Part 2 — Chapter III. (These four articles abrogated by the four articles following them, 118-122.) Article 118. The Federal Constitution may at any time be amended. (continued 119)

See SCANDINAVIAN STATES (SWEDEN): A. D. 1644-1697.

But next year (1676) Louis recovered all his prestige. His navy, under the command of Duquesne and Tourville, fought the Dutch and Spaniards on equal terms, and defeated them twice in the Mediterranean, on the Sicilian coast. On land the main effort of the French was directed against the Netherlands. Condé, Bouchain and Aire were taken by siege; and Maestricht was successfully defended against Orange, who besieged it for nearly eight weeks. But Philippsburg, the most important French post on the Rhine, was lost, surrendering to the Duke of Lorraine. Early in 1677, Louis renewed his attacks on the Spanish Netherlands and took Valenciennes March 17, Cambrai April 4, and Saint-Omer April 20, defeating the Prince of Orange at Cassel (April 11) when he attempted to relieve the latter place. At the same time Crequi, unable to defend Lower Alsace, destroyed it—burning the villages, leaving the inhabitants to perish—and prevented the allies, who outnumbered him, from making any advance. In November, when they had gone into winter-quarters, he suddenly crossed the Rhine and captured Freiburg. The next spring (1678) operations began early on the side of the French with the siege of Ghent. The city capitulated, March 9, after a short bombardment. The Spanish governor withdrew to the citadel, but "surrendered, on the 11th, that renowned castle built by Charles V. to hold the city in check. The city and citadel of Ghent had not cost the French army forty men." Ypres was taken the same month. Serious negotiations were now opened and the Peace of Nimeguen, between France and Holland, was signed August 11, followed early the next year by a general peace. The Prince of Orange, who opposed the peace, fought one bootless but bloody battle at Saint-Denis, near Mons, on the 14th of August, three days after it had been signed.

H. Martin, History of France: Age of Louis XIV. (translated by M. L. Booth), volume 1, chapters 5-6.

"It may be doubted whether Europe has fully realised the greatness of the peril she so narrowly escaped on this occasion. The extinction of political and mental freedom, which would have followed the extinction of the Dutch Republic, would have been one of the most disastrous defeats of the cause of liberty and enlightenment possible in the then condition of the world. … The free presses of Holland gave voice to the stilled thought and agony of mankind. And they were the only free presses in the world. But Holland was not only the greatest book mart of Europe, it was emphatically the home of thinkers and the birthplace of ideas. … The two men then living to whose genius and courage the modern spirit of mental emancipation and toleration owes its first and most arduous victories were Pierre Bayle and John Locke. And it is beyond dispute that if the French King had worked his will on Holland, neither of them would have been able to accomplish the task they did achieve under the protection of Dutch freedom. They both were forced to seek refuge in Holland from the bigotry which hunted them down in their respective countries. All the works of Bayle were published in Holland, and some of the earliest of Locke's writings appeared there also; and if the remainder saw the light afterwards in England, it is only because the Dutch, by saving their own freedom, were the means of saving that of England as well. … At least, no one can maintain that if Holland had been annihilated in 1672, the English revolution could have occurred in the form and at the time it did."

J. C. Morison, The Reign of Louis XIV. (Fortnightly Review, March, 1874).

ALSO IN: H. M. Hozier, Turenne, chapters 12-13.

T. O. Cockayne, Life of Turenne.

Lord Mahon, Life of Condé, chapter 12.

See, also, NIMEGUEN, PEACE OF.

NETHERLANDS: (Holland): A. D. 1689. Invasion of England by the Prince of Orange. His accession to the English throne.

See ENGLAND A. D. 1688 (JULY-NOVEMBER), to 1689 (JANUARY-FEBRUARY).

NETHERLANDS: (Holland): A. D. 1689-1696. The War of the League of Augsburg, or the Grand Alliance against Louis XIV.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1689-1690, to 1695-1696.

{2291}

NETHERLANDS: (The Spanish Provinces): A. D; 1690-1691. The Battle of Fleurus and the loss of Mons.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1689-1691.

NETHERLANDS: (Holland): A. D. 1692. The Naval Battle of La Hogue.

See ENGLAND: A. D. 1692.

NETHERLANDS: (The Spanish Provinces): A. D. 1692. The loss of Namur and the Battle of Steenkerke.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1692.

NETHERLANDS: (The Spanish Provinces): A. D. 1693. The Battle of Neerwinden.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1693 (JULY).

NETHERLANDS: (The Spanish Provinces): A. D. 1694-1696. Campaigns without battles. The recovery of Namur.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1694; and 1695-1696.

NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1697. The Peace of Ryswick. French conquests restored.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1697.

A. D. 1698-1700. The question of the Spanish Succession. The Treaties of Partition.

See SPAIN: A. D. 1698-1700.

NETHERLANDS: (The Spanish Provinces): A. D. 1701. Occupied by French troops.

See SPAIN: A. D. 1701-1702.

NETHERLANDS: (Holland): A. D. 1702. The Second Grand Alliance against France and Spain.

See SPAIN: A. D. 1701-1702; and ENGLAND: A. D. 1701-1702.

NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1702. The War of the Spanish Succession: The Expedition to Cadiz. The sinking of the treasure ships in Vigo Bay.

See SPAIN: A. D. 1702.

NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1702-1704. The War of the Spanish Succession: Marlborough's first campaigns.

"The campaign [of 1702] opened late in the Low Countries, owing, doubtless, to the death of king William. The elector of Bavaria, and his brother the elector of Cologne, took part with France. About the middle of April, the prince of Nassau-Saarbruck invested Keyserwerth, a place belonging to the latter elector, on the Rhine; whilst Lord Athlone, with the Dutch army, covered the siege, in pursuance of the advice of Lord Marlborough to the states. The place was strong; the French Marshal Boufflers made efforts to relieve it; after a vigorous defence, it was carried by assault, with dreadful carnage, about the middle of June. Boufflers, unable to relieve Keyserwerth, made a rapid, march to throw himself between Athlone and Nimeguen, with the view to carry that place by surprise; was defeated by a forced and still more rapid march of the Dutch, under Athlone, to cover it; and moved upon Cleves, laying the country waste with wanton barbarity along his line of march. Marlborough now arrived to take the command in chief. It was disputed with him by Athlone, who owed his military rank and the honours of the peerage to the favour of king William. Certain representatives of the states, who attended the army under the name of field deputies, thwarted him by their caution and incompetency; the Prussian and Hanoverian contingents refused to move without the orders of their respective sovereigns. Lord Marlborough, with admirable temper and adroitness, and, doubtless, with the ascendant of his genius, surmounted all these obstacles. The Dutch general cheerfully served under him; the confederates were reconciled to his orders; he crossed the Meuse in pursuit of the French; came within a few leagues of Boufflers' lines; and, addressing the Dutch field deputies who accompanied him, said, in a tone of easy confidence, 'I will now rid you of these troublesome neighbours.' Boufflers accordingly retreated,—abandoning Spanish Guelderland, and exposing Venloo, Ruremonde, and even Liege, which he had made a demonstration to cover. The young duke of Burgundy, grandson of Louis XIV., and elder brother of the king of Spain, had commanded the French army in name. He now returned to Versailles; and Boufflers could only look on, whilst Marlborough successively captured Venloo, Ruremonde, and Liege. The navigation of the Meuse and communication with Maestricht was now wholly free; the Dutch frontier was secure; and the campaign terminated with the close of October. … The duke of Marlborough resumed his command in the Low Countries about the middle of spring. He found the French strong and menacing on every side. Marshal Villars had, like Marlborough, fixed the attention of Europe for the first time in the late campaign. He obtained a splendid victory over the prince of Baden at Fredlingen, near the Black Forest. That prince lost 3,000 men, his cannon and the field. … Villars opened this year's campaign by taking Kehl, passed through the Black Forest into Bavaria, and formed a junction with the elector; whilst the prince of Baden was kept in check by a French army under marshal Tallard. … The imperial general, Count Styrum was now moving to join the prince of Baden with 20,000 men. Villars persuaded the elector to cross the Danube and prevent this junction; attacked the imperialists in the plain of Hochstedt near Donawert; and put them to the rout. The capture of Augsburg followed: the road was open to Vienna, and the emperor thought of abandoning the capital. … Holland was once more threatened on her frontier. Marshal Villeroi, liberated by exchange, was again at the head of an army, and, in conjunction with Boufflers, commenced operations for recovering the ground and the strong places from which Marlborough had dislodged the French on the Meuse. The campaign had opened at this point of the theatre of war with the capture of Rheinberg. It was taken by the Prussians before the duke of Marlborough arrived. The duke's first operation was the capture of Bonne. He returned to the main army with the view to engage the French under Villeroi. That marshal abandoned his camp, and retired within his lines of defence on the approach of the English general. Marlborough was prevented from attacking the French by the reluctance of the Dutch generals and the positive prohibition of the Dutch field deputies. … The only fruit of Marlborough's movement was the easy capture of Huy. Boufflers obtained the slight advantage of surprising and defeating the Dutch general Opdam near Antwerp. Marlborough, still embarrassed by the Dutch field deputies, to whose good intentions and limited views he bowed with a facility which only proves the extent of his superiority, closed the campaign with the acquisition of Limburg and Guelders. … In the beginning of … [1704] the emperor, threatened by the French and Bavarians in the very capital of the empire, implored aid from the queen; and on the 19th of April, the duke of Marlborough left England to enter upon a campaign memorable for … [the] victory of Blenheim. … On his arrival at the Hague, he proposed to the states general to alarm France for her frontier by a movement on the Moselle. {2292} Their consent even to this slight hazard for their own security, was not easily obtained. Villeroi, who commanded in Flanders, soon lost sight of him; so rapid or so well masked were his movements; Tallard, who commanded on the Moselle, thought only of protecting the frontier of France; and Marlborough, to the amazement of Europe, whether enemies or allies, passed in rapid succession the Rhine, the Maine, and the Necker. Intercepted letters, and a courier from the prince of Baden, apprised him that the French were about to join the Bavarians through the defiles of the Black Forest, and march upon Vienna. He now threw off the mask, sent a courier to the states, acquainting them that he was marching to the succour of the empire by order of the queen of England, and trusted they would permit their troops to share the glory of his enterprise. The pensionary Heinsius alone was in his confidence; and the states, though taken by surprise, conveyed to him their sanction and confidence with the best grace. He met Prince Eugene for the first time at Mindlesheim. Marlborough and Eugene are henceforth associated in the career of war and victory."

