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72-750: The polity collapsed in 1830 with the outbreak of the Belgian Revolution . With the de facto secession of Belgium , the Netherlands was left as a rump state and refused to recognise Belgian independence until 1839 when the Treaty of London was signed, fixing the border between the two states and guaranteeing Belgian independence and neutrality as the Kingdom of Belgium . Before the French Revolutionary Wars (1792–1802),

144-589: A "scrap of paper". Britain declared war on Germany the same day. As early as 1830 a movement started for the reunification of Belgium and the Netherlands, called Orangism (after the Dutch royal color of orange ), which was active in Flanders and Brussels. But industrial cities, like Liège, also had a strong Orangist faction. The movement met with strong disapproval from the authorities. Between 1831 and 1834, 32 incidents of violence against Orangists were mentioned in

216-765: A Declaration of Independence on 4 October 1830. On 20 December 1830 the London Conference of 1830 brought together five major European powers: Austria, the United Kingdom, France, Prussia and Russia. At first, the European powers were divided over the Belgian cry for independence. The Napoleonic Wars were still fresh in the memories of the major European powers, so once the French, under the recently installed July Monarchy , supported Belgian independence,

288-641: A certain wealth. Universal male suffrage would be granted in 1917 and women would receive suffrage in 1919. At this occasion, the electoral system was changed to proportional representation . The States General were suspended from 1940 to 1945, during the German occupation . In 1956 the number of members of the Senate was enlarged to 75, and that of the House of Representatives to 150. (joint session of both houses) The States General meets in joint session at least once

360-779: A detail from Wappers ' painting Scene of the September Days in 1830 . States General of the Netherlands Opposition (45) Opposition (62) The States General of the Netherlands ( Dutch : Staten-Generaal [ˈstaːtə(ŋ) ɣeːnəˈraːl] ) is the supreme bicameral legislature of the Netherlands consisting of the Senate ( Dutch : Eerste Kamer ) and the House of Representatives ( Dutch : Tweede Kamer ). Both chambers meet at

432-537: A sentimental and patriotic opera set against Masaniello 's uprising against the Spanish masters of Naples in the 17th century. After the duet, "Amour sacré de la patrie", (Sacred love of Fatherland) with Adolphe Nourrit in the tenor role, many audience members left the theater and joined the riots which had already begun. The crowd poured into the streets shouting patriotic slogans. The brawls and violence continued for several days, with protesters capturing key points in

504-600: A similar meaning as the Dutch word staten , as in e.g. States of Jersey . The English phrases "States General" is probably a literal translation of the Dutch word. Historically, the same term was used for the name of other national legislatures as, for example, the Catalan and Valencian Generalitat and the Estates General of France during the Ancien Régime . Several geographic place names are derived from

576-521: A street fight and used to lead a counter-charge against the forces of Prince William. William I sent his two sons, Crown- Prince William and Prince Frederik to quell the riots. William was asked by the Burghers of Brussels to come to the town alone, with no troops, for a meeting; this he did, despite the risks. The affable and moderate Crown Prince William, who represented the monarchy in Brussels,

648-594: A whole, however, openly rebelled against the Spanish crown. In 1579 the States General split as a number of southern provinces, united in the Union of Arras returned to obedience, while other provinces, united in the Union of Utrecht continued the rebellion. After the Act of Abjuration in 1581 the northern States General replaced Philip II as the supreme authority of the northern Netherlands, which then became known as

720-489: A year, at the opening of the parliamentary year, when the king gives his Speech from the Throne on Prince's Day . On special occasions, such as when a States Generate vote on a marriage of a member of the royal house, an inauguration of the monarch , or the death of a member of the royal house, both houses also meet in a joint session ( Verenigde Vergadering ), with the president of the Senate presiding. They take place in

792-693: Is a river in the Cape York Peninsula , Australia. Historically, the convocation of the States General consisted of delegates from the States of the several provinces, like the States of Brabant , and dated from about the middle of the 15th century, under the rule of the Dukes of Burgundy . The first important session was the Estates General of 1464 that met on 9 January 1464 in Bruges , Flanders , on

