Talk:Meeûs d'Argenteuil family

Ferdinand Meeus and the 1830 Belgian Revolution

The idea of Belgian Independence dates back to the Wars of Religion, when the former heart of Burgundy became the cockpit of the strife between Catholicism and Protestantism thanks to the oppression of the Flemish by Felipe II under the Duke of Alba. Neither Protestant nor French, their request for independence was refused by Viscount Castlereigh at the Congress of Vienna in 1814, on the grounds it was too small to be economically viable, and so was split between the Netherlabds and France, to the satisfaction of none. As a result, the discovery of iron and steel in the Charleroi basin made them early starters in the Industrial Revolution, and the creation of the Société Générale. Seperation became much discussed in the Press, headed by Louis de Potter, and what started as a tease (a Society Column listing that week's events (Monday: Cotillon; Tuesday: Masked Ball; Wednesday: Revolution...) became reality, of a truly comic-opera form, when that evening's production of Aubert's La Muette de Portici at the Brussels Opera saw an immediate response to the final aria of the first half, which praises the virtues of having one's own Nation, when the audience didn't head to the crush bars, but out of the front doors, declaring Independence on the spot. Both French and Dutch were thoroughly fed up with the Belgians, so withdrew their forces after a notional exchange of fire for the sake of honour, closely pursued by impromptu flying columns of Belgian civilians. One, headed by Ferdinand Meeus, returned to find the latter's Brussels town house had been sacked by the poor, who identified him with the French. He withdrew to his country house just north of Waterloo. With their aim achieved, de Potter formed a provisional government, and immediately realised their most pressing need was to pay the Civil Service salaries, due within days. On investigating, they discovered the payments had previously been made from den Haag and Paris, there was no source of funding in Belgium - other than the Société Générale. Ferdinand took his revenge, forcing a monarchy on them and taking charge of the Finance Ministry himself. The serch for a King had started. The United Kingdom was in a quandry. The Heir to the throne was the adolescent Victoria, while her uncle Leopold, the widowed husband of Princess Charlotte, George IV's only heir, was by far the most viable alternative. One of Wellington's more competent staff officers, he was not, however, of the bloodline, and so was persuaded that a firm offer was worth more than a highly uncertain future claim. I cannot post this because I'm associated with the Association d'Argenteuil in securing the grave of his eldest daughter Anna, Mother Superior General Foundress of the Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. A lusty teenager (from the circles described by Charlotte Bronte in The Professor and Villette), her mother had attempted to distract her into female works, initially at the request of their parish priest at Ohain, whose church fittings were on their last legs, then at the suggestion of her Confessor, the Jesuit Father Boone, taking on the unemployed lacemakers of Brussels. That attracted the attention of the Nuncio, and a traditional nine-months romantic fever ensued. The result was the Nuncio being sent packing, persona non grata, back to Rome, and the purchase of the religious house closest to his offices, on the Rue des Sols, for her. That came with an ancient Eucharistic vocation, and so the Eucharistic Revival of the second half of the 19th Century started: the Nuncio likewise rose, and as Pope Leo XIII appojnted her Order as the Perpetual and Universal Seat of the Eucharist. The child, his Capo di Guarda Nobile. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 5.68.80.209 (talk) 08:46, 26 December 2021 (UTC)

Meeus and de Meeus today.

Ferdinand's descendants are de Meeus: those of his siblings, plain Meeus. In Belgium, a lower-case de or better still, a double de, as in de Meus d'Argenteuil, indicates nobility: a plain De is a toponym. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 5.68.80.209 (talk) 08:51, 26 December 2021 (UTC)