The Order of the Union ( nl, Orde van de Unie) was a chivalric order established in 1806 by

Louis Bonaparte Louis Napoléon Bonaparte (born Luigi Buonaparte; 2 September 1778 – 25 July 1846) was a younger brother of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French. He was a monarch in his own right from 1806 to 1810, ruling over the Kingdom of Holland (a French cl ...

, younger brother of

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

, for the

Kingdom of Holland The Kingdom of Holland ( nl, Holland (contemporary), (modern); french: Royaume de Hollande) was created by Napoleon Bonaparte, overthrowing the Batavian Republic in March 1806 in order to better control the Netherlands. Since becoming Emperor ...

. The order was abolished in 1811 when the French Empire absorbed the Kingdom of Holland. It was succeeded by the

Order of the Reunion The Order of the Reunion (french: link=no, Ordre de la Réunion) was an order of merit of the First French Empire, set up to be awarded to Frenchmen and foreigners to reward services in the civil service, magistracy and army, particularly those fro ...

Variants

Louis Napoleon was highly active despite the short length of his reign and so there were six variants of the order, though these all had more or less the same form, rules and decorations and the different names were all for more or less the same order – the orders have been described by authors such as Mr. , , George Sanders, and as an organic whole. These variants were: * Order of the Union (12 December 1806 – 13 February 1807) * Royal Order of Merit (12 December 1806 – 13 February 1807) * Royal Order of Holland (13 February 1807 – 23 November 1807) * Royal Order of the Union (23 November 1807 – 6 February 1808) * Royal Order of the Union of Holland (so-named in the decree of 6 February 1808) * Royal Order of the Union (6 February 1808 – 1 April 1811?) The Order of the Union (1806–1807) and the Royal Order of Merit (1806–1807) merged to become the Royal Order of Holland (1807). This new order became the Royal Order of the Union (1807–1808), also known as the Royal Order of the Union of Holland (1808) and finally the Royal Order of the Union (1808). The order's chaotic history has led some to argue that the Royal Order of Holland broke up in 1807. Other authors such as Schutte, Van Zelm van Eldik and George Sanders emphasize its continuity. They write that the order established in 1806 died out at the same time as the Kingdom of Holland. The continuity is reflected in a letter or circular in French in which Grand Chancellor

Maarten van der Goes van Dirxland Maarten, Baron van der Goes van Dirxland (3 January 1751, The Hague - 10 July 1826, The Hague) was a Dutch politician who served as government minister. He was a moderate within the Patriots faction that came to govern the Batavian Republic. His ...

explains that all these orders all actually made up one order and that "the Knights of the Royal order of Holland can also bear the name of Knights of the union. Union is the aim and foundation of the order. This article must be inserted into the order's statutes. Perhaps it would be convenient to make it the first one?".

History

Louis was made king of the new

on 6 June 1806. Like the other Bonapartes, he wanted to add the luster of pomp and knighthood to his reign. Until 1806 the Netherlands had always been a republic and so had no pre-existing system of orders so, on 24 August 1806, Louis wrote to Napoleon (then in

Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...

Appointments

Adipati Soero Adinegoro Adipati Soero Adinegoro (1752–1833), also spelt Adipati Suroadinegoro, born Han Sam Kong (), and sometimes known as Baba Sam, was a Chinese-Javanese nobleman and government official, famous during his lifetime for the good governance of his te ...

, appointed ''Ridder'' (Knight) in 1808: a Chinese-Javanese nobleman, government official. * : a Dutch politician and government minister during the reign of

King of Holland The monarchy of the Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy. As such, the role and position of the monarch are governed by the Constitution of the Netherlands. Consequently, a large portion of it is devoted to the monarch. Roughly a third of ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Order Of The Union Union, Order of the Awards established in 1806 Kingdom of Holland