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864-760: The Staten-Generaal . The "southern" States General after 1579 were a continuation of the States General as they had been under the Habsburg Netherlands. After the (re)conquest of most of the territory of the States of Brabant and of Flanders these States again sent representatives to these States General for the Southern Netherlands , together with the "obedient" provinces of the Union of Arras. The southern States General only occasionally came in session, however. The last regular session

936-467: The Armée du Nord and besieged the citadel taking it on 23 December 1832. William I would refuse to recognize a Belgian state until April 1839, when he had to yield under pressure by the Treaty of London and reluctantly recognized a border which, with the exception of Limburg and Luxembourg, was basically the border of 1790. On 19 April 1839 the Treaty of London signed by the European powers (including

1008-645: The Battle of Waterloo in 1815, the Congress of Vienna created a kingdom for the House of Orange-Nassau , thus combining the United Provinces of the Netherlands with the former Austrian Netherlands to create a strong buffer state north of France; with the addition of those provinces the Netherlands became a rising power. Symptomatic of the tenor of diplomatic bargaining at Vienna was the early proposal to reward Prussia for its fight against Napoleon with

1080-738: The Binnenhof in The Hague . The States General originated in the 15th century as an assembly of all the provincial states of the Burgundian Netherlands . In 1579, during the Dutch Revolt , the States General split as the northern provinces openly rebelled against Philip II , and the northern States General replaced Philip II as the supreme authority of the Dutch Republic in 1581. The States General were replaced by

1152-690: The Charter for the Kingdom , the two houses form a joint session known as the United Assembly ( verenigde vergadering) . The president of the Senate serves as President of the States General during a United Assembly. Jan Anthonie Bruijn ( VVD ) has been President of the Senate since 2019. The archaic Dutch word staten originally related to the feudal classes (" estates ", or standen in Dutch) in which medieval European societies were stratified;

1224-801: The Low Countries was a patchwork of different polities created by the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648). The Dutch Republic in the north was independent; the Southern Netherlands was split between the Austrian Netherlands and the Prince-Bishopric of Liège - the former being part of Habsburg monarchy , while both were part of the Holy Roman Empire . In the aftermath of the French Revolution ,

1296-524: The Napoleonic Wars . It was taken for granted that any new regime would have to be headed by the son of the last Dutch stadhouder , William Frederik of Orange-Nassau . A provisional government was formed, most of whose members had helped drive out the House of Orange 18 years earlier. However, they realised that it would be better in the long term to offer leadership of the new government to William Frederik themselves rather than have him imposed by

1368-603: The National Assembly after the Batavian Revolution of 1795, only to be restored in 1814, when the country had regained its sovereignty. The States General was divided into a Senate and a House of Representatives in 1815, with the establishment of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands . After the constitutional amendment of 1848, members of the House of Representatives were directly elected, and

1440-690: The Ridderzaal (Hall of Knights) in the Binnenhof, except for the inauguration of the monarch, which occurs in the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam . The rest of the time, the two chambers sit separately. Constitutionally, all functions of the parliament are given to both houses, except for the rights of initiative and amendment, which only the Tweede Kamer has. The Joint Session also appoints

1512-481: The United Provinces . This was a confederation in which most government functions remained with the provincial States (and local authorities, like the Vroedschappen ). These delegated representatives to the States General as a kind of ambassadors acting with a mandate limited by instruction and obligatory consultation ( last en ruggespraak ). The States General, in which the voting was by province, each of

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1584-596: The War of the First Coalition broke out in 1792 and France was invaded by Prussia and the Holy Roman Empire . After two years of fighting, the Austrian Netherlands and Liège were captured by the French in 1794 and annexed into France. The Dutch Republic collapsed in 1795 and became a French client state . In 1813, the Netherlands was liberated from French rule by Prussian and Russian troops during

1656-660: The steel industry in Wallonia . Antwerp emerged as major trading port. William I actively supported economic modernisation. Modern universities were established in Leuven , in Liège , and in Ghent in 1817. Lower education was also extended. The General Netherlands Society for Advancing National Industry ( Algemeene Nederlandsche Maatschappij ter Begunstiging van de Volksvlijt ) was created in 1822 to encourage industrialisation in

1728-428: The 110-seat House of Representatives, for example, was divided equally between south and north, although the former had a larger population. This was resented in the south, which believed that the government was dominated by northerners. Additionally, the king had somewhat greater power than is the case for Dutch and Belgian monarchs today. Most notably, the ministers were responsible solely to him. The United Netherlands

