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ACADÉMIE ROYALE DE BELGIQUE

MÉMOIRES DE LA CLASSE DES LETTRES Collection in-8°-2e série, T. LXVI - Fascicule 4 - 1985

Revolution in Brussels 1787-1793

by Janet L. POLASKY University of New Hampshire

BRUXELLES - PALAIS DES ACADÉMIES www.academieroyale.be

ACADÉMIE ROYALE DE BELGIQUE

MÉMOIRES DE LA CLASSE DES LETTRES Collection in-8°-2c série, T. LXVI - Fascicule 4 - 1985

Revolution in Brussels 1787-1793

by Janet L. POLASKY University of New Hampshire

Impression décidée le 29 mars 1982

BRUXELLES - PALAIS DES ACADÉMIES www.academieroyale.be

Imprimerie J. Duculot, s.a., Gemblou) N° 1911 - Dépôt légal D. 1985.0092.4 www.academieroyale.be

Acknowledgements

Many people have helped in the writing of this book. Finan• cial assistance from the Belgian Education Foundation, Stan• ford University, and the Mabelle McLeod Lewis Memorial Fund supported my original dissertation work from 1975 through 1978. Summer grants from the Haynes Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities as well as fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies and the Graves Foundation have allowed me to return to Belgium in the summers to complete additional research and to take a year's leave from teaching to complete my manuscript. The staffs at the Bibliothèque Royale, the Archives Générales du Royaume, and the Archief in Bornem have aided me through• out my research. Specialists in Belgian history first generously welcomed me to their circle in 1975 ; they have continued to support and guide my study. Professor Jean Stengers, who helped me to focus my original research in the Brabant Revolution, has been a constant and invaluable source of advice and assistance. Professor Stengers together with Professors Jan Craeybeckx and Val Lorwin have shared their curiosity and love for their subject with me, as well as their seemingly inexhaustible store of knowledge. The list of scholars in eighteenth century studies who have discussed their work with me is long ; I am especially indebted to Dr. Jan Roegiers and Drs. Luc Dhondt. Dr. Jean Jacques Heirwegh gratiously and knowledgeably corrected the page proofs, and prepared the maps. Finally, among the list of specialists in Belgian history, I owe thanks to the Schepers family who invited me into their home as an exchange student many years ago and who along with my friends at 7 Arend- straat have cheerfully welcomed me back almost every summer since that first visit to Belgium. The assistance provided by my professors at Carleton Col• lege and Stanford University has been invaluable. I am grate• ful to Professor Carl Weiner for first encouraging me to www.academieroyale.be

4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS become a historian by his example and for teaching me to think critically. Professors Nan Keohane and Carolyn Lougee carefully read drafts of the dissertation, providing valuable suggestions for revisions. And to my advisor. Gordon Wright, 1 owe a greater debt than I can begin to express. Never too busy to help, he has kindly, patiently, and knowledgeably assisted me at every stage of my work. Finally, I am grateful for the support of my family and friends. Fellow students at Stanford and colleagues at Macales- ter College, the University of Redlands, and the University of New Hampshire have been a source of constant support and cheerful encouragement. Without the assistance of my mother and Bill Lyons, the writing of this book would never have been possible. They have edited, suggested, proof-read, typed, sup• ported, tolerated, and encouraged. This book is dedicated to them and to my father, to whom 1 owe my inspiration. www.academieroyale.be

Table of contents

INTRODUCTION 9

Chapter I BRUSSELS IN THE AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS The City of Brussels 15 Provincial Administration at the End of the Ancien Regime 16 Belgian Industrialization : A Survey 19 The Three Orders in Brussels 26

Chapter II THE RESISTANCE, 1780­1788 Joseph II 35 The First Belgian Reforms 39 The Judicial and Administrative Reforms 45 The Popularization of the Resistance 51 The Church Takes up the Battle 63 The Third Estate Alone 69

Chapter III REVOLUTION. 1789 A Funeral Ceremony : The Demise of Legal Protest 84 Pro Aris et Focis and the Breda Committee 88 Spies. Priests, and Pitchforks 106 L'Armée de la Lune 120

Chapter IV THE REPUBLIC 1790 Etats Belgiques Unis 130 The Opposition : A Bourgeois Coalition 139 Van der Mersch and the Militär)' Conspiracy : Civil War. 153 Van der Ν oofs Rule : Exile of the Democrats 168 Defeat of the Chosen 176 www.academieroyale.be

6 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter V TRANSITION, 1791-1792 The Austrians, the Democrats, and the Estates : Three Programs 183 Three-party Stalemate 194 Exile 200 The First French Invasion 207

Chapter VI OCCUPATION, 1792-1793 French Liberation 214 The Second Belgian Revolution 218 Resistance and Revolutionary Control 224 The French : Dumouriez and the Convention 233 1793 : Traditionalists, Democrats, and Jacobins 239 Annexation and Defeat 252

Chapter VII MONKS, COMMERCE AND ATLANTIC REVOLUTION " The Age of Democratic Revolution " 263 Traditionalists, Democrats and Jacobins 265 Conclusion · 273

SOURCES 277

APPENDIX 300

INDEX 305 www.academieroyale.be

List of tables

1. Professional backgrounds of the members: Original resistance, Breda Committee, and Pro Aris et Focis .. 106 2. Professional backgrounds of democrats, 1789 and 1790 166 3. Professional backgrounds of traditionalists, 1789 and 1790 166 4. Professional backgrounds of democrats and traditiona• lists, 1790 167 5. Professional backgrounds of democrats, 1789, 1790, and 1793 248 6. Professional backgrounds of traditionalists, 1789, 1790, and 1793 249 7. Professioal backgrounds in 1793 : traditionalists, demo• crats, and jacobins 250

List of maps

1. « Plan routier de Bruxelles avec ses divisions dressé et gravé par J. F. de la Rue, 1782 » 34-35 2. Austrian Netherlands in 1789, by Jean Jacques Heir- wegh (1985) 34-35 www.academieroyale.be

List of abbreviations

AAB Archief, Abdij Bornem, Bornem. AVB Archives de la Ville de Bruxelles, Brussels. AGR Archives Générales du Royaume, Brussels. AMAE Archives du Ministère des Affaires Étrangères, Paris. ADN Archives départementales du Nord, Lille. ANF Archives nationales de France, Paris. BGL Bibliotheek voor Godgeleerdheid, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Louvain. BRB Bibliothèque Royale, Brussels. HHS Haus- Hof- und Staatsarchiv, Vienna. PRO Public Record Office. London. ULB Bibliothèque, Université libre de Bruxelles, Brussels. www.academieroyale.be

Introduction

Twice between 1787 and 1793 the Belgians revolted to gain their independence from the Austrians. In 1789. determined bands of pitchfork-wielding peasants and scantily armed arti• sans defeated the professional Austrian armies. The first inde• pendent Belgian republic was short-lived ; the Austrians returned within a year to reestablish their rule. In 1792 the Belgian revolutionaries united with French troops to drive the Austrians back to the Rhine. This time, proclaiming the dawn of a new age in Belgian history, they planted trees of liberty throughout the provinces. The Austrians again returned to uproot the trees the next spring. Unlike the other " democratic revolutions " that occurred one after another on both sides of the Atlantic at the end of the eighteenth century, the Belgian Revolution of 1787-1793 was fought within a prosperous, industrializing society. (') In contrast to their American, French, and Dutch counterparts, the Belgian revolutionaries framed their grievances and revolu• tionary goals within the context of an industrializing society with a tradition of artisinal prosperity. It is therefore surprising that little serious work has been done on the Belgian Revolution. It has been dismissed by generations of historians as a small counterrevolutionary revolt. The Belgian archivist L. P. Gachard first complained in 1834 that : " La révolution belge de 1790, plus généralement connue sous le nom de révolution brabançonne, n'ait pas encore trouvé un historien. " The neglect was curious, he suggested, consider• ing that " des événements du même genre, qui se sont passés dans d'autres pays, ont fait naître tant de relations différentes.

