| United Kingdom of the Netherlands Verenigd Koninkrijk der Nederlanden (Dutch) Royaume-Uni des Pays-Bas (French) |
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| Map of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815 | |||||
| Capital | Amsterdam and Brussels | ||||
| Language(s) | Dutch, French | ||||
| Government | Constitutional monarchy | ||||
| King | |||||
| - 1815–1839 | William I | ||||
| Legislature | States-General | ||||
| - Upper house | Senate | ||||
| - Lower house | House of Representatives | ||||
| Historical era | Congress of Vienna | ||||
| - Congress of Vienna | 16 March 1815 | ||||
| - Treaty of London | 19 April 1839 | ||||
| Currency | Dutch guilder | ||||
The United Kingdom of the Netherlands (1815–1839) (Dutch: Verenigd Koninkrijk der Nederlanden, French: Royaume-Uni des Pays-Bas) is the unofficial name used to refer to Kingdom of the Netherlands during the period after it was first created from part of the First French Empire and before the new kingdom of Belgium split out in 1830. This state, a large part of which still exists today as the Kingdom of the Netherlands, was made up of the former Dutch Republic (Republic of the Seven United Netherlands) to the north, the former Austrian Netherlands to the south, plus the former Prince-Bishopric of Liège. The House of Orange-Nassau came to be the monarchs of this new state.
The United Kingdom of the Netherlands collapsed after the 1830 Belgian Revolution. William I, King of the Netherlands, would refuse to recognize a Belgian state until 1839, when he had to yield under pressure by the Treaty of London. Only at this time were exact borders agreed.
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Frisian Kingdom (600-734) |
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| Carolingian Empire after 800 | ||||
| West Francia ("France") | Independent Kingdom of Middle Francia (Lotharingia) (843–870) |
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County of Flanders (862–1384) and other principalities (10th–14th centuries) |
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Duchy of Brabant (1183-1430) and other principalities (10th–15th centuries) |
County/ Duchy of Luxembourg (963–1443) |
County of Holland (880-1432) and other principalities (10th–15th centuries) |
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Burgundian Netherlands (1384–1482) |
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Habsburg Netherlands (Seventeen Provinces) (1482–1581) |
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Spanish Netherlands (Southern Netherlands) (1581–1713) |
Dutch Republic (1581–1795) |
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Austrian Netherlands (Southern Netherlands) (1713–1795) |
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Liège Revolution (1789–1792) |
United States of Belgium (1790) |
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Part of the French Republic (1795–1804) and the French Empire (1804–1815) |
Batavian Republic (1795–1806) |
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Kingdom of Holland (1806–1810) |
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United Kingdom of the Netherlands (1815-1830) |
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Kingdom of Belgium (since 1830) |
Gr Duchy Luxembourg (personal union) |
Kingdom of the Netherlands (since 1830) |
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Gr Duchy Luxembourg (since 1890) |
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| History of the Netherlands | |
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This article is part of a series |
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| Early History | |
| Germanic tribes | |
| Roman Era | |
| Migration Period | |
| Medieval | |
| Frankish Realm/The Franks | |
| Middle Francia | |
| Holy Roman Empire | |
| Burgundian Netherlands | |
| Seventeen Provinces | |
| Republic | |
| Eighty Years' War | |
| United Provinces | |
| The Golden Age | |
| The Batavian revolution | |
| Monarchy | |
| Batavian Republic | |
| Kingdom of Holland | |
| First French Empire | |
| United Kingdom of the Netherlands | |
| Modern History | |
| Netherlands in World War II | |
| Netherlands | |
| Topics | |
| Military History | |
| Dutch Language | |
| Dutch literature | |
| Naval influence | |
| Inventions and discoveries | |
| Luctor et Emergo | |
| Dutch heraldry | |
|
Netherlands Portal |
After the liberation of the Netherlands in 1813 by Prussian and Russian troops, William Frederik of Orange-Nassau, (better known as William I of the Netherlands) the son of the last stadtholder William V of Orange-Nassau and Princess Wilhelmina of Prussia, returned to The Hague to be granted the title Sovereign of the Netherlands on 2 December 1813.
