1830: The July Revolution and Belgian Independence

The revolutions of 1830 were the first major crack in the Vienna settlement. In July 1830 three days of street fighting in Paris overthrew the conservative Bourbon king Charles X, who had tried to restrict the press and the electorate, and replaced him with the more liberal Louis-Philippe. News from Paris inspired unrest elsewhere.

In August 1830, after a performance in Brussels of an opera about a rebellion, crowds rose against Dutch rule; the mainly Catholic southern provinces resented the Protestant Dutch king's policies on language, religion and taxation. The great powers, meeting in London, chose to accept an independent Belgium rather than risk war, and in 1831 Leopold of Saxe-Coburg became king.

Belgium's founding shows that a nation could be built on shared religion and opposition to outside rule even though its people spoke different languages, mainly Dutch (Flemish) and French. It also showed that the powers would tolerate change when it did not threaten the balance of power.