Belgian Democratization
A history of Belgian democratization.
Belgian Revolution
Following the Napoleonic Wars, the house of Orange was revived under William I as the first king of the Netherlands. There were immediately several challenges to this novel union of the southern and northern provinces.
- William openly patronized the Reformed Church, while the Walloons and Flemings were deeply Catholic peoples.
- The Constitution of 1815 equally apportioned representation in the Second Chamber to the north and south, despite the latter having a much larger population.
- Schools in Flanders began to teach in the Dutch language.
- William's foreign policy focused on colonization, which suited the mercantile north better than the industrializing south.
A revolt began in Brussels in August 1830. William dispatched his sons the next year to suppress it, but French threats to intervene forced them to withdraw. The revolt now spiralled out of control and the Revolutionary Committee declared itself a provisional government. This war culminated in the partition of Belgium and Netherlands through the Treaty of London in 1839.
Kingdom of Belgium
The provisional government organized elections for a National Congress in late 1830. They produced the Constitution of Belgium by February and crowned Leopold I as king of Belgium in July.
Belgium was devised as a federal system of Regions and Communities, with many important powers devolved. The Federal Parliament was created with representation allocated with respect to these Regions and Communities.