Belgium: Rise of the Choco Lords

Chapter II

The Belgian Navy at the start of 1836 consisted of merely three clippers. Another was commissioned, and that was barely enough to transport the 1st Division across the Atlantic Ocean on its colonial adventure.



By July of that year, the small and battered fleet had reached the Gulf of Darien, bearing a declaration of war and instructions to its officers to act on their own initiative to the best interests of the Crown.



After months of skirmishing, Panama City was taken but the defining battle eluded the Belgian army. That finally came in December, when the Colombian army was soundly defeated and the 1st Division proceeded to destroy it in detail. News of that victory reached Brussels and the Company with much delay, but they did so early enough to soothe their anxiety in the face of a far greater challenge: on January 24 1837, the Netherlands declared war on Belgium. The Belgian armies retreated from the front to regroup, after some initial skirmishes, and to organize the reserves that had been mobilised – a mere two brigades, but infinitely valuable in those times.



But after March, the tide of the war changed. Luxemburg’s small army was defeated, the Dutch were driven back (due, in great part, to the ineptness of their top general, in comparison with the tactical genius of his Belgian rival) and Belgian armies pushed into the Netherlands, occupying the border regions. Meanwhile, the 1st Division was occupying Colombia, having destroyed all sources of active resistance.



Under these conditions, Belgium’s enemies had no choice other than to accept its demands. First the Dutch had to part with their Sumatran holdings – prime cocoa land – in the Christmas Peace of 1837.



Then Colombia accepted the loss of the north-western part of its territory. Belgian Colombia would prove very useful for the future designs of the Company.



In the headquarters of the Company, the Gentlemen sipped hot chocolate and congratulated each other on their success. Belgium had accrued a little more infamy than would have been healthy for it, but as long as it enjoyed British protection it should be safe while the world’s opinion mellowed. All they had to do in the meantime was wait, and let the chocolate flow.

Oh, I'll try to add Haiti at some point, or other islands if I can get them, but my main concern is infamy. There's much to conquer and not enough time to let the world forgive your imperialist ways... West Africa is the top priority though, since most of the world's cocoa comes from there.

Chapter III

For the next decade, Belgium prospered in peace, and its culture thrived. The Flemish Movement was formed in 1846 and in that same year Adolphe Sax invented the saxophone. By 1849 the liberal party had gained a slim majority in the upper house and the political system begun to be reformed. More significantly, the world seemed to be forgetting the bellicose side of Belgium. That, the Gentlemen at the Company said, was a good sign that it was time to act.



With the 1st Division bolstered by locally raised brigades, Colombia was powerless to stop the second Belgian invasion. Within less than a year, the Colombian government was forced to cede its south-west province to Belgium, thereby becoming a land-locked state.



Once again, the Gentlemen in Brussels scarcely had time to congratulate themselves before the Dutch begun their second invasion of Belgium. For over two years the flames of war raged all over the Low Countries and Indonesia, but by November 1852 almost all of the Netherlands were under Belgian occupation, while the Dutch and Belgian colonial armies had fought themselves to a standstill, the former failing to conquer Sumatra, the latter then failing to conquer Java. Unfortunately, after its recent adventure in Colombia, Belgium was in no position to demand a colony from the Netherlands, but it did insist on the release of Luxembourg from satellite status, and that brought Brussels some prestige in its victory.



Just three months later, a border incident provided Belgium with a casus belli against the United States of Central America. The Belgian people were tired of fighting the Dutch in the recent war, but the Gentlemen of the Company didn’t have to try hard to incite a measure of jingoism in the patriots among them. It helped that His Majesty was persuaded to replace the anti-military conservative party with the pro-military liberal party in the lower house. As a side benefit to the Company, taxes were reduced and factory costs went down as the economy made the transition from an interventionist model to laissez-faire.

War with the USCA was not going to be a simple affair. It may have appeared to be a weak country, but it was allied with Mexico and the USA. An extra division was shipped to Belgian Colombia, and when war was properly declared on October 31 1854, Belgium was up against the better part of a continent.