(Ί R. R. Palmer wrote a two volume history of the series of revolts on both sides of the Atlantic at the end of the eighteenth century entitled The Age of Democratic Revolution (Princeton. 1959). www.academieroyale.be

10 INTRODUCTION ont donné matière à tant de discussions et de controverses. " (2) Gachard proceeded to publish some relevant documents from the extensive manuscript collection in Brussels. But despite his call to action, the Revolution continued to be neglected for a full century. Finally in 1930 Suzanne Tassier braved the skeptical disap• proval of other historians and made the pioneering foray into the archives. Her extensive research resulted in two perceptive narrative accounts of the Brabant Revolution and the First French Occupation (as the first and second revolts have come to be known) : Les démocrates belges de 1789 and Histoire de la Belgique sous l'occupation française en 1792 et 1793 (3). Historians have traditionally assumed that the Brabant Rev• olution and the First French Occupation both failed — that is, that neither resulted in the establishment of an enduring nation-state — because Belgian society at the end of the eight• eenth century was backward and stagnant. Tassier joined her predecessors in lamenting the underdeveloped condition of eighteenth-century Belgian society. Although she undertook exhaustive archival research into the political events of the time, she relied exclusively on the observations of one eight• eenth-century traveller, Georg Forster, for the economic back• ground of her study. (4) Forster, who lived in both Paris and Germany, found the Belgians to be boorish and boring. He resented every hour that he was required to spend in Belgium en route to the France he idolized. Consequently, Tassier, like other European historians who have based their conclusions on Forster's observations, analyzed the Brabant revolution and

2 ( ) L. P. GACHARD, Documens politiques et diplomatiques sur la Révolution belge de 1790 (Brussels, 1834). pp. i and ii. Gachard's comments point out a problem in the historiography of the Revolution. The Brabant Revolution was fought not only in the Brabant province, but in most of the region that is now Belgium. The revolutionaries themselves referred to the " Belgian Revolution, " attributing the other title to an " ignorant " French observer. His title however stuck, being perpetuated by the French revolutionary leader Camille Desmou­ lins.

3 ( ) Suzanne TASSIER. Les démocrates belges de 1789 (Brussels, 1930) and Suzanne Tassier. Histoire de la Belgique sous l'occupation française (Brussels, 1934).

4 ( ) Georg FORSTER, Voyage philosophique et pittoresque sur les bords du Rhin (Paris. 1791). www.academieroyale.be

INTRODUCTION 11

First French Occupation as examples of conservative and deri• vative rebellion fought in a backward society. Inadvertently. Tassier perpetuated the treatment of the Brabant Revolution and the First French Occupation as mere footnotes to the history of the French Revolution, the model and exporter of democratic revolution in the eighteenth century. Economic historians have now replaced Forster's dismal accounts with an analysis of eighteenth-century Belgian society as an advanced, industrializing society. (5) Although it has long been an accepted fact that less than forty years after the Revo• lution, Belgium took its place behind England as the second industrial nation, it is only recently that economic historians have begun to trace the roots of the Belgian industrial revolu• tion into the eighteenth century. They have concluded that the Belgk.n economy had already begun the process of industrial• ization by 1780. At the outbreak of the Brabant Revolution, the Belgian economy was one of the most prosperous and advanced in continental Europe. Their research calls into ques• tion more than Forster's economic backdrop to the Revolu• tion ; it renders suspect the numerous dismissals of the Brabant Revolution as the struggle of a bucolic people to preserve their stagnant society.

5 ( ) See for example : Jan CRAEYBECKX " Les débuts de la révolution indus­ trielle en Belgique et les statistiques de la fin de l'empire ", Mélanges offerts ά G. Jacquemvns (Brussels. 1968); H. COPPEJANS-DESMEDT, "Economische Op­ bloei in de Zuidelijke Nederlanden ", in Algemene geschiedenis der Nederlan­ den. VI II (Amsterdam. 1955). pp. 273-280; Jan DHONDT, "L'industrie coton- nière gantoise à l'époque française ", Revue d'histoire moderne et contemporaine Il (1955). p 240; F. MENDELS. " Proto-industrialization : The First Process of the Industrialization Processi), Journal of Economic History XXXII (1972). pp. 241-261 ; A. S. MILWARD and S. B. SAUL, Economic Development of Con­ tinental Europe 178(1-1870 (London, 1973) ; Joel MOKYR. Industrialization in the Low Countries 1795-1850 (New Haven, 1976); J. VAN DER WEE. De industriële revolutie in België. Historische aspecten van de economische groei (Antwerp. 1972) ; Robert DEVLEESHOUWER, " Le consulat et l'empire : Période de ' take­ off' pour l'économie belge ? " Revue d'histoire moderne el contemporaine XLII (1970). pp. 610-619 ; E. J. HOBSBAWM. Industry and Empire (Middlesex, 1968) ; J. H. CLAPHAM. The Economie Development of France and Germany 1815-1924 (Cambridge. 1935); David LANDES. The Unbound Prometheus. Technological Change 1750 to the Present (Cambridge. 1965); and P. LEBRUN. M. BRUWIER. J. DHONDT and G HANSOTTE. Histoire quantitative et développement de la Belgique au XIX' siècle Essai sur la revolution industrielle en Belgique. 1770- 1847 (Brussels. 1979). www.academieroyale.be