During the Congress of Vienna in 1815 France had to give up its rule of the Southern Netherlands. These negotiations were not made easy, because William tried to get as much out of it as he could. His ideas of a United Netherlands were based upon the actions of Hendrik van der Noot, a lawyer and politician and one of the main players in the Revolution of the Southern Netherlands against the Austrian Emperor (1789–1790). In 1789, after the Southern Netherlands declared themselves independent, Hendrik knew this was a fragile state and he tried to be reunited with the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. Since then William had never forgotten this and after the fall of Napoleon he saw a chance.
Three different scenarios were made:
The first two scenarios came from "Memorandum of Holland" made in 1813 after the Battle of Leipzig. The last scenario came from William himself. The first scenario never made it because the Great Powers (Great Britain, Prussia, Austria and Russia) thought an independent Southern Netherlands/Belgium under an Austrian Prince was too weak and Austria was not interested in getting it back.
The Dutch question became a problem. The Great Powers of Europe chose the last scenario, but didn't want to go as far in enlarging the Netherlands as William.
In the end, the Eight Articles of London granted William the following lands:
The Duchy of Luxembourg was not fully granted to William, because it was a member of the German Confederation. William however demanded that Luxembourg become a part of the Netherlands, as a unified Netherlands was stronger as a buffer for France. Historically it had been a part of the Netherlands (Seventeen Provinces or Burgundian Netherlands), up to 1648, but Luxembourg was still a part of the discussions.
On 1 March 1815, while the Congress of Vienna was still going on, Napoleon escaped from Elba and he created a large army against the Great Powers of Europe. He was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo (at that time within the kingdom) by Prussian, British, Belgian, Dutch and Nassau (under the prince of Orange) troops.
William no longer hesitated and with permission of the Great Powers of Europe on 16 March 1815 he made himself King William I of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. Luxembourg became a Grand-Duchy in personal union with the Netherlands and stayed a member of the German Confederation, being garrisoned by Prussian troops on behalf of the Dutch king.
With the unification William completed the dream of his ancestor William of Orange (also known as William the Silent), who started it in 1579.
The newly formed kingdom was not like the Netherlands or Belgium today. By the constitution, King William was granted much more power than a King or Queen in a modern constitutional monarchy.
The Second Chamber of the States-General of the Netherlands had 110 members, of which 55 were chosen by the north and 55 were chosen by the south. The First Chamber consisted of noblemen, old and new nobles, who were granted the position by King William.
The Netherlands had eight ministers, who did not have to answer to the Second Chamber, but only to the King himself. In fact, they were following his demands. The King also could rule by "Royal Order".
Economically the new state prospered, although many people in the north were unemployed and lived in poverty because a lot of English goods had destabilised the Dutch trade market.
Although financially stable, the south also had the burden of the nation's debt, but gained new trade markets in the Dutch colonies. Many people's welfare improved in the south lived in poverty because the profits of trade were used for big projects.
William tried to divide the nation's wealth more equally through, among others, the following actions:
Through these actions export of cotton, sheets, weapons and steel products increased. The fleet of Antwerp grew to 117 ships. Many of these projects were funded by King William himself.
The educational system was extended. Under William's rule the number of school-going children doubled from 150,000 to 300,000 by opening 1,500 new public schools. The south especially needed schools because many people could not read or write.
In 1825 William founded the Dutch Trading Company (Dutch: Nederlandse Handels Maatschappij), to boost trade with the colonies.
Social differences
Socially the unification created many problems. The Burgundian and Calvinistic mentalities did not tolerate each other very well. The French-speaking elite acted in their personal interest by using the differences in religion, mentality, life style and communication. Both the north and the south had a different historical background and the Dutch and French speaking people both were afraid of being overruled by each other. France played a role in this by the "Legion belge et parisienne", financed with private funds but with permission of the French government, to make a unification with France possible.
Religious and political differences
Religion was also a reason for separation. While the north was dominantly Protestant, the south was Catholic. The Catholic Church saw its influence declining in favour of the king. He built over 1,500 state schools where the Church was no longer the provider of education. Also the north had built up an independent history, and had experienced a golden age. So the Dutch people saw Belgium more as a territorial gain than a partner. This was used by the church and the French-speaking elite to create anti-Dutch feelings which led to the Belgian revolution.
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