United Kingdom of the Netherlands

Last updated
Kingdom of the Netherlands
Koninkrijk der Nederlanden (Dutch)
Royaume des Belgiques (French) [1]
1813–1839 [a]
Motto:  Je maintiendrai
("I will uphold")
Anthem:  Wien Neêrlands Bloed
("Those in whom Dutch blood")
United Kingdom of the Netherlands 1815.svg
  Location of the Netherlands in 1815.
  The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
Capital The Hague and Brussels
Largest city Amsterdam
Common languages Dutch (official) and French (official in Wallonia)
Frisian languages, Limburgish, Dutch Low Saxon, Northwestern Yiddish, Northern Romani
Religion
Dutch Reformed
Roman Catholic
Demonym(s) Dutch
Government Unitary parliamentary semi-constitutional monarchy
King  
 1815–1830
William I
Legislature States General
Senate
House of Representatives
Historical era Late modern period
16 March 1813
24 August 1815
25 August 1830
19 April 1839 [b]
Population
 1817
5.563.119
CurrencyDutch guilder
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Sovereign Principality of the United Netherlands
Flag of France.svg First French Empire
Blank.png Provisional Government of Belgium (1814–1815)
Kingdom of the Netherlands Flag of the Netherlands.svg
Duchy of Limburg Limburg provinciewapen oud.svg
Luxembourg Flag of Luxembourg.svg
Belgium Flag of Belgium.svg
Neutral Moresnet Flag of Moresnet.svg
Today part of Netherlands
Belgium
Luxembourg

The United Kingdom of the Netherlands (Dutch : Verenigd Koninkrijk der Nederlanden; French : Royaume uni des Pays-Bas) is the unofficial name given to the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Dutch : Koninkrijk der Nederlanden; French : Royaume des Belgiques) as it existed between 1815 and 1830. The United Netherlands was created in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars through the fusion of territories that had belonged to the former Dutch Republic, Austrian Netherlands, and Prince-Bishopric of Liège in order to form a buffer state between the major European powers. The polity was a constitutional monarchy, ruled by William I of the House of Orange-Nassau.

Contents

The polity collapsed in 1830 with the outbreak of the Belgian Revolution. With the de facto secession of Belgium, the Netherlands was left as a rump state and refused to recognise Belgian independence until 1839 when the Treaty of London was signed, fixing the border between the two states and guaranteeing Belgian independence and neutrality as the Kingdom of Belgium.

Background

Before the French Revolutionary Wars (1792–1802), the Low Countries was a patchwork of different polities created by the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648). The Dutch Republic in the north was independent; the Southern Netherlands was split between the Austrian Netherlands and the Prince-Bishopric of Liège [2] - the former being part of Habsburg monarchy, while both were part of the Holy Roman Empire. In the aftermath of the French Revolution, the War of the First Coalition broke out in 1792 and France was invaded by Prussia and the Holy Roman Empire. After two years of fighting, the Austrian Netherlands and Liège were captured by the French in 1794 and annexed into France. [3] The Dutch Republic collapsed in 1795 and became a French client state.[ citation needed ]

Creation of the United Netherlands

In 1813, the Netherlands was liberated from French rule by Prussian and Russian troops during the Napoleonic Wars. It was taken for granted that any new regime would have to be headed by the son of the last Dutch stadhouder , William Frederik of Orange-Nassau. A provisional government was formed, most of whose members had helped drive out the House of Orange 18 years earlier. However, they realised that it would be better in the long term to offer leadership of the new government to William Frederik themselves rather than have him imposed by the allies. Accordingly, William Frederick was installed as the "sovereign prince" of a new Sovereign Principality of the United Netherlands. The future of the Southern Netherlands, however, was less clear. In June 1814, the Great Powers secretly agreed to the Eight Articles of London which allocated the region to the Dutch as William had advocated. That August, William Frederik was made Governor-General of the Southern Netherlands and the Prince-Bishop of Liège, which combined are almost all of what is now Belgium. For all intents and purposes, William Frederik had completed his family's three-century dream of uniting the Low Countries under a single rule.[ citation needed ]

Discussions on the future of the region were still ongoing at the Congress of Vienna when Napoleon attempted to return to power in the "Hundred Days". William used the occasion to declare himself king on 16 March 1815 as William I. After the Battle of Waterloo, discussions continued.[ citation needed ]

In exchange for the Southern Netherlands, William agreed to cede the Principality of Orange-Nassau and parts of the Liège to Prussia on 31 May 1815. In exchange, William also gained control over the Duchy of Luxembourg, which was elevated to a grand duchy and placed in personal union with the Netherlands, though it remained part of the German Confederation.[ citation needed ]

Government

Constitution and government

Though the United Netherlands was a constitutional monarchy, the king retained significant control as head of state and head of government. Beneath the king was a bicameral legislature known as the States General with a Senate and House of Representatives.[ citation needed ]

