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| 2. The Kingdom of Belgium |
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| BELGIUM: THE HOUSE OF SAXE-COBURG (1831-) |
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| THE HOUSE OF SAXE-COBURG-GOTHA (1800-) |
| LEOPOLD I (r. 1831–65) governed with a Clerical-Liberal coalition concerned with industrial growth and guarding against Dutch aggression under the status quo. This fear of attack led to Unionism, which emphasized the need for a strong army and allowed linguistic liberty. The latter was possible because French was generally assumed to be the language of choice throughout Belgium. | 1 |
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| 1834 |
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| Belgian railroads built under parliamentary instigation. As a result, 336 kilometers of railroads existed in Belgium by 1840. This endeavor strengthened capital industry in Belgium at a time when international trade was declining and prices were falling in Europe. However, it favored Wallonia over the western Flemish regions because Wallonia held the raw materials necessary for industrialization. | 2 |
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| 1835 |
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| Bank of Belgium established to help fund capital industry. | 3 |
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| 1839, April 19 |
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| King William recognized Belgian independence and thus superseded the armistice, with only minor territorial readjustments, including part of Luxembourg as a separate grand duchy. The European powers guaranteed Belgian independence and neutrality. | 4 |
| The guarantee of Belgian independence ended the Unionism that had made a coalition government possible in the 1830s. Catholics called for reforms in their interests, while an emerging Belgian left, including Charles Rogier, drew on French utopian socialism. These struggles resulted in demands for reform within the school system and government. | 5 |
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| 1842 |
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| Primary schools, although managed by the government, were required to allow clergy to provide religious instruction. | 6 |
| Paul Devaux had been announcing the need for a government focused on parties rather than Unionism. The latter offered the Catholic majority a guarantee of no organized minority to contend with in the government. For the Liberals, however, it provided no opportunity for their dissenting opinion to be heard. This climate would lead to political reforms during 1847 and 1848, which enabled Belgium to avoid a revolution. | 7 |
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| 1847 |
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| The coalition government was replaced by a party system and ministerial responsibility. A new electoral law (1848) slightly lowered property qualifications and doubled the number of voters. (See Denmark) | 8 |
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