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Belgian Revolution

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The flag of Brabant with horizontal strips was the original Flag of 1830 Belgium.
Leopold I, First King of the Belgians by Franz Winterhalter
Episode of the September Days 1830 (on the Grand Place of Brussels)
Charles Rogier leads the 250 revolutionary volunteers from Liège to Brussels (Charles Soubre, 1878)
Belgian rebels on the barricade of the Place Royale facing Brussels' Park (1830)
Leopold I takes the constitutional oath. By Gustaf Wappers
Germany's defiance of the 1839 Treaty of London in 1914 outraged British opinion

The Belgian Revolution was the conflict which led to the secession of the southern provinces (mainly the former Southern Netherlands) from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium. The resulting 1830 London Conference of major European powers recognized Belgian independence. Following the installation of Leopold I as "King of the Belgians" in 1831, King William made a belated attempt to reconquer Belgium and restore his position through a military campaign. This "Ten Days' Campaign" failed because of French military intervention. The Dutch only accepted the decision of the London conference and Belgian independence in 1839 by signing the Treaty of London.

Quotes

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  • Between the Belgian and Dutch minds there is now no more a covenant to be made than between that of evil and that of good.
  • Bah! you were there… well, that's good for once, but for the second time I'd advise the Dutchman to stay at home, or we'll deal with him here, as they say the Devil agrees with the Holy Job has done.
  • The Flemish, well they are big children.
    • Our Heritage. Volume 23 (1980), The Belgian uprising by dr. Hans van der Hoeven Dutch men of letters did attend the joint philological conferences, but refused to get involved further with the Flemish cause. This haughty-rejecting attitude is most clearly illustrated in Jacob van Lennep's whitewashing remark about his own contacts. About these relationships, see e.g. A.W. Willemsen, The Flemish Movement from 1830 to 1914 (Hasselt, 1974, Twenty Centuries of Flanders, vol. 4), p. 164.
  • Move, brothers! there once more Where, before twenty-five years, Dressed in war garb, we were; Where we, united by one band, As Sons of one Fatherland, Before Prince and Country stood in battle.
    • Our Heritage. Volume 23 (1980), The Belgian uprising by dr. Hans van der Hoeven In 1855, when the first quarter century of Belgian independence was being commemorated, even these remarkable relationships had yet to be established. Due to various circumstances, the commemorations were less focused on 1855 than on 1856. In the Netherlands this was obvious: rather than the defeat of 1830, the victory of 1831 was commemorated there. And for many years to come, archers and ex-soldiers would gather to commemoration of the glorious event and to sing to each other. Jubilation songs. January] 1856 - August 1856... by xxx Former Petty Officer. ('s-Gravenhage, 1856), p. 6.
  • They err who wish to see our fathers everywhere and always clean and spotless.
    • Our Heritage. Volume 23 (1980), The Belgian uprising by dr. Hans van der Hoeven The weekly magazine Asmodée devotes 'a hearty word' to the much-praised popular spirit of 1830 and 1831, when the whole country had rallied behind the king's call of arms. The metal cross. A hearty word about the popular spirit of the years 1830-1831. Collected at the request of many from the weekly magazine Asmodée (Amsterdam, 1856).
  • To proclaim to distant posterity the praise of a people who... When apostasy and betrayal suddenly tore the Kingdom of the Netherlands apart, and the Belgians, in the swoon of their freedom fever, in bold hubris threatened even the old borders of the Kingdom, cut and remained faithful to his legitimate Prince, from the respected and beloved house of Orange.
    • Our Heritage. Volume 23(1980), The Belgian uprising by dr. Hans van der Hoeven R. Sypkens, a former volunteer, pointed out that the erection of a memorial only wanted to pay tribute to the noble folk spirit of those years. The writer did not reject the rapprochement between Flemish and Dutch that had arisen since then, but it was clear that he himself saw no benefit in it. E.R. Sypkens, The folk spirit of 1830-1831 commemorated... (Amsterdam, 1856).