12 INTRODUCTION

The following study is a reinvestigation of the Brabant Rev• olution and the First French Occupation that builds upon the foundation of the recent economic research. More particularly, it is an analysis of the grievances and goals of the revolution• aries in an industrializing society that continued to be dominat• ed by a prosperous and privileged elite. I have focused my investigation on Brussels. As the capital of the central Brabant province, the city of Brussels had long dominated the political life of the ten Belgian provinces. During the Revolution it continued to serve as the political center. It should be noted, however, that the course of the Revolution varied from pro• vince to province. Rather than generalizing from the history of Brussels to Belgian society as a whole, the history of the Bel• gian Revolution of 1787-1793 will be built by compiling and comparing studies of the different regions of Belgian society. Within Brussels, the Revolution was not fought by a unified coterie of revolutionaries. Three distinct groups of revolution• aries coalesced in Brussels in the seven year struggle against the Austrians. The first group, the Vandernootists or traditiona• lists, fought to protect the privileges and traditions of the an• cien regime from the reforms imposed by the " enlightened " Austrian emperor, Joseph II. The second group, the Vonckists or democrats, argued in terms reminiscent of the philosophes, stressing popular sovereignty. The third group, the Société des amis de la liberté et de l'égalité, came to power with the French Occupation of the Belgian provinces. The Jacobins, as they were popularly known, faithfully imitated their French allies. No one faction predominated for longer than a year — the Belgians had no guillotine to silence minority opposition. Con• sequently, ideas first expounded in the resistance of the spring of 1787 evolved and matured through seven years of contin• uous struggle. The full spectrum of eighteenth-century revolu• tionary theory was represented in this city-wide debate. I will trace the interactions of the Vandernootists, the Vonck• ists. and the Société through the five stages of the Revolution : 1) the first concerted attempt at resistance in 1787, 2) the Bra- "bant Revolution of 1789, 3) the republic established by the independent Belgians in 1790, 4) the Austrian restoration of 1791, and 5) the French Occupation of 1792-1793. As back- www.academieroyale.be

INTRODUCTION 13 ground to this study of the political division of Brussels society along socio-economic lines, I will briefly survey the economic conditions and administrative structure of Belgian society at the end of the eighteenth century, giving particular attention to Brussels. In an effort to avoid confusion, I have followed the standard practice of demarcating the two stages of the Revolution as the Brabant Revolution and the French Occupation. Consistent with the revolutionaries, I have considered the period 1787 to 1793 as one continuous struggle for Belgian independence. The historians' division between the Brabant Revolution and the First French Occupation is arbitrary ; few of the Belgian revo• lutionaries retired with the formal defeat of their republic in November 1790 — they continued fighting through the spring of 1793. Only with the defeat in April 1793 of the second Bel• gian republic did the terms of the struggle change significantly. Finally, some technical considerations may be in order. I have added accent marks to the French citations and footnotes where they were in large part missing from the eighteenth- century documents. Otherwise, I have maintained the original Dutch, French, German, English, and Latin spelling of the eighteenth-century manuscripts. Translations for all but the French citations appear in the footnotes. The variability of spelling in the eighteenth century also causes difficulty in the identification of revolutionaries. Family names in this period were not always fixed. I have chosen the most commonly used form of the name and maintained that spelling throughout the text. It is sometimes difficult, however, to verify through first names, occupation, or residence whether the two forms of a name designate two separate people or were just forms of one name. As in any compilation of membership lists for the eighteenth century, it is possible that some inaccuracy has resulted. I have tried to limit my membership lists of the three political groups to those men and women who were residents of Brussels, screening out revolutionaries who were passing through the city but whose residence and political ambitions lay elsewhere. But because Brussels was the capital and the center of political activity, the dividing line between new resi• dents and passers-through is not always clear. Political leaders from other cities who permanently established residency in www.academieroyale.be

14 INTRODUCTION

Brussels in this period have been included in the membership lists. Similarly, all of the political pamphlets cited were pub• lished or written in Brussels. www.academieroyale.be

CHAPTER I

Brussels in the Austrian Netherlands

The City of Brussels

By contemporary European standards, eighteenth-century Brussels was a large city. Approximately seventy-five thousand people lived within the fourteenth-century town walls. Al• though rich and poor, aristocrats and merchants intermingled throughout the eight sections or neighborhoods of the city, essentially Brussels was divided into two cities — an adminis• trative city on the hill and the trading center below in the Valley of the Senne River. Government buildings dominated the upper city. For centu• ries. Brussels had served as the residence of the prince of his governors-general. Foreign ministers and the three hundred families who served the court populated the area around the palace. Since the fourteenth century, the nobility had also established its residences along the major streets leading up to the palace at the top of the Coudenberg. Beginning in the seventeenth century, the area around the Sablon had become an even more opulent residential quarter. When the traveller De Gomicourt visited Brussels at the end of the eighteenth century, he was struck by the beauty and symmetry of the upper city. (') He referred to the newly com• pleted Place Royale as the most beautiful square in Brussels. The straight new streets of the upper city as well as the Pare with its geometrical design of statues and paths had all been built in the 1770's. Except for this reconstruction, the adminis• trative geography of eighteenth-century Brussels had been in• herited from the Middle Ages.

(') DÉRIVAL [de Gomicourt]. Le Voyageur dans les Pays Bas autrichiens, ou lettres sur l'état actuel de ces Pars (Amsterdam, 1784). www.academieroyale.be

16 BRUSSELS IN THE AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS

At the base of the Montagne de la Cour lay the Grand- Place. On top of the Hôtel de Ville, the statue of Saint Michel trampling the devil had served as a symbol of the determina• tion of the city of Brussels since 1454. The Maison du Roi, directly across from the Hôtel de Ville, and the guild houses, all sumptuously decorated, defined the perimeters of the Grand-Place. In the valley, along the banks of the river and the canal, life centered in the markets. Brussels lay at the crossroads of two major trade routes. The East-West route from the Rhineland to Flanders and the North-South route from Antwerp to Wallonia intersected at the numerous marketplaces of lower Brussels. Most of the merchants lived in this populous area. After 1750 the expansion of international trade enriched the commercial houses and trading centers along the markets and quais of the lower city. Finally, any visitor walking through eighteenth-century Brussels would have noticed the multitude of churches, con• vents, and monasteries. Although the Cathedral of Saint Michel et Sainte Gudule dominated the city from its hill, large and important religious establishments were evident in every neighborhood of the city.

Provincial Administration at the End of the Ancien Regime

Foreign sovereigns governed the Belgian provinces through• out the eighteenth and the first third of the nineteenth century. In 1715, the provinces had passed from Spanish to Austrian hands. The French then succeeded the Austrians ; they were in turn followed by the Dutch in 1815. Contrary to the nineteenth- century view of this foreign rule as exploitative despotism — the Belgian anthem of independence recalls " des siècles d'es• clavage " — few contempqraries questioned or criticized for• eign rule. (2) Until the reign of Joseph II, the Belgians looked to the Austrian government for protection from neighboring powers as they continued to regulate their own internal affairs

(2) The " Brabançonne " cited by Jean STENGERS. " Belgian National Senti­ ments ", in Arend Lijphard (ed.). Conflict and Coexistence in Belgium: The Dynamics of a Culturally Divided Society (Berkeley. 1981). www.academieroyale.be

