Eight Articles of London facts for kids
The Eight Articles of London, also known as the London Protocol of 21 June 1814, was a secret agreement. It was made between four powerful European countries: the United Kingdom, Prussia, the Austrian Empire, and the Russian Empire. They decided to give the land that is now Belgium and The Netherlands to William I of the Netherlands. At that time, he was the "Sovereign Prince" of the United Netherlands. William I agreed to this plan on July 21, 1814.
Why the Articles Were Needed
In early 1814, Napoleon I of France's empire was losing battles. The Netherlands, which France had taken over, was now free. On December 6, 1813, William I, whose family had ruled before, became the new leader there. He was called "Sovereign Prince."
The Austrian Netherlands (which is now Belgium) was also freed from French rule. The big question was what to do with this land. Austria didn't really want to rule it again. So, the powerful countries secretly decided to give Belgium to the new Dutch state.
This plan was made official in the Treaty of Paris on May 30, 1814. It said that Belgium would become part of the future Netherlands. But how this would work was still unclear. The "Eight Articles of London" were created to sort out these details.
What the Protocol Said
The main ideas for this agreement came from Prince William himself. He sent his ideas to the British ambassador, who then shared them with the British Foreign Minister. The agreement was signed by representatives from the four powerful countries on June 21, 1814, in London.
Here are the main points of the Articles:
Article 1 The Netherlands and Belgium would join together completely. They would form one single country. This new country would use the basic laws already in place in Holland, but they would be changed to fit both areas.
Article 2 The new country's laws would protect all religions equally. Everyone, no matter their religion, could hold public jobs.
Article 3 The Belgian areas would have a fair number of representatives in the government. Meetings of the government would take turns being held in a Dutch city and a Belgian city.
Article 4 All people in the new Netherlands would have equal rights. This included rights for trade and other activities. No one part of the country would get special treatment over another.
Article 5 Right after the union, Belgian towns and provinces could trade and sail with the Dutch colonies. They would have the same rights as Dutch towns.
Article 6 Any money owed by the Dutch or Belgian areas would become the responsibility of the new combined country.
Article 7 The new country would pay for building and keeping up border forts. These forts were important for the safety of all parts of the nation.
Article 8 The cost of building and fixing dikes would be paid by the local areas that benefited most. This would only change if there was a huge disaster.
The powerful countries said they had the right to decide Belgium's future because they had won the war. They wanted the two countries to blend together perfectly. William I accepted this task on July 21, 1814.
What Happened Next
After signing the Articles, William I appointed a leader for the Belgian areas on August 1, 1814. He then tried to get the Belgian people to agree to the Dutch constitution. However, some Belgians were worried that this would weaken the Catholic Church in their region.
While these talks were happening, Napoleon escaped from his island exile. This started a period of fighting known as the Hundred Days. Because of this danger, William declared himself King of the Kingdom of the Netherlands on March 16, 1815.
Just before the Battle of Waterloo (which happened in the new country), the formation of this new kingdom was officially approved by the Congress of Vienna on June 9, 1815. After Napoleon's final defeat, the Belgians were pushed to approve the constitution. On August 18, 1815, votes against the constitution (especially those about religion) and people who didn't vote were counted as "silent approval." This allowed William to officially become King of the new kingdom on September 21, 1815.
See also
- Netherlands – United Kingdom relations
