Born as the son ofWilliam V, Prince of Orange, the last stadtholder of theDutch Republic, andWilhelmina of Prussia, William experienced significant political upheavals early in life. He fought against the French invasion during theFlanders campaign, and after the Batavian Revolution in 1795, his family went into exile. He briefly ruled the Principality of Nassau-Orange-Fulda before Napoleon's French troops' occupation forced him out of power. Following the defeat of Napoleon in 1814, William was invited back to the Netherlands, where he proclaimed himself Sovereign Prince of the United Netherlands.
In 1815, William raised the Netherlands to a kingdom and concurrently became the grand duke of Luxembourg. His reign saw the adoption of a new constitution, which granted him extensive powers. He was a strong proponent of economic development, founding several universities and promoting trade. However, his efforts to impose the Reformed faith and the Dutch language in the mostly Catholic and partly French-speaking southern provinces, combined with economic grievances, sparked theBelgian Revolution in 1830. Unable to suppress the rebellion, William ultimately accepted Belgian independence in 1839 under theTreaty of London.
William's later years were marked by dissatisfaction with constitutional changes and personal reasons, leading to his abdication in 1840 in favor of his son, KingWilliam II. He spent his final years in Berlin, where he died in 1843.
William proclaimed himself king of the Netherlands in 1815. In the same year, he concluded a treaty with KingFrederick William III in which he ceded the Orange-Nassau to Prussia in exchange for becoming the new grand duke of Luxembourg. As king, he adopted a new constitution, presided over strong economic and industrial progress, promoted trade and founded the universities ofLeuven,Ghent andLiège. The imposition of theReformed faith and the Dutch language, as well as feelings of economic inequity, caused widespread resentment in the southern provinces and led to the outbreak of theBelgian Revolution in 1830. William failed to crush the rebellion and in 1839 he accepted the independence of Belgium in accordance with theTreaty of London.
William's disapproval of changes to the constitution, the loss of Belgium and his intention to marryHenrietta d'Oultremont, a Roman Catholic, led to his decision to abdicate in 1840. His eldest son acceded to the throne as KingWilliam II. William died in 1843 in Berlin at the age of 71.
As eldest son of theWilliam V, Prince of Orange, William was informally referred to asErfprins[c] (Hereditary Prince) by contemporaries from his birth until the death of his father in 1806 to distinguish him from William V.
Like his younger brotherPrince Frederick of Orange-Nassau he was tutored by the Swiss mathematicianLeonhard Euler and the Dutch historianHerman Tollius. They were both tutored in the military arts by GeneralFrederick Stamford. After thePatriot revolt had been suppressed in 1787, he in 1788–89 attended the military academy inBrunswick which was considered an excellent military school, together with his brother. In 1790 he visited a number of foreign courts like the one inNassau and thePrussian capital Berlin, where he first met his future wife.[1]: 100
After theNational Convention of theFrench Republic had declared war on the Dutch Republic in February 1793, William was appointed commander-in-chief of theveldleger (mobile army) of the States Army (his father remained the nominal head of the armed forces).[1]: 157 As such he commanded the troops that took part in theFlanders Campaign of 1793–95. He took part in the Battles ofVeurne andMenin (where his brother was wounded) in 1793, and commanded during theSiege of Landrecies (1794), whose fortress surrendered to him. In May 1794 he had replaced generalKaunitz as commander of the combined Austro-Dutch forces on the instigation of EmperorFrancis II who apparently had a high opinion of him.[1]: 270 William was victorious at the Battles ofGosselies andLambusart and proved to be an able commander, but the French armies ultimately proved too strong, and the general allied leadership too inept. Despite a well-executed attack by William on the French left, the allied army underCoburg was finally defeated at theBattle of Fleurus. The French first entered DutchBrabant which they dominated after theBattle of Boxtel. When in the winter of 1794–95 the rivers in theRhine delta froze over, the French breached the southernHollandic Water Line and the situation became militarily untenable. In many places Dutch revolutionaries took over the local government. After theBatavian Revolution in Amsterdam on 18 January 1795 the stadtholder decided to flee to England, and his sons accompanied him. (On this last day in Holland his father relieved William honorably of his commands). The next day theBatavian Republic was proclaimed.[1]: 341–365, 374–404, 412