Fortunately, the USA and Mexico were busy fighting the CSA, but Mexico could spare a dangerously large army to help out its southern neighbour. A year of back and forth fighting passed before the Belgians neutralized the enemy armies and occupied Costa Rica. Shortly afterwards, it was kept as part of the peace settlement.



In less than a month, another border incident gave Belgium another fortunate casus belli, this time against Colombia. The two countries still had a truce, so some patience was required before war could be declared. On June 19 1855 the Third Colombian War was declared.



This time, Peru came to Colombia’s aid, but its army could do little but watch from a safe distance as the more experienced Belgian divisions marched through enemy territory, subduing all resistance. In October, they brought their forces to bear in the one and only battle of that war, which ended in Belgian victory.



A month later, Colombia accepted the loss of most of its territory. The cocoa bounty was superfluous.

Those and the immediately following years saw Belgium’s prestige, military might and industrialization increase. New factories were founded in Central America, commerce raiders were added to the fleets, new brigades were formed to protect Sumatra and the homeland, which was steadily fortified along all its borders. The result of this upwards trajectory was that by 1858, Belgium was formally acknowledged to be one of the Great Powers of the world.



There was a celebration at the Company, attended by distinguished capitalists and representatives of the state, all shareholders in the new chocolate empire.

“This chocolate monopoly venture is going splendidly, isn’t it?”

“Oh yes. Some lives are lost here and there, but it’s all for a noble cause.”

“Yes, a good and noble cause!”

“Good and noble indeed!”

“I do believe we are at the forefront of civilization.”

“Here’s to us!”


A few days later, news came from the border. The Dutch were invading again. In force. A Gentleman vented his frustration at a Company meeting.

“Why can’t we ever celebrate our imperialism in peace?”

Thanks! I don't intend to take any land in Europe, this is one of the strategic limitations I have set for myself.

(Though I might make an exception for the Swiss...)

Thanks! I started playing it and taking notes for this AAR before I took a proper look at this section, and when I did I was surprised by how many Belgium AARs there are here. But, in some ways, it's a country made for this game, having emerged in the 1830s with solid industrial foundations and a historical colonial future. I had been thinking of pursuing this chocolate strategy (just for fun) ever since HoI2 (Belgium's chocolate brown colour is a fixture there as well), but it would have been far more difficult there and it makes much more sense here.

Also, the astute reader may notice some Joseph Conrad references which I absolutely couldn't help, having read Heart of Darkness and some of his other early stories this summer.

Yes, there's no chocolate but I do plan to take it, as a secondary objective in Africa. If all goes well I should be able to beat the French in the race for west Africa and then turn my attention to the Congo, provided Portugal doesn't pull a surprise expansion there (which I've never seen them do).

Chapter IV

In July 1859, a large Dutch army commanded by a very aggressive general (+5 attack) invaded Belgium. Acting with characteristic calmness, the people panicked into being herded to their conscript brigades, and soon the Belgian army was ready to take action. While the Dutch lost time trying to wear down the border forts, the Belgians invaded the Netherlands and destroyed any smaller armies that were gathering to link up with the main force. Then, they converged on Antwerp, where the Dutch were days away from subduing all defences. The battle was desperate, with the fate of the two nations hanging in the balance, and the Belgians lost. But it turned out to not be that desperate after all, since the Dutch army moved on to besiege Ghent, and the Belgians had time to reorganize and engage it in a second battle. That time, they were victorious!



Since operations in the East Indies consisted of the Belgian army in Sumatra staring at the Dutch army in Java from across the straits, the battles in Belgium pretty much judged the fate of the war, which was concluded in a white peace just two days before Christmas. The conscripts were sent home in time for the holidays.

During the next year, the Belgian government consolidated its position in the civilized world by signing the Geneva Convention, while the Company undertook a much more practical task, the construction of the Panama Canal. Aside from a short war in Brazil, responding to a call of allied Argentina, Belgian foreign policy remained modest during the next five years, but by the mid 60s, that attitude had began to cause unrest. Through the Company’s indirect influence, the reactionary Nationalist Partij gained power and set about once again furthering the country’s chocolate interests.

