Explain why the Belgian Revolution of September 1830 occurred?
The Belgian Revolution took place between the months of August and September 1830. This insurrection was mainly a series of manifestations and at the end there was as well as series of small battles around Belgium between the Belgians and the Dutch army. This conflicts were known as the Days of September since they were between the 23rd and 27th of September 1830 . These events occurred due to a multiple reasons ranging from religious conflicts to economic, social and political conflicts.
One of the major causes of the Belgian revolution, which took place between August and September 1830, was the fact that the Belgians were under Dutch rule. The ruler of the United Kingdom of Netherlands at the time was King William 1st of Orange-Nassau who favored the Dutch and imposed ethnic nationalism excluding the Belgians. This of course already exacerbates tension between the Dutch monarchy and the Belgian revolutionaries since the Belgians were treated unfairly compared to the Dutch.
As soon as the Paris treaty, signed on the 30th of May 1814 , established that the Belgian state was to become part of the United Kingdom of Netherlands the Dutch dream of expansionism was accomplished and immediately the Flemish started enforcing Dutch supremacy. This meant that if you were Dutch you were treated with higher respect and had more advantages then all other races in the Dutch Kingdom. For example when the constitution adopted to revise the fundamental laws of the new kingdom was established in 1815 there were 796 votes against the constitution and 527 for it and a sixth of the voters did not come. Since this constitution was Dutch the king accepted it although it should have been rejected due to a majority of the vote against it. This showed not only the favoritism of one single race but it also should that the Dutch monarchy was corrupt.
As the years went by the Dutch continuously kept on depriving the other races in its kingdom from more and more political as well as social
One of the major causes of the Belgian revolution, which took place between August and September 1830, was the fact that the Belgians were under Dutch rule. The ruler of the United Kingdom of Netherlands at the time was King William 1st of Orange-Nassau who favored the Dutch and imposed ethnic nationalism excluding the Belgians. This of course already exacerbates tension between the Dutch monarchy and the Belgian revolutionaries since the Belgians were treated unfairly compared to the Dutch.
As soon as the Paris treaty, signed on the 30th of May 1814 , established that the Belgian state was to become part of the United Kingdom of Netherlands the Dutch dream of expansionism was accomplished and immediately the Flemish started enforcing Dutch supremacy. This meant that if you were Dutch you were treated with higher respect and had more advantages then all other races in the Dutch Kingdom. For example when the constitution adopted to revise the fundamental laws of the new kingdom was established in 1815 there were 796 votes against the constitution and 527 for it and a sixth of the voters did not come. Since this constitution was Dutch the king accepted it although it should have been rejected due to a majority of the vote against it. This showed not only the favoritism of one single race but it also should that the Dutch monarchy was corrupt.
As the years went by the Dutch continuously kept on depriving the other races in its kingdom from more and more political as well as social
Bibliography: Primary Sources:Nothomb, Jean-Baptiste & Juste, Theodor Essai Historique et Politique sur La Revolution Belge Ghent University, Gent, 1833Secondary Sources:Books:Mabille, Xavier Histoire de la politique Belgique Facteurs et acteurs de changement Crisp, Brussels, 1986Websites:The Belgian Revolution WikipediaAvailable at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgian_RevolutionAccessed 26/03/2009"Révolution belge de 1830" Encyclopédie Microsoft® Encarta®Available at http://fr.encarta.msn.comAccessed 09/04/2009Révolution belge WikipediaAvailable at http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%A9volution_belgeAccessed 07/04/2009