1800-563: The Dutch force took control of Antwerp and moved deeper into Belgium. The Belgian army of the Meuse was defeated in the battle of Hasselt . On 8 August Leopold called for support from the French and the British. As a result Marshal Étienne Maurice Gérard crossed the border with 70,000 French troops under his command on 9 August. The battle of Leuven (where King Leopold had placed his headquarters) began on 12 August. In order to avoid war with

1872-662: The Dutch government, partly because of rebellions within some of their own borders (the Russians were occupied with the November Uprising in Poland and Prussia was saddled with war debt). Britain would come to see the benefits of isolating France geographically with the new creation of a new Belgian buffer state between France, the Netherlands and Prussia. In November 1830, the National Congress of Belgium

1944-553: The Netherlands in 1848, the (now 39) members of the Senate were elected by the States-Provincial, and the members of the House of Representatives were directly elected in electoral districts (one for every 45,000 electors, so the number of members of that House became variable for a while). The House of Representatives became more powerful at the same time, as it received the important rights of inquiry and amendment , while its budgetary rights were strengthened. Formally,

2016-558: The Netherlands) Recognized Belgium as an independent and neutral country comprising West Flanders , East Flanders , Brabant , Antwerp , Hainaut , Namur , and Liège , as well as half of Luxembourg and Limburg . The Dutch army, however, held onto Maastricht , and as a result, the Netherlands kept the eastern half of Limburg and its large coalfields. Germany broke the treaty in 1914 when it invaded Belgium on 4 August and dismissed British protests over

2088-629: The Netherlands, though it remained part of the German Confederation . Though the United Netherlands was a constitutional monarchy , the king retained significant control as head of state and head of government . Beneath the king was a bicameral legislature known as the States General with a Senate and House of Representatives . From the start, the administrative system proved controversial. Representation in

2160-626: The Southern Netherlands and the Prince-Bishop of Liège , which combined are almost all of what is now Belgium. For all intents and purposes, William Frederik had completed his family's three-century dream of uniting the Low Countries under a single rule. Discussions on the future of the region were still ongoing at the Congress of Vienna when Napoleon attempted to return to power in the " Hundred Days ". William used

2232-590: The Sovereign in these years At the start of the Dutch Revolt the States General (who were then not continually in session) remained loyal to the overlord of the Habsburg Netherlands , Philip II of Spain (who did not have the title of King in the Netherlands, but held the title of duke and count in the several provinces, and was just a Lord of the Netherlands). In 1576 the States General as

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2304-548: The States General forced the grant of the Great Privilege by Mary of Burgundy in which the right of the States General to convene on their own initiative was recognised. The main function of the States General in these early years was to form a platform for the central government to discuss matters of general importance with the States of the provinces, especially the special subsidies known as beden or aides . Legislative and executive functions were still reserved for

2376-488: The States General formally was the sovereign power, representing the Republic in foreign affairs and making treaties with foreign monarchs. As such the honorific title of the States General collectively was Hoogmogende Heren (mightiest, or very mighty, lords). Due to the vagaries of the Eighty Years' War in which territories were lost and (partially) reconquered, not all territories that had originally signed up for

2448-479: The States General. In 1609, Henry Hudson established Dutch trade in Staten Island , New York City and named the island Staaten Eylandt after the States General. Isla de los Estados , now an Argentine island , was also named after this institution, the Spanish name being a translation of the Dutch name. Abel Tasman originally gave the name Staten Landt to what would become New Zealand. Staaten River

2520-726: The States General. Twenty per cent of the new Republic's territory, known as the Generality Lands , was so under the direct rule of the Generality ( generaliteit ). The Dutch East India Company and the Dutch West India Company were also under its general supervision; for this reason Staten Island in New York City (originally New Amsterdam ) and Staten Island, Argentina (Discovered by Dutchman Jacob le Maire ), are among places named after

2592-579: The Union of Utrecht remained represented in the States General. The States of Brabant and of Flanders lost their representation after 1587 as most of their territory had been conquered by the Army of Flanders , and it was not restored after part of that territory (together with parts of the Duchy of Limburg ) was reconquered by the Dutch Republic. The Drenthe territory was never directly represented in