From the start, the administrative system proved controversial. Representation in the 110-seat House of Representatives, for example, was divided equally between south and north, although the former had a larger population. This was resented in the south, which believed that the government was dominated by northerners. Additionally, the king had somewhat greater power than is the case for Dutch and Belgian monarchs today. Most notably, the ministers were responsible solely to him.[ citation needed ]

King William I Portret van Willem I, koning der Nederlanden Rijksmuseum SK-C-1460.jpeg
King William I

Provinces

New Map of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and Luxemburg, 1815 Nieuwe Kaart Koningrijk der Nederlanden en Hertogdom Luxemburg C van Baarsel 1815.jpg
New Map of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and Luxemburg, 1815
Map of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands 1815-VerenigdKoninkrijkNederlanden-en.svg
Map of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands

The United Netherlands was divided into 17 provinces and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg which was constitutionally distinct. All of these provinces can trace their origin to a medieval lordship, county, duchy or bishopric, apart from Antwerp (previously part of Duchy of Brabant) and Limburg (previously part of Prince-Bishopric of Liège and Duchy of Gelderland). Their status changed when they came under French rule, when their administration was centralised, reducing their powers. They included:

ProvinceEmerged from the former Départements Members in the House of Representatives [4] Presently part ofLater developments
Antwerp (Dutch: Antwerpen)Southern part of Deux-Nèthes (Dutch: Twee Neten)5 Belgium
Drenthe (Dutch: Drente)southern part of Ems-Occidental (Dutch: Westereems)1 Netherlands
Friesland Frise 5 Netherlands
Gelderland Yssel-Supérieur (Dutch: Boven-IJssel)6 Netherlands
Groningen Northern part of Ems-Occidental (Dutch: Westereems)4 Netherlands
Hainaut (Dutch: Henegouwen) Jemmape 8 Belgium
Holland Bouches-de-la-Meuse (Dutch: Monden van de Maas) and western part of the Zuyderzée (Dutch: Zuiderzee)22 Netherlands 1840 divided in the provinces North Holland and South Holland
Limburg Meuse-Inférieure (Dutch: Nedermaas)4 Belgium, Nederland From 1839 onwards divided into the Belgian province of Limburg and the Duchy of Limburg, which became the Dutch province of Limburg in 1866.
Liège (Dutch: Luik)Largest part of Ourthe 6 Belgium
Namur (Dutch: Namen)Western part of Sambre-et-Meuse (Dutch: Samber en Maas), part of the Ardennes 2 Belgium
North Brabant (Dutch: Noord-Brabant) Bouches-du-Rhin (Dutch: Monden van de Rijn), northern part of Deux-Nèthes (Dutch: Twee Neten), eastern part of the Bouches-de-l'Escaut (Dutch: Monden van de Schelde)7 Netherlands
East Flanders (Dutch: Oost-Vlaanderen)Southern part of the Escaut (Dutch: Schelde)10 Belgium
Overijssel Bouches-de-l'Yssel (Dutch: Monden van de IJssel)4 Netherlands
Zeeland Western part of the Bouches-de-l'Escaut (Dutch: Monden van de Schelde) and northern part of the Escaut (Dutch: Schelde)3 Netherlands
South Brabant (Dutch: Zuid-Brabant) Dyle (Dutch: Dijle). Since 1831 the Province of Brabant.8 Belgium 1831 renamed Province of Brabant, 1995 divided into the provinces of Flemish Brabant and Walloon Brabant with the Brussels Capital Region.
Utrecht Southeastern part of the Zuyderzée (Dutch: Zuiderzee)3 Netherlands
West Flanders (Dutch: West-Vlaanderen) Lys (Dutch; Leie)8 Belgium

The United Netherlands was also a colonial power with overseas colonies in the East Indies and elsewhere.[ citation needed ]

Economic policy

Dutch troops in the Flemish city of Dendermonde in 1820 Hollandse troepen trekken door de vestingstad Dendermonde Rijksmuseum SK-A-4664.jpeg
Dutch troops in the Flemish city of Dendermonde in 1820

Economically, the United Netherlands prospered. Supported by the state, the Industrial Revolution began to affect the Southern Netherlands where a number of modern industries emerged, encouraged by figures such as John Cockerill who created the steel industry in Wallonia. Antwerp emerged as major trading port.[ citation needed ]

William I actively supported economic modernisation. Modern universities were established in Leuven, in Liège, and in Ghent in 1817. Lower education was also extended. The General Netherlands Society for Advancing National Industry (Algemeene Nederlandsche Maatschappij ter Begunstiging van de Volksvlijt) was created in 1822 to encourage industrialisation in the south, while the Netherlands Trading Society (Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij) was created in 1825 to encourage trade with the colonies. William I also embarked on a program of canal building that saw the creation of the North Holland, Ghent–Terneuzen and Brussels–Charleroi canals.[ citation needed ]

