Unionism in Belgium
Encyclopedia
In the politics of Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

, Unionism or Union of Opposites (union des oppositions) is a Belgian political movement which existed from the 1820s to 1846. In the present day, the term 'unionists' is sometimes used in a Belgian context to describe those who oppose the partition of Belgium
Partition of Belgium
The partition of Belgium, or the dissolution of the Belgian state through the separation of the Dutch-speaking people of the Flanders region and Brussels from the French-speaking people of the Walloon region and Brussels, granting them either independence or respective accession to the Netherlands...

, such as members of the Belgische Unie – Union Belge party.

History

It existed before and after the Belgian Revolution
Belgian Revolution
The Belgian Revolution was the conflict which led to the secession of the Southern provinces from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and established an independent Kingdom of Belgium....

 of 1830 and advocated the union of Roman Catholics and liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...

s against the policies of William I of the Netherlands
William I of the Netherlands
William I Frederick, born Willem Frederik Prins van Oranje-Nassau , was a Prince of Orange and the first King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg....

. The new nation's motto, L'Union fait la force or unity makes strength
Unity makes strength
"Unity makes strength" is the national motto of Belgium, later also taken on by Bulgaria and Haiti.-Netherlands:The motto is first recorded as the motto for the area that would become Dutch Republic in the Gemeene Duytsche Spreekwoorden in 1550, whilst the area was still within the Spanish Empire...

, referred to this union rather than to the union of the country's different linguistic communities.

The liberals were initially quite favourable towards the lay policy of William's enlightened absolutism
Enlightened absolutism
Enlightened absolutism is a form of absolute monarchy or despotism in which rulers were influenced by the Enlightenment. Enlightened monarchs embraced the principles of the Enlightenment, especially its emphasis upon rationality, and applied them to their territories...

 but more and more they changed their attitude, giving less and less importance to their struggle against church influence and more and more importance to political liberties, which William I was obstinately refusing to grant. Those following this new trend were known as 'radical liberals', as opposed to the 'Voltairian
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...

 liberals' (libéraux voltairiens) who supported the englightened absolutist regime and gave rise to Orangism
Orangism (Belgium)
Orangism was a political current in what is now Belgium that supported its inclusion in the short-lived United Kingdom of the Netherlands . After the secession of Belgium in 1830, Orangist sentiment in Flanders for a time sought a restoration of the United Kingdom. Some of the most prominent...

.

This evolution enabled the 'radical liberals' to make a compromise with the Catholics, who were ready to make certain concessions as to the freedom of the press
Freedom of the press
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the freedom of communication and expression through vehicles including various electronic media and published materials...

 and freedom of religion
Freedom of religion
Freedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any...

 in return. From 1825, Étienne de Gerlache made a failed attempt at a compromise and reconciliation. At the end of 1827, in Liège
Liège
Liège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the economic capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium....

, the Catholic newspaper le Courrier de la Meuse and the liberal newspaper Mathieu Laensbergh underwent a rapprochement. The union was decisively concluded on 8 November 1828 when the liberal Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

 newspaper le Courrier des Pays-Bas rallied to this policy in an article by Louis De Potter.

In the years following the Belgian Revolution
Belgian Revolution
The Belgian Revolution was the conflict which led to the secession of the Southern provinces from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and established an independent Kingdom of Belgium....

, and after the exclusion of the radical democrats and the republicans (including De Potter), the unionist policy was imposed as a necessity in continuing Belgium's independence. Belgium's first cabinets were thus 'unionist', allying the conservative nobility with moderate elements from the rising liberal middle class. This formula allowed the structures of the new state to be consolidated, stable political and judicial institutions to be put in place and accords on centralization, the cities' and provinces' roles and primary education to be signed.

However, dissension between Catholics and liberals became increasingly strong, on questions such as the clergy's role in civil society or the state taking over responsibility for education and public welfare. Unionism was finally ended by the foundation of the Liberal Party
Liberal Party (Belgium)
The Liberal Party was a Belgian political party that existed from 1846 until 1961, when it became the Party for Freedom and Progress, Partij voor Vrijheid en Vooruitgang/Parti de la Liberté et du Progrès or PVV-PLP, under the leadership of Omer Vanaudenhove.-History:The Liberal Party was founded...

 in 1846 and the first Liberal Party government the following year. The Catholic party would gradually be created in response and Belgium was ruled by single-party governments from one or other of these two parties until the socialist movement
Belgian Socialist Party
The Belgian Socialist Party was a democratic socialist party which existed in Belgium from 1945 to 1978.The BSP was founded by activists from the Belgian Labour Party , which was the first Belgian socialist party. It ceased to function during the Second World War, while Belgium was under Nazi...

 arose and reached power thanks to the institution of universal suffrage
Universal suffrage
Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and non-citizens...

 in 1948.

Belgian Unionists

  • Joseph Lebeau
    Joseph Lebeau
    Jean Louis Joseph Lebeau was a Belgian liberal politician and statesman, the second Prime Minister.-Biography:...

  • Pierre de Decker
    Pierre de Decker
    Pierre Jacques François de Decker was a Belgian Roman Catholic politician, statesman and author....

  • Louis De Potter
  • Étienne de Sauvage
    Étienne de Sauvage
    Étienne de Sauvage was a liberal Belgian politician and early supporter of unionism.-Life:In 1829 he was vice president of the Association constitutionnelle. In September 1830 he became a member of the commission of public safety of Liège, then governor of the province of Liège...

  • Félix de Muelenaere
    Felix de Muelenaere
    Felix Amandus, Count de Muelenaere was a Belgian Roman Catholic politician.Born in Pittem, he was a lawyer in Bruges and was from 1824 until 1829 member of the Second Chamber of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands for the province of West Flanders...

  • Étienne de Gerlache
  • Goswin de Stassart
    Goswin de Stassart
    Goswin Joseph Augustin, Baron de Stassart was a Dutch-Belgian politician.Stassart studied accounting and economics in Paris. In 1804 he became Auditor in the French State Council, in 1805 he became Intendant in Tirol, and in 1807 he served in the French army in Prussia...

  • Barthélémy de Theux de Meylandt
  • Paul Devaux
    Paul Devaux
    Paul Devaux was a liberal Belgian politician, deeply involved in the unionist movement.-Life:...

  • Jean-Baptiste Nothomb
    Jean-Baptiste Nothomb
    Jean Baptiste, Baron Nothomb was a Belgian statesman and diplomat, the sixth Prime Minister.-Revolution:...

  • Léopold I of Belgium
    Leopold I of Belgium
    Leopold I was from 21 July 1831 the first King of the Belgians, following Belgium's independence from the Netherlands. He was the founder of the Belgian line of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha...

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