Orangism was a political current in what is now

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 ...

that supported its inclusion in the short-lived

United Kingdom of the Netherlands The United Kingdom of the Netherlands ( nl, Verenigd Koninkrijk der Nederlanden; french: Royaume uni des Pays-Bas) is the unofficial name given to the Kingdom of the Netherlands as it existed between 1815 and 1839. The United Netherlands was cr ...

(1815–1830). After the secession of Belgium in 1830, Orangist sentiment in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

and

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—al ...

for a time sought a restoration of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was a movement directed by

William I of the Netherlands William I (Willem Frederik, Prince of Orange-Nassau; 24 August 1772 – 12 December 1843) was a Prince of Orange, the King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg. He was the son of the last Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, who went ...

as part of his ''"Volhardingspolitiek"'' and containing most of the Belgian elites (including members of the nobility and industrialists). Some of the most prominent Flemish Orangists were Jan Frans Willems and Hippolyte Metdepenningen. Although refusing to participate in parliamentary elections, as they deemed Belgian national institutions to be illegitimate, the Orangists did take part in local elections at the provincial and municipal levels, from which they militated against the new Belgian state through political actions and an activist press. At least three Orangist coups were foiled during the 1830s. Although losing Dutch financial and political support after the Treaty of London (1839) and William I's abdication (1840), the weakening Belgian Orangism survived well into the 1850s, strongly opposing 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 ...

and rallying against independence. It was one inspiration for the later Greater Netherlands movement, although that movement was not all monarchist. __NOTOC__

Known Belgian Orangists

Present day

Louis Tobback Louis Marie Joseph Tobback (born 3 May 1938) is a Belgian politician. Tobback is a Flemish social democrat and member of the political party SP.A. He was the mayor of Leuven (1995–2018) He graduated in Romance philology at the Vrije Universit ...

(Socialist politician) * Siegfried Bracke (Flemish nationalist politician, former journalist) * (Historian, professor, former governor of

East Flanders , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of Oost-Vlaanderen.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van O ...

) *

Geert van Istendael Geert van Istendael (born 29 March 1947) is the pseudonym of ''Geert Maria Mauritius Julianus Vanistendael'', a Belgian writer, poet and essayist. He studied sociology and philosophy at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. From 1987 until 1993, he ...

(Writer, poet, essayist) * (Socialist politician, former mayor of

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

)

References

External links

Official House of Orange website
House of Nassau Political theories History of Flanders Monarchism in Belgium {{Belgium-stub

Known Belgian Orangists

Present day

See also

References

External links