Soon after the departure to England the hereditary prince went back to the continent, where his brother was assembling former members of the States Army inOsnabrück for a planned invasion into the Batavian Republic in the summer of 1795. However, the neutral Prussian government forbade this.[2]: 231–235
In 1799, William landed in modern-dayNorth Holland as part of theAnglo-Russian invasion of Holland. He was instrumental in fomenting a mutiny among the crews of aBatavian Navy squadron under Rear-AdmiralSamuel Story, resulting in the squadronsurrendering without a fight to theRoyal Navy, which accepted the surrender in the name of the stadtholder. Not all the local Dutch population, however, was pleased with the arrival of the prince. One localOrangist was even executed.[d] The hoped-for popular uprising failed to materialise. After several minor battles the hereditary prince was forced to leave the country again after theConvention of Alkmaar. The mutineers of the Batavian fleet, with their ships, and a large number of deserters from the Batavian army accompanied the retreating British troops to Britain. There William formed theKing's Dutch Brigade with these troops, a military unit in British service, that swore oaths of allegiance to the British king, but also to the States General, defunct since 1795, "whenever those would be reconstituted."[e] This brigade trained on theIsle of Wight in 1800 and was stationed in Ireland for a time.[3]: 241–265
Whenpeace was concluded betweenBritain and the French Republic underFirst ConsulNapoleon Bonaparte the Orange exiles were at their nadir. The Dutch Brigade was dissolved on 12 July 1802. Many members of the brigade went home to the Batavian Republic, thanks to an amnesty. The surrendered ships of the Batavian Navy were not returned, due to an agreement between the stadtholder and the British government of 11 March 1800.[3]: 329–330 Instead the stadtholder was allowed to sell them to the Royal Navy for an appreciable sum.[4]
The stadtholder, feeling discontented with the British, left for Germany. The hereditary prince, having a more flexible mind, went to visit Napoleon atSt. Cloud in 1802. He apparently charmed the First Consul, and was charmed by him. Napoleon raised hopes for William that he might have an important role in a reformed Batavian Republic. Meanwhile, William's brother-in-lawFrederick William III of Prussia, neutral at the time, promoted a Franco-Prussian convention of 23 May 1802, in addition to theTreaty of Amiens, that gave theHouse of Orange a fewabbatial domains in Germany, that were combined to thePrincipality of Nassau-Orange-Fulda by way of indemnification for its losses in the Batavian Republic. The stadtholder gave this principality immediately to his son.[2]: 452
William Frederick, Prince of Orange inc. 1805–1810
Whenwar broke out between theFrench Empire and Prussia in 1806, William supported his Prussian relatives, though he was nominally a French vassal. He received command of a Prussian division which took part in theBattle of Jena–Auerstedt. The Prussians lost that battle and William was forced to surrender his troops rather ignominiously atErfurt the day after the battle. He was made a prisoner of war, but wasparoled soon. Napoleon punished him for his betrayal, however, by taking away his principality. As a parolee, William was not allowed to take part in the hostilities anymore. After thePeace of Tilsit William received a pension from France in compensation.[3]: 454–469, 471, 501
In the same year, 1806, his father, the Prince of Orange died, and William not only inherited the title, but also his father's claims on the inheritance embodied in the Nassau lands. This would become important a few years later, when developments in Germany coincided to make William theFürst (Prince) of a diverse assembly of Nassau lands that had belonged to other branches of theHouse of Nassau.
But before this came about, in 1809 tensions betweenAustria and France became intense, resulting in theWar of the Fifth Coalition. William did not hesitate to join theAustrian army as aFeldmarschalleutnant (major-general) in May 1809[3]: 516 As a member of the staff of the Austrian supreme commander, ArchdukeCharles he took part in theBattle of Wagram, where he was wounded in the leg.[3]: 520–523
TsarAlexander I of Russia played a central role in the restoration of the Netherlands. Prince William VI (as he was now known), who had been living in exile in Prussia, met with Alexander I in March 1813. Alexander promised to support William and help restore an independent Netherlands with William as king. Russian troops in the Netherlands participated with their Prussian allies in restoring the dynasty. Dynastic considerations of marriage between the royal houses of Great Britain and the Netherlands, assured British approval.
