Belgian united states

With the accession to the throne, the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II set the task of centralizing the administration of possessions in the Netherlands. According to the edicts of January 1, 1787, independent provinces were replaced by 9 kreitsen and 35 districten , and a complex judicial system was uniform. The southern Netherlands saw in these edicts an assassination attempt on centuries-old privileges and the formal independence of the regions in the Netherlands. The general states (parliament) of the Duchy of Brabant considered the taxes proposed by Joseph II to be contrary to the Joyeuse entrée , a charter , a kind of constitution ^{[1] of} Brabant , which, since 1356, has been sworn to the Dukes of Brabant and Limburg. By virtue of this, on April 19, 1787, Brabant and Hainaut refused to approve taxes ^[2] . The governors of the Netherlands, Joseph II’s sister Maria Cristina and her husband Albert Casimir , the Duke of Saxe-Teshen , tried to cancel the edicts in May 1787, but the emperor continued to insist on reform and on January 7, 1789 prohibited the convening of the Brabant and Hainot parliaments ^[2] . The ongoing conflict between the emperor and the Netherlands provinces led to the abolition of the emperor Joyeuse entrée ( June 18, 1789 ).

Dissatisfaction led to the emergence of two opposition parties: extras , the leader of which was Hendrik van der Not , and the Wonkists , whose leader was Jan Frans Wonk . Unlike the more conservative extras, the Wonkists initially supported the reforms of Joseph II, however, the way these reforms were carried out transferred the Wonkists to the ranks of the opposition. In May 1789, the Wonkists created a secret society, Pro aris et focis .

The abolition of Joyeuse entrée was the reason for open disobedience in Brabant. Van der Noth fled to Breda , to the part of historical Brabant controlled by the Republic of the United Provinces , where he managed to rally a group of like-minded people ( Dutch Comité van Breda ) and assemble a small army. The army led by General Jan Andris Vander Merce crossed the border of the Southern Netherlands and on October 24, 1789 the first city crossed over to them: Hoogstraten . On the same day, Van der Noth published the Brabant Manifesto ( Dutch: Manifest van het Brabantse Volk , FR. Manifeste des Brabançons ^[3] ), in which he called for arms in the name of freedom and homeland:

Nous exhortons tous et quelconques citoyens, capables de porter les armes pour la défense de la liberté de la nation et pour le salut de la patrie, de s'annoncer aux chefs établis et connus, pour, ensuite des renseignements qui leur seront donnés, se rendre à l'endroit ou lieu qui leur sera désigné, et s'y soumettre entièrement aux ordres qui leur seront donnés

Three days later, on October 27, the Battle of Turnhout took place. General Vander Merce was aware that a battle in open space would be a losing battle for the rebels. With the help of the inhabitants of the city, his army managed to infiltrate the city and impose street battles on the Austrian forces. Such tactics proved successful and the city was conquered. Success at Turnhout gave the rebels self-confidence: on November 13th, Ghent submits to them, a few days later Tienen and Dist . On November 17, the governors of the Netherlands, together with the Austrian administration, leave Brussels , the soldiers are massively deserting from the imperial troops. On December 10, an uprising begins in Brussels: the remnants of the imperial army retreat to the fortress of Luxembourg and Antwerp (the Antwerp garrison went over to the side of the rebels on March 29, 1790 ).

On December 18, Van der Noth solemnly entered Brussels decorated with three-color flags. All provinces, with the exception of Luxembourg, declared independence and formed on January 11, 1790, a confederation known as the Belgian United States ^[4] . Each province retained its sovereignty, but delegated protection of the common interests of Congress. The Liege bishopric that participated in the uprising did not enter the confederation.

Serious differences between extras and Wonkists quickly became clear. The government of extras relied on large Brabant cities: Brussels, Antwerp, Leuven , while the Wonkists were more popular in Hainaut and Flanders . The Wonkists sought to create a unitary centralized state, as exemplified by the constitutional monarchy in France, perhaps even within the empire. Van der Noth sought rapprochement and future unification with the United Provinces , as well as the expansion of the revolution in the south. In addition, Van der Not sought rapprochement with Prussia , which had troops in the Liege diocese of November 1789. Support for his efforts, however, was very limited. Moreover, the abolition of taxes under pressure from the population led to financial difficulties and the inability to assemble an army.

After the death of Joseph II on February 20, 1790, his brother, the more diplomatic Leopold II , became emperor. According to the results of the Reichenbach agreement between Prussia and Austria ( July 27, 1790 ), Prussia guaranteed Austria control over the Netherlands. On November 24, imperial troops entered the county of Namur , two days later the emperor recognized Flanders. The rest of the restoration of imperial power was almost bloodless. Van der Noth fled to the Republic of the United Provinces.

Although the Belgian United States lasted a little less than a year, the events described had a significant impact on the further history of the region. On the one hand, van der Noth's plans to unite the southern and northern provinces led to the creation of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands ; on the other, they were the harbinger of the Belgian revolution of 1830 .