BRUSSELS IN THE AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS 17 in peace. Many attributed their national prosperity in part at least to the wise administration of the Austrian monarchs. A large bureaucracy represented the Austrian government in Brussels. The governor-general of the Austrian Netherlands, customarily a member of the royal family, officially exercised sovereign authority in the name of the emperor. He or she promulgated decrees, oversaw the administration of justice, police, and finances, filled offices, and convoked the Estates. Charles of Lorraine served for forty years in Brussels as gover• nor-general. When he died in 1780. the Belgians mourned his passing, as one chronicler explained. " omdat hy eenen oprech• ten vaderlander was, en eenen voorstander van kerk en staat. " (3) Maria Theresa appointed her favorite daughter, Maria Christine, and her husband. Albert, to succeed Charles. Although officially the governor-general had sovereign au• thority in the Austrian Netherlands, in fact the emperor en• trusted power to a minisire plénipotentiaire who served at the emperor's discretion. That post was filled by Starhemberg in 1770. Belgiojoso in 1783, and Trauttmansdorff in 1787. Three councils carried out the administration of the pro• vinces. The Conseil d'état, established originally to handle mat• ters of war and peace, by the 1780's had become largely hono• rific. On the other hand, the Conseil des finances participated directly in the control of provincial finances. As well as super• vising the collection of taxes from the provincial Estates, it set customs duties, regulated industry and commerce, and super• vised the construction of government facilities. The third coun• cil, the Conseil privé, kept the emperor informed of events in the provinces. Both Maria Theresa and her son Joseph II tried to use the Conseil privé, traditionally a docile body, to raise support for their reforms. Provincial charters clearly delineated the limits of Austrian authority in the Austrian Netherlands. The provisions of these charters and the makeup and powers of the provincial govern• ments varied somewhat from province to province. In the Brabant, the Joyeuse Entrée of 1356 specified the rights and mutual obligations of the people and their

(') K. GOETVAL. " Geschiedenis van Brussel ". Mss. 13464. BRB. *' Because he was an upright native of this country, and supporter of Church and state. " www.academieroyale.be

18 BRUSSELS IN THE AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS sovereign. The duke had granted the bourgeoisie and the nobles a voice in the government of the provinces in return for their recognition of his right to rule in the fourteenth century. Shortly thereafter, the duke extended privileges to the clergy. In the eighteenth century, the Austrian emperor continued to derive his or her right to rule the Brabant from the medieval contract that he or she swore to obey in a formal inaugural ceremony as duke of the Brabant. The provincial Estates spoke for the three orders — the church, the nobility, and the commoners. In the Brabant, the high clergy sat as the First Estate, the nobility with four quar• ters as the Second Estate, and the guild leaders and urban magistrates of Antwerp, Louvain, and Brussels as the Third Estate. (4) The first two Brabant Estates occupied chairs in the center of the assembly hall in the Hôtel de Ville in Brussels, while the deputies from the Third Estate sat on benches under the windows. The sovereign convened each of the provincial Estates twice a year in March and October, to accord him his tax subsidies. In the Brabant, the first two Estates always deliberated first, at• taching a provision to their vote : " à condition que le tiers état suive & autrement pas ". The Third Estate then took the ques• tion back to its constituencies for separate consultation. A negative vote in the guilds would veto the decision of the first two Estates. Viewing themselves as the intermediate power between the duke and the people, the Estates jealously guarded the provincial privileges enumerated in their constitutions. An Austrian minister, the Count de Kaunitz, characterized the Belgian governmental system by reporting that in marked contrast with their neighbors, the Belgians enjoyed liberty and prosperity. " Gouvernés suivant leurs propres lois, assurés de leur propriété et de leur liberté personnelle, ne payant que des taxes modérées qu'ils imposent eux-mêmes, " he observed, " les Belges jouissent des plus beaux dons d'une constitution libre. " (5) Most of the Belgian people would have agreed with

(4) When capitalized, " Estates" refers to the parliamentary body. Without capitalization. " estates " designates the three orders of the population.

5 ( ) Kaunitz cited by T. JUSTE, Histoire des États Généraux des Pays Bas, 1465-1790 (Brussels, 1864), I: 122. www.academieroyale.be

BRUSSELS IN THE AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS 19

Kaunitz's description. The Brabançons in particular attributed their continuing peace and prosperity to the centuries-old con• stitution. The Joyeuse Entrée both assured them the protection of a powerful duke and established the Estates to safeguard their rights from potential transgressions.

Belgian Industrialization : A Survey

Belgian industries prospered and evolved during the second half of the eighteenth century. Citing the general prosperity of the Belgian provinces and the expansion of manufacturing following the end of the wars of Austrian succession, the Prince de Ligne called the quarter of a century between 1748 and 1781 "l'âge d'or des Pays Bas. " (6) The population of the central province of the Austrian Netherlands, the Brabant, grew by 39 %, from 44,500 in 1755 to 68,000 in 1784. (7) Indus• trial production increased more rapidly than the population. As one indication of the growth, revenue from customs, with almost constant rates, increased from an average per year of 1,758,365 florins for the period 1738-1741 to 3,278,900 per year for the period 1783-1785. (8) According to the economic histo• rian H. Coppejans-Desmedt, " men kan de tweede helft van de achttiende eeuw op industrieel gebied als het tijdperk beschou• wen, waarin de kapitalistiche productievormen definitief door• breken. " (9)

(6) Prince de Ligne cited by N. BRIAVOINNE. Mémoire sur l'état de la population, des fabriques, des manufactures el du commerce dans les Provinces des Pays-Bas. depuis Albert et Isabelle jusqu'à la fin du siècle dernier. Académie Royale de Belgique, Mémoires Couronnés XIV (1840), p. 83; and J. St LEWINSKI. L'Évolution industrielle de la Belgique au début du XIX' siècle (Brussels, 1911). p. 104. (7) H. COPPEJANS-DESMEDT, " Economische Opbloei in de Zuidelijke Nederlanden", in Algemene geschiedenis der Nederlanden VIII (Amsterdam. 1955). pp 273-280; L. P. GACHARD. "Etat de la population des Pays Bas en 1784 ". Analectes belgiques 1: 420-427; and A. COSEMANS. De Bevolking van Brabant in de XVII'en XV lil'eeuw (Brussels. 1939).

(8) BRIAVOINNE. I : 83. (*) COPPEJANS-DESMEDT. p. 280. " In terms of industry one can identify the second half of the eighteenth century as the period when capitalist forms of production definitively appeared. " I find the periodization and analysis of eighteenth-century industrial development presented by Coppejans-Desmedt to www.academieroyale.be

20 BRUSSELS IN THE AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS

Travellers to the Low Countries in the middle of the eight• eenth century described the Belgian provinces, especially Flan• ders, as the garden of Europe. New systems of intense culti• vation, especially crop rotation, the disappearance of the fallow field, and the use of new tools gave the two provinces of Flan• ders and the Brabant an average wheat yield ration of 1:13 as compared to France's 1:4 and England's 1:10. (10) Tradition• ally, the Austrian Netherlands had imported grain, but be• tween 1759 and 1781, even though the population grew, the Belgian provinces exported seven to eight percent of its grain. Farmers began to cultivate new crops for a commercial market including potatoes, flax, buckwheat, and tobacco. (") J. Craey- beckx explains that in the Belgian provinces the agricultural revolution opened the way for the industrial revolution. ('2) The textile industry, for centuries a major component of the Belgian economy, expanded significantly in the third quarter of the eighteenth century. It was in the area around Ghent that the linen industry grew most rapidly. The average annual pro• duction in Ghent increased from 61,307 pieces between 1735 and 1750 to 80,627 pieces for the period 1750 to 1765. (13) An offshoot of the linen industry, the lace industry thrived during the period, especially in Brussels. The Verviers wool industry had developed without guild regulations. Consequently, pro• duction processes changed more rapidly. Although spinning was still done in the countryside, weaving was centralized in urban mills. Linked by canals and roads to consumers through• out Europe, the woolen industry grew and prospered. (M) be supported by my own research. I would therefore disagree with more recent work presented by P. LEBRUN, M. BRUWIER, J. DHONDT,.and G. HANSOTTE in their Essai sur la révolution industrielle en Belgique 1770-1847, (Brussels, 1979). In their analysis, they focus on the development of technology as the crucial indicator of industrialization to the exclusion of other major developments. They also ignore the cycles of prosperity and depression that marked the development of Belgian industry in the second half of the eighteenth century.