Sir J. Mackintosh, The History of England, volume 9, chapter 4.

ALSO IN: L. Creighton, Life of Marlborough, chapters 6-7.

G. Saintsbury, Marlborough, chapter 5.

W. Coxe, Memoirs of Marlborough, chapters 11-22 (volume 1).

J. H. Burton, History of the Reign of Queen Anne, chapters 5-6 (volume 1).

Sec, also, GERMANY: A. D. 1702, and 1703.

NETHERLANDS: (Holland): A. D. 1704. The War of the Spanish Succession: The campaign on the Danube and victory at Blenheim.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1704.

NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1705. The War of the Spanish Succession: A campaign spoiled.

After his campaign in Bavaria, with its great victory on the field of Blenheim (see GERMANY: A. D. 1704), Marlborough passed the winter in England and returned in the spring of 1705 to the Low Countries, where he had planned to lead, again, the campaign of the year. Prince Eugene was now in Italy, and the jealous, incapable Prince Louis of Baden, commanding the German army, was the coadjutor on whom he must depend. The latter assented to Marlborough's plans and promised co-operation. The Dutch generals and deputies also were reluctantly brought over to his views, which contemplated an invasion of France on the side of the Moselle. "Slight as were the hopes of any effective co-operation which Prince Louis gave, they were much more than he accomplished. When the time came he declared himself sick, threw up his command and set off to drink the waters of Schlangenbad. Count de Frise whom he named in his place brought to Marlborough only a few ragged battalions, and, moreover, like his principal, showed himself most jealous of the English chief. … Marlborough nevertheless took the field and even singly desired to give battle. But positive instructions from Versailles precluded Villars [the commander of the French] from engaging. He intrenched himself in an extremely strong position at Sirk, where it was impossible for an inferior army to assail him. And while the war was thus unprosperous on the Moselle, there came adverse tidings from the Meuse. Marshal Villeroy had suddenly resumed the offensive, had reduced the fortress of Huy, had entered the city and invested the citadel of Liege." Marlborough, on this news, being applied to for immediate aid by the Dutch General Overkirk—the ablest and best of his colleagues—"set out the very next day on his march to Liege, leaving only a 'sufficient force as he hoped for the security of Treves." Villeroy "at once relinquished his design upon the citadel of Liege and fell back in the direction of Tongres, so that Marlborough and Overkirk effected their junction with ease. Marlborough took prompt measures to re-invest the fortress of Huy, and compelled it to surrender on the 11th of July. Applying his mind to the new sphere before him, Marlborough saw ground to hope that, with the aid of the Dutch troops, he might still make a triumphant campaign. The first object was to force the defensive lines that stretched across the country from near Namur to Antwerp, protected by numerous fortified posts and covered in other places by rivers and morasses, … now defended by an army of at least 60,000 men, under Marshal Villeroy and the Elector of Bavaria. Marlborough laid his plans before Generals Overkirk and Slangenberg as also those civilian envoys whom the States were wont to commission at their armies. But he found to his sorrow that for jealousy and slowness a Dutch deputy was fully a match for a German Margrave." He obtained with great difficulty a nominal assent to his plans, and began the execution of them; but in the very midst of his operations, and when one division of the Dutch troops had successfully crossed the river Dyle, General Slangenberg and the deputies suddenly drew back and compelled a retreat. Then Marlborough's "fertile genius devised another scheme—to move round the sources of the river [Dyle] and to threaten Brussels from the southern side. … On the 15th off August he began his march, as did also Overkirk in a parallel direction, and in two days they reached Genappe near the sources of the Dyle. There uniting in one line of battle they moved next morning towards Brussels by the main chaussée, or great paved road; their head-quarters that day being fixed at Frischermont, near the borders of the forest of Soignies. On the French side the Elector and Villeroy, observing the march of the allies, had made a corresponding movement of their own for the protection of the capital. They encamped behind the small stream of the Ische, their right and rear being partly covered by the forest. Only the day before they had been joined by Marsin from the Rhine, and they agreed to give battle sooner than yield Brussels. One of their main posts was at Waterloo. … It is probable, had a battle now ensued, that it would have been fought on the same, or nearly the same ground as was the memorable conflict a hundred and ten years afterwards. … But the expected battle did not take place." Once more the Dutch deputies and General Slangenberg interfered, refusing to permit their troops to engage; so that Marlborough was robbed of the opportunity for winning a victory which he confidently declared would have been greater than Blenheim. This practically ended the campaign of the year, which had been ruined and wasted throughout by the stupidity, the cowardice and the jealousies of the Dutch deputies and the general who counselled them.

Earl Stanhope, History of England: Reign of Queen Anne, chapter 6.

In Spain, a campaign of more brilliancy was carried on by Charles Mordaunt, Earl of Peterborough, in Catalonia.

See SPAIN: A. D. 1705.

{2293}

NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1706-1707. The War of the Spanish Succession: The Battle of Ramillies and its results.

"The campaign of 1706 was begun unusually late by Marlborough, his long stay on the Continent in the winter and his English political business detaining him in London till the end of April, and when he finally landed at the Hague his plans were still coloured by the remembrance of the gratuitous and intolerable hindrances which he had met with from his allies. … He had made up his mind to operate with Eugene in Italy, which, if he had done, there would probably have been seen what has not been seen for nearly two thousand years—a successful invasion of France from the southeast. But the kings of Prussia and Denmark, and others of the allies whom Marlborough thought he had propitiated, were as recalcitrant as the Dutch, and the vigorous action of Villars against the Margrave of Baden made the States-General more than ever reluctant to lose their sword and shield. So Marlborough was condemned to action on his old line of the Dyle, and this time fortune was less unkind to him. Secret overtures were made which induced him to threaten Namur, and as Namur was of all posts in the Low Countries that to which the French attached most importance, both on sentimental and strategical grounds, Villeroy was ordered to abandon the defensive policy which he had for nearly two years been forced to maintain, and to fight at all hazards. Accordingly the tedious operations which had for so long been pursued in this quarter were exchanged at once for a vigorous offensive and defensive, and the two generals, Villeroy with rather more than 60,000 men, Marlborough with that number or a little less, came to blows at Ramillies (a few miles only from the spot where the lines had been forced the year before) on May 23, 1706, or scarcely more than a week after the campaign had begun. Here, as before, the result is assigned by the French to the fault of the general. … The battle itself was one completely of generalship, and of generalship as simple as it was masterly. It was in defending his position, not in taking it up, that Villeroy lost the battle. … Thirteen thousand of the French and Bavarians were killed, wounded, and taken, and the loss of the allies, who had been throughout the attacking party, was not less than 4,000 men. … The Dutch, who bore the burden of the attack on Ramillies, had the credit of the day's fighting on the allied side, as the Bavarian horse had on that of the French. In hardly any of Marlborough's operations had he his hands so free as at Ramillies, and in none did he carry off a completer victory. … The strong places of Flanders fell before the allied army like ripe fruit. Brussels surrendered and was occupied on the fourth day after the battle, May 28. Louvain and Malines had fallen already. The French garrison precipitately left Ghent, and the Duke entered it on June 2. Oudenarde came in next day; Antwerp was summoned, expelled the French part of its garrison, and capitulated on September 7. And a vigorous siege in less than a month reduced Ostend, reputed one of the strongest places in Europe. In six weeks from the battle of Ramillies not a French soldier remained in a district which the day before that battle had been occupied by a network of the strongest fortresses and a field army of 80,000 men. The strong places on the Lys and the Dender, tributaries of the Scheldt, gave more trouble, and Menin, a small but very important position, cost nearly half the loss of Ramillies before it could be taken. But it fell, as well as Dendermonde and Ath, and nothing but the recrudescence of Dutch obstruction prevented Marlborough from finishing the campaign with the taking of Mons, almost the last place of any importance held by the French north of their own frontier, as that frontier is now understood. But the difficulties of all generals are said to begin on the morrow of victory, and certainly the saying was true in Marlborough's case. … The Dutch were, before all things, set on a strong barrier or zone of territory, studded with fortresses in their own keeping, between themselves and France: the Emperor naturally objected to the alienation of the Spanish-Austrian Netherlands. The barrier disputes were for years the greatest difficulty which Marlborough had to contend with abroad, and the main theme of the objections to the war made by the adverse party at home. … It was in the main due, no doubt, to these jealousies and hesitations, strengthened by the alarm caused by the loss of the battle of Almanza in Spain, and by the threatened invasion of Germany under Villars, that made the campaign of 1707 an almost wholly inactive one. … The campaign of this year is almost wholly barren of any military operations interesting to anyone but the mere annalist of tactics."

G. Saintsbury, Marlborough, chapter 6.

In Spain, several sharp changes of fortune during two years terminated in a disastrous defeat of the allies at Almanza in April, 1707, by the Duke of Berwick.

See SPAIN: A. D. 1706 and 1707; see, also, GERMANY: A. D. 1706-1711.

Earl Stanhope, History of England: Reign of Queen Anne, chapter 7 and 9.

NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1708-1709. The War of the Spanish Succession: Oudenarde and Malplaquet.

