Willem I

Willem I (1772–1843) was King of the United Netherlands from 1813 to 1840 when he abdicated in favour of his son Willem II. Although he promoted economic development in the country, Willem I alienated the south which broke away in 1831 to reconstitute itself as Belgium.

Life

Willem was born at The Hague on 24 August 1772, the son of Willem V, the last stadholder. He lived in exile from 1795 to 1813. When he returned to the Netherlands, he was proclaimed Prince Sovereign and, in 1815, the Congress of Vienna confirmed his status as King of the United Netherlands, which incorporated the modern states of Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

King

Willem I actively promoted economic modernisation. His position as monarch was ambivalent, however; his sovereignty remained real, but his authority was shared with a legislature elected by the wealthy citizens under a constitution granted by the King. Government was in the hands of ministries of state. The old provinces were re-established in name only. The government was now fundamentally unitary, and all authority flowed from the centre. Economic liberalism combined with moderate monarchical authoritarianism to accelerate the adaptation of the United Netherlands to the new conditions of the 19th century. The country prospered until a crisis arose in Dutch relations with the southern Flemish and Walloon provinces.

Revolt of Belgium

Willem's policies were increasingly unpopular in the south. The French–speaking Walloons strenuously rejected his attempt to make Dutch the universal language of government. Flemings in the south spoke a Dutch dialect (Flemish) and welcomed the encouragement of Dutch with a revival of literature and popular culture. Other Flemings, notably the educated bourgeoisie, preferred to speak French. Although Catholics possessed legal equality, after centuries as the state church in the south, they resented their subordination to a government that was fundamentally Protestant in spirit and membership. Few Catholics held high office in state or army. Political liberals in the south complained as well about the King's authoritarian methods. All southerners complained of under-representation in the national legislature. Although the south was industrialising and was more prosperous than the north, accumulated grievances caused the multiple opposition forces to coalesce. The outbreak of revolution in France in 1830 was a signal for action, at first on behalf of autonomy for Belgium, as the southern provinces were now called, and later on behalf of total independence. Willem dithered and his half-hearted efforts to reconquer Belgium were thwarted both by the efforts of the Belgians themselves and by the diplomatic opposition of the great powers.

In November 1830, at the London Conference, the chief powers of Europe ordered an armistice between the Dutch and the Belgians. The first draft for a treaty of separation of Belgium and the Netherlands was rejected by the Belgians. A second draft in June 1831 was rejected by Willem I, who resumed hostilities. Franco-British intervention forced Willem to withdraw his forces from Belgium in late 1831 and, in 1833, an armistice of indefinite duration was concluded. Belgium was effectively independent but Willem's attempts to recover Luxembourg and Limburg led to renewed tension. The London Conference of 1838 prepared the final Dutch-Belgian separation treaty of 1839 and divided Luxembourg and Limburg between the Dutch and Belgian crowns. The Kingdom of the Netherlands thereafter was made up of only the eleven northern provinces.

Willem abdicated in 1840 and spent his last years in retirement at his private estate in Silesia, where he died in 1843.

See also

• Netherlands, history
• Belgium, history