Netherlands - Belgium - Luxembourg
The 1827 concordat contains one of the last examples of a treaty curse against anyone who dares to infringe it. Pope Leo XII closes it by threatening “the wrath of the Almighty God and of His Holy Apostles Peter and Paul”. In spite of this dire warning, the war and final separation of Belgium from the Netherlands in 1831 made it a dead letter almost as soon as it was signed.
The treaty curse has a long tradition. In Assyria the threat against anyone breaking a treaty was backed up by a graphic demonstration on an animal. In a vassal treaty with a North Syrian ruler, King Assur-nirari VI (753-746 BC) warned him:
This head is not the [cut off] head of a ram, but the head of Mati'ilu ... should Mati'ilu break these agreements, his head should be cut off, just as this head of the ram has been cut off.
Nor was the punishment confined to the ruler. His city was razed, burnt and sown with salt and brimstone. This was threatened in Deuteronomy 29 22-25 by the Lord, but it was also actual punishment for breach of treaty by the Assyrians and their neighbours.
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Belgium: From Prince-Bishop to Napoleon's concordat |
The Church ruled over many European territories, not just the Papal States. There were dozens of prince-bishops in Germany and even some in the surrounding countries: the picturesque little town of Dinant in modern Belgium was ruled by Prince-Bishop of Liège. Where a cleric reigned, a concordat between the pope and the ruler was not necessary. | |
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Convention and Accord between Pope Leo XII and William I, King of Belgium and the Netherlands (1827) |
King William I of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands found himself in an increasingly insecure position. Because he favoured the Dutch language and Calvinism of his Northern Provinces he was viewed with suspicion by his Catholic French-speaking subjects in the Southern Provinces. This concordat, concluded shortly before they rebelled against him, appears to be an attempt to buy the support of the Church. |
