Spojené království nizozemské (1815–1830)
The United Kingdom of the Netherlands (1815–1830)

Summary/Abstract: The United Kingdom of the Netherlands was established in 1815 when the North and South Netherlands were united as a result of the Congress of Vienna. Especially England had desired this act because the new kingdom was supposed to serve as a “bumper” region against aggression of France. The kingdom was unified with the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg under one sovereign into a personal union. The first and only king of the new kingdom came from the House of Orange whose members ruled in the Republic of United Provinces as governors, so-called stadhouders, before the French period. It was William I, son of the last governor William V, who had left for emigration with his father in 1796. On one hand, the connection of the North and South Netherlands was not fortunate because both countries had different past and historical experience. The Protestant north could not get on well with the Catholic Frenchified south. An economic problem was another source of dissatisfaction. Richer south had to support debts of the northern part of the kingdom. The inhabitants of what is today´s Belgium were not satisfied with representation in the States General. Both parts of the country had equal numbers of representatives in the second chambre even though more people lived in the south. Thus, the king, who tried to rule as an enlightened despot, did not receive much fondness from the southern representatives. Moreover, his aim was to unite the countries also in the question of language. Dutch should have become the official language. On the other hand, William I aimed to rebuild the country through industry support, dam and canal building, trade stimulation and recovery of lost markets. The dissatisfaction with the situation led to the Brussels uprising in August 1830. As a result, the independent Kingdom of Belgium was declared.

• Details
• Contents