To the great satisfaction of Marlborough, Prince Eugene of Savoy was sent by the Emperor to co-operate with him, in the spring of 1708. The two generals met in April to discuss plans; after which Eugene returned into Germany to gather up the various contingents that would compose his army. He encountered many difficulties and delays, and was unable to bring his forces to the field until July. Marlborough, meantime, had been placed in a critical situation. "For whilst the English commander and Eugene had formed the plan to unite and overwhelm Vendome, the Court of Versailles had, on its side, contemplated the despatch of a portion of the Army of the Rhine, commanded by the Elector of Bavaria and the Duke of Berwick, so to reinforce Vendome that he might overwhelm Marlborough, and Berwick was actually on his march to carry out his portion of the plan." Prince Eugene crossed the Moselle on the 28th June, "reached Düren the 3rd July, and learning there that affairs were critical, hastened with an escort of Hussars, in advance of his army, to Brussels. On his arrival there, the 6th, he learned that the French had attacked and occupied the city of Ghent, and were then besieging the castle." {2294} The two commanders having met at Assche, to concert their movements, made haste to throw: "a reinforcement into the fortress of Oudenarde, then besieged by the French; and, convinced now that the conquest of that fortress by Vendome would give him an unassailable position, they pushed forward their troops with all diligence to save it. The two armies united on the 8th. On the 9th they set out for Oudenarde, and crossed the Dender on the 10th. Before daybreak of the 11th Marlborough despatched General Cadogan with a strong corps to the Scheldt, to throw bridges over that river near Oudenarde and to reconnoitre the enemy. The main army followed at 7 o'clock." In the battle which ensued, Vendome was hampered by the equal authority of the Duke of Burgundy—the king's grandson—who would not concur with his plans. "One after another the positions occupied by the French soldiers were carried. Then these took advantage of the falling night to make a retreat as hurried and disorderly as their defence had been wanting in tenacity. In no pitched battle, indeed, have the French soldiers less distinguished themselves than at Oudenarde. Fighting under a divided leadership, they were fighting virtually without leadership, and they knew it. The Duke of Burgundy contributed as much as either Marlborough or Eugene to gain the battle of Oudenarde for the Allies." The French army, losing heavily in the retreat, was rallied finally at Ghent. "The Allies, meanwhile, prepared to take advantage of their victory. They were within a circle commanded by three hostile fortresses, Ypres, Lille, and Tournay. After some consideration it was resolved, on the proposition of Eugene, that Lille should be besieged." The siege of Lille, the capital of French Flanders, fortified by the utmost skill and science of Vauban, and held by a garrison of 10,000 men under Marshal Boufflers, was a formidable undertaking. The city was invested on the 13th of August, and defended heroically by the garrison: but Vendome, who would have attacked the besiegers, was paralyzed by the royal youth who shared his command. Lille, the town, was surrendered on the 22d of October and its citadel on the 9th of December. The siege of Ghent followed, and the capitulation of that city, on the 2d of January, 1709, closed the campaign. "The winter of 1709 was spent mainly in negotiations. Louis XIV. was humiliated, and he offered peace on terms which the Allies would have done well to accept." Their demands, however, rose too high, and the war went on. "It had been decided that the campaign in the Netherlands should be continued under the same skilful generals who had brought that of 1708 to so successful an issue. … On the 23rd of [June] … the allied army, consisting of 110,000 men, was assembled between Courtray and Menin. Marlborough commanded the left wing, about 70,000 strong; Eugene the right, about 40,000. Louis, on his side, had made extraordinary efforts. But even with these he had been able to put in the field an army only 80,000 strong [under Marshal Villars]. … Villars had occupied a position between Douai and the Lys, and had there thrown up lines, in the strengthening of which he found daily employment for his troops." Not venturing to attack the French army in its strong position, Marlborough and Eugene began operations by laying siege to Tournay. The town was yielded to them on the 30th of July and the citadel on the 3d of September. They next turned their attention to Mons, which the French thought it necessary to save at any cost. The attempt which the latter made to drive the allied army from the position it had gained between themselves and Mons had its outcome in the terribly bloody battle of Malplaquet—"the bloodiest known till then in modern history. The loss of the victors was greater than that of the vanquished. That of the former amounted to from 18,000 to 20,000 men: the French admitted a loss of 7,000, but German writers raise it to 15,000. Probably it did not exceed 11,000. … The results … were in no way proportionate to its cost. The French army retreated in good order, taking with it all its impedimenta, to a new position as strong as the former. There, under Berwick, who was sent to replace Villars, it watched the movements of the Allies. These resumed, indeed, the siege of Mons [which surrendered on the 20th of October]. … But this was the solitary result of the victory."

Colonel G. B. Malleson, Prince Eugene of Savoy, chapters 10-11.

ALSO IN: W. Coxe, Memoirs of Marlborough, chapters 66-83 (volumes 4-5).

H. Martin, History of France: Age of Louis XIV. (translated by M. L. Booth), volume 2, chapters 5-6.

J. W. Gerard, Peace of Utrecht, chapters 17-19.

NETHERLANDS: (Holland): A. D. 1709. The Barrier Treaty with England.

See ENGLAND: A. D. 1709.

NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1710-1712. The War of the Spanish Succession: The last campaigns of Marlborough.

"As soon as it became clear that the negotiations [at Gertruydenberg] would lead to nothing, Eugene and Marlborough at once began the active business of the campaign. … Marlborough began … with the siege of Douai, the possession of which would be of the greatest importance to him. … In spite of Villars' boasts the French were unable to prevent the capture of Douai. … The campaign of 1710 was full of disappointment to Marlborough. He had hoped to carry the war into the heart of France. But after Douai fell, Villars so placed his army that [Marlborough] … was obliged to content himself with the capture of Bethune, St. Venant, and Aire. Heavy rains and a great deal of illness among his troops prevented further operations. Besides this, his energy was somewhat paralysed by the changes which had taken place in England," where the Duchess of Marlborough and the Whig party had lost the favor of the Queen, and the Tory opponents of Marlborough and the war had come into power.

L. Creighton, Life of Marlborough, chapters 15-16.

"In 1711, in a complicated series of operations round Arras, Marlborough, who was now alone, Eugene having been recalled to Vienna, completely outgeneraled Villars and broke through his lines. But he did not fight, and the sole result of the campaign was the capture of Bouchain at the cost of some 16,000 men, while no serious impression was made on the French system of defence. … Lille had cost 14,000; Tournay a number not exactly mentioned, but very large; the petty place of Aire 7,000. How many, malcontent Englishmen might well ask themselves, would it cost before Arras, Cambrai, Hesdin, Calais, Namur, and all the rest of the fortresses that studded the country, could be expected to fall? … Marlborough had himself, so to speak, spoilt his audience. {2295} He had given them four great victories in a little more than five years; it was perhaps unreasonable, but certainly not unnatural, that they should grow fretful when he gave them none during nearly half the same time. … The expense of the war was frightening men of all classes in England, and, independently of the more strictly political considerations, … it will be seen that there was some reason for wishing Marlborough anywhere but on or near the field of battle. He was got rid of none too honourably; restrictions were put upon his successor Ormond which were none too honourable either; and when Villars, freed from his invincible antagonist, had inflicted a sharp defeat upon Eugene at Denain, the military situation was changed from one very much in favour of the allies to one slightly against them, and so contributed beyond all doubt to bring about the Peace of Utrecht."

G. Saintsbury, Marlborough, chapter 7.

ALSO IN: G. B. Malleson, Prince Eugene of Savoy, chapter 12.

C. M. Davies, History of Holland, part 3, chapter 11 (volume 3).

See, also, ENGLAND: A. D. 1710-1712.

NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1713-1714. The Treaties of Utrecht. Cession of the Spanish Provinces to the House of Austria. Barrier towns secured.

See UTRECHT: A. D. 1712-1714.

NETHERLANDS: (Holland): A. D. 1713-1715. Second Barrier Treaty with England. Barrier arrangements with France and the Emperor.

Connected with the other arrangements concluded in the treaties negotiated at Utrecht, the States, in 1713, signed a new Barrier Treaty with England, "annulling that of 1709, and providing that the Emperor Charles should be sovereign of the Netherlands [heretofore the 'Spanish Provinces,' but now become the 'Austrian Provinces'], which, neither in the whole nor in the part, should ever be possessed by France. The States, on their side, were bound to support, if required, the succession of the Electress of Hanover to the throne of England. … By the treaty concluded between France and the States, it was agreed that … the towns of Menin, Tournay, Namur, Ypres, with Warneton, Poperingen, Comines and Werwyk, Fumes, Dixmuyde, and the fort of Knokke, were to be ceded to the States, as a barrier, to be held in such a manner as they should afterwards agree upon with the Emperor." In the subsequent arrangement, concluded with the Emperor in 1715, "he permitted the boundary on the side of Flanders to be fixed in a manner highly satisfactory to the States, who sought security rather than extent of dominion. By the possession of Namur they commanded the passage of the Sambre and Meuse; Tournay ensured the navigation of the Scheldt; Menin and Warneton protected the Leye; while Ypres and the fort of Knokke kept open the communication with Fumes, Nieuport and Dunkirk. … Events proved the barrier, so earnestly insisted upon, to have been wholly insufficient as a means of defence to the United Provinces, and scarcely worth the labour and cost of its maintenance."

C. M. Davies, History of Holland, chapter 11 (volume 3).

(NETHERLANDS: Holland): A. D. 1713-1725. Continued Austro-Spanish troubles. The Triple Alliance. The Quadruple Alliance. The Alliance of Hanover.

See SPAIN: A. D. 1713-1725; also, ITALY: A. D. 1715-1735.

NETHERLANDS: (Holland): A. D. 1729-1731. The Treaty of Seville. The second Treaty of Vienna. The Ostend Company abolished.

See SPAIN: A. D. 1726-1731.

NETHERLANDS: (Holland): A. D. 1731-1740. The question of the Austrian Succession. Guarantee of the Pragmatic Sanction.

See AUSTRIA: A. D. 1718-1738; and 1740.

NETHERLANDS: (Holland): A. D. 1740-1741. Beginning of the War of the Austrian Succession.

See AUSTRIA: A. D. 1740-1741.

NETHERLANDS: (Holland): A. D. 1743. The War of the Austrian Succession: Dutch Subsidies and Troops.

See AUSTRIA: A. D. 1743; and 1743-1744.

NETHERLANDS: (Austrian Provinces): A. D. 1744. Invasion by the French.

See AUSTRIA: A. D. 1743-1744.

NETHERLANDS: (The Austrian Provinces): A. D. 1745. The War of the Austrian Succession: Battle of Fontenoy. French conquests.