(I0) COPPEJANS-DESMEDT, p. 268. (") C VANDENBROEKE, "Landbouw in de Zuidelijke Nederlanden 1650- 1815 ". in Algemene geschiedenis der Nederlanden VIII (Haarlem, 1979). (12) J. CRAEYBECKX. "De agrarische wortels van de industriële Omwente­ ling ". Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire XLI ( 1963), pp. 397-448.

(U) COPPEJANS-DESMEDT, p. 281. (u) L. DECHESNE, " Les industries textiles en Belgique ", Revue des Sciences Économiques (April-June, 1936), pp. 1-36 ; and J. CRAEYBECKX, " L'industrie de www.academieroyale.be

BRUSSELS IN THE AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS 21

Cotton manufacturing was a relative newcomer to the Bel• gian economy. As one example of its phenomenal growth dur• ing this period, the cotton firm of Jan Beerenbroeck and Cie. of Ghent received a royal concession (octroi) in 1753. Beeren• broeck employed 150 workers in his factory in 1763. By 1769. the number of workers had increased to 520. Production for the period rose from 1094 pieces in 1754 to 77,749 pieces in 1769. (15) The development of the new textile industries was related to the prosperity of the old ; the export of linen formed the basis of the investment of pioneers in the cotton indus• try. (I6) Mining and metallurgy centered in Limburg and along the Sambre river valley. Outside of the Austrian Netherlands, in Liège, a traditional center of heavy industry, metallurgy actual• ly declined during this period as did coal mining, both ham• pered by legislation. Liège miners did not employ mechanical pumps for extraction until 1791. On the other hand, in the Borinage, mining prospered as a result of the early introduc• tion of Newcomen pumps. (I7) According to Lebrun. Bruwier. Dhondt, and Hansotte, many of the industrial investors, "étant à la fois verriers, métallurgistes et charbonniers, peuvent être considérés comme des capitalistes de type moderne. " (l8) Similar patterns of growth can be traced in most other Bel• gian industries during this period. With government encourage- la lame dans les anciens Pays Bas méridionaux de la fin du XVIe au début du XVIIF siècle" (Firenze. 1976); and LEBRUN, BRUWIER. DHONDT, and HAN­ NOIII, p. 165.

H ( l COPPEJANS-DESMEDT. p. 285. See also LEBRUN, BRUWIER. DHONDT. and HANSOTTE. pp. 82-88; J. VAN DER WEE. De industriële revolutie in België. Historische aspecten van de economische groei (Antwerp. 1972) ; J. DHONDT. " L'industrie cotonnière gantoise à l'époque française ", Revue d'histoire moderne et contemporaine U ( 1955); and R. DEVLEESHOUWER, " Le Consulat et l'Empire: Période de 'take-off pour l'économie belge?" Revue d'histoire moderne et contemporaine XLII ( 1970), pp. 610-619.

(") LEBRUN, BRUWIER, DHONDT and HANSOTTE. p 137

(|T) BRIAVOINNE. pp. 154-155; J. MOKYR, Industrialization in the Low Countries I795-1SM) (New Haven. 1976); COPPEJANS-DESMEDT, p. 282; DEV­ LEESHOUWER. p. 617 ; J CRAEYBECKX. " Les débuts de la révolution industrielle en Belgique et les statistiques de la fin de l'Empire, " Mélanges offerts à Ci. Jac- ijiiemvns (Brussels. 1968) ; and A. JULIN. Les grandes fabriques en Belgique vers le milieu du M UI' siècle. Mémoire de l'Académie Royale de Belgique LXII1 (1903). pp. 50-52.

(IS) LEBRUN. BRUWIER. DHONDT and HANSOTTE. p 414. www.academieroyale.be

22 BRUSSELS IN THE AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS ment and protection, production and employment in porcelain and faience works increased in Tournai and Brussels. (I9) Glassworks in the Hainault especially, but also in Louvain, Bruges, and Brussels, benefitted from the Austrian octrois. With substantial capital investment in the glass works, new produc• tion processes were developed in this period. Other industries that prospered included : paper manufacturers, tanneries, sugar and salt refineries, and weapon manufacturing. Only the lux• ury craft industries such as tapestry and gilded leather declined with the shrinking foreign luxury market. (20) Not one of the three areas of major industrial growth at the end of the eighteenth century, Brussels was nevertheless direct• ly affected by the economic changes. (21) Partially, this was the result of its location. The excellent canal and road connections with Ghent, Liège, and the Hainault made it the hub of domestic as well as international trade. A commercial head• quarters, it soon became a major European banking center. Equally important, Brussels functioned as the administrative center for the provinces. The population of the city grew 29 % between 1755 and 1783, to 74,427 people. (22) It should also be noted that Brussels entrepreneurs invested in and controlled factories and mines throughout the Belgian provinces. That is not to imply that Brussels was devoid of industry. Traditionally, Brussels had been known for its luxury indus• tries. Lace produced in Brussels was still without equal in Europe. Between nine and ten thousand workers were em• ployed in that industry at the end of the eighteenth centu-

(") JULIN. pp. 42-45 ; and BRIAVOINNE, pp. 155-156.

(20) MOKYR. p. 76 ; JULIN, p. 66 ; G. CRUTZEN. " Principaux défauts du régime corporatif dans les Pays-Bas à la fin du XVIIIE siècle ", Revue de l'instruction publique en Belgique XXX (1887), pp. 277-302 and 361-372, and XXXI (1888). pp. 1-24 ; and E. SABBE, De Belgische vlasnijverheid: Histoire de l'industrie linière en Belgique (Brussels, 1954), p. 233. (21) Here my own research on the economy of eighteenth-century Brussels differs from the analysis of Lebrun, Dhondt, Bruwier, and Hansotte who date the beginning of Brussels industrialization in 1830. (22) COSEMANS, p. 211. De Gomicourt estimated a population of 112,000 for Brussels in 1782, DÉRIVAL, 1: 115. See also : H. HASQUIN, " La population de l'agglomération bruxelloise au XVIIIE siècle, " Études sur le XVIII'siècle IV (1977). pp. 13-26. www.academieroyale.be