Landing of William inScheveningen on 30 November 1813Inauguration of William as sovereign Prince of the Netherlands inAmsterdam on 30 March 1814
After Napoleon's defeat atLeipzig (October 1813), the French troops retreated to France from all over Europe. The Netherlands had been annexed to the French Empire by Napoleon in 1810. But now city after city was evacuated by the French occupation troops. In the ensuing power vacuum a number of former Orangist politicians and former Patriots formed a provisional government in November 1813. Although a large number of the members of the provisional government had helped drive out William V 18 years earlier, it was taken for granted that his son would have to head any new government. They also agreed it would be better in the long term for the Dutch to restore him themselves, rather than have the Great Powers impose him on the country. The Dutch population were pleased with the departure of the French, who had ruined the Dutch economy, and this time welcomed the prince.[2]: 634–642
After having been invited by theTriumvirate of 1813, on 30 November 1813 William disembarked fromHMS Warrior and landed atScheveningen beach, only a few yards from the place where he had left the country with his father 18 years before, and on 6 December the provisional government offered him the title ofking. William refused, instead proclaiming himself "Sovereign Prince of the Netherlands". He also wanted the rights of the people to be guaranteed by "a wise constitution".[2]: 643
The constitution offered William extensive, nearly absolute powers: ministers were only responsible to him, while a unicameral parliament (theStates General) exercised only limited power. He was inaugurated as sovereign prince in theNew Church inAmsterdam on 30 March 1814. In August 1814, he was appointed Governor-General of the formerAustrian Netherlands and thePrince-Bishopric of Liège (more or less modern-day Belgium) by the Allied Powers who occupied that country, ruling them on behalf of Prussia. He was also madeGrand Duke of Luxembourg, having received that territory in return for trading his hereditary German lands to Prussia and theDuke of Nassau. The Great Powers had already agreed via the secretEight Articles of London to unite theLow Countries into a single kingdom, it was believed that this would help keep France in check. With the de facto addition of the Austrian Netherlands and Luxembourg to his realm, William had fulfilled his family's three-century dream of uniting the Low Countries.
Feeling threatened by Napoleon, who had escaped fromElba, William proclaimed the Netherlands a kingdom on 16 March 1815 at the urging of the powers gathered at theCongress of Vienna. His son, the future kingWilliam II, fought as a commander at theBattle of Waterloo. After Napoleon had been sent into exile, William adopted a new constitution which included many features of its predecessor, including the near-autocratic powers vested in the crown. He was formally confirmed as hereditary ruler of what was known as theUnited Kingdom of the Netherlands at the Congress of Vienna.
TheStates General was divided into two chambers. TheEerste Kamer (First Chamber or Senate or House of Lords) was appointed by the king. TheTweede Kamer (Second Chamber or House of Representatives or House of Commons) was elected by the Provincial States, which were in turn chosen bycensus suffrage. The 110 seats were divided equally between the north and the south, although the population of the north (2 million) was significantly less than that of the south (3.5 million). The States General's primary function was to approve the king's laws and decrees. Theconstitution contained many present-day Dutch political institutions; however, their functions and composition have changed greatly over the years.
The constitution was accepted in the north, but not in the south. The under-representation of the south was one of the causes of the Belgian Revolution. Referendum turnout was low, in the southern provinces, but William interpreted all abstentions to beyes votes. He prepared a lavish inauguration for himself inBrussels, where he gave the people copper coins (leading to his first nickname,the Copper King).
The spearhead of King William's policies was economic progress. As he founded many trade institutions, his second nickname wasthe King-Merchant. In 1822, he founded theAlgemeene Nederlandsche Maatschappij ter Begunstiging van de Volksvlijt, which would become one of the most important institutions of Belgium after its independence. Industry flourished, especially in the South. In 1817, he also founded three universities in the southern provinces, such as a newUniversity of Leuven, theUniversity of Ghent and theUniversity of Liège. The northern provinces, meanwhile, were the centre of trade. This, in combination with the colonies (Dutch East Indies,Surinam,Curaçao and Dependencies, and theDutch Gold Coast) created great wealth for the kingdom. However, the money flowed into the hands of Dutch directors. Only a few Belgians managed to profit from the economic growth. Feelings of economic inequity were another cause of the Belgian uprising.