  • For twenty-five years you Flemings have been misunderstood, oppressed and humiliated', For 25 years the Flemings were addressed in a foreign language, sentenced and tried, for 25 years they had to do with French money, a French court, a French army and a French administration. For twenty-five years you have been strangers in your own land.
    • Our Heritage. Volume 23 (1980), The Belgian uprising by dr. Hans van der Hoeven The following spring, the desired harmony was seriously disrupted by a Manifesto of 't Nederlandsch Kunstverbond. The imminent homage of King Leopold I to commemorate his acceptance of the Belgian crown in July 1831 gave little cause for rejoicing to the authors of the Manifesto. Text printed by Willemsen, a.w., p. 103.
  • Come, Flemish and Wael brothers, Lie upon Belgium's breast, Unite voice and heart, For your beloved prince.
    • Our Heritage. Volume 23 (1980), The Belgian uprising by dr. Hans van der Hoeven It is true that not all Flamingants thought as radically as the responsible writers Jan van Rijswijk and Emmanuel Rosseels, but the intended effect was no less. The well-disposed minister De Decker, however, reacted flexibly with the establishment of a Flemish grievance committee. All the complaints in the Manifesto about the loss of 'everything that characterizes the Dutchman' could not prevent conscious Flemish people - in numbers, still a fairly insignificant group! - still sought the solution of their grievances within the framework of the Belgian state. Now that their objections had been met in such a way, every obstacle for the Flemish to participate in the celebrations of Leopold I had been removed. Flemish literary scholars also contributed bravely. Hippoliet van Peene, the poet of De Vlaemsche Leeuw (1845) sang in 1856. H. van Peene, 25th Anniversary of the King's Government. Canticle of Jubilee (Z.p., 1856), p. 6. a.w., p. 103.
  • A smile of self-satisfaction and pride shines on the face of every citizen, and he lifts his eye in thanks to God, who granted him the small but richly blessed Belgium as his birthplace.
  • The discourse of those gentlemen whose clothing glitters with gold trim, of those rough workmen who have donned their Sunday smock, of those women whose long lace caps remind us of the Scheldt River; yes, even of the brussels schoolboys who so boldly push through the crowd. All... bless the name of the King, all speak of his unblemished faithfulness and infinite wisdom...
  • In the midst of all this wealth we have seen something humble, something seemingly small, which nevertheless moved us deeply. It was in a dark alley of the lower town, in front of a little house so low that one could touch its roof with one's hand. An old woman, perhaps eighty years old, was decorating her hut. Her hands trembled with stiffness, her chest hygged with heaviness. She brought an image of the well-beloved King in front of her few windows, an image which might not have cost ten cents. Around it she hung a wreath of cut flowers and tinsel; under a strip of paper on which her waddling hand had written in almost illegible letters. Long live the King! On the other side a stone candlestick, to burn two small candles on it in the evening. This was the patriotic tribute of the poor decrepit widow! Perhaps such simplicity would make others smile; she snatched from us a tear of admiration and compassion...
  • The revolution of 1830 in the Netherlands is and will remain the greatest state error of this year one hundred.
    • Our Heritage. Volume 23 (1980), The Belgian uprising by dr. Hans van der Hoeven The writer regretted that by 1830 the Germanic dike had been broken. This paper was published by the 'De Veldbloem' Association, which formed a clear core of regrets with regard to the United Kingdom. Belgium now had a king who didn't even speak Dutch; no wonder De Laveleye was quoted with particular approval in his statement. 1830-1880. A Handful of Truths (Brussels, 1880), pp. 19-20.
  • The people have made the revolution, the people have chased the Dutch from Belgian soil; the people alone, and not the Prince of Orange at all, are at the head of the movement which gave it its independence and which will establish its political nationality.
    • The Belgian Revolution in the Diary of Willem de Clercq, 1830-1831 With the proclamation, the prince overplayed his hand. He turned against his father and, in the eyes of many Dutchmen, against the North. Moreover, offering his leadership did not fall well with the Provisional Government, which informed him:, H. Pirenne, History of Belgium. Part 6. The French Conquest. The Consulate and the Empire. The Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Belgian revolution (Ghent 1930) 435.

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