2664-417: The allies. Accordingly, William Frederick was installed as the "sovereign prince" of a new Sovereign Principality of the United Netherlands . The future of the Southern Netherlands, however, was less clear. In June 1814, the Great Powers secretly agreed to the Eight Articles of London which allocated the region to the Dutch as William had advocated. That August, William Frederik was made Governor-General of

2736-436: The approaching French the Dutch agreed an armistice with Belgium and withdrew after briefly taking control of the city. While the victorious initial campaign gave the Dutch an advantageous position in subsequent negotiations, the Dutch were compelled to agree to an indefinite armistice, although they continued to hold the Antwerp Citadel and occasionally bombarded the city from it. Gerard returned to Belgium in November 1832 with

2808-428: The city including the Parc de Bruxelles and the Palais de Bruxelles . The Belgian rebels began to organize and fortify their positions in preparation for further confrontations with Dutch forces. The following days saw an explosion of the desperate and exasperated proletariat of Brussels, who rallied around the newly created flag of the Brussels independence movement which was fastened to a standard with shoelaces during

2880-464: The clergy, the nobility and the commons. The word eventually came to mean the political body in which the respective estates were represented. Each province in the Habsburg Netherlands had its own staten . These representative bodies (and not their constituent estates) in turn were represented in the assembly that came to be known as Staten-Generaal (a plurale tantum ), or Algemene Staten (General States). The English word "states" may have

2952-492: The end of the annexation to the First French Empire by Napoleon I of France in 1813. These had, however, little resemblance to the States General under the Republic. Beginning with the Sovereign Principality of the United Netherlands the States General was a unicameral legislature, without executive functions, in which the 55 representatives no longer represented the States-Provincial (though those newly constituted entities elected them, now acting as electoral colleges), but

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3024-408: The entire people of the Netherlands and without last en ruggespraak (the Netherlands had become a unitary state under the Batavian Republic and the federal structure of the Dutch Republic was not restored). The States General became a bicameral legislature under the United Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815, in which the 50 members of the Senate were appointed for life by the new King from

3096-469: The former Habsburg territory. When the United Kingdom insisted on retaining the former Dutch Ceylon and the Cape Colony , which it had seized while the Netherlands was ruled by Napoleon, the new Kingdom of the Netherlands was compensated with these southern provinces (modern Belgium). The revolution was due to a combination of factors, the main one being the difference of religion ( Catholic in today's Belgium , Protestant in today's Netherlands ) and

3168-472: The former Southern Netherlands ) from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium . The people of the south were mainly Flemings and Walloons . Both peoples were traditionally Roman Catholic as contrasted with Protestant-dominated ( Dutch Reformed ) people of the north. Many outspoken liberals regarded King William I's rule as despotic. There were high levels of unemployment and industrial unrest among

3240-454: The general lack of autonomy given to the south. Other important factors are Catholic partisans watched with excitement the unfolding of the July Revolution in France, details of which were swiftly reported in the newspapers. On 25 August 1830, at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels, an uprising followed a special performance, in honor of William I's birthday, of Daniel Auber 's La Muette de Portici (The Mute Girl of Portici) ,

3312-399: The initiative of the States of Holland , the States of Flanders , and the States of Brabant , with the initially reluctant agreement of Philip the Good . Later, regular sessions were held at Coudenberg in Brussels , Brabant . The next important event was the convocation of the States General by the ducal Council for 3 February 1477 after the death of Charles the Bold . In this session

3384-408: The installation of Leopold I as King of the Belgians in 1831, King William made a belated attempt to reconquer Belgium and restore his position through a military campaign. This Ten Days' Campaign failed because of French military intervention. The Dutch accepted the decision of the London conference and Belgian independence in 1839 by signing the Treaty of London . After the defeat of Napoleon at

3456-449: The monarch if there is no heir to the throne and the regent is unable to exercise his or her powers. An important question is whether the relationship between cabinet and parliament should be dualistic or monistic. That is, whether ministers and leaders of governing parliamentary parties should prepare important political decisions. According to the dualistic position, members of parliament of governing parties should remain independent of