BRUSSELS IN THE AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS 23 ry. (23) Brussels was also famous for its carriages, quality linen, and tapestries. During the eighteenth century, new textile in• dustries, not regulated by the guilds, expanded rapidly. In addition, Brussels manufacturing houses produced chemicals, watches, painted paper, playing cards, mineral water, beer, salt, tobacco, porcelain, sugar, and oil. Most of this industrial growth after 1750 occurred outside of the regulations of the guilds. The investment of substantial capital by wholesale mer• chants, bankers, and some nobles had triggered the industrial• ization of 1750-1784. The new industrialists in textile and heavy industry began to concentrate previously independent production processes under one roof and under one central direction. The records of the frequent court battles between the new manufacturers and the guilds provide evidence of the manufac• turers' innovations in production processes and employment practices. The guilds had controlled and strictly regulated manufacturing in the Belgian cities for centuries. Much of the new industry moved outside of the cities, beyond the reach of guild control in the eighteenth century. Within the cities, however, conflict developed. Entrepreneurs who wanted to ex• pand already established operations by employing wage labor• ers who had not served guild apprenticeships were sued by the guilds. Guillaume Herries, a wealthy Ostende capitalist, argued in 1783 that " les corps de métiers avec tous leurs privilèges et leurs droits font une barrière insurmontable à l'agrandissement des manufactures et à toute espèce d'industrie. " (24) In 1788, one aspiring porcelain manufacturer petitioned the Emperor for government assistance in establishing a porcelain works that did not comply with guild regulations in Brussels. With his revolutionary manufacturing process, he claimed that he would

(") SABBE. p. 33; MOKYR, pp. 16-17; J. VERBEEMEN, "Bruxelles en 1755. Sa situation démographique, sociale et économique ", Bijdragen lot de Geschie­ denis XLIV (1962), p. 233 ; and E. VAN BRUYSSEL, Histoire du commerce et de la marine en Belgique (Brussels, 1874). (24) Guillaume HERRIES. " Extrait de l'avis rendu par le négociant d'Os- tende. Hernes, en date du 18 février 1783 ". Conseil Privé 1152 B, AGR. www.academieroyale.be

24 BRUSSELS IN THE AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS be able to produce porcelain of the same quality as the guilds more efficiently and so sell it for two-thirds of the price. Not a member of the porcelain guild, however, he was legally not allowed to manufacture or to sell porcelain in Brussels. That restriction, he protested, deprived an individual, whether he made " une nouvelle invention ou qu'il ait introduit une manu• facture... (de) jouir du fruit de son travail. " (25) The industria• lists protested that they could only increase their profits by making production more efficient, that is by manufacturing on a larger scale. Throughout this initial period of industrialization, the tradi• tional cottage industries coexisted with the new factories. The new industries did not supplant the guild-controlled manufac• turing firms. (26) Although recent research suggests that the traditional rural industry in Flanders, Liège, and along the Vesdre created the markets and the capital accumulation which made the growth of the new industry possible, the masters of the crafts industry did not themselves view the relationship as cooperative. Unlike the guilds, the merchant-manufacturers were not interested in conserving, but in growing and improving. They believed that growth came from the opening of industry to individual initiative. Nicolas Bacon, one of the most eloquent opponents of corporativism, suggested that with true equality of opportunity and a loosening of regulations, new factories would appear throughout the provinces. New industry was essential to the well-being of the nation, he argued ; " Une ville sans fabrique ne pourrait longtemps subsister et se trouverait

I25) Dominique Joseph Ris, Copye Boeken, p. 125, Registre 1016, AVB. See also 't Kint. December 7, 1781. Conseil Privé 401. AGR ; " Guillaume Chapel vs. les Doiens, anciens et suppôts du Métier des Teinturiers de cette ville, " October 10. 1781. Conseil Privé 401, AGR; "G. Chapel et Manufactures de coton, draps"... vs. gilds. July 23, 1784, Conseil Privé 401. AGR; "Patriote zélé" to Ministre Plénipotentiaire, May 31, 1778, Conseil Privé 1006, AGR; and Eydelet, June 11. 1780. Conseil 401. AGR. (26) This question has been one of the most contested in the historiography of the industrial revolution in Belgium. H. Van Houtte and J. St. Lewinski's picture of big industry replacing guilds in a wholescale fashion has been challenged by the more nuanced views of a gradual transition of Mokyr and Mendels. www.academieroyale.be

BRUSSELS IN THE AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS 25 bientôt déserte. " (27) England provided a good example ofthat growth, he concluded. The steady economic expansion in the Belgian provinces peaked in the 1780's for two reasons. The reestablishment of peace between the European powers ended the temporary but very profitable Belgian monopoly on neutral ports and its control of shipping. More dramatically, the internal political turmoil of the 1780's and 1790's destroyed the stability neces• sary for investment and expansion. The years of peace and the commercial protection of the Austrian empire had encouraged the redevelopment of Belgian commerce and industry between 1750 and 1780. Empress Maria Theresa reorganized public finances, lowered internal customs duties, and built canals and roads to connect markets and industrial centers. Taking credit for stimulating Belgian commerce and industry during her reign, she observed : " Nous avons d'un côté porté notre attention et nos soins maternels à l'établissement de diverses manufactures pour les productions communément nécessaires, et d'un autre côté aux ressources du commerce et d'un traffic plus étendu. " (28) Although Joseph II at first seemed to follow his mother's policy, ordering a survey of the regulations and privileges of the guilds in 1784 and soliciting specific suggestions from the négociants for abolishing those privileges that hampered trade and industry, he never carried through any major reforms. (29) His commercial policies of 1780-1789 fluctuated back and forth between support of open and closed markets. Together with

(21) N. BACON cited by H. HASQUIN. Les Réflexions sur l'élut présent du commerce, fabriques, et manufactures des Pais-Bas Autrichiens (1765) du négo­ ciant bruxellois. S kolas Bacon ( 1710-177V). Conseiller député aux affaires du Commerce (Brussels. 1978), p. 89. (!8) Maria Theresa. October I, 1750. Chancellerie Autrichienne des Pays Bas 651. AGR. See also H VAN WERVEKE. " Beschouwingen over het econo­ mische leven in de Zuidelijke Nederlanden tijdens de XVIIe en XVIIIE eeuw, " Bi/dragen en Mededelingen van het Historische Genootschap LX! ( 1940). p. XC' ; V AN DER WEE. p. 170 ; and CRUTZEN. p. 292. (-'*) H. COPPEJANS-DESMEDT. " De enquête van 1784 over het ambachtswe­ zen in de Oostenrijkse Nederlanden ". Archief en Bibliotheekwezen in België XLII (1971). p. 37; Conseil Privé 405. 406. and 430. AGR; Conseil Privé. Registre 34. AGR ; and R. LEDOUX. La suppression du régime corporatif dans les Pays-Bas autrichiens en 1784. Un projet dédit. Mémoires de l'Académie Royale. Lettres (Brussels. 1912). pp. 14-15. www.academieroyale.be

26 BRUSSELS IN THE AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS the political turmoil of the revolutions between 1789 and 1795, the government indecision contributed to the economic slump of 1784-1795. A new economic era began with the annexation of Belgian provinces to France in 1795. Again under the protection of a strong if not stable government and with the opening of the large French market to its products, Belgian industry began to revive from its twelve year slump. During the next several decades, Belgian entrepreneurs successfully applied new pro• duction techniques to established industries. As industry urban• ized and centralized, output increased correspondingly. By 1811, the production of Belgian manufacturing houses sur• passed that of the rest of the French empire. (30) The textile and heavy industries, built on the foundations of the prosper• ous prerevolutionary period, dominated the French as well as the Belgian economy. Unlike England, Belgian industrialization was disrupted by political turmoil. The halting pattern of Belgian industrializa• tion was closely related to the political instability and frequent changes in governmental policy at the end of the eighteenth and beginning of the nineteenth century. That Belgium was able to reestablish its economic dominance by 1830, closely following the English lead in industrialization, is a testimony to the strength of the industrial base developed before the out• break of the Brabant Revolution.

