William I of the Netherlands

William I of the Netherlands (born Willem Frederik; August 24, 1772, The Hague, Netherlands - December 12, 1843, Berlin) was the First King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg between 1815 (year of his accession to the throne) and 1840 (year of his abdication). He was also Prince of Orange, Duke of Nassau-Dietz and of Fulda from 1806 until his death. He was Stadtholder of the United Provinces, under the name of William VI , during the years 1813 and 1815.

He was born Willem Federick in The Hague, Netherlands, in 1772, the son of William V of Orang-Nassau and his consort, Frederica Wilhelmina of Prussia. On his paternal line, he was the grandson of Princess Anne of Hanover, daughter of George II of Great Britain.

Biography

King William I's parents were the last stadtholders of the Netherlands, William V of Orange-Nassau and his wife Princess Wilhelmina of Prussia. Until 1813 William was known as Prince William VI of Orange. In 1791 William married his cousin Wilhelmina (1774-1837), born in Potsdam. His wife was the daughter of King Frederick William II of Prussia. After Wilhelmina died in 1837, William remarried Countess Henriette d'Oultremont de Wegimont in 1841 in Berlin. Two years later, Guillermo died in that city.

William V was the hereditary stadtholder of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands until the country was invaded by the revolutionary armies of France, whereupon he fled with his son to England. Unlike his father – who gave his people permission to collaborate with the French – William had a strong personality and tried to reclaim the Republic.

In 1799 William landed in what is now North Holland. The local Dutch population was not very happy with the arrival of the prince. Some supporters of the House of Orange-Nassau were even executed. After a series of minor skirmishes he was forced to leave the country again. Napoleon Bonaparte decided to cede him some small German principalities, in compensation for his lost territories. However, these principalities were confiscated from him when Napoleonic armies invaded the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 and William decided to support his Prussian relatives against Napoleon. That same year, after the death of his father, William V, he succeeded as Prince of Orange.

Statue of William I, King of the Netherlands, located in Apeldoorn. Lifted in 1913 and sculpted by Pieter Puype.

After Napoleon's defeat at the Battle of Leipzig (October 1813), the French armies withdrew from the territory of the Netherlands. A provisional government was formed, formed under the leadership of some of the so-called "Patriots", who called for the return of William, in contrast to his rebellion of 1795. From his point of view, it was taken for granted that the other European countries would accept Prince William's leadership in the new order, and would be positive in restoring Dutch unity and international ties. As for the Dutch population, they were generally satisfied with the withdrawal of the French, who had ruined the country's economy, and the prince's return was welcomed.

On November 30, 1813, Prince William landed on the beach at Scheveningen, just a few yards from where he had left the country with his father eighteen years earlier, and on December 6 the provisional government offered him the title of king, which Guillermo rejected, proclaiming himself "sovereign prince". He also accepted that the rights of the people were guaranteed by "a reasonable constitution."

In fact, the new constitution gave Prince William extensive (almost absolute) powers. Government ministers were responsible only to him, and parliament (divided into two chambers) exercised only limited power. He was crowned sovereign prince in the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) in Amsterdam. In 1814 he obtained sovereignty over the entire territory of the Netherlands, including the United Provinces and the territory of present-day Belgium.

Feeling threatened by the escape of Napoleon Bonaparte from his confinement on the island of Elba, William proclaimed himself king of the "United Kingdom of the Netherlands" on March 16, 1815, with the support of the countries gathered in the Congress of Vienna. His son, the future William II, fought as a commander at the Battle of Waterloo, which ended in defeat for the French armies. After the victory, King William I adopted a new constitution, which adopted most of what was established in the previous one, but also increased his powers.

Main changes

The Estates General of the Netherlands was divided into two chambers. The Eerste Kamer (First Chamber/Senate/House of Lords) was appointed by the king. The Tweede Kamer (Second Chamber/House of Representatives/House of Commons) was elected by the Provincial States, which in turn were elected by census suffrage. The 110 seats were divided equally between the North and the South (present-day Belgium) of the Netherlands, although at the time of the reform the population of the North (2 million inhabitants) was significantly smaller than that of the South (3, 5 million inhabitants). The main function of the States General was to approve the laws and decrees of the king. Many of the current Dutch political institutions appeared in the constitution, although their functions and composition have changed enormously since then.

The constitution was accepted in the North, but not in the South. The unequal representation of the South was one of the causes that would cause the outbreak of the Revolution in Belgium in 1830. In the southern provinces, electoral participation for the constitution was low, but Guillermo interpreted that abstention was an affirmative vote. He arranged a celebration in Brussels, where he handed out copper coins among the people (which gave him his first nickname, "The Copper King").