In the spring of 1745, while events in the second Silesian War were still threatening to Frederick the Great (see AUSTRIA: A. D. 1744-1745), his allies, the French, though indifferent to his troubles, were doing better for themselves in the Netherlands. They had given to Marshal de Saxe, who commanded there, an army of 76,000 excellent troops. "As to the Allies, England had furnished her full contingent of 28,000 men, but Holland less than half of the 50,000 she had stipulated; there were but eight Austrian squadrons, and the whole body scarcely exceeded 50,000 fighting men. The nominal leader was the young Duke of Cumberland, but subject in a great measure to the control of an Austrian veteran, Marshal Konigsegg, and obliged to consult the Dutch commander, Prince de Waldeck. Against these inferior numbers and divided councils the French advanced in full confidence of victory, and, after various movements to distract the attention of the Allies, suddenly, on the 1st of May, invested Tournay. … To relieve this important city, immediately became the principal object with the Allies; and the States, usually so cautious, nay, timorous in their suggestions, were now as eager in demanding battle. … On the other hand, the Mareschal de Saxe made most skilful dispositions to receive them. Leaving 15,000 infantry to cover the blockade of Tournay, he drew up the rest of his army, a few miles further, in an excellent position, which he strengthened with numerous works; and his soldiers were inspirited by the arrival of the King and Dauphin, who had hastened from Paris to join in the expected action. The three allied generals, on advancing against the French, found them encamped on some gentle heights, with the village of Antoin and the river Scheldt on their right, Fontenoy and a narrow valley in their front, and a small wood named Barre on their left. The passage of the Scheldt, and, if needful, a retreat, were secured by the bridge of Calonne in the rear, by a tête de pont, and by a reserve of the Household Troops. Abbatis were constructed in the wood of Barre; redoubts between Antoin and Fontenoy; and the villages themselves had been carefully fortified and, garrisoned. The narrow space between Fontenoy and Barre seemed sufficiently defended by cross fires, and by the natural ruggedness of the ground: in short, as the French officers thought, the strength of the position might bid defiance to the boldest assailant. {2296} Nevertheless, the Allied chiefs, who had already resolved on a general engagement, drove in the French piquets and outposts on the 10th of May, New Style, and issued orders for their intended attack at daybreak. … At six o'clock on the morning of the 11th, the cannonade began. The Prince of Waldeck, and his Dutch, undertook to carry Antoin and Fontenoy by assault, while the Duke of Cumberland, at the head of the British and Hanoverians, was to advance against the enemy's left. His Royal Highness, at the same time with his own attack, sent General Ingoldsby, with a division, to pierce through the wood of Barre, and storm the redoubt beyond it." Ingoldsby's division and the Dutch troops were both repulsed, and the latter made no further effort. But the British and Hanoverians, leaving their cavalry behind and dragging with them a few field pieces, "plunged down the ravine between Fontenoy and Barre, and marched on against a position which the best Marshals of France had deemed impregnable, and which the best troops of that nation defended. … Whole ranks of the British were swept away, at once, by the murderous fire of the batteries on their left and right. Still did their column, diminishing in numbers not in spirit, steadily press forward, repulse several desperate attacks of the French infantry, and gain ground on its position. … The battle appeared to be decided: already did Marshal Konigsegg offer his congratulations to the Duke of Cumberland; already had Mareschal de Saxe prepared for retreat, and, in repeated messages, urged the King to consult his safety and withdraw, while it was yet time, beyond the Scheldt." The continued inactivity of the Dutch, however, enabled the French commander to gather his last reserves at the one point of danger, while he brought another battery to bear on the head of the advancing British column. "The British, exhausted by their own exertions, mowed down by the artillery in front, and assailed by the fresh troops in flank, were overpowered. Their column wavered—broke—fell back. … In this battle of Fontenoy (for such is the name it has borne), the British left behind a few pieces of artillery, but no standards, and scarce any prisoners but the wounded. The loss in these, and in killed, was given out as 4,041 British, 1,762 Hanoverians, and only 1,544 Dutch; while on their part the French likewise acknowledged above 7,000." As the consequence of the battle of Fontenoy, not only Tournay, but Ghent, likewise, was speedily surrendered to the French. "Equal success crowned similar attempts on Bruges, on Oudenarde, and on Dendermonde, while the allies could only act on the defensive and cover Brussels and Antwerp. The French next directed their arms against Ostend, … which … yielded in fourteen days. … Meanwhile the events in Scotland [the Jacobite rebellion—see SCOTLAND: A. D. 1745-1746] were compelling the British government to withdraw the greater part of their force; and it was only the approach of winter, and the retreat of both armies into quarters, that obtained a brief respite for the remaining fortresses of Flanders."

Lord Mahon (Earl Stanhope), History of England, 1713-1783, chapter 26 (volume 3).

ALSO IN: F. P. Guizot, Popular History of France, chapter 52 (volume 6).

J. G. Wilson, Sketches of Illustrious Soldiers: Saxe.

NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1746-1747. The War of the Austrian Succession: French conquest of the Austrian provinces. Humiliation of Holland. The Stadtholdership restored.

"In the campaign in Flanders in 1746, the French followed up the successes which they had achieved in the previous year. Brussels, Antwerp, Mons, Charleroi, Namur, and other places successively surrendered to Marshal Saxe and the Prince of Conti. After the capture of Namur in September, Marshal Saxe, reuniting all the French forces, attacked Prince Charles of Lorraine at Raucoux [or Roucoux], between Liege and Viset, and completely defeated him, October 11; after which both sides went into winter quarters. All the country between the Meuse and the sea was now in the power of France, Austria retaining only Luxemburg and Limburg. … Ever since the year 1745 some negociations had been going on between France and the Dutch for the reestablishment of peace. The States-General had proposed the assembling of a Congress to the Cabinet of Vienna, which, however, had been rejected. In September 1746, conferences had been opened at Breda, between France, Great Britain, and the States-General; but as Great Britain had gained some advantages at sea, the negociations were protracted, and the Cabinets of London and Vienna had endeavoured to induce the Dutch to take a more direct and active part in the war. In this state of things the Court of Versailles took a sudden resolution to coerce the States-General. A manifest was published by Louis XV. April 17th 1747, filled with those pretexts which it is easy to find on such occasions: not, indeed, exactly declaring war against the Dutch Republic, but that he should enter her territories 'without breaking with her'; that he should hold in deposit the places he might conquer, and restore them as soon as the States ceased to succour his enemies. At the same time Count Löwendahl entered Dutch Flanders by Bruges, and seized in less than a month Sluys, Ysendick, Sas de Gand, Hulst, Axel, and other places. Holland had now very much declined from the position she had held a century before. There were indeed many large capitalists in the United Provinces, whose wealth had been amassed during the period of the Republic's commercial prosperity, but the State as a whole was impoverished and steeped in debt. … In … becoming the capitalists and money-lenders of Europe, they [the Dutch] had ceased to be her brokers and carriers. … Holland was no longer the entrepôt of nations. The English, the Swedes, the Danes, and the Hamburghers had appropriated the greater part of her trade. Such was the result of the long wars in which she had been engaged. … Her political consideration had dwindled equally with her commerce. Instead of pretending as formerly to be the arbiter of nations, she had become little more than the satellite of Great Britain; a position forced upon her by fear of France, and her anxiety to maintain her barriers against that encroaching Power. Since the death of William III., the republican or aristocratic party had again seized the ascendency. William III.'s collateral heir, John William Friso, had not been recognised as Stadtholder, and the Republic was again governed, as in the time of De Witt, by a Grand Pensionary and greffier. The dominant party had, however, become highly unpopular. {2297} It had sacrificed the army to maintain the fleet, and the Republic seemed to lie at the mercy of France. At the approach of the French, consternation reigned in the provinces. The Orange party raised its head and demanded the re-establishment of the Stadtholdership. The town of Veere in Zealand gave the example of insurrection, and William IV. of Nassau-Dietz, who was already Stadtholder of Friesland, Groningen and Gelderland, was ultimately proclaimed hereditary Stadtholder, Captain-General and Admiral of the United Provinces. William IV. was the son of John William Friso, and son-in-law of George II., whose daughter, Anne, he had married. The French threatening to attack Maestricht, the allies under the Duke of Cumberland marched to Lawfeld in order to protect it. Here they were attacked by Marshal Saxe, July 2nd 1747, and after a bloody battle compelled to recross the Meuse. The Duke of Cumberland, however, took up a position which prevented the French from investing Maestricht. On the other hand, Löwendahl [a Swedish general in the French service] carried Bergen-op-Zoom by assault., July 16th." The following spring (1748), the French succeeded in laying siege to Maestricht, notwithstanding the presence of the allies, and it was surrendered to them on the 7th of May. "Negociations had been going on throughout the winter, and a Congress had been appointed to meet at Aix-la-Chapelle, whose first conference took place April 24th 1748." The taking of Maestricht was intended to stimulate these negotiations for peace, and it undoubtedly had that effect. The treaties which concluded the war were signed the following October.

T. H. Dyer, History of Modern Europe, book 6, chapter 4 (volume 3).

ALSO IN: C. M. Davies, History of Holland, part 3, chapter 12, part 4, chapter 1.

NETHERLANDS: (Holland): A. D. 1746-1787. The restored Stadtholdership. Forty years of peace. War with England and trouble with Austria. The razing of the Barriers. Premature revolutions.