The Three Orders in Brussels

As a result of the unique administrative structure of the Belgian provinces and the prosperous industrializing economy, Brussels differed markedly from other European capitals. The distribution of wealth and privilege among the three orders of Brussels society was unique. Traditionally, historians of the Brabant Revolution have assumed as a background to their study that the Belgian nobili-

(30) CRAEYBECKX, "Les débuts", p. 137; DEVLEESHOUWER, pp. 614-615; and VAN DER WEE, p. 179. www.academieroyale.be

BRUSSELS IN THE AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS 27 ty resembled its French neighbors in being divided into two antagonistic groups : those nobles with long family lineages and those recently ennobled. (31) It is true that when Charles of Austria issued a decree in 1749-1750 ennobling the sons of the many Belgian nobles who had been granted titles during the seventeenth century, a leader of the Second Estate contested the action. He argued that the nobility should be restricted to those who could prove descent from eight noble ancestors. But significantly, after that one protest, the issue of ennoblement aroused little controversy. (32) The important line of division within the Brussels nobility ran between the few very wealthy noble families on the one hand and the large majority of lesser nobility on the other. A few families, the Arenbergs and the Ursels, for example, received an annual revenue of 400,000 florins as contrasted to the median Brabant noble income of 12,000 florins. (33) These wealthy nobles were well-educated and well-read ; some of them corresponded with the French philosophes. They often travelled to attend court functions, celebrating royal anniver• saries in Vienna and Paris. This upper echelon of the aristocra• cy held honorary positions in the traditional bourgeois associa• tions. In addition, by the eighteenth century, members of the upper nobility had become involved in industrial entreprises. The Due d'Arenberg, for instance, reopened the important coal mine in Gouffre which had closed in 1778 for lack of capital. Together with the Seigneur of Châtelineau, he continued to supervise and to provide capital for its operations. (34) Aren- berg also reclaimed marshes for cultivation in East Flanders. In his commercial activities, Arenberg was not atypical of the upper Brussels nobility. The rest of the nobility, although not as active as intellec• tuals or industrialists as these families, certainly did not con• form to Georg Forster's standard description of a simple-mind-

(Jl) Georg FÖRSTER, Voyage philosophique el pittoresque sur les bords du Rhin (Paris, 1791). pp. 9-13; and Suzanne TASSIER, Les démocrates belges de 1789 ( Brussels, 1930). pp. 16 and 375. (") État noble. Supplément 74. Etats Brabant ; AGR ; and Almanach de la Cour pour tannée MDCCLXXXVI (The Hague, 1786). (") Contribution de cinq millions. 70/1-5, AVB. (54) Henri PIRENNE. Histoire de Belgique (Brussels. 1926), V : 293. www.academieroyale.be

28 BRUSSELS IN THE AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS ed, self-serving, poverty-stricken class. There were no Belgian counterparts to the French hobereaux who could not maintain their estates. The lowest annual revenue of a Brussels noble in 1794 was 3,000 florins, which was still quite a respectable sum. (35) Like the rest of the Belgian nobility, the Brussels nobles lived very comfortably on the revenue from their prosperous agricultural lands. Gradually throughout the century, in fact, they had allowed many of the traditional privileges and the dues imposed upon the peasantry, such as the capitation and the relief, to lapse. (36) The situation of the Brussels nobility was thus quite different from that of the French. Nothing approaching the legendary " aristocratic reaction " occurred in Belgium. The one difference that Forster and subsequent historians have acknowledged between the Belgian and French popula• tions on the eve of the Revolution was the position and size of the clergy. A substantial percentage of the Belgian population in the 1780's, 17,350 of approximately two million men and women, devoted itself to religious service. (37) When Forster observed that the Brabant contained the largest concentration of priests, monks, and beguines of all the Belgian provinces and that the Church controlled vast expanses of land around Brussels, he concluded that this wealthy order was sapping the province's potential strength. He knew that many commoners in France resented the wealth and political power of the Church, and so he assumed that because there were more clergymen in the Belgian provinces, the problem was aggravat• ed. (38) Tassier accepted Forster's testimony that the powerful and wealthy Belgian clergy dominated and limited the econom• ic and ideological growth of the society. (39)

(35) " Contribution " (36) For a complete account of the enforcement and collection of feudal dues see R. DEVLEESHOUWER, " Les droits féodaux et leur abolition en Belgi­ que ", Annales de la Révolution française XII no. 196 (April-June, 1969). (37) E. DE MOREAU, L'Église en Belgique, des origines au début du XX' siè­ cle (Brussels, 1944), p. 201.

(38) FÖRSTER, pp. 2 and 19. (") TASSIER, pp. 85, and 89-90. www.academieroyale.be

BRUSSELS IN THE AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS 29

Recent studies of the division of the wealth in the Brabant suggest that the clergy did not control wealth to the extent envisioned by Forster. I. Ilegems-Baerten concluded from sta• tistics for the Brabant in the French period that " la part dévo• lue au clergé et à la noblesse était moins importante qu'on ne l'a cru jusqu'à présent. " (40) Similarly, recent studies of the background of Belgian priests show differences that separated them from the French clergy. Although the upper clergy in the Belgian provinces was drawn from the more influential noble families, most of the regular clergy were life-long residents of their parishes. (41) Often the sons of peasants and artisans, their abilities had been recognized by village priests who sent them to receive religious training at a nearby seminary. After the schooling, they returned to their native villages to serve their former neighbors and relatives. Economic historians therefore have good reason to question Forster's judgement that eighteenth-century Belgian society stagnated under the domination of the two privileged orders — the Church and the nobility. The First economist to challenge Forster's estimate of the division of wealth among the three orders was J. St. Lewinski. In 1911, Lewinski disputed Forster's assertion that all of Belgium's capital was concentrated in the hands of the first two orders, instead, he concluded, the Bel• gian clergy had a total annual revenue of only 960,000 florins, the nobility 3,887,500 and the bourgeoisie 1,098,796. (42) More detailed studies undertaken in recent years have shown that Lewinski himself overestimated the extent of the Church's wealth and underestimated that of the third order. In a study of yields from three taxes levied equally on all orders during the period of the French occupation, Ilegems-Baerten provides evidence that the rich bourgeoisie — the brewers, lawyers, rentiers, industrialists, and wholesale merchants — controlled far more wealth than had earlier been thought. Averaging the

(40) 1. ILEGEMS-BAERTEN, " Les Structures sociales", in J. Stengers, Bruxel­ les. Croissance d'une capitale (Brussels, 1979), pp. 146-148. (41) P. LEFÈVRE, " Le recrutement de l'épiscopat dans les Pays-Bas pendant le régime autrichien ". Bulletin de la Commission Royale d'Histoire CHI (1938).

