Draft:Leonard Auguste Moxhet

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Leonard Auguste Moxhet
Born(1812-10-30)October 30, 1812
Verviers, Liège Province, Belgium
DiedFebruary 14, 1873(1873-02-14) (aged 60)
Ensival, Liège Province, Belgium
NationalityBelgian
Other namesAuguste Moxhet
Occupation(s)Diplomat; civil servant
Known forBelgian consul in Singapore and in New York; senior posts at Belgium's Ministry of Foreign Affairs
AwardsOrder of Leopold (Belgium)

Leonard Auguste Moxhet (30 October 1812 – 14 February 1873) was a Belgian diplomat and government official. He served as Belgian consul at Singapore (appointed 1840) and later as Consul-General in New York City (appointed 1846).[1][2] He later held senior administrative roles at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and sat on the national Commission centrale de Statistique (Central Commission of Statistics).[3]

Early life

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Moxhet was born in Verviers, Liège Province, on 30 October 1812.[1]

Consular career

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Singapore and missions to China (1840–1845)

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By royal decree in March 1840, the Belgian government appointed Moxhet as consul at Singapore; the post had first been offered to a man named Florkin who withdrew, after which the candidacy of the Verviers native Moxhet was accepted.[4][1]

In 1841–1842 he carried out an authorised diplomatic tour in South China (under the Qing dynasty) to report on commercial openings for Belgian merchants; contemporary accounts note that "Moxhet, the Belgian consul at Singapore, was sent on to China to make such inquiries...".[5]

Consul-General in New York (1846–1853)

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Moxhet was appointed Consul-General of Belgium in the United States by royal decree in March 1846; the Moniteur belge announced his assignment and recorded that, before assuming post, he was tasked to study the British linen industry for Belgium.[2] Contemporary American reference works list "Auguste Moxhet, New York" under Belgian consuls.[6]

While in office, he corresponded with U.S. explorer John C. Frémont about a proposed corps of Belgian miners for California; Frémont's 17 June 1850 reply addresses "Auguste Moxhet" in New York.[7]

Investigations on emigration and settlements (1848)

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In 1848 the Belgian government examined a proposed land purchase at Saint Mary's (Pennsylvania). An investigative visit was undertaken by Victor De Ham (Interior Ministry) and by Consul-General Moxhet; their reports diverged and the state abandoned the project.[8]

Later government service in Belgium

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Returning to Belgium, Moxhet entered senior administration. He served as a director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and, from 22 December 1864 to 24 May 1870, sat on the Commission centrale de Statistique as the delegate of the Foreign Affairs ministry.[3] He also took part in national institutional boards and exhibition work in the 1860s.[1]

Honours

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  • Order of Leopold (Belgium): decorated during his career; later sources record his advancement in the order in connection with long public service.[1]

Personal life

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Moxhet married Marie Anne Catherine Clémentine Winand on 29 June 1848 (Fraipont, Liège).[9]

Two sons were born in New York during his United States posting — Pierre Christian Auguste (1849) and Léopold Michel Clément (1851) — and a daughter, Clémentine Joséphine Élise, was born in Belgium following the family's return in the late 1850s.[9]

He died in Ensival (Liège) on 14 February 1873.[9]

Legacy

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Scholarship on Belgium's nineteenth-century commercial outreach cites Moxhet's consular work—in Singapore, China and the United States—as part of the state's broader strategy to secure markets for Belgian industry.[1][10]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Willequet, Joseph (1965). "Un facteur d'expansion commerciale: le système consulaire sous Léopold Ier". L'expansion belge sous Léopold Ier (1831–1865). Recueil d'études (in French). Bruxelles: Académie royale des Sciences d'Outre-Mer / Institut Royal Colonial Belge. Auguste MOXHET était né à Verviers le 30 octobre 1812... Rappelé de Singapore en 1845... Il mourut à Ensival le 14 février 1873.
  2. ^ a b "Partie non officielle (avis) — mission confiée à M. Moxhet, consul général de Belgique aux États-Unis" (PDF). Moniteur belge (in French). 16 June 1846. M. Moxhet, consul général de Belgique aux États-Unis, a reçu du gouvernement la mission d'aller étudier l'industrie linière et le commerce des toiles dans la Grande-Bretagne, avant de se rendre à son poste.
  3. ^ a b Vanhaute, Eric (2007). Een statistisch laboratorium – België 1841–1890 (PDF) (in Dutch). Universitaire Pers Leuven. pp. 211–213. Ledenlijst... "Moxhet A., Buitenlandse Zaken 22/12/1864 – 24/5/1870 (ontslagnemend)".
  4. ^ Everaert, J. (2009). Hubs, Harbours, and Deltas in Southeast Asia: Multidisciplinary, Intercultural Perspectives (PDF). Royal Academy for Overseas Sciences (KAOW). pp. 236–237. ...Belgian consul at Manila (1837–48), while in Singapore Auguste Moxhet succeeded him.
  5. ^ Williams, S. Wells (1901). A History of China (PDF). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Moxhet, the Belgian consul at Singapore, was sent on to China to make such inquiries for transmission to his government...
  6. ^ The American Almanac and Repository of Useful Knowledge for the Year 1854. Boston: Phillips, Sampson & Co. 1853. Belgium.—*Auguste Moxhet, New York.
  7. ^ Frémont, John C. (1856). The Expeditions of John Charles Frémont, Volume III (PDF). D. Appleton & Co. Letter, "Auguste Moxhet. Washington City, 17 June 1850. Dear Sir, ..."
  8. ^ Feys, Torsten (2003). The Emigration Policy of the Belgian Government from the 1830s to the 1880s (PDF) (MA thesis). Ghent University. pp. 33–35, 70. ...'investigation commission' led by Auguste Moxhet, consul-general in New York... Victor De Ham ... accompanied him.
  9. ^ a b c Willequet, Joseph (1965). "Un facteur d'expansion commerciale : le système consulaire sous Léopold Ier". L'expansion belge sous Léopold Ier (1831–1865). Recueil d'études (in French). Bruxelles: Académie royale des Sciences d'Outre-Mer (Institut royal colonial belge). « Auguste MOXHET était né à Verviers le 30 octobre 1812... Rappelé de Singapore en 1845... Il mourut à Ensival le 14 février 1873. Marié le 29 juin 1848 à Fraipont (Liège) à M.-A.-C. Clémentine Winand ; deux fils nés à New-York (1849 et 1851) et une fille après le retour en Belgique. »
  10. ^ Everaert, J. (2009). Hubs, Harbours, and Deltas in Southeast Asia (PDF). pp. 236–237.

Further reading

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