In their extremity, when the provinces of the Dutch Republic were threatened with invasion by the French, a cry for the House of Orange was raised once more. "The jealousies of Provincial magistratures were overborne, and in obedience to the voice of the people a Stadholder again arose. William of Nassau Dietz, the heir to William III., and the successor to a line of Stadholders who had ruled continuously in Friesland since the days of Philip II., was summoned to power. … William IV. had married, as William II. and William III. had done, the daughter of a King of England. As the husband of Anne, the child of George II., he had added to the consideration of his House; and he was now able to secure for his descendants the dignities to which he had himself been elected. The States General in 1747 declared that both male and female heirs should succeed to his honours. The constitution was thus in a measure changed, and the appointment of a hereditary chief magistrate appeared to many … to be a departure from the pure ideal of a Republic. The election of the new Stadholder brought less advantage to his people than to his family. He could not recall the glorious days of the great ancestors who had preceded him. Without abilities for war himself, and jealous of those with whom he was brought in contact, he caused disunion to arise among the forces of the allies. … When the terms at Aix La Chapelle restored their losses to the Dutch and confirmed the stipulations of previous treaties in their favour, it was felt that the Republic was indebted to the exertions of its allies, and not to any strength or successes of its own. It was well for the Republic that she could rest. The days of her greatness had gone by, and the recent struggle had manifested her decline to Europe. … The next forty years were years of peace, … When war again arrived it was again external circumstances [connected with the war between England and her revolted colonies in America] that compelled the Republic to take up arms. … She … contemplated, as it was discovered, an alliance with the American insurgents. The exposure of her designs drew on her a declaration of war from England, which was followed by the temporary loss of many of her colonies both in the East and West Indies. But in Europe the struggle was more equally sustained. The hostile fleets engaged in 1781 off the Dogger Bank; and the Dutch sailors fought with a success that made them claim a victory, and that at least secured them from the consequences of a defeat. The war indeed caused far less injury to the Republic than might have been supposed. … When she concluded peace in 1783, the whole of her lost colonies, with the one exception of Negapatam, were restored to her. But the occasion of the war had been made use of by Austria, and a blow had been meanwhile inflicted upon the United Provinces the fatal effect of which was soon to be apparent. The Emperor Joseph II. had long protested against the existence of the Barrier: and he had seized upon the opportunity to undo by an arbitrary act all that the blood and treasure of Europe had been lavished to secure. 'The Emperor will hear no more of Barriers,' wrote his minister; 'our connection with France has made them needless': and the fortresses for which William III. had schemed and Marlborough had fought, were razed to the ground [1782]. Holland, unable at the moment to resist, withdrew her garrisons in silence; and Joseph, emboldened by his success, proceeded to ask for more [1784]. The rectification of the Dutch frontiers, the opening of the Scheldt, and the release for his subjects from the long-enforced restrictions upon their trade did not appear too much to him. But the spirit of the Dutch had not yet left them. They fired at the vessels which dared to attempt to navigate the Scheldt, and war again appeared imminent. The support of France, however, upon which the Emperor had relied, was now given to the Republic, and Joseph recognized that he had gone too far. The Barrier, once destroyed, was not to be restored; but the claims which had been put forward were abandoned upon the payment of money compensation by the States. The feverous age of revolution was now at hand, and party spirit, which had ever divided the United Provinces, and had been quickened by the intercourse and alliance with America during the war, broke out in an insurrection against the Stadholder [William V.], which drove him from his country, and compelled him to appeal to Prussian troops for his restoration. Almost at the same time, in the Austrian provinces, a Belgic Republic was proclaimed [1787], the result in a great degree of imprudent changes which Joseph II. had enforced. The Dutch returned to their obedience under Prussian threats [and invasion of Holland by an army of 30,000 men—September, 1787], and Belgium under the concessions of Leopold III. But these were the clouds foreshadowing the coming storm, beneath whose fury all Europe was to tremble."

C. F. Johnstone, Historical Abstracts, chapter 2.

ALSO IN: T. H. Dyer, History of Modern Europe, book 6, chapter 8 (volume 3).

F. C. Schlosser, History of the 18th Century, period 4, chapter 1, section 2, and chapter 2, section 2 (volume 5).

{2298}

NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1748. Termination and results of the War of the Austrian Succession. French conquests restored to Austria and to Holland.

See AIX-LA-CHAPELLE, THE CONGRESS.

NETHERLANDS: (Holland): A. D. 1782. Recognition of the United States of America.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1782 (APRIL).

NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1792-1793. The Austrian provinces occupied by the French revolutionary army. Determination to annex them to the French Republic. Preparations to attack Holland.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1702 (SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER); and 1702-1703 (DECEMBER-FEBRUARY).

NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1793 (February-April). French invasion of Holland. Defeat at Neerwinden and retreat. Recovery of Belgian provinces by the Austrians.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1793 (FEBRUARY-APRIL).

NETHERLANDS: (Holland): A. D. 1793 (March-September). The Coalition against Revolutionary France.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1793 (MARCH-SEPTEMBER).

NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1794. French conquest of the Austrian Provinces. Holland open to invasion.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1794 (MARCH-JULY).

NETHERLANDS: (Holland): A. D. 1794-1795. Subjugation and occupation by the French. Overthrow of the Stadtholdership. Establishment of the Batavian Republic, in alliance with France.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1794-1795 (OCTOBER-MAY).

NETHERLANDS: (Holland): A. D. 1797. Naval defeat by the English in the Battle of Camperdown.

See ENGLAND: A. D. 1797.

NETHERLANDS: (Austrian Provinces): A. D. 1797. Ceded to France.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1797 (MAY-OCTOBER).

NETHERLANDS: (Holland): A. D. 1799. English and Russian invasion. Capture of the Dutch fleet. Ignominious ending of the expedition. Capitulation of the Duke of York. Dissolution of the Dutch East India Company.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1790 (APRIL-SEPTEMBER), and (SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER).

NETHERLANDS: (Holland): A. D. 1801. Revolution instigated and enforced by Bonaparte. A new Constitution.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1801-1803.

NETHERLANDS: (Holland): A. D. 1802. The Peace of Amiens. Recovery of the Cape of Good Hope and Dutch Guiana.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1801-1802.

NETHERLANDS: (Holland): A. D. 1806. Final seizure of Cape Colony by the English.

See SOUTH AFRICA: A. D. 1486-1806.

NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1806-1810. Commercial blockade by the English Orders in Council and Napoleon's Decrees.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1806-1810.

NETHERLANDS: (Holland): A. D. 1806-1810. The Batavian Republic transformed into the Kingdom of Holland. Louis Bonaparte made King. His fidelity to the country offensive to Napoleon. His abdication. Annexation of Holland to the French empire.

"While Bonaparte was the chief of the French republic, he had no objection to the existence of a Batavian republic in the north of France, and he equally tolerated the Cisalpine republic in the south. But after the coronation all the republics, which were grouped like satellites round the grand republic, were converted into kingdoms, subject to the empire, if not avowedly, at least in fact. In this respect there was no difference between the Batavian and Cisalpine republic. The latter having been metamorphosed into the kingdom of Italy, it was necessary to find some pretext for transforming the former into the kingdom of Holland. … The Emperor kept up such an extensive agency in Holland that he easily got up a deputation, soliciting him to choose a king for the Batavian republic. This submissive deputation came to Paris in 1806, to solicit the Emperor, as a favour, to place Prince Louis [Napoleon's brother] on the throne of Holland. … Louis became King of Holland much against his inclination, for he opposed the proposition as much as he dared, alleging as an objection the state of his health, to which certainly the climate of Holland was not favourable; but Bonaparte sternly replied to his remonstrance—'It is better to die a king than live a prince.' He was then obliged to accept the crown. He went to Holland accompanied by Hortense, who, however, did not stay long there. The new king wanted to make himself beloved by his subjects, and as they were an entirely commercial people, the best way to win their affections was … not to adopt Napoleon's rigid laws against commercial intercourse with England. Hence the first coolness between the two brothers, which ended in the abdication of Louis. I know not whether Napoleon recollected the motive assigned by Louis for at first refusing the crown of Holland, namely, the climate of the country, or whether he calculated upon greater submission in another of his brothers; but this is certain, that Joseph was not called from the throne of Naples to the throne of Spain, until after the refusal of Louis. … Before finally seizing Holland, Napoleon formed the project of separating from it Brabant and Zealand, in exchange for other provinces, the possession of which was doubtful: but Louis successfully resisted this first act of usurpation. Bonaparte was too intent on the great business in Spain, to risk any commotion in the north, where the declaration of Russia against Sweden already sufficiently occupied him. He therefore did not insist upon, and even affected indifference to the proposed augmentation of the territory of the empire. … But when he got his brother Joseph recognized, and when he had himself struck an important blow in the Peninsula, he began to change his tone to Louis. On the 20th of December [1808] he wrote to him a very remarkable letter, which exhibits the unreserved expression of that tyranny which he wished to exercise over all his family in order to make them the instruments of his despotism. He reproached Louis for not following his system of policy, telling him that he had forgotten he was a Frenchman, and that he wished to become a Dutchman. Among other things he said: … 'I have been obliged a second time to prohibit trade with Holland. In this state of things we may consider ourselves really at war. In my speech to the legislative body I manifested my displeasure; for I will not conceal from you, that my intention is to unite Holland with France. {2299} This will be the most severe blow I can aim against England, and will deliver me from the perpetual insults which the plotters of your cabinet are constantly directing against me. The mouths of the Rhine, and of the Meuse, ought, indeed, to belong to me. … The following are my conditions:—First, the interdiction of all trade and communication with England. Second. The supply of a fleet of fourteen sail of the line, seven frigates and seven brigs or corvettes, armed and manned. Third, an army of 25,000 men. Fourth. The suppression of the rank of Marshals. Fifth. The abolition of all the privileges of nobility, which is contrary to the constitution. Your Majesty may negotiate on these bases with the Duke de Cadore, through the medium of your minister; but be assured, that on the entrance of the first packet-boat into Holland, I will restore my prohibitions, and that the first Dutch officer who may presume to insult my flag, shall be seized and hanged at the main-yard. Your Majesty will find in me a brother if you prove yourself a Frenchman; but if you forget the sentiments which attach you to our common country, you cannot think it extraordinary that I should lose sight of those which nature has raised between us. In short, the union of Holland and France will be, of all things, most useful to France, Holland and the Continent, because it will be most injurious to England. This union must be effected willingly, or by force.' … Here the correspondence between the two brothers was suspended for a time; but Louis still continued exposed to new vexations on the part of Napoleon. About the end of 1809, the Emperor summoned to Paris the sovereigns who might be called his vassals. Among the number was Louis, who, however, did not shew himself very willing to quit his states. He called a council of his ministers, who were of opinion that for the interest of Holland he ought to make this new sacrifice. He did so with resignation. Indeed, every day passed on the throne was a sacrifice to Louis. … Amidst the general silence of the servants of the empire, and even of the kings and princes assembled in the capital, he ventured to say:—'I have been deceived by promises which were never intended to be kept. Holland is tired of being the sport of France.' The Emperor, who was unused to such language as this, was highly incensed at it. Louis had now no alternative, but to yield to the incessant exactions of Napoleon, or to see Holland united to France. He chose the latter, though not before he had exerted all his feeble power in behalf of the subjects whom Napoleon had consigned to him; but he would not be the accomplice of him who had resolved to make those subjects the victims of his hatred against England. … Louis was, however, permitted to return to his states, to contemplate the stagnating effect of the continental blockade on every branch of trade and industry, formerly so active in Holland. Distressed at witnessing evils to which he could apply no remedy, he endeavoured by some prudent remonstrances to avert the utter ruin with which Holland was threatened. On the 23rd of March, 1810, he wrote … [a] letter to Napoleon. … Written remonstrances were not more to Napoleon's taste than verbal ones at a time when, as I was informed by my friends, whom fortune chained to his destiny, no one presumed to address a word to him, except to answer his questions. … His brother's letter highly roused his displeasure. Two months after he received it, being on a journey in the north, he addressed to Louis from Ostend a letter," followed in a few days by another in which latter he said: "'I want no more phrases and protestations. It is time I should know whether you intend, by your follies, to ruin Holland. I do not choose that you should again send a Minister to Austria, or that you should dismiss the French who are in your service. I have recalled my Ambassador, as I intend only to have a Chargé-d'affaires in Holland. The Sieur Serrurier, who remains there in that capacity, will communicate to you my intentions. My Ambassador shall no longer be exposed to your insults. Write to me no more those set phrases which you have been repeating for the last three years, and the falsehood of which is proved every day. This is the last letter I will ever write to you as long as I live.' … Thus reduced to the cruel alternative of crushing Holland with his own hands, or leaving that task to the Emperor, Louis did not hesitate to lay down his sceptre. Having formed this resolution, he addressed a message to the legislative body of the kingdom of Holland, explaining the motives of his abdication. … The French troops entered Holland under the command of the Duke de Reggio; and that Marshal, who was more King than the King himself, threatened to occupy Amsterdam. Louis then descended from his throne [July 1, 1810]. … Louis bade farewell to the people of Holland in a proclamation, after the publication of which he repaired to the waters of Toeplitz. There he was living in tranquil retirement, when he learnt that his brother had united Holland to the Empire [December 10, 1810]. He then published a protest. … Thus there seemed to be an end of all intercourse between these two brothers, who were so opposite in character and disposition. But Napoleon, who was enraged that Louis should have presumed to protest, and that in energetic terms, against the union of his kingdom with the empire, ordered him to return to France, whither he was summoned in his character of Constable and French Prince. Louis, however, did not think proper to obey this summons, and Napoleon, faithful to his promise of never writing to him again, ordered … [a] letter to be addressed to him by M. Otto, … Ambassador from France to Vienna," saying: "'The Emperor requires that Prince Louis shall return, at the latest, by the 1st of December next, under pain of being considered as disobeying the constitution of the empire and the head of his family, and being treated accordingly.'"

