reason. Leo II at one point wanted to attack the Netherlands, hoping to annex the catholic south. If he does that for some reason (no idea how though, Belgian parliament would not agree), I can see France helping the Netherlands, kick some Belgian ass and annex part of it, without Britain reacting (Belgium was the agressor in the war after all). I doubt France will (or can) annex all of Belium in this case though. Both France and the Netherlands will probably only get small parts, while Belgium remains mostly intact.
Leo II at one point wanted to attack the Netherlands, hoping to annex the catholic south.
Of course not, but it was basicly the only way I saw France being allowed to annex part of Belgium without the rest of Europes declaring war on France.The Belgian parliament would have never agree to that.
And neither would the Netherlands be the agressor. The Netherlands pretty quickly decided they didn't care about Belgian territory anymore.A war with the dutch is not impossible but belgium would not be the agressor if such a war happend.
I've seen Leopold II accused of many things, but not yet of planning an attack on The Netherlands. What is your source for this ?
No, the south of the Netherlands (Brabant and Limburg) was still catholic and a pretty large part of the inhabitants of the rest of the Netherlands were catholic too. I believe in the 19th century roughly 40% of the Dutch were catholic and 60% protestant.Eh? I thought that Flanders was the old Catholic part of The Netherlands?
Louis-Napoléon didn't want Belgium /thread
I am pretty sure that Napoleon III discussed with Bismarck that if France remained neutral in the seven weeks war, Prussia would remain neutral in a french attempt to annex Belgium.
He probably wanted both, but Belgium had a low priority as it would bring him into conflict with Britain.I'm pretty sure you're incorrect.
Napoléon III wanted Luxembourg, not Belgium.
He probably wanted both, but Belgium had a low priority as it would bring him into conflict with Britain.
It is an educated guess. France wanted the Rhine border for centuries and looking at the FFranco-Prussian war and the attempt of aquiring Luxemburg, it looks like Napoleon III inherited that claim.That's like saying any X ruler wanted to conquer the world. It has absolutely no backing.
The book "The Franco-Prussian War: The German Conquest of France in 1870-1871" by Geoffrey Wawro, states that Napoleon III did have the desire to annex both Luxembourg and Belgium. The question I proposed with this thread is if France could actually do this without starting a war with Britain and if so how?That's like saying any X ruler wanted to conquer the world. It has absolutely no backing.
It is an educated guess. France wanted the Rhine border for centuries and looking at the FFranco-Prussian war and the attempt of aquiring Luxemburg, it looks like Napoleon III inherited that claim.
The book "The Franco-Prussian War: The German Conquest of France in 1870-1871" by Geoffrey Wawro, states that Napoleon III did have the desire to annex both Luxembourg and Belgium. The question I proposed with this thread is if France could actually do this without starting a war with Britain and if so how?
It's not a very educated guess if you're applying generalizations.
I've read this book, and a) it doesn't mention anything of the sort, while b) it's a Germanophilic tome that I wouldn't exactly call a reliable source. Wawro spends the greater part of his work prancing on about how awesome Bismarck is and how great Prussia/Germany was. He's basically regurgitating what other, better, writers have said long before - and what other, better writers, have long since rebuffed.
Now, placing Belgium in Paris' sphere of influence? Oh yes, certainly. But that's far and away quite a different beast altogether from annexation & integration into France proper.
Ok, in that case what source do you have that sais Napoleon III was not interested in Belgium?