William was also determined to create a unified people, even though the north and the south had drifted far apart culturally and economically since the south was reconquered by Spain after theAct of Abjuration of 1581. The north was commercial, Protestant and entirely Dutch-speaking; the south was industrial,Roman Catholic and divided between Dutch and French-speakers. To that end, he concluded his family's longtime factional song,Wilhelmus, was no longer suitable for the times. The song referenced the desire of the founder of his house,William the Silent, to be rewarded with a "realm" for fighting against Spain. Having fulfilled his family's quest to unite that "realm," William wanted to show he represented the entire nation, not just a faction. He was also well aware that theWilhelmus had Calvinist connotations, and would not have much appeal in the south. A new song,Wien Neêrlands Bloed (Those With Dutch Blood), won a contest for a new anthem, and remained in place through 1932.
Officially, aseparation of church and state existed in the kingdom. However, William himself was a strong supporter of theReformed Church. This led to resentment among the people in the mostly Catholic south. William had also devised controversial language and school policies. Dutch was imposed as the official language in (the Dutch-speaking region of)Flanders; this angered French-speaking aristocrats and industrial workers. Schools throughout the kingdom were required to instruct students in the Reformed faith and the Dutch language. Many in the south feared that the king sought to extinguish Catholicism and the French language.
In August 1830Daniel Auber's operaLa muette de Portici, about therepression of Neapolitans, was staged in Brussels. Performances of this opera seemed to crystallize a sense of nationalism and "Hollandophobia" in Brussels, and spread to the rest of the south. Rioting ensued, chiefly aimed at the kingdom's unpopular justice minister,Cornelis Felix van Maanen, who lived in Brussels. An infuriated William responded by sending troops to repress the riots. However, the riots had spread to other southern cities. The riots quickly became popular uprisings. An independent state ofBelgium emerged out of the 1830 Revolution.
The next year, William sent his sonsWilliam, the Prince of Orange,[f] and PrinceFrederick to invade the new state. Although initially victorious in thisTen Days' Campaign, theRoyal Netherlands Army was forced to retreat after the threat of Frenchintervention. Some support for theOrange dynasty (chiefly among theFlemish) persisted for years, but the Dutch never regained control over Belgium. William nevertheless continued the war for eight years. His economic successes became overshadowed by a perceived mismanagement of the war effort. High costs of the war came to burden the Dutch economy, fueling public resentment. In 1839, William was forced to end the war. The United Kingdom of the Netherlands was dissolved by theTreaty of London (1839) and the northern part continued as theKingdom of the Netherlands. It was not renamed, however, as the "United-" prefix had never been part of its official name, but rather was retrospectively added by historians for descriptive purposes.
Constitutional changes and abdication in later life
Statue of Willem I of the Netherlands by Pieter Puype (1913) inApeldoorn
Constitutional changes were initiated in 1840 because the terms which involved the United Kingdom of the Netherlands had to be removed.[clarification needed] These constitutional changes also included the introduction of judicialministerial responsibility. Although the policies remained uncontrolled by parliament, the prerogative was controllable now. The very conservative William could not live with these constitutional changes. This, the disappointment about the loss of Belgium, and his intention to marryHenrietta d'Oultremont (paradoxically both "Belgian" andRoman Catholic) made him wish toabdicate. He fulfilled this intent on 7 October 1840 and his eldest son acceded to the throne as KingWilliam II. William I died in 1843 inBerlin at the age of 71.
^The States General were the sovereign power in the defunct Dutch Republic; the troops of the States Army had also sworn loyalty to the States General and not the stadtholder.
^This had become a courtesy title for the Dutch crown prince under the new kingdom.
^James, W. M. (2002).The Naval History of Great Britain: During the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Vol. 2 1797–1799 (reprint ed.). Stackpole books. pp. 309–310.
^Liste der Ritter des Königlich Preußischen Hohen Ordens vom Schwarzen Adler (1851), "Von Seiner Majestät dem Könige Friedrich Wilhelm II. ernannte Ritter"p. 12
^Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogtum Sachsen / Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach (1843), "Großherzogliche Hausorden"p. 8Archived 6 July 2020 at theWayback Machine
Caraway, David Todd (2003).Retreat from Liberalism: William I, Freedom of the Press, Political Asylum, and the Foreign Relations of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, 1814–1818. PhD dissertation, U. of Delaware. 341 pp. Abstract:Dissertation Abstracts International 2003, Vol. 64 Issue 3, p. 1030.
Kossmann, E. H. (1978).The Low Countries 1780–1940. ch. 3–4.
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