M. de Bourrienne, Private Memoirs of Napoleon, volume 4, chapter 2.

ALSO IN: D. A. Bingham, Marriages of the Bonapartes, chapter 11 (volume 2).

T. C. Grattan, History of the Netherlands, chapter 22.

See, also, FRANCE: A. D. 1806 (JANUARY-OCTOBER).

NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1809. The English Walcheren expedition against Antwerp.

See ENGLAND: A. D. 1809 (JULY-DECEMBER).

NETHERLANDS: (Holland): A. D. 1811. Java taken by the English.

See INDIA: A. D. 1805-1816.

{2300}

NETHERLANDS: (Holland): A. D. 1813. Expulsion of the French. Independence regained. Restoration of the Prince of Orange.

"The universal fermentation produced in Europe by the deliverance of Germany was not long of spreading to the Dutch Provinces.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1812-1813, to 1813 (OCTOBER-DECEMBER).

The yoke of Napoleon, universally grievous from the enormous pecuniary exactions with which it was attended, and the wasting military conscriptions to which it immediately led, had been in a peculiar manner felt as oppressive in Holland, from the maritime and commercial habits of the people, and the total stoppage of all their sources of industry, which the naval war and long-continued blockade of their coasts had occasioned. They had tasted for nearly twenty years of the last drop of humiliation in the cup of the vanquished—that of being compelled themselves to aid in upholding the system which was exterminating their resources, and to purchase with the blood of their children the ruin of their country. These feelings, which had for years existed in such intensity, as to have rendered revolt inevitable but for the evident hopelessness at all former times of the attempt, could no longer be restrained after the battle of Leipsic had thrown down the colossus of French external power, and the approach of the Allied standards to their frontiers had opened to the people the means of salvation.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1813 (OCTOBER) and (OCTOBER-DECEMBER).

From the Hansa Towns the flame of independence spread to the nearest cities of the old United Provinces; and the small number of French troops in the country at once encouraged revolt and paved the way for external aid. At this period, the whole troops which Napoleon had in Holland did not exceed 6,000 French, and two regiments of Germans, upon whose fidelity to their colours little reliance could be placed. Upon the approach of the Allied troops under Bulow, who advanced by the road of Munster, and Winzingerode, who soon followed from the same quarter, the douaniers all withdrew from the coast, the garrison of Amsterdam retired, and the whole disposable force of the country was concentrated at Utrecht, to form a corps of observation, and act according to circumstances. This was the signal for a general revolt. At Amsterdam [November 15], the troops were no sooner gone than the inhabitants rose in insurrection, deposed the Imperial authorities, hoisted the orange flag, and established a provisional government with a view to the restoration of the ancient order of things; yet not violently or with cruelty, but with the calmness and composure which attest the exercise of social rights by a people long habituated to their enjoyment. The same change took place, at the same time and in the same orderly manner, at Rotterdam, Dordrecht, Delft, Leyden, Haarlem, and the other chief towns; the people, everywhere, amidst cries of 'Orange Boven' and universal rapture, mounted the orange cockade, and reinstated the ancient authorities. … Military and political consequences of the highest importance immediately followed this uncontrollable outbreak of public enthusiasm. A deputation from Holland waited on the Prince Regent of England and the Prince of Orange, in London: the latter shortly after embarked on board an English line-of-battle ship, the Warrior, and on the 27th landed at Scheveling, from whence he proceeded to the Hague. Meantime the French troops and coast-guards, who had concentrated at Utrecht, seeing that the general effervescence was not as yet supported by any solid military force, and that the people, though they had all hoisted the orange flag, were not aided by any corps of the Allies, recovered from their consternation, and made it general forward movement against Amsterdam. Before they got there, however, a body of 300 Cossacks had reached that capital, where they were received with enthusiastic joy: and this advanced guard was soon after followed by General Benkendorf's brigade, which, after travelling by post from Zwoll to Harderwyk, embarked at the latter plage, and, by the aid of a favourable wind, reached Amsterdam on the 1st December. The Russian general immediately advanced against the forts of Mayder and Halfweg, of which he made himself master, taking twenty pieces of cannon and 600 prisoners; while on the eastern frontier, General Oppen, with Bulow's advanced guards, carried Dornbourg by assault on the 23d, and, advancing against Arnheim, threw the garrison, 3,000 strong, which strove to prevent the place being invested, with great loss back into the town. Next day, Bulow himself came up with the main strength of his corps, and, as the ditches were still dry, hazarded an escalade, which proved entirely successful; the greater part of the garrison retiring to Nimeguen, by the bridge of the Rhine. The French troops, finding themselves thus threatened on all sides, withdrew altogether from Holland: the fleet at the Texel hoisted the orange flag, with the exception of Admiral Verhuel, who, with a body of marines that still proved faithful to Napoleon, threw himself with honourable fidelity into the fort of the Texel. Amsterdam, amidst transports of enthusiasm, received the beloved representative of the House of Orange. Before the close of the year, the tricolour flag floated only on Bergen-op-zoom and a few of the southern frontier fortresses; and Europe beheld the prodigy of the seat of war having been transferred in a single year from the banks of the Niemen to those of the Scheldt."

Sir A. Alison, History of Europe, 1789-1815, chapter 82 (volume 17).

NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1814 (May-June). Belgium, or the former Austrian provinces and Liege, annexed to Holland, and the kingdom of the Netherlands created.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1814 (APRIL-JUNE); and VIENNA, THE CONGRESS OF.

NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1815. The Waterloo campaign. Defeat and overthrow of Napoleon.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1815 (JUNE).

NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1816. Accession to the Holy Alliance.

See HOLY ALLIANCE.

NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1830-1832. Belgian revolt and acquisition of independence. Dissolution of the kingdom of the Netherlands. Creation of the kingdom of Belgium. Siege of Antwerp citadel.

