The Vonckists ( nl, Vonckisten) were a political faction during the

Brabant Revolution The Brabant Revolution or Brabantine Revolution (french: Révolution brabançonne, nl, Brabantse Omwenteling), sometimes referred to as the Belgian Revolution of 1789–1790 in older writing, was an armed insurrection that occurred in the Austr ...

led by

Jan Frans Vonck Johannes Franciscus Vonck, also known by the Francization Jean-François Vonck or the Netherlandization Jan-Frans Vonck, (29 November 1743 – 1 December 1792) was a lawyer and one of the leaders of the Brabant Revolution from 1789–1790. This R ...

, opposed to the more conservative " Statists".

History

The group emerged from the secret society ''

Pro aris et focis ''Pro aris et focis'' ("for hearth and home") and ''Pro Deo et patria'' ("for God and country") are two Latin phrases used as the motto of many families, military regiments and educational institutions. ''Pro aris et focis'' literally translates " ...

'' in the 1780s, and by 1789 had become a distinct faction. The Vonckists called for a popular government along the model seen during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

. After the proclamation of the

United Belgian States The United Belgian States ( nl, Verenigde Nederlandse Staten or '; french: États-Belgiques-Unis; lat, Foederatum Belgium), also known as the United States of Belgium, was a short-lived confederal republic in the Southern Netherlands (modern-da ...

in January 1790, the Vonckists were denounced as anticlerical by the Statists and many were hunted down by mobs in what was known as the "Summer Terror". Jan Frans Vonck was forced into exile in France.

References

{{reflist United Belgian States Liberalism in Belgium Republicanism in Belgium