The Company had already established itself in America and Indonesia, in a position that provided much optimism for future expansion, but it was common knowledge that the times were changing, and the value of certain geographies with them. Western Africa would inevitably be colonized, maybe in one decade, maybe in three, but when that happened the Company’s chocolate hegemony would be broken. It was imperative that the Belgians got a head start in the scramble for Africa, and they needed a base of operations for that – Dutch Ghana.

After extensive preparations, the Belgian government declared war on the Netherlands on November 19 1865. The Belgian armies moved swiftly across the border and pinned down the enemy in a pincer movement.



By August 1866 the Dutch were worn down and conceded their defeat. The prize, Belgian Ghana!



There was much jubilation in the streets, and much more, of a more dignified kind, within the Company meeting room.

“We really showed those wooden-shoe-wearing windmill lovers who’s in charge in the chocolate business, didn’t we!”

“Indeed! We absolutely licked those, erm, those Dutch stereotypes!”

“My faith, we did!”

“I do believe it was a shame we only got Ghana out of them.”

“The eyes of the world were upon us. Some things are frowned upon…”

“Bah, plebeian peace-loving nonsense! It is our right to take what it ours by force of arms and intellect! We should invade them again and take Java!”

“Yes, I believe that in particular would raise rather more eyebrows than we would like, seeing as we have a truce…”

“Hm, how long is this truce expected to last?”

“Five years, I believe.”

“Delays, delays… But we can use that time to do certain things that will be to our advantage and the advantage of the nation at large.”

And that’s how Belgium ended up with a military-industrial complex.


Meanwhile, in Nyungwe Forest, Rwanda…

“Are you sure there aren’t any rivulets feeding into it?”

The few explorers who could still stand gazed at their leader with pupils diluted on the verge of madness.

“Yes! This is it! There’s nothing else! We’ve lost five men! Countless baggage carriers! I will never think of a hippo again without wetting my pants. Wauters can’t be safely moved in his condition. Two more might not make it home… This is the last bleeding source of water that ends up in the Nile!”

“Well, then I think our job here is done! Men, we have done a great service to science! All Belgium will toast to our success!”

A few months later it was announced that Belgian explorers had discovered the source of the Nile. There was much excitement, until the government and the Company learned that it will not help them produce more or better cocoa, and they turned their attention to more practical concerns.




On August 1 1872 Belgium started the 5th Dutch War, by simultaneously invading the Netherlands and Java. After almost a year of hard fighting and much occupying of enemy provinces, the Dutch parted with Java, their most prized colonial possession, and a recently made state. With it, Belgium could be assured of its cocoa hegemony in the East Indies and the Netherlands were weakened to a degree that they were unlikely to be a threat to the Company again.



Half a year later, the Belgian Ghana colony was expanded, thus initiating Belgium’s large scale colonization of Western Africa (cocoa tree-growing regions).



“Now we’re talking!”, a Company Gentleman exclaimed. “With Java and Western Africa, Belgium will be invincible! Why, with our new-found power we could even take on France!”

“You jest, good sir”, another Gentleman replied.

“No I don’t. Mark my words, if France or Austria or the United Kingdom tried to poke their noses in our business today, we’d give them such a beating that they’d never dare do it again! We’re a Great Power now, a proper Great Power with capital first letters, and don’t ever forget that, gentlemen.”

“Hm, it says here in the paper”, another Gentleman commented from his armchair, “that Argentina and Brazil may be at it again soon. But this time Brazil is allied with France. Would you insist that we keep our alliance with Argentina if France were to help Brazil in a war against it?”

“Well, obviously yes! We’ve got nothing to fear from our overrated neighbours! But since civilized nations of such importance rarely let themselves get drawn into wars started by provincial countries, I do not think we’ll have a chance to test this in practice.”

“True, it would be sheer madness to start a Franco-Belgian war over a border dispute between Argentina and Brazil. Those nationalists we appointed to manage the country may be rightly confident in our military might, but surely they are not stupid.”

“Surely.”



In the next chapter: WAR WITH FRANCE!

Oh, Côte d'Ivoire will be the immediate next target for colonization! I'm just not so sure if I can get the French bit, because it costs 10 infamy and I'm maxed out. So much cocoa land to conquer, such a low infamy limit...