"In one sense the union" of Belgium with Holland, in the kingdom of the Netherlands created by the Congress of Vienna, "was defensible. Holland enjoyed more real freedom than any other Continental monarchy; and the Belgians had a voice in the government of the united territory. But, in another sense, the union was singularly unhappy. The phlegmatic Dutch Protestant was as indisposed to unite with the light-hearted Roman Catholic Belgian as the languid waters of the Saone with the impetuous torrent of the Rhone. Different as were the rivers, they met at last; and diplomatists probably hoped that Dutch and Belgians would similarly combine. {2301} These hopes were disappointed, and the two people, incapable of union, endeavoured to find independent courses for themselves in separate channels. The grounds of Belgian dislike to the union were intelligible. Belgium had a population of 3,400,000 souls; Holland of only 2,000,000 persons. Yet both countries had an equal representation in the States-General. Belgium was taxed more heavily than Holland, and the produce of taxation went almost entirely into Dutch pockets. The Court, which was Dutch, resided in Holland. The public offices were in Holland. Four persons out of every five in the public service at home were Dutchmen. The army was almost exclusively commanded by Dutchmen. Dutch professors were appointed to educate the Belgian youths in Belgian schools, and a Dutch director was placed over the Bank of Brussels. The Court even endeavoured to change the language of the Belgian race, and to substitute Dutch for French in all judicial proceedings. The Belgians were naturally irritated. … On the 2nd of June, the States-General were dissolved; the elections were peacefully concluded; and the closest observers failed to detect any symptoms of the coming storm on the political horizon. The storm which was to overwhelm the union was, in fact, gathering in another country. The events of July [at Paris] were to shake Europe to the centre. 'On all sides crowns were falling into the gutter,' and the shock of revolution in Paris was felt perceptibly in Brussels. Nine years before the States-General had imposed a mouture, or tax upon flour. The tax had been carried by a very small majority; and the majority had been almost entirely composed of Dutch members. On the 25th of August, 1830, the lower orders in Brussels engaged in a serious riot, ostensibly directed against this tax. The offices of a newspaper, conducted in the interests of the Dutch, were attacked; the house of the Minister of Justice was set on fire; the wine and spirit shops were forced open; and the mob, maddened by liquor, proceeded to other acts of pillage. On the morning of the 26th of August the troops were called out and instructed to restore order. Various conflicts took place between the soldiers and the people; but the former gained no advantage over the rioters, and were withdrawn into the Place Royale, the central square of the town. Relieved from the interference of the military, the mob continued the work of destruction. Respectable citizens, dreading the destruction of their property, organised a guard for the preservation of order. Order was preserved; but the task of preserving it had converted Brussels into an armed camp. It had placed the entire control of the town in the hands of the inhabitants. Men who had unexpectedly obtained a mastery over the situation could hardly be expected to resign the power which events had given to them. They had taken up their arms to repress a mob; victors over the populace, they turned their arms against the Government, and boldly despatched a deputation to the king urging the concession of reforms and the immediate convocation of the States-General. The king had received the news of the events at Brussels with considerable alarm. Troops had been at once ordered to march on the city; and, on the 28th of August, an army of 6,000 men had encamped under its walls. The citizens, however, represented that the entrance of the troops would be a signal for the renewal of the disturbances; and the officer in command in consequence agreed to remain passively outside the walls. The king sent the Prince of Orange to make terms with his insurgent subjects. The citizens declined to admit the prince into the city unless he came without his soldiers. The prince, unable to obtain any modification of this stipulation, was obliged to trust himself to the people alone. It was already evident that the chief town of Belgium had shaken off the control of the Dutch Government. The king, compelled to submit to the demands of the deputation, summoned the States-General for the 13th of September. But this concession only induced the Belgians to raise their demands. They had hitherto only asked for reforms: they now demanded independence, the dissolution of the union, and the independent administration of Belgium. The revolution had originally been confined to Brussels: it soon extended to other towns. Civic guards were organised in Liege, Tournay, Mons, Verviers, Bruges, and other places. Imitating the example of Brussels, they demanded the dissolution of the union between Holland and Belgium. The troops, consisting of a mixed force of Dutch and Belgians, could not be depended on; and the restoration of the royal authority was obviously impossible. On the 13th of September the States-General met. The question of separation was referred to them by the king; and the Deputies leisurely applied themselves to its consideration, in conformity with the tedious rules by which their proceedings were regulated. Long before they had completed the preliminary discussions which they thought necessary the march of events had taken the question out of their hands. On the 19th of September fresh disturbances broke out in Brussels. The civic guard, attempting to quell the riot, was overpowered; and the rioters, elated with their success, announced their intention of attacking the troops, who were encamped outside the city walls. Prince Frederick of Orange, concluding that action was inevitable, at last made up his mind to attack the town. Dividing the forces under his command into six columns, he directed them, on the 23rd of September, against the six gates of the city. … Three of the columns succeeded, after a serious struggle, in obtaining possession of the higher parts of the city; but they were unable to accomplish any decisive victory. For four days the contest was renewed. On the 27th of September, the troops, unable to advance, were withdrawn from the positions which they had won. On the following day the Lower Chamber of the States-General decided in favour of a dissolution of the union. The crown of Belgium was evidently dropping into the gutter; but the king decided on making one more effort to preserve it in his family. On the 4th of October he sent the Prince of Orange to Antwerp, authorising him to form a separate Administration for the southern provinces of the kingdom, and to place himself at the head of it. … Arrangements of this character had, however, already become impossible. On the very day on which the prince reached Antwerp the Provisional Government at Brussels issued an ordonnance declaring the independence of Belgium and the immediate convocation of a National Congress. … {2302} On the 10th of October, the Provisional Government, following up its former ordonnance, issued a second decree, regulating the composition of the National Congress and the qualifications of the electors. On the 12th the elections were fixed for the 27th of October. On the 10th of November the Congress was formally opened; and on the 18th the independence of the Belgian people was formally proclaimed by its authority. … On the 4th of November the Ministers of the five great Continental powers, assembled in London at the invitation of the King of Holland, declared that an armistice should immediately be concluded, and that the Dutch troops should be withdrawn from Belgium. The signature of this protocol, on the eve of the meeting of the National Congress, virtually led to the independence of the Belgian people, which the Congress immediately proclaimed."

S. Walpole, History of England from 1815, chapter 11 (volume 2).

It still remained for the Powers to provide a king for Belgium, and to gain the consent of the Dutch and Belgian Governments to the territorial arrangements drawn up for them. The first difficulty was overcome in June, 1831, by the choice of Prince Leopold of Saxe Coburg to be king of Belgium. The second problem was complicated by strong claims on both sides to the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg. The Conference solved it by dividing the disputed territory between Belgium and Holland. The Belgians accepted the arrangement; the King of Holland rejected it, and was coerced by France and England, who expelled his forces from Antwerp, which he still held. A French army laid siege to the citadel, while an English fleet blockaded the river Scheldt. After a bombardment of 24 days, December, 1832, the citadel surrendered; but it was not until April, 1839, the final Treaty of Peace between Belgium and Holland was signed.

C. A. Fyffe, History of Modern Europe, volume 2, chapter 5.

ALSO IN: Sir A. Alison, History of Europe, 1815-1852, chapters 24-25 and 29.

NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1830-1884. Peaceful years of the kingdoms of Belgium and Holland. Constitutional and material progress. The contest of Catholics and Liberals in Belgium.

"After winning its independence (1830) Belgium has also been free to work out its own career of prosperous development. King Leopold I. during his long reign showed himself the model of a constitutional sovereign in furthering its progress. The first railway on the continent was opened in 1835 between Brussels and Malines, and its railway system is now most complete. Its population between 1830 and 1880 increased by more than one-third, and now is the densest in all Europe, numbering 5,900,000 on an area only twice as large as Yorkshire. … When Napoleon III. seized on power in France all Belgians feared that he would imitate his uncle by seizing Belgium and all land up to the Rhine; but the close connection of King Leopold [brother of Prince Albert, the Prince Consort] with the English royal house and his skilful diplomacy averted the danger from Belgium. The chief internal trouble has been the strife between the liberal and clerical parties. In 1850 there were over 400 monasteries, with some 12,000 monks and nuns, in the land, and the Liberals made strenuous efforts for many years to abolish these and control education; but neither party could command a firm and lasting majority. In the midst of these eager disputes King Leopold I. died (1865), after seeing his kingdom firmly established in spite of ministerial crises every few months. His son Leopold II. has also been a constitutional sovereign. In 1867 the Luxemburg question seemed to threaten the Belgian territory, for Napoleon III. had secretly proposed to Bismarck that France should take Belgium and Luxemburg, as well as all land up to the Rhine, as the price of his friendship to the new German Confederation.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1866-1870.

… Again in 1870 the Franco-German war threw a severe strain on Belgium to guard its neutrality, but after Sedan this danger vanished. The strife between the liberal and clerical parties went on as fiercely in Belgium as in France itself, and after the rise and fall of many ministries the Liberals succeeded in closing the convents and gaining control over State education. The constitution is that of a limited monarchy with responsible ministers, Senate, and Chamber of Deputies. The electorate up to 1884 was limited to citizens paying 42 francs a year in direct taxes, but in 1884 it was extended by the clerical party acting for once in connection with the radicals." (On the revised constitution of 1893 see below: 1892-1893.) In the kingdom of the Netherlands (Holland), King William, after he had been forced to recognize Belgian independence, "abdicated [1840] in favour of his son. The latter soon restored a good understanding with Belgium, and improved the finances of his kingdom; so the upheavals of 1848 caused no revolution in Holland, and only led to a thorough reform of its constitution. The Upper House of the States-General consists of members chosen for nine years by the estates or councils of the provinces, those of the lower house by electors having a property qualification. The king's ministers are now responsible to the Parliament. Liberty of the press and of public worship is recognised. The chief questions in Holland have been the reduction of its heavy debt, the increase of its army and navy, the improvement of agriculture and commerce, and the management of large and difficult colonial possessions." Holland "has to manage 28,000,000 subjects over the seas, mostly in Malaysia. She there holds all Java, parts of Borneo, Sumatra, Timor, the Moluccas, Celebes, and the western half of New Guinea; in South America, Dutch Guiana and, the Isle of Curaçoa. It was not till 1862 that the Dutch at a great cost freed the slaves in their West Indian possessions [viz., the islands of Curaçoa, Aruba, St. Martin, Bonaire, St. Eustache, and Saba]; but their rule in Malaysia is still conducted with the main purpose of securing revenue by means of an oppressive labour system. The Dutch claims in Sumatra are contested by the people of Acheen in the northern part of that great island."

