Cause of Belgian revolution
The Belgian Revolution had many causes. The main cause of the Belgian Revolution was the control of the Dutch: economic, political, and social institutions of the Kingdom. Catholic bishops in the south were not allowed to work for the new government. This rule was originated in 1815 by Maurice-Jean de Broglie, the French nobleman who was bishop of Ghent, caused an under-representation of Southerners in government and the army. The hatred of de Broglie towards the house of Orange was so powerful that in 1817, when the princess of Orange was pregnant, he cursed her unborn child. In the United Kingdom of Netherlands, the Belgians didn't feel like they were being represented well enough in the assembly because of the growing numbers in the Northern provinces. They felt that King William I was in some ways was more biased to the North. As he lived there, they felt that he did not take into consideration the needs of the Belgians. King William II was more popular with the upper-class than he was with the working class, (the peasants and laborers). In 1823, there was an attempt to make Dutch the official language in the provinces, and this attempt was met with strong opposition by the populace because they were largely French speaking. On June 4th, 1830, it was outlawed. Additionally, there was a faith-related factor. William was supported by what would then have been liberalists, and this did not bode well with his Roman Catholic audience. Overtime, liberalists also leaned towards the Catholics to accomplish things like freedom of education and press.
The spark
What started the whole revolution?
Catholic revolutionists watched with enthusiasm for the July Revolution in France. Details of the revolution were reported in the newspapers. On August 25, 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), an emotional and patriotic opera suited to fire National Romanticism. The duet, "Amour sacré de la patrie", (Sacred love of Fatherland) with Adolphe Nourrit in the lead role, created a riot that became the spark for the Belgian Revolution. The crowd poured into the streets after the performance, shouting patriotic slogans, and swiftly took control of government buildings. The coming days saw an explosion of the desperate, tired, and annoyed workers of Brussels who rallied around the newly created flag of the Brussels independence movement which was fastened with shoelaces during a street fight and it was also used to lead a counter-charge against the forces of Prince William.
Catholic revolutionists watched with enthusiasm for the July Revolution in France. Details of the revolution were reported in the newspapers. On August 25, 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), an emotional and patriotic opera suited to fire National Romanticism. The duet, "Amour sacré de la patrie", (Sacred love of Fatherland) with Adolphe Nourrit in the lead role, created a riot that became the spark for the Belgian Revolution. The crowd poured into the streets after the performance, shouting patriotic slogans, and swiftly took control of government buildings. The coming days saw an explosion of the desperate, tired, and annoyed workers of Brussels who rallied around the newly created flag of the Brussels independence movement which was fastened with shoelaces during a street fight and it was also used to lead a counter-charge against the forces of Prince William.