42 ( ) Jan St. LEWINSKI. L'Évolution industrielle de la Belgique (Brussels, 1911). p. 107. www.academieroyale.be

30 BRUSSELS IN THE AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS three French taxes, the clergy paid 8.7%, the nobility 51.8%, and the bourgeoisie 39.5 % of the total. (43) Most of the members of the commercial bourgeoisie in Brussels — the artisans and merchants in traditional trades — belonged to the guilds. Together the Brussels guilds formed the nine so-called " Nations ". These Nations had been granted numerous privileges in the fourteenth century in exchange for their promise to supply troops to the duke, the sovereign ruler of the province. For four centuries the Nations had been able to restrict guild membership either to relatives or to those men who could pay a substantial entrance fee. The guilds deter• mined the length of apprenticeship, set their own prices in the Brussels marketplace over which they had a monopoly, and organized their own military units. In addition to their control over the trades, the Nations traditionally spoke for the com• mon people of the Brussels region in the provincial govern• ment. The wholesalers, manufacturers, and bankers were outside of the guilds and consequently had neither representation in the Estates nor economic privileges in the marketplace. The négociants were generally well-educated ; most read widely and some corresponded with philosophers and the intellectual elite of Europe. (44) Whereas the interests of the shopkeepers and artisans seemed to be limited to Brussels, many of the négo• ciants travelled throughout Europe. The doyens of the guilds, enjoying the receipts of flourishing trade, lived comfortable lives. The bankers and wholesale mer• chants, on the other hand, were very wealthy. According to a 1794 French list of " personnes réputées riches, " the mean income of wholesalers, manufacturers, and bankers in Brussels was 16,000 florins compared to 10,000 florins for the brewers, the wealthiest of the guilds. (45) Although several of the négo• ciants built magnificent townhouses in Brussels, most reinvest• ed much of their capital in new industrial enterprises. Gonse•

er I. ILEGEMS-BAERTEN, " De Vermogens en Beroepstructuur te Brussel (1794-1796)" 2DE Licentie Geschiedenis, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1968-1969, pp. 116-117. (44) The category of " négociants " includes wholesale merchants, manufac­ turers, and bankers. (45) " Contribution ". www.academieroyale.be

BRUSSELS IN THE AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS 31 quently, many of them were known throughout Europe for their commercial activities. Their commercial adventuring con• trasted markedly with the shopkeepers and artisans who con• tinued to practice the trade their fathers or uncles had passed down to them. Some of the wealthy négociants had been ennobled : for example, Chapel, the head of a leading Brussels commercial family. But it was stipulated in the letters of ennoblement that Chapel's sons must continue to practice their profession. The issue of bourgeois ennoblement or its inverse, dérogeance for nobility who practiced a trade, raised none of the debate that it did in France. Neither appears to have been common or a problem in eighteenth-century Brussels. Rather than emulating the privilege-seeking French commercial bourgeoisie, the Brus• sels négociants looked to England for their model. The whole• sale merchants, bankers, and industrialists of Brussels formed an Assemblée de Commerce in the 1780's to promote free trade and other economic policies in their mutual interest. (46) All of the members of the Assemblée traded outside of Bel• gium and most controlled firms employing over fifty workers. Besides the guild members, the other professional group that enjoyed traditional privileges in the eighteenth century was the lawyers who counselled the Estates or worked in the governmental administration. The three Conseils, for example, were all staffed by Brussels lawyers. Most of the lawyers who filled these elite positions had descended from the nobility or from a long line of ancestors in the legal profession. (47) Like the commercial bourgeoisie, the legal profession cannot be considered as one unified, homogeneous group in the eight• eenth century. Increasing numbers of nobles were undertaking legal studies at the same time as the legal profession was being opened to the lower classes. The major entry requirement to the profession was a degree in law from the University of Louvain. Legal studies at Louvain were very expensive, but sons of peasants and artisans could pursue their studies with

(**) Assemblée de Commerce, Registre 1016, AVB. (4') Joseph LEFÊVRE, "La Haute magistrature belge du XVIIIe siècle". Revue Générale Belge. (September-October, 1952), p. 951. The legal profession in Belgium is discussed in detail by J. NAUWELAERS, Histoire des avocats au Souverain Conseil de Brabant (Brussels, 1947). www.academieroyale.be

32 BRUSSELS IN THE AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS the aid of scholarships. ( ) After a period of apprenticeship, all graduates presented themselves before the Conseil de Brabant. Once admitted, the lawyers enjoyed certain historic privileges, such as exemption from charges personnelles, though not neces• sarily a large income. Although the separation between privi• leged and non-privileged lawyers was in no sense as formal or clear as the division between guilds and négociants, the lawyers from peasant or artisinal families were excluded from the inner circles of provincial and municipal government. It was from the ranks of these outsiders that the major contributions to Belgian legal theory in the eighteenth century came. Visitors to Brussels were often astonished by the multitude of lawyers. (49) In 1784, at least four hundred lawyers were licensed to practice before the Conseil de Brabant. In reality, only about two hundred ever practiced law. Only fifty of the licensed lawyers were regularly active ; most of them resided in Brussels. Foreign observers also frequently noted the extraordi• nary length of Belgian trials. Paid by the page — litigation was written and not oral — the lawyers did not regard brevity as a virtue. It should be added that the writings of a minority of the practicing lawyers justifiably earned a reputation for the corps as intellectuals. Other members of the Brussels society who had received at least some advanced education or were considered to be intel• lectuals were the doctors, pharmacists, scientists, publishers, engineers, and architects. Like the lawyers, the members of these liberal professions came from a wide variety of family backgrounds and did not form a homogeneous or cohesive group before 1789. Although many of them read and wrote extensively about political philosophy, none of them exercised any political power in eighteenth-century Brabant society. Below the bourgeoisie, wage employees in Brussels and the peasants outside the city walls eked out a living. As in France,

(48) NAUWELAERS, pp. 411-412; Paul STRUYE, "Jean-François Vonck, Avo­ cat et Conspirateur ", Conférence du Jeune Barreau de Bruxelles, Séance solennelle de rentrée, November 26, 1927, Brussels ; and V. BRANTS, Histoire des classes rurales aux Pays-Bas jusqu'à la fin du XVIII' siècle (Brussels, 1881), pp. 93-94. (4') NAUWELAERS, pp. 580-581; COSEMANS, p. 115; and B. VIGNERTE, La justice en Belgique avant 1789 (Paris, 1855), p. 83. www.academieroyale.