J. H. Rose, A Century of Continental History, chapter 43.

"The politico-religious contest between Catholics and Liberals exists to a greater or less degree in all Catholic countries, and even in Protestant ones possessing, like Prussia, Catholic provinces: but nowhere is political life more completely absorbed by this antagonism than in Belgium, nowhere are the lines of the contest more clearly traced. … In order thoroughly to grasp the meaning of our politico-religious strife, we must cast a glance at its origin. We find this in the constitution adopted by the Congress after the Revolution of 1830. {2303} This constitution enjoins and sanctions all the freedom and liberty which has long been the privilege of England, and of the States she has founded in America and Australia. A free press, liberty as regards education, freedom to form associations or societies, provincial and communal autonomy, representative administration—all exactly as in England. How was it that the Congress of 1830, the majority of whose members belonged to the Catholic party, came to vote in favour of principles opposed, not only to the traditions, but also the dogmas of the Catholic Church? This singular fact is explained by the writings of the celebrated priest and author, La Mennais, whose opinions at that time exercised the greatest influence. La Mennais's first book, 'L'Essai sur l'indifference en Matière de Religion,' lowered all human reasoning, and delivered up society to the omnipotent guidance of the Pope. This work, enthusiastically perused by bishops, seminarists, and priests, established the author as an unprecedented authority. When, after the year 1828, he pretended that the Church would regain her former power by separating herself from the State, retaining only her liberty, most of his admirers professed themselves of his opinion. … Nearly all Belgian priests were at that time La Mennaisiens. They accepted the separation of Church and State, and, in their enthusiastic intoxication, craved but liberty to reconquer the world. It was thus that Catholics and Liberals united to vote for Belgium the constitution still in existence after a half-century. In 1832, Pope Gregory XVI., as Veuillot tells us, 'hurled a thunderbolt at the Belgian constitution in its cradle.' In a famous Encyclical, since incessantly quoted, the Pope declared, ex cathedrâ, that modern liberties were a plague, 'a delirium,' from whence incalculable evils would inevitably flow. Shortly afterwards, the true author of the Belgian constitution, La Mennais, having been to Rome in the vain hope of converting the Pope to his views, was repulsed, and, a little later, cast out from the bosom of the Church. The separation was effected. There was an end to that 'union' of Catholics and Liberals which had overthrown King William and founded a new political order in Belgium. It was not, however, till after 1838 that the two parties distinctly announced their antagonism. … The Liberal party is composed of all who, having faith in human reason and in liberty, fear a return to the past, and desire reforms of all sorts. … When Catholics are mentioned as opposed to Liberals, it is as regards their political, not their religious opinions. The Liberals are all, or nearly all, Catholics also; at all events by baptism. … The Catholic party is guided officially by the bishops. It is composed, in the first place, of all the clergy, of the convents and monasteries, and of those who from a sentiment of religious obedience do as they are directed by the bishop of the diocese and the Pope, and also of genuine Conservatives, otherwise called reactionists—that is to say, of those who consider that liberty leads to anarchy, and progress to communism. This section comprises the great mass of the proprietors and cultivators of the soil and the country populations. … We see that in Belgium parties are divided, and fight seriously for an idea; they are separated by no material, but by spiritual interests. The Liberals defend liberty, which they consider menaced by the aims of the Church. The Catholics defend religion, which they look upon as threatened by their adversaries' doctrines. Both desire to fortify themselves against a danger, non-existent yet, but which they foresee. … The educational question, which has been the centre of the political life of the country during the last two years, deserves expounding in detail. Important in itself, and more important still in its consequences, it is everywhere discussed with passion. Primary education was organized here in 1842, by a law of compromise adopted by the two parties, thanks to M. J. B. Nothomb, one of the founders of the Belgian Constitution, who died recently in Berlin, where he had been Belgian Minister for a space of upwards of forty years. This law enacted that every parish should possess schools sufficient for the number of children needing instruction; but it allowed the 'commune' to adopt private schools. The inspection of the public schools and the control of the religious teaching given by the masters and mistresses, was reserved to the clergy. Advanced Liberals began to clamour for the suppression of this latter clause as soon as they perceived the preponderating influence it gave the priests over the lay teachers. The reform of the law of 1842 became the watchword of the Liberal party, and this was ultimately effected in July, 1879; now each parish or village must provide the schools necessary for the children of its inhabitants, and must not give support to any private school. Ecclesiastical inspection is suppressed. Religious instruction may be given by the ministers of the various denominations, in the school buildings, but out of the regular hours. This system has been in force in Holland since the commencement of the present century. Lay instruction only is given by the communal masters and mistresses; no dogmas are taught, but the school is open to the clergy of all denominations who choose to enter, as it is evidently their duty to do. This system, now introduced in Belgium, has been accepted, without giving rise to any difficulties, by both Protestants and Jews, but it is most vehemently condemned by the Catholic priesthood. … In less than a year they have succeeded in opening a private school in every commune and village not formerly possessing one. In this instance the Catholic party has shown a devotedness really remarkable. … At the same time in all the Churches, and nearly every Sunday, the Government schools have been attacked, stigmatized as 'écoles sans Dieu' (schools without God), to be avoided as the plague, and where parents were forbidden to place their children, under pain of committing the greatest sin. Those who disobeyed, and allowed their children still to frequent the communal schools, were deprived of the Sacraments of the Church. They were refused absolution at confession, and the Eucharist, even at Easter. All the schoolmasters and mistresses were placed under the ban of the Church, and the priests often even refused to pronounce a blessing on their marriage. It is only lately that, contrary instructions having been received from Rome, this extreme step is now very rarely resorted to. The Liberal majority in the House has ordered a Parliamentary inquiry—which is still in progress, and the results of which in this last six months, fill the columns of our newspapers—in order to ascertain by what means the clergy succeed in filling their schools. … As a natural consequence of the excessive heat of the conflict, the two parties end by justifying the accusations of their adversaries. {2304} The Liberals become anti-religionists, because religion is—and is daily becoming more and more—anti-liberal; and the Catholics are afraid of liberty, because it is used against their faith, which is, in their opinion, the only true and the necessary foundation of civilization. … The existence in Belgium of two parties so distinctly and clearly separated, offers, however, some compensation: it favours the good working of Parliamentary government."

E. de Laveleye, The Political Condition of Belgium (Contemporary Review, April, 1882), pages 715-724, with foot-note.

NETHERLANDS: (Belgium): A. D. 1876-1890. The founding of the Congo Free State.

See CONGO FREE STATE.

NETHERLANDS: (Holland, or the Kingdom of the Netherlands): A. D. 1887. Revision of the Constitution.

The constitution of 1848 (see above), in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, was revised in 1887, but in a very conservative spirit. Attempts to make the suffrage universal, and to effect a separation of church and state, were defeated. The suffrage qualification by tax-payment was reduced to ten guilders, and certain classes of lodgers were also admitted to the franchise, more than doubling the total number of voters, which is now estimated to be about 290,000. All private soldiers and non-commissioned officers of the regular army are excluded from the franchise. The upper chamber of the States General is elected as before by the Provincial States, but its membership is raised to fifty. The second chamber, consisting of one hundred members, is chosen directly by the voters. In the new constitution, the succession to the throne is definitely prescribed, in the event of a failure of direct heirs. Three collateral lines of descent are designated, to be accepted in their order as follows: 1. Princess Sophia of Saxony and her issue; 2. the descendants of the late Princess Marian of Prussia; 3. the descendants of the late Princess Mary of Wied. The late king of the Netherlands, William III., died in 1890, leaving only a daughter, ten years old, to succeed him. The young queen, Wilhelmina, is reigning under the regency of her mother.

The Statesman's Year-book, 1894.

ALSO IN: The Annual Register, 1887.

Appleton's Annual Cyclopœdia, 1887.

NETHERLANDS: (Belgium): A. D. 1892-1893. The revised Belgian Constitution. Introduction of plural Suffrage.

A great agitation among the Belgian workingmen, ending in a formidable strike, in 1890, was only quieted by the promise from the government of a revision of the constitution and the introduction of universal suffrage. The Constituent Chambers, elected to perform the task of revision, were opened on the 11th of July, 1892. The amended constitution was promulgated on the 7th of September, 1893. It confers the suffrage on every citizen twenty-five years of age or over, domiciled in the same commune for not less than one year, and not under legal disqualification. The new constitution is made especially interesting by its introduction of a system of cumulative or plural voting. One supplementary vote is conferred on every married citizen (or widower), thirty-five years or more of age, having legitimate issue, and paying at least five francs per annum house tax; also on every citizen not less than twenty-five years old who owns real property to the value of 2,000 francs, or who derives an income of not less than 100 francs a year from an investment in the public debt, or from the savings bank. Two supplementary votes are given to each citizen twenty-five years of age who has received certain diplomas or discharged certain functions which imply the possession of a superior education. The same citizen may accumulate votes on more than one of these qualifications, but none is allowed to cast more than three. On the adoption of the new constitution, the Brussels correspondent of the "London Times" wrote to that journal; "This article, which adds to manhood suffrage as it exists in France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, the United States, and the Australian colonies, the safeguard of a double and triple suffrage accorded to age, marriage, and paternity, as well as to the possession of money saved or inherited, or of a profession, will constitute one of the distinguishing marks of the new Belgian Constitution. As it reposes upon the just principle that votes must be considered in reference to their weight rather than to their numbers, it has had the effect of putting an immediate end to the violent political crisis which disturbed the country. It has been accepted without much enthusiasm, indeed, but as a reasonable compromise. The moderates of all classes, who do not go to war for abstract theories, think that it has a prospect of enduring." An attempt to introduce proportional representation along with the plural suffrage was defeated. The constitution of the Senate raised questions hardly less important than those connected with the elective franchise. Says the correspondent quoted above: "The advanced Radical and Socialist parties had proposed to supplement the Chamber, the political representation of the territorial interests of the country, by a Senate representing its economic interests. The great social forces—capital, labour, and science—in their application to agriculture, industry, and commerce, were each to send their representatives. It may be that this formula, which would have made of the Belgian Senate an Assembly sui generis in Europe, may become the formula of the future. The Belgian legislators hesitated before the novelty of the idea and the difficulty of its application. This combination rejected, there remained for the Senate only the alternative between two systems—namely, to separate that Assembly from the Chamber by its origin or else by its composition. The Senate and the Government preferred the first of these solutions, that is to say direct elections for the Chamber, an election by two degrees for the Senate, either by the members of the provincial councils or by specially elected delegates of the Communes. But these proposals encountered from all the benches in the Chamber a general resistance." The result was a compromise. The Senate consists of 76 members elected directly by the people, and 26 elected by the provincial councils. The term of each is eight years. The Senators chosen by the councils are exempted from a property qualification; those popularly elected are required to be owners of real property yielding not less than 12,000 francs of income, or to pay not less than 1,200 francs in direct taxes. The legislature is empowered to restrict the voting for Senators to citizens thirty years of age or more. {2305} The members of the Chamber of Representatives are apportioned according to population and elected for four years, one half retiring every two years. The Senate and Chamber meet annually in November, and are required to be in session for at least forty days; but the King may convoke extraordinary sessions, and may dissolve the Chambers either separately or together. In case of a dissolution, the constitution requires an election to be held within forty days, and a meeting of the Chambers within two months. Only the Chamber of Representatives can originate money bills or bills relating to the contingent for the army. The executive consists of seven ministries, namely of Finance, of Justice, of Interior and Instruction, of War, of Railways, Posts and Telegraphs, of Foreign Affairs, of Agriculture, Industry and Public Works. The King's Privy Council is a distinct body.