Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 12.djvu/95

83 CHANGES SINCE FRENCH REVOLUTION.] HOLLAND 83 in appearance, soon proved a delusion. One change of government succeeded another : after the States General came a national convention; then in 1798 a constituent assembly with an executive directory; then chambers of representatives; then a return to the earlier system under the names of the eight provincial and one central com missions (1801). The peace of Amiens gave the country a little rest, and the Dutch got back the Cape of Good Hope and their South American colonies : it was, however, but the brief and deceptive lull between two storms ; when war began again England once more swept away all she had restored. In 1805 Bonaparte, with his usual high hand, imposed on them a new constitution, and set Schimmelpenninck over them with the ancient title of grand pensionary. In the next year Napoleon added Holland to the ring of great fiefs with which he surrounded his imperial system, and forced an unwilling brother, Louis, to be king of an unwilling people. Worthy of a better fate, the excellent king of Holland did all in his power to protect his new subjects from the crushing friendship of his brother ; but his efforts were in vain, and he withdrew to Vienna. In 1810 Napoleon annexed all Holland to the empire, de claring that it was &quot;in the nature of things nothing but a portion of France.&quot; In 1813 the change in the affairs of Europe encouraged the Dutch to join the general revolt, when they established a limited monarchy. The prince of Orange was recalled from England, and entered Amsterdam amidst the utmost enthusiasm. An assembly of notables met and declared him king with the title of William I., king of the Netherlands, in 1814. By the treaty of Paris Belgium was united to Holland, and the seventeen provinces were again forcibly joined together under one prince. It was settled that the house of Orange should have the hereditary sovereignty, with a fairly liberal constitution. To make up to the new king for the loss of his territories in Germany, the grand duchy of Luxembourg, with the exception of the town and fortress of Luxembourg, was handed over to him as his private possession, not as a part of the kingdom ; the bishopric of Liege and the duchy of Bouillon also went with it. The episode of the &quot; Hundred Days,&quot; though it delayed the conclusion of the very complicated arrangements involved in these transfers, gave the new kingdom an oppor tunity of distinguishing itself : it was the first point of attack, and met the crisis with vigour. The Dutch troops under William, eldest son of the new king, took consider able part in the short and striking campaign which was closed on June 18, 1815, by the final victory of Waterloo. The allied powers now founded in Holland and Belgium what they hoped would be a solid and permanent kingdom as a barrier against Francs. It was felt that Napoleon had shown Europe the importance of this district in connexion with his scheme for European domination. The new kingdom under the house of Orange was there fore the subject of great and anxious consideration at Vienna. The king, an hereditary sovereign, received full executive powers, and the initiative in proposing laws. He had also the power of appointing his own council of state. As a legislative body there were the States-General, divided into two chambers ; each province had also its own local states. Freedom of worship and political equality were secured for all. A highly artificial arrangement like this, however, could not stand long, if Europe came to throw off the trammels of the monarchical reaction, and to give freer course to those liberal tendencies which had survived the drama of the . French Revolution. In religious belief, in law.5 and usages, in language, in interests, the Belgic and Batavian provinces had little in common. Their inhabitants were different races, with instincts and feelings not merely diverse but opposed. The Belgic provinces spoke French or Walloon, the Batavians, Dutch. The Belgians were strict Catholics, while the Dutch were Protestants. The Dutch were chiefly a commercial and seafaring people, with interests in distant lands and colonial possessions ; the Belgians were agriculturists, except where their abundance of minerals made them manufacturers. The Dutch connected themselves with Germany and (though often only by way of rivalry) with England ; the Belgians drew their chief inspirations from France, and connected themselves with the French in traditions, religion, and commercial interests. Such a diversity could not possibly stand the brunt of any great political movement ; especially as the Dutch were oppressive towards their Belgian partners in the kingdom. Accord ingly we find that in 1830 the revolution at Paris at once aroused the strongest sympathy at Brussels. The dull obstinacy of William I. had emphasized the divergence, and his narrow and antiquated policy rendered an outburst inevitable. The revolt at Brussels, which began on the 25th The re- August 1830, spread instantly throughout the whole of Vo1t at Belgium. After a short struggle in November, a confer- Bru&amp;gt;sse ence of France, England, Prussia, Austria, and Russia, sitting in London at the request of William I., pro posed an armistice, to which both parties agreed. In the following January the conference attempted to settle the terms of a separation, and proposed that Holland should have Luxembourg and part of the left bank of the Scheldt; this the Dutch accepted, while the provisional Govern ment at Brussels protested against it. The assembly at Brussels constructed a new and liberal constitution, with a broad representative government, liberty of teaching, of the press, of public meeting ; and in April 1831 the crown was offered to Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, who, after ascer- Leopol taiuing that he would be recognized by England and king France, did not hesitate to accept it (.see BELGIUM). This f | h. e appointment caused the utmost irritation at the Hague, and the Dutch suddenly invaded Belgium ; the opportune appearance of a French army checked the Dutch advance, and gave diplomacy time to interfere. The citadel of Antwerp, however, was still in Dutch hands, and the allied powers used in vain all their influence to persuade William I. to give it up to the Belgians. Var was hereon declared, and France and England blockaded the Dutch ports, while a French, army attacked the citadel, and, after a sharp struggle, compelled it to capitulate: The forts of Lillo and Liefkenshoek were Convc: left in the hands of the Dutch; on May 21, 1833, there tion ut was signed at London by the plenipotentiaries of Holland k nc on one side, and those of England and France on the other, a convention in which William I. engaged not to recom mence hostilities against Belgium, and to leave the Scheldt navigation open, till the relation between the two countries should be definitely settled by treaty. The final settlement of outstanding questions, however, was not reached till six years later, when Limburg and the eastern part of Luxem bourg were secured to Holland, and heavy tolls were imposed on the navigation of the Scheldt ; then the two kingdoms finally parted company on the 19th of April 1839. In the following year William I. resigned his crown to wi ii.ii his son William II., who reigned in peace till his death in n. 1849, when he was succeeded by his eldest son William Williaj III., who still reigns. The wave of revolution which ITI - passed over Europe in 1848 had in Holland com paratively little effect : the constitution of 1814 was revised, and the tranquillity of the country secured. In 1853, after the establishment by the papacy of Catholic bishoprics in England and Holland, a considerable excite ment arose, which resulted in the accession to power of