FOREWORD by Prof. dr. Johan VerberckmoesACKNOWLEDGEMENTS THE FIRST BELGIAN REVOLUTION Belgian History The Story in an “Age of (National) Revolution” SETTING THE STAGE: THE CONTEXT OF THE BELGIAN PROVINCES AND JOSEPH II’S REFORMS The Habsburg Empire and the Belgian Provinces Joseph’s Motives and His Reforms FIRST STIRRINGS OF REVOLUTION: RESISTANCE TO JOSEPH II’S REFORMS The General Seminary Codifying Resistance Provincial Unity: The Vienna Delegation and an Increase in Violence FOR HEARTH AND HOME: FOMENTING REVOLT IN THE BELGIAN PROVINCES The Breda Committee Pro Aris et Focis Melding the Committees VIVE LES PATRIOTES: THE FIGHT FOR INDEPENDENCE Armed Conflict A “National” Triumph “THE FORMER DUKE”: DECLARING INDEPENDENCE Declaring Independence in the Eighteenth Century Belgians Declare Independence CREATING A STATE: STRENGTH IN UNION OR THE BEGINNING OF THE END? The Creation of the United States of BelgiumTroubles From Within REVOLUTIONARY DISSENT: DEBATING A BELGIAN NATION “ESPERANCES FALLACIEUSES:” THE END OF THE UNITED STATES OF BELGIUM Austrian Rhetoric and Generosity European Diplomacy Belgian Reactions: Inaction, Obstinacy, and Defeat EPILOGUE NOTES BIBLIOGRAPHY ILLUSTRATION CREDITS INDEXNew and comprehensive insights into the seminal events that shaped Belgian identityNew and comprehensive insights into the seminal events that shaped Belgian identityIn 1790, between the birth of America (1776) and the creation of the French National Assembly (1789), nine provinces nestled between the French and Dutch borders declared themselves a new free and independent country: the United States of Belgium. Before then, the provinces had been part of the vast Austrian Habsburg Empire ruled by Joseph II. In 1789 revolutionaries from Brussels to Ghent to Namur recruited a grass-roots army that, to the surprise of many, successfully chased imperial forces from the majority of the territories. The exhilaration of military triumph and political independence quickly faded as revolutionary factions fought each other and the European monarchies became more nervous in the face of French radicalization. Yet, the course of events had fostered the solidification of a new identity among the provinces' inhabitants: Belgianness. This is the story of the emergence of Belgianness in the crucible of revolution.The United States of Belgium tells the story of the First Belgian Revolution before the creation of a language barrier between French and Dutch. It incorporates over 50 contemporary images of the revolutionary era.In 1790, between the birth of America (1776) and the creation of the French National Assembly (1789), nine provinces nestled between the French and Dutch borders declared themselves a new free and independent country: the United States of Belgium. Before then, the provinces had been part of the vast Austrian Habsburg Empire ruled by Joseph II. In 1789 revolutionaries from Brussels to Ghent to Namur recruited a grass-roots army that, to the surprise of many, successfully chased imperial forces from the majority of the territories. The exhilaration of military triumph and political independence quickly faded as revolutionary factions fought each other and the European monarchies became more nervous in the face of French radicalization. Yet, the course of events had fostered the solidification of a new identity among the provinces’ inhabitants: Belgianness. This is the story of the emergence of Belgianness in the crucible of revolution.The United States of Belgium tells the story of the First Belgian Revolution before the creation of a language barrier between French and Dutch. It incorporates over 50 contemporary images of the revolutionary era.