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THE BIRTH OF BELGIUM - Coggle Diagram
THE BIRTH OF BELGIUM
History of the territory of Belgium
Complex history → part of a larger empire and/or divided into a number of smaller lands/states
Roman antiquity (1st – 5th century)
part of larger province of Gallia Belgica in the Roman Empire (later Western Roman Empire)
Middle Ages (5th – 15th century)
part of Frankish Empire: various feudal fiefdoms → from 10th century onwards ruled by vassals of France or the Holy Roman Empire (Scheldt River = local boundary between both countries)
late Middle Ages
through inheritance, war and marriage, a number of more or less connected fiefdoms fell into the hands of the Burgundian Dukes
Early Modern Age (15th – 18th century)
fiefdoms ended up in the hands of the Habsburg dynasty & became part of the Spanish Empire
the Seventeen Provinces
Eighty Years’ War
Seventeen Provinces split into Dutch Republic (Protestant Northern Netherlands = Netherlands today) & Spanish Netherlands (Catholic Southern Netherlands = Belgium today).
1714: Spanish Netherlands became Austrian Netherlands
Modern Age (18th – 19th century)
Austrian Netherlands invaded by the French Republic & annexed by the French Empire
United Kingdom of the Netherlands
1815: Congress of Vienna
Southern Netherlands & Northern Netherlands joined together -> United Kingdom of the Netherlands (buffer state France)
Ruled by the Protestant King William I
Territory = c. Benelux today
Economic growth
South and North complemented each other
South: agriculture and modern industries (textile and iron)
North: fleet, overseas colonies, international trade
William I stimulated industry and trade
revived economic life → period of growth and modernisation = welcomed by the Belgian upper bourgeoisie
discontent & protest in the South
liberal discontent
Freedom of the press was limited.
William I ruled as an enlightened despot.
no ministerial responsibility: ministers only answered to the king, not to the elected parliament.
Catholic discontent
William I limited the influence of the Catholic Church:
religious freedom (Protestants same rights as Catholics) + argued for state supremacy in religious matters
education in the hands of the state → placed Catholic colleges in the South under state supervision & founded state-run schools and universities
contracst an inequalities between North & South
Public debt: supported equally by North and South (public debt of the North higher).
Public offices: divided unequally: there were more Northern than Southern state officials
South = numerically disadvantaged in parliament (larger population but same amount of representatives)
William I introduced language policies: Dutch = official language (courts & public offices) in Flemish-speaking provinces → mostly Frenchspeaking elite in the Southern Netherlands were discontent
economic crisis
Industry: manual labour -> increased mechanisation → more unemployment among working classes/proletariat.
Failed harvests in 1829 → rising food prices in 1830
1828: unionism
= Catholics &Liberals (traditional antagonists) bonded together against William I’s policies
Organised petitions for freedom of the press and education
William refused to concede to their demands and mostly repressed opposition
the course of the Belgian revolution (1830-1831)
uprisings & revolutions in Brussels
Successful July Revolution in France in 1830
tensions rose in August in the Southern Netherlands
August 1830:
proletarian riots broke out after a performance of ‘La Muette de Portici’
Bourgeoisie of Brussels formed a citizens’ militia to protect their belongings
September1830
23-27 September 1830
Oktober 1830
Provisional Government declared independence &organised elections for National Congress which drafted a constitution
fighting at Warande Park
Dutch army retreated → Uprising turned into revolution
leaders of the militia pleaded with King William for an administrative and political separation of the North and the South
King William sent troops
constitution (1831)
Census suffrage (until 1893)
Constitutional monarchy with separation of powers:
Executive power: king and ministers
Legislative power: king and parliament
Judicial power: independent courts
power king strongly limited
Fundamental rights and liberties: freedom of speech, press, religion, education (= concession to the Catholics)
conference of London (1830-1831)
five major European powers (Aus,
Pru, Rus, GB & Fr) recognised Belgian independence.
condition
remain perpetually neutral in
international affairs
why?
France: a buffer state falls apart + favours liberal state
Rus, Aus & Pru: crushing uprisings in own territories
Britain: new Belgian buffer state between Fr, Neth &Pru + age-old economic rival, the Netherlands: weakened
21 July 1831
Leopold I (of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha) swore his constitutional oath as King
of the Belgians
August 1831
Ten Days’
Campaign to reconquer Belgium (William I refused to recognise Belgian independence) → failed because French troops intervened.
1839
William I accepted Belgian independence in return for the acquisition of disputed territories (part of Limburg & Luxemburg: Treaty of the XXIV Articles)