3528-443: The north. By the mid-1820s, a union of opposition had formed in Belgium, uniting liberals and Catholic conservatives against Dutch rule. The Belgian Revolution broke out on 25 August 1830, inspired by the recent July Revolution in France. A military intervention in September failed to defeat the rebels in Brussels , radicalising the movement. Belgium was declared an independent state on 4 October 1830. A constitutional monarchy

3600-424: The occasion to declare himself king on 16 March 1815 as William I. After the Battle of Waterloo , discussions continued. In exchange for the Southern Netherlands, William agreed to cede the Principality of Orange-Nassau and parts of the Liège to Prussia on 31 May 1815. In exchange, William also gained control over the Duchy of Luxembourg , which was elevated to a grand duchy and placed in personal union with

3672-405: The other European powers unsurprisingly supported the continued union of the provinces of the Netherlands. Russia, Prussia, Austria, and the United Kingdom all supported the Netherlands, since they feared that the French would eventually annex an independent Belgium (particularly the British: see Flahaut partition plan for Belgium ). However, in the end, none of the European powers sent troops to aid

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3744-440: The position of the States General was strengthened, because henceforth the ministers of the Crown became politically accountable to them, making the role of the King largely ceremonial. With the constitutional revision of 1888 the number of members of the House of Representatives was fixed at 100, while the Senate was enlarged to 50 members. The suffrage was enlarged at the same time, but still limited to male citizens possessing

3816-403: The press and in 1834 Minister of Justice Lebeau banned expressions of Orangism in the public sphere, enforced with heavy penalties. The golden jubilee of independence set up the Cinquantenaire park complex in Brussels. In 2005, the Belgian revolution of 1830 was depicted in one of the highest value Belgian coins ever minted, the 100 euro "175 Years of Belgium" coin . The obverse depicts

3888-399: The resurrected ridderschappen , representative bodies of the aristocracy, and the 110 members of the House of Representatives (55 for the North and 55 for the South) were elected by the States-Provincial (in their new form). After the Belgian Revolution of 1830 under the Kingdom of the Netherlands the States General remained bicameral, but after the revision of the Constitution of

3960-419: The rights of the States General were vastly extended, practically establishing parliamentary democracy in the Netherlands. Since 1918, the members of the House of Representatives have been elected for four years using party-list proportional representation , while the 75 members of the Senate are elected by the States-Provincial every four years. On exceptional occasions as stipulated by the Constitution or

4032-426: The seven provinces having one vote, took on many executive functions after the Council of State of the Netherlands had temporarily come under English influence, due to the Treaty of Nonsuch . The States General for this reason since 1593 remained continually in session until their dissolution in 1795. The presidency rotated weekly among the senior representatives of the provinces. Under the Union of Utrecht treaty

4104-399: The south, attempts to enforce the use of Dutch language were particularly resented among the elite. Many Belgians believed that the United Netherlands' constitution discriminated against them. Though they represented 62 percent of the population, they were only allocated 50 percent of the seats in the House and less in the Senate while the state extracted money from the richer south to subsidise

4176-424: The south, while the Netherlands Trading Society ( Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij ) was created in 1825 to encourage trade with the colonies. William I also embarked on a program of canal building that saw the creation of the North Holland , Ghent–Terneuzen and Brussels–Charleroi canals . Willem I felt that one nation must have one language and began a policy of Dutchification in politics and education. In

4248-436: The southern provinces of Antwerp, East-, West-Flanders, Limburg (1819), and the bilingual South Brabant (1823); Dutch was made the sole official language. While in the Walloon provinces of Hainaut, Liège, Namur; French was maintained as official language but Dutch was gradually introduced into education. Although French was still used to some degree in administration in both North and South. In the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, French

4320-418: The start of the Kingdom of Belgium. It is celebrated each year as Belgian National Day . King William was not satisfied with the settlement drawn up in London and did not accept Belgium's claim of independence: it divided his kingdom and drastically affected his Treasury. On 2 August 1831 the Dutch army, headed by the Dutch princes, invaded Belgium, in what became known as the " Ten Days' Campaign " On 4 August

4392-418: The two countries was finally fixed by the Treaty of Maastricht in 1843. Luxembourg became an autonomous state in personal union with the Dutch, though ceding some territory to Belgium. Belgian Revolution The Belgian Revolution ( French : Révolution belge , Dutch : Belgische Revolutie/opstand/omwenteling ) was the conflict which led to the secession of the southern provinces (mainly

