United Kingdom of the Netherlands

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the kingdom prior to the independence of Luxembourg and Belgium. For the modern kingdom, see Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Kingdom of the Netherlands
Koninkrijk der Nederlanden (Dutch)
Royaume des Belgiques (French)[1]
1815–1839[a]
Motto: 
semi-constitutional monarchy
King 
• 1815–1830
William I
Legislature
Late modern period
16 March 1815
24 August 1815
25 August 1830
19 April 1839[a]
Population
• 1817
5.563.119
CurrencyDutch guilder
ISO 3166 codeNL
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Sovereign Principality of the United Netherlands
First French Empire
Provisional Government of Belgium (1814–1815)
Kingdom of the Netherlands
Duchy of Limburg
Luxembourg
Belgium
Neutral Moresnet
Today part ofNetherlands
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.

The polity collapsed in 1830 with the outbreak of the

Kingdom of Belgium
.

Background

Main article: French period

Before the

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

A British cartoon, satirising the "wedding" of Belgium and the Netherlands at the Congress of Vienna

In 1813, the Netherlands was liberated from French rule by Prussian and

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 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

Provinces

New Map of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and Luxemburg, 1815
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

Duchy of Gelderland
). Their status changed when they came under French rule, when their administration was centralised, reducing their powers. They included:

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

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

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.[4] 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

conservatives against Dutch rule.[citation needed
]

Belgian Revolution and secession

Main article: Belgian Revolution
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.[7] 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.[8] 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

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. ^ "Structuur en geschiedenis van het Nederlands :: Niederländische Philologie FU Berlin". neon.niederlandistik.fu-berlin.de. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
  5. ^ S Marteel, The Intellectual Origins of the Belgian Revolution (2018) p. 4
  6. ^ D Richards, Modern Europe (London 1964) p. 86-7
  7. ^ D Richards, Modern Europe (London 1964) p. 88
  8. ^ D Richards, Modern Europe (London 1964) p. 89
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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.

Bibliography

External links

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