nPostednon August 25, 2014
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| An opera performed on Aug. 25 was so nationalistic, the audience emerged from the opera house and promptly joined in the rioting! |
nWhatnhappens when a nation is full of frustrated people who cannot findnjobs, who feel that their ruler is unfair, who feel misunderstood andnout-of-step with the “powers that be”?
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nSometimesnwhat happens is rioting and looting.
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nSometimesnwhat happens is political revolution.
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nSometimesnit’s rioting that leads to revolution!
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| King William I |
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nThatnis what happened in Belgium on this date in 1830. King William I ofnthe United Kingdom of the Netherlands spoke a different language andnprofessed a different religion than most of the people in southernnBelgium, and unemployment was high. When riots broke out in Brusselsnon August 25, 1830, shops were looted, factories were occupied, andnmachinery was destroyed. William sent soldiers to restore order, butnrioting and uprisings continued elsewhere in the country and brokenout again and again in Brussels. n
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nSoonnsome of the protestors talked about secession; before the year wasnout, the States-General in Brussels decided to secede, and theyndeclared Belgium’s independence. A conference was held in London bynrepresentatives of the Great Powers (the Netherlands, Britain,nFrance, Prussia) – and William I was very unhappy that the othernEuropean nations decided to recognize and even guarantee Belgium’snindependence!
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| Perhaps this political cartoon, showing the kings of other nations sending Leopold I to Belgium to become its king, helps us understand why many Belgians resented the London Conference. |
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nSomenpeople were very happy about the conference. I’m not talking aboutnthe Belgians here (although I assume that some of them were happynwith the results), because many Belgians who were pro-independencenfelt rather humiliated that the leaders of other nations wouldnpresume to say whether or not they were allowed to benindependent. But some Europeans were excited that the leading powersncould use talk – diplomacy – rather than force – war – tondecide things, and they saw the conference as providing “the institutional framework through which the leading powers of the time safeguarded the peace of Europe.”
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nHowever,nthe peace was not necessarily safeguarded. William I, feeling evennmore humiliated by the conference’s decision, launched in 1831 anmilitary attack to reconquer Belgium. Called “The Ten Days’nCampaign,” the attack was not successful. France backed thenBelgians, William I’s forces were turned back, and in 1839 the Dutchnfinally accepted Belgium’s independence.
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nLearnnmore about Belgium here,nhere,nand here.
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nAlsonon this date:
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nAnniversarynof the Great Moon Hoax
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nComposer Leonard Bernstein’s birthday
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nConstitution Day in Paraguay
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nIndependence Day in Uruguay
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nPlan ahead:
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nChecknout my Pinterest boards for:
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nAugustn holidays
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nAugustn birthdays
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nHistoricaln anniversaries in August
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nAndnhere are my Pinterest boards for:
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nSeptembern holidays
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nSeptembern birthdays
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nHistoricaln anniversaries in September
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