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4464-407: The working classes. On 25 August 1830, riots erupted in Brussels and shops were looted. Theatergoers who had just watched the nationalistic opera La muette de Portici joined the mob. Uprisings followed elsewhere in the country. Factories were occupied and machinery destroyed. Order was restored briefly after William committed troops to the Southern Provinces but rioting continued and leadership

4536-413: Was centralised, reducing their powers. They included: The United Netherlands was also a colonial power with overseas colonies in the East Indies and elsewhere. Economically, the United Netherlands prospered. Supported by the state, the Industrial Revolution began to affect the Southern Netherlands where a number of modern industries emerged, encouraged by figures such as John Cockerill who created

4608-429: Was convinced by the Estates-General on 1 September that the administrative separation of north and south was the only viable solution to the crisis. His father rejected the terms of accommodation that Prince William proposed. King William I attempted to restore the established order by force, but the 8,000 Dutch troops under Prince Frederik were unable to retake Brussels in bloody street fighting (23–26 September). The army

4680-434: Was divided into 17 provinces and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg which was constitutionally distinct. All of these provinces can trace their origin to a medieval lordship , county , duchy or bishopric , apart from Antwerp (previously part of Duchy of Brabant ) and Limburg (previously part of Prince-Bishopric of Liège and Duchy of Gelderland ). Their status changed when they came under French rule, when their administration

4752-594: Was established to create a constitution for the new state. The Congress decided that Belgium would be a popular , constitutional monarchy . On 7 February 1831, the Belgian Constitution was proclaimed. However, no actual monarch yet sat on the throne. The Congress refused to consider any candidate from the Dutch ruling house of Orange-Nassau . Eventually the Congress drew up a shortlist of three candidates, all of whom were French. This itself led to political opposition, and Leopold of Saxe-Coburg , who had been considered at an early stage but dropped due to French opposition,

4824-494: Was established under King Leopold I . William I refused to accept the secession of Belgium. In August 1831, he launched the Ten Days' Campaign , a major military offensive into Belgium. Though initially successful, the French intervened to support the Belgians and the invasion had to be abandoned. After a period of tension, a settlement was agreed at the Treaty of London in 1839. The Dutch recognised Belgian independence, in exchange for territorial concessions. The frontier between

4896-420: Was in 1634, when Philip IV of Spain dissolved them. The States General in both The Hague and Brussels came to an end after 1795; the South was annexed by France, and the North saw the proclamation of the Batavian Republic and the subsequent convocation of the National Assembly (1 March 1796). The name Staten-Generaal was resurrected in the title of subsequent Dutch parliaments in and after 1814, after

4968-404: Was proposed again. On 22 April 1831, Leopold was approached by a Belgian delegation at Marlborough House to officially offer him the throne. At first reluctant to accept, he eventually took up the offer, and after an enthusiastic popular welcome on his way to Brussels , Leopold I of Belgium took his oath as king on 21 July 1831. 21 July is generally used to mark the end of the revolution and

5040-492: Was taken up by radicals, who started talking of secession. Dutch units saw the mass desertion of recruits from the southern provinces and pulled out. On September 27, a newly formed Provisional Government in Brussels declared independence and called for the election of a National Congress . . King William refrained from future military action and appealed to the Great Powers . The resulting 1830 London Conference of major European powers recognized Belgian independence. Following

5112-444: Was the de facto official language while German was used in education. Differences between Southern and Northern Netherlands were never totally resolved. The two were divided by the issue of religion because the south was strongly Roman Catholic and the north largely Dutch Reformed . The Catholic Church in Belgium resented the state's encroachment on its traditional privileges, especially in education. In French-speaking parts of

5184-649: Was withdrawn to the fortresses of Maastricht , Venlo , and Antwerp , and when the Northern commander of Antwerp bombarded the town, claiming a breach of a ceasefire, the whole of the Southern provinces was incensed. Any opportunity to quell the breach was lost on 26 September when a National Congress was summoned to draw up a Constitution and the Provisional Government was established under Charles Latour Rogier . The Provisional Government then issued

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