A referendum on the constitution of the

Batavian Republic The Batavian Republic ( nl, Bataafse Republiek; french: République Batave) was the successor state to the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on 19 January 1795 and ended on 5 June 1806, with the accession of Louis Bona ...

was held on August 8, 1797. The draft constitution was rejected, eventually culminating in a coup d'état.

Background

The country we now know as the Netherlands had declared independence as the Republic of the Seven United Provinces ( nl, Republiek der Zeeven Vereenigde Provinciën) in 1581. This independence was officially recognized in the

Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought pea ...

of 1648. As the name indicates, the country was a federation of seven autonomous provinces: the duchy of

Gelre The Duchy of Guelders ( nl, Gelre, french: Gueldre, german: Geldern) is a historical duchy, previously county, of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries. Geography The duchy was named after the town of Geldern (''Gelder'') in p ...

, the counties of Holland and Zeeland, the former bishopric of Utrecht, the lordship of

Overijssel Overijssel (, ; nds, Oaveriessel ; german: Oberyssel) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name translates to "across the IJssel", from the perspective of the ...

and the free provinces of Friesland and

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

. Each province was governed by the Provincial States; the main executive official was a

stadtholder In the Low Countries, ''stadtholder'' ( nl, stadhouder ) was an office of steward, designated a medieval official and then a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and H ...

(''stadhouder'' in Dutch). Over the years, these stadtholderships were concentrated among the descendants of William the Silent. This led to a friction with the ''regenten'', the wealthy merchant class, who were mainly based in Amsterdam. They saw the central position of the

House of Orange-Nassau The House of Orange-Nassau (Dutch: ''Huis van Oranje-Nassau'', ) is the current reigning house of the Netherlands. A branch of the European House of Nassau, the house has played a central role in the politics and government of the Netherlands ...

in Dutch politics as a threat to their own power. The infighting between the regents and the Orangists was one of the causes of the downturn of the Netherlands as a global economic and military power throughout the 18th century. In the 1780s, the tensions came to a head in the

Batavian Revolution The Batavian Revolution ( nl, De Bataafse Revolutie) was a time of political, social and cultural turmoil at the end of the 18th century that marked the end of the Dutch Republic and saw the proclamation of the Batavian Republic. The period of ...

, a struggle between republican Patriots and royalist Orangists. The Patriots, aided by French troops, eventually managed to drive stadtholder William V out of the country in late 1794. A few weeks later, on January 19, 1795, the

was proclaimed. The '' Nationale Vergadering'' (National Assembly) subsequently went through two years of discussions. On May 10, 1797, a final draft constitution was formed. The constitution was a compromise between two groups: those who felt that the ''gewesten'' (regions) in the Republic should maintain their historic autonomy, and those who felt that the Republic should become a unitary state.

Results

Aftermath

The draft constitution had been rejected by almost eighty percent, which meant that a new Constitution would have to be drafted. In the elections for the National Assembly a few months later, the supporters of a unitary state won the majority, but the supporters of a federal state retained the majority in the constitutional commission. Meanwhile, in France, the radicals led by Pierre Augereau had seized power. With French help, the radical unitarists staged a coup d'état in January 1798. A new constitution, establishing a unitary republic, was quickly adopted in the National Assembly. This draft constitution was approved in a referendum on April 23, 1798.

References

{{Dutch general elections

1797 Events January–March * January 3 – The Treaty of Tripoli, a peace treaty between the United States and Ottoman Tripolitania, is signed at Algiers (''see also'' 1796). * January 7 – The parliament of the Cisalpine Re ...

1797 referendums Constitutional referendum Constitutional referendums