Language policy

Willem I felt that one nation must have one language and began a policy of Dutchification in politics and education. In the southern provinces of Antwerp, East-, West-Flanders, Limburg (1819), and the bilingual South Brabant (1823); Dutch was made the sole official language. While in the Walloon provinces of Hainaut, Liège, Namur; French was maintained as official language but Dutch was gradually introduced into education. Although French was still used to some degree in administration in both North and South. [5] In the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, French was the de facto official language while German was used in education.[ citation needed ]

Regional tensions

Differences between Southern and Northern Netherlands were never totally resolved. The two were divided by the issue of religion because the south was strongly Roman Catholic and the north largely Dutch Reformed. [6] The Catholic Church in Belgium resented the state's encroachment on its traditional privileges, especially in education. In French-speaking parts of the south, attempts to enforce the use of Dutch language were particularly resented among the elite. [7] Many Belgians believed that the United Netherlands' constitution discriminated against them. Though they represented 62 percent of the population, they were only allocated 50 percent of the seats in the House and less in the Senate while the state extracted money from the richer south to subsidise the north. By the mid-1820s, a union of opposition had formed in Belgium, uniting liberals and Catholic conservatives against Dutch rule.[ citation needed ]

Belgian Revolution and secession

Fighting between Belgian rebels and the Dutch military expedition in Brussels in September 1830 Revolution belge de 1830 - La rue de Flandre le jeudi 23 septembre 1830.jpg
Fighting between Belgian rebels and the Dutch military expedition in Brussels in September 1830

The Belgian Revolution broke out on 25 August 1830, inspired by the recent July Revolution in France. A military intervention in September failed to defeat the rebels in Brussels, radicalising the movement. Belgium was declared an independent state on 4 October 1830. A constitutional monarchy was established under King Leopold I.[ citation needed ]

William I refused to accept the secession of Belgium. In August 1831, he launched the Ten Days' Campaign, a major military offensive into Belgium. Though initially successful, the French intervened to support the Belgians and the invasion had to be abandoned. [8] After a period of tension, a settlement was agreed at the Treaty of London in 1839. The Dutch recognised Belgian independence, in exchange for territorial concessions. [9] The frontier between the two countries was finally fixed by the Treaty of Maastricht in 1843. Luxembourg became an autonomous state in personal union with the Dutch, though ceding some territory to Belgium.[ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William I of the Netherlands</span> King from 1815 to 1840

William I was King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1815 until his abdication in 1840.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Limburg (Belgium)</span> Province of Belgium

Limburg, also known as Belgian Limburg, is a province in Belgium. It is the easternmost of the five Dutch-speaking provinces that together form the Region of Flanders, which is one of the three main political and cultural sub-divisions of modern-day Belgium. As of January 2024, Limburg had a population of 0.9 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luxembourg (Belgium)</span> Province of Belgium

Luxembourg, also called Belgian Luxembourg or West Luxembourg, is the southernmost province of Wallonia within Belgium. It borders the country of Luxembourg to the east, the French departments of Ardennes, Meuse and Meurthe-et-Moselle to the south and southwest, and the Walloon provinces of Namur and Liège to the north. Its capital and largest city is Arlon, in the south-east of the province, near the border of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

<i>Stadtholder</i> Low Countries governing official from 14th to 18th centuries

In the Low Countries, a stadtholder was a steward, first appointed as a medieval official and ultimately functioning as a national leader. The stadtholder was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and Habsburg period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seventeen Provinces</span> Union of states in the Netherlands in the 15th and 16th centuries

The Seventeen Provinces were the Imperial states of the Habsburg Netherlands in the 16th century. They roughly covered the Low Countries, i.e., what is now the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and most of the French departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais (Artois). Also within this area were semi-independent fiefdoms, mainly ecclesiastical ones, such as Liège, Cambrai and Stavelot-Malmedy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Provinces of Belgium</span> Subdivisions of Belgium

The Kingdom of Belgium is divided into three regions. Two of these regions, Flanders and Wallonia, are each subdivided into five provinces. The third region, Brussels, does not belong to any province, nor is it subdivided into provinces. Instead, it has amalgamated both regional and provincial functions into a single "Capital Region" administration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Netherlands</span> Historical region in Belgium

The Southern Netherlands, also called the Catholic Netherlands, were the parts of the Low Countries belonging to the Holy Roman Empire which were at first largely controlled by Habsburg Spain and later by the Austrian Habsburgs until occupied and annexed by Revolutionary France (1794–1815).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coat of arms of Belgium</span>

