In the long and rich tradition of Central and South American schemes - think the Scotch Darien Colony and Gregor MacGregor’s fictitious South American nation Poyais - Verapaz was a short-lived Belgian colony on Guatemala’s Atlantic coast. Issued by the Compagnie belge de colonisation, this is the official account of the colony, and includes the official documents of the organization’s foundation and operations, the research and field intelligence underpinning the project, accounts of its relations with the Belgian and Guatemalan governments, and of the state of the colony in Guatemala to date. It is an expensively-produced, and entirely misleading, piece of propaganda.
Economic changes in the newly independent Belgium left many rural areas in dire poverty and several waves of emigration to the United States and Canada. In 1841, King Leopold I, along with other fellow-royals and Belgian financiers, formed the Compagnie belge de colonisation so as to establish a Belgian colony in Guatemala of all places. The belief was that a colony would enhance Belgium’s national prestige, provide much-needed relief to the rural poor, and guarantee vast profits for investors. Importantly, Guatamala’s president, Mariano Rivera, welcomed the idea. Guatamala was also in financial trouble. The kernel of the idea was that the Compagnie belge would purchase 264,000 acres (1,068 sq km) of land on the Atlantic coast, specifically in the department of San Thomas.
An agreement was struck on the basis that the Compagnie would fund the construction of a deep-water port, roads and other infrastructure and pay rent to the Guatemalan government. In return, the Compagnie received commercial monopolies, and could import many goods duty-free (though they would remain in the colony). Tolls could be charged on Belgian-built roads and they could control shipping on the Motagua River. While the land was granted in perpetuity, it nonetheless would remain a part of Guatemala proper. With Guatemala only achieving independence in 1839, not everyone - and especially those belonging to the nation’s conservative party - agreed that a colony was the best solution to her economic woes. Belgium resolved the issue swiftly by paying large bribes to relevant objectors and the Acte de concession was passed by the Guatemalan parliament on 4 May, 1842.
The Compagnie received significant tax breaks and other incentives by way of encouragement from King Leopold and journalists were despatched to write enthusiastic reports of the beauty and fertility of the colony. The first party, numbering a mere 200 Belgians, arrived at Santo Tomás in May 1843 and the colony of Verapas was finally established. It’s hardly a surprise to learn that the colonists were woefully underprepared, lacking guidance and support from both Brussels and Guatemala City. Disease was an immediate problem, made worse by meagre provisions. Within months the colony was on the verge of collapse.
Having committed substantial resources to the colony, the Compagnie despatched Major Augustin Scévola Guillaumot (a Belgian army officer) along with roughly 600 additional colonists and 48 soldiers to rectify the situation. In direct contravention of the Acte de concession, Martial law was declared and any foreigners or Guatemalans were expelled. While overseeing a survey of Verapas, Guillaumot established a black market from which he profited without regard to the settlers he was supposed to assist. He was also derelict in his duty towards infrastructure, notably failing to make any progress on the deep-water port.
None of this went unnoticed by Guatemala’s political class and public opinion turned against Verapaz. In May 1844, two years after the arrival of the first settlers, a small force of Guatemalan troops marched into Verapas and took control of it. Guillaumot was deposed in November and General Manuel José Arce was made Corregidor of the colony. The fate of Verapaz was finally sealed in 1854 with the issuing of the decree of forfeiture, but by that time, really from 1846, it was a colony in name only.
A rare, complete copy of the book: the first part includes the official foundational and operational documents of the Compagnie belge de Colonisation, and is illustrated with 5 maps and 4 views. It commences with a “Chronology of Acts relating to the Compagnie belge” (from February 25, 1841 to December 26, 1843), noting events that are either neutral or paint the organization in a positive light, and omitting the many and various disasters at Verapaz. Next, are the “Renseignements généraux” (General Information) concerning the relations between the Guatemalan government and the Compangie belge, as well as responses to various questions. Following that are the Statues of the Compagnie belge and the “Acte de concession” whereby the Guatemalan government leased the port and district of Santo-Thomas to the Belgians, as well as the “Traité supplémentaire et explicative” and the regulations of the Compagnie belge.
The second part concerns the intelligence that the Compagnie belge gained from Guatemala from the explorer-agents it hired to scout the region. It includes an Introduction; General Instructions given to the Compagnie belge’s Exploration Commission; as well as a series of reports by Colonel Remi De Puydt, the head of said Commission, including on the general situation in eastern Guatemala, the Civil Wars of Central America, Morassan’s Last Expedition and the Indians of Central America. There are also reports from Mr. Vandenberghe de Binckum and Mr. T’Kint de Roodenbeek.
The third part is an anthology of writing by various authors and travellers on Central America, as well as samples revealing how the Belgian colonial project in Guatemala was being covered in the Belgian press. The final part concerns how the Belgian-Guatemala colonial enterprise was received in the French press during the years 1842 an 1843. This was important, as the Compagnie belge heavily relied upon funds from Paris.
The maps, which were all made specifically for this work, are as follows:
1. “Planisphère terrestre dressée par J.im Rousseau.” A double-page world map with colour-coded continents, showing Guatemala at its centre, adorned with the flags of the Compagnie belge de Colonisation and Amérique Central (the former Federal Republic of Central America).
2. “Carte du District de Santo-Thomas (État de Guatemala) dressée par J.im Rousseau.” This map details the Belgian colony in Guatemala, detailing its boundaries (running along the Motagua River in the south and Lake Izabal and Río Dolce in the north, while to the east is the Gulf of Honduras), the location of the town of Santo Tomás, as well as forts, the proposed road from the town to the Motagua, and a plantation.
3. “Carte de la République de l’Amérique centrale dressée par J.im Rousseau.” A general map of Central America provides context.
4. “Carte des États de Nicaragua et Costarica (République de l’Amérique centrale) dressée par J.im Rousseau.” The map shows Nicaragua and Costa Rica, that while not directly relevant to the Belgian colony, was of interest due to it being the possible location of a future canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific, a project, if ever realized, could turbo-charge Verapaz’s trade.
And the four views, also lithographed for this, are: “Baie et Port de Santo Thomas”; “Place de la Constitution à Guatemala”; “Lac d’Ysabal vu de la route du Mico”; and “Etablissement Belge de Santo Thomas.”
Provenance: bookplate and ms. inscription of the English astronomer, antiquarian and noted bibliophile John Lee of Hartwell (1783-1866).
Fabri, J., Les belges au Guatemala (1840–1845) (Brussels, 1955); Griffith, W.J., Empires in the Wilderness: Foreign Colonization and Development in Guatemala, 1834–1844 (UNC Press, 1965), pp.217-250; Leysbeth, N., Historique de la colonisation belge à Santo-Tomas, Guatemala (Brussels, 1938).