King William I directed government policy toward economic progress. He founded many commercial institutions (his second nickname for him was "The Merchant King"). In 1822 he founded the “Algemeene Nederlandsche Maatschappij ter Begunstiging van de Volksvlijt”, which would become one of the most important economic institutions in Belgium after its independence (Société Générale de Belgique / General Society of Belgium). The industry flourished in the country, especially in the South. In 1817 he also founded three universities in the southern provinces, such as the new Catholic University of Louvain, the University of Ghent, and the University of Liège. At the same time, the northern provinces of the country became an important commercial center. Combined with colonies in the East Indies (present-day Indonesia), Suriname, and the Netherlands Antilles, they fostered increased prosperity and wealth in the kingdom. However, most of the profits went to the Dutch. By comparison, few Belgians managed to benefit from economic growth. This feeling of inequality and discrimination would be another cause of the discontent of the Belgians.

Officially, in the Kingdom of the Netherlands there was a separation between Church and State. However, William himself was a strong supporter of the Dutch Reformed Church, which aroused further resentment in the predominantly Catholic south. Aside from religious differences, William I created cultural and linguistic controversy by imposing Dutch as the official language of the Flanders region, angering French-speaking aristocrats and workers. All public schools in the kingdom were required to instruct students in the Reformed religion and in the Dutch language. Many of the inhabitants of the South feared that the king would try to eliminate Catholicism and the French language.

The Belgian Revolution

In August 1830, the opera La Muette de Portici premiered in Brussels, whose performances were the trigger that set off Belgian nationalist sentiment and “Hollandophobia”, which spread throughout Belgium. Several riots took place, mainly directed against the unpopular minister of justice of the kingdom, who lived in Brussels. Enraged, Guillermo I reacted by sending troops to suppress the rebels. However, the riots not only did not stop, but also spread to other Belgian cities, which felt the need to defend their identity, urged on by Belgian nationalist politicians. Soon the independent State of Belgium was proclaimed.

The following year, King William I sent his sons to Belgium to suppress the rebellion. Although initially victorious, the Dutch army was forced to withdraw after the threat of French intervention. A Belgian minority maintained their support for the House of Orange-Nassau (especially the Flemings) for years, but the Dutch never managed to regain control of Belgium. Refusing to accept defeat, the king continued the war against the new country for eight years. His economic successes were partly offset by his stubbornness in sustaining the military effort. The cost of the war became a heavy burden on the Dutch economy, creating strong public unrest. Finally, in 1839, the king was forced to stop the war. The United Kingdom of the Netherlands was dissolved and renamed simply the “Kingdom of the Netherlands”.

Constitutional Changes and Abdication

In 1840 constitutional changes began because the terms referring to the United Kingdom of the Netherlands had to be withdrawn. Among the constitutional changes was the introduction of the judicial responsibility of ministers. Although the parliament maintained a power similar to the previous situation, the government was more controllable. However, the conservative character of the king could not bear these constitutional changes, which together with the refusal to accept the loss of Belgium and the monarch's intention to remarry Henriette d'Oultremont (which scandalized Belgians and Catholics) they finally led to his abdication, which occurred on October 7, 1840. His eldest son acceded to the throne as William II of the Netherlands. The former monarch moved to the city of Berlin, where he died three years later in the company of his wife Henriette.

Offspring

With his first wife, Queen Wilhelmina, King William I had four children:

• Prince William of the Netherlands (Willem Frederik George Lodewijk) (1792-1849). He reigned as William II between 1840-1849 and married the Grand Duchess Ana Pavlovna of Russia.
• Prince Frederick of the Netherlands (Willem Frederik Karel) (1791-1881). He married Princess Luisa of Prussia (1808-1870).
• Princess Pauline of the Netherlands (Wilhelmina Frederika Louise) Pauline Charlotte) (1800-1806).
• Princess Mariana of the Netherlands (Wilhelmina Frederika Louise Charlotte Marianne(1810-1883). He married Prince Albert of Prussia.

Predecessor: Guillermo V Bátavo	Prince of Orange 1806 - 1815	Successor: Guillermo VII
Predecessor: Title created (Luis II as King of the Netherlands)	Sovereign Prince of the Netherlands 1813 - 1815	Successor: He himself as a monarch
Predecessor: Himself as sovereign prince	King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg 1815 - 1840	Successor: William II
Predecessor: Guillermo V Bátavo	Prince of Orange-Nassau 1806	Successor: Post abolished (incorporated to Nassau)
Predecessor: Replacement (part of Nassau)	Prince of Orange-Nassau 1813 - 1815	Successor: Post abolished (reincorporated to Nassau)
Predecessor: Cargo created	Prince of Orange-Nassau-Fulda 1803 - 1806	Successor: Post abolished