The coat of arms of Belgium bears a lion or, known as Leo Belgicus, as its charge. This is in accordance with article 193 of the Belgian Constitution: The Belgian nation takes red, yellow and black as colours, and as state coat of arms the Belgian lion with the motto UNITY MAKES STRENGTH. A royal decree of 17 March 1837 determines the achievement to be used in the greater and the lesser version, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belgian Revolution</span> 1830 revolution against Dutch rule

The Belgian Revolution was the conflict which led to the secession of the southern provinces from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spanish Netherlands</span> Historical region of the Low Countries (1556–1714)

The Spanish Netherlands was the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714. They were a collection of States of the Holy Roman Empire in the Low Countries held in personal union by the Spanish Crown. This region comprised most of the modern states of Belgium and Luxembourg, as well as parts of northern France, the southern Netherlands, and western Germany, with the capital being Brussels. The Army of Flanders was given the task of defending the territory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prince-Bishopric of Liège</span> State of the Holy Roman Empire (980–1795)

The Prince-Bishopric of Liège or Principality of Liège was a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that was situated for the most part in present-day Belgium. It was an Imperial Estate, so the bishop of Liège, as its prince, had a seat and a vote in the Imperial Diet. The Prince-Bishopric of Liège should not be confused with the Diocese of Liège, which was larger and over which the prince-bishop exercised only the usual responsibilities of a bishop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Province of Limburg (1815–1839)</span> Province of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands (1815-30) and of Belgium (1830-39)

Limburg was one of the provinces of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and later Belgium. The province existed for the duration of the United Kingdom, from 1815 to 1830, and for the first years after Belgian independence, from 1830 to 1839. When King William I signed the Treaty of London in 1839, the province was split into a Belgian part and a Dutch part, the latter being a new Duchy of Limburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Revolutions of 1830</span> Series of political upheavals in Europe

The Revolutions of 1830 were a revolutionary wave in Europe which took place in 1830. It included two "romantic nationalist" revolutions, the Belgian Revolution in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the July Revolution in France along with rebellions in Congress Poland, Italian states, Portugal and Switzerland. It was followed eighteen years later, by another and much stronger wave of revolutions known as the Revolutions of 1848.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burgundian Circle</span> Imperial circle of the Holy Roman Empire

The Burgundian Circle was an Imperial Circle of the Holy Roman Empire created in 1512 and significantly enlarged in 1548. In addition to the Free County of Burgundy, the Burgundian Circle roughly covered the Low Countries, i.e., the areas now known as the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg and adjacent parts in the French administrative region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais. For most of its history, its lands were coterminous with the holdings of the Spanish Habsburgs in the Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ten days' campaign</span> 1831 Belgium-Netherlands conflict

The ten days' campaign was a failed military expedition by the United Kingdom of the Netherlands against the secessionist Kingdom of Belgium between 2 and 12 August 1831. The campaign was an attempt by the Dutch King William I to halt the course of the Belgian Revolution which had broken out in August 1830.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William II of the Netherlands</span> King of the Netherlands from 1840 to 1849

William II was King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Duke of Limburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duchy of Bouillon</span> 1456–1794 duchy centered around modern Bouillon, Belgium

The Duchy of Bouillon was a duchy comprising Bouillon and adjacent towns and villages in present-day Belgium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belgium in the long nineteenth century</span> History of Belgium from 1789 to 1914

In the history of Belgium, the period from 1789 to 1914, dubbed the "long 19th century" by the historian Eric Hobsbawm, includes the end of Austrian rule and periods of French and Dutch rule over the region, leading to the creation of the first independent Belgian state in 1830.

References

  1. La parenthèse française et hollandaise (1795-1830), Encyclopædia Universalis. Retrieved on 4 July 2021.
  2. S Marteel, The Intellectual Origins of the Belgian Revolution (2018) p. 23
  3. A W Ward, The Cambridge History of British Foreign Policy 1783-1919 Vol I (Cambridge 1922) p. 263
  4. Karl Heinrich Ludwig Pölitz (1817). "Die Constitutionen der europäischen Staaten seit den letzten 25 Jahren, Band 2". Google Books. Leipzig, Brockhaus. p. 495.
  5. "Structuur en geschiedenis van het Nederlands :: Niederländische Philologie FU Berlin". neon.niederlandistik.fu-berlin.de. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
  6. S Marteel, The Intellectual Origins of the Belgian Revolution (2018) p. 4
  7. D Richards, Modern Europe (London 1964) p. 86-7
  8. D Richards, Modern Europe (London 1964) p. 88
  9. D Richards, Modern Europe (London 1964) p. 89

Notes

  1. The Kingdom did not cease to exist at this time and continues to the present day; however; this is when Belgium and Luxembourg were no longer under the jurisdiction of the Dutch Crown and both became independent sovereign states.
  2. The Kingdom did not cease to exist at this time and continues to the present day; however; this is when Belgium and Luxembourg were no longer under the jurisdiction of the Dutch Crown and both became independent sovereign states.

Bibliography