United States of Belgium

Encyclopedia : U : UN : UNI : United States of Belgium

The Netherlands States in History
Seventeen Provinces (1477-1555)
United Provinces (1581-1795)
Southern Netherlands (1581-1815)
United States of Belgium (1790)
Batavian Republic (1795-1806)
Kingdom of Holland (1806-1810)
United Kingdom of the Netherlands (1815-1830)
Kingdom of the Netherlands (1830-present)
Kingdom of Belgium (1830-present)
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (1815-present)
The United States of Belgium, (French États-Belgiques-Unis, Dutch Verenigde Nederlandse Staten), was a confederation of the Southern Netherlands, that existed during the year 1790. Other English translations are United Belgium States, United Belgian States or United Netherlands States.

The Austrian Netherlands rebelled against the emperor as a result of Joseph II's centralizing policies. This civil uprising is called the Brabant revolution. The Battle of Turnhout (1789) led to a defeat for the Austrians. The different countries declared their independence and established the United States of Belgium (January 1790). Austrian imperial power was restored by Joseph's brother and successor, Leopold II by the end of 1790.

The Dutch oath of Abjuration in 1581 and the American declaration of independence in 1776 stood model for the treaty of the United Belgian States.

Independently, in 1789, a civil uprising in the Bishopric of Liège, was an avatar of the French Revolution oriented against the Ancien Régime. The Prince-Bishop was invited to join the new constitution, but he refused. The republic of Liège joined the United States of Belgium in a kind of alliance. The power of the Prince-Bishop was re-established in 1790 by the Austrians.

After the French Revolution, in 1794 the entire region (including the Bishopric of Liège) was overrun by France and incorporated into the French Republic. After the wars of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, the region was incorporated into the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. This was not to the satisfaction of the inhabitants of the region, and they declared their independence, and formed the Kingdom of Belgium in 1830.

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