The National Congress (french: Congrès national, nl, Nationaal Congres) was a temporary legislative assembly in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, convened in 1830 in the aftermath of the

Belgian Revolution The Belgian Revolution (, ) was the conflict which led to the secession of the southern provinces (mainly the former Southern Netherlands) from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium. T ...

. Its purpose was to devise a national constitution for the new state, whose independence had been proclaimed on 4 October 1830 by the self-declared

Provisional Government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or f ...

History

The National Congress was elected by approximately 30,000 voters on 3 November 1830 and consisted of 200 members. Its president was Baron

Erasme Louis Surlet de Chokier Érasme-Louis, Baron Surlet de Chokier (27 November 1769 – 7 August 1839), born in Liège, was a Belgian politician and, before the accession of Leopold I to the Belgian throne, was the first Regent of Belgium. During the Liège Revolution ...

. The assembly chose a

constitutional A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princip ...

popular monarchy Popular monarchy is a term used by Kingsley Martin (1936) for monarchical titles referring to a people rather than a territory. This was the norm in classical antiquity and throughout much of the Middle Ages, and such titles were retained in some ...

as the form of government for Belgium and chose the son of the French King

Louis-Philippe Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary Wa ...

, Louis, Duke of Nemours, as the new head of state. Other candidates included Auguste de Beauharnais and

Archduke Charles of Austria Archduke Charles Louis John Joseph Laurentius of Austria, Duke of Teschen (german: link=no, Erzherzog Karl Ludwig Johann Josef Lorenz von Österreich, Herzog von Teschen; 5 September 177130 April 1847) was an Austrian field-marshal, the third s ...

, younger brother of

Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor Francis II (german: Franz II.; 12 February 1768 – 2 March 1835) was the last Holy Roman Emperor (from 1792 to 1806) and the founder and Emperor of the Austrian Empire, from 1804 to 1835. He assumed the title of Emperor of Austria in response ...

and the last

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

of the

Austrian Netherlands The Austrian Netherlands nl, Oostenrijkse Nederlanden; french: Pays-Bas Autrichiens; german: Österreichische Niederlande; la, Belgium Austriacum. was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The p ...

. The choice of Louis of Nemours, was unacceptable to the government of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and another candidate had to be found. Surlet de Chokier was appointed

Regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

while awaiting a new decision and was replaced as president of the National Congress by Etienne Constantin, Baron de Gerlache. Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was definitively chosen to become the first

King of the Belgians Belgium is a constitutional, hereditary, and popular monarchy. The monarch is titled king or queen of the Belgians ( nl, Koning(in) der Belgen, french: Roi / Reine des Belges}, german: König(in) der Belgier) and serves as the country's h ...

. The National Congress appointed him king on 4 June and six weeks later he was sworn in by swearing allegiance to the Belgian Constitution in front of the Church of St. James on Coudenberg in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. This day (21 July) has since been

Belgian National Day Belgian National Day ( nl, Nationale feestdag van België; french: Fête nationale belge; german: Belgischer Nationalfeiertag) is the national holiday of Belgium commemorated annually on 21 July. It is one of the country's ten public holidays a ...

. The Constitution of 1831, which was very progressive for its time, was accepted on 7 February 1831. The Provisional Government was subsequently dismantled. The National Congress itself remained in place until the official elections of a first Parliament on 29 August 1831. A monument in Brussels, the

Congress Column The Congress Column (french: Colonne du Congrès, nl, Congreskolom) is a monumental column in Brussels, Belgium, commemorating the creation of the Belgian Constitution by the National Congress of 1830–31. Inspired by Trajan's Column in Rome ...

, was erected in its honour. On the base of the Congress Column, there are four

allegorical As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory t ...

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

female sculptures that represent the four constitutional liberties enshrined in the Constitution of 1831:

Freedom of the Press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic News media, media, especially publication, published materials, should be conside ...

Worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. It may involve one or more of activities such as veneration, adoration, praise, and praying. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recognition ...

Association Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

and

Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

. These four constitutional liberties are also reflected in the streets of Brussels, especially in the Freedom Quarter. There are four streets that lead to the / ("Liberty Square"): the / ("Worship Street"), the / ("Association Street"), the / ("Education Street") and the / ("Press Street").

Membership

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:National Congress Of Belgium Belgian Revolution Historical legislatures in Belgium

1830 establishments in Belgium 1831 disestablishments in Belgium Defunct unicameral legislatures 1830 conferences 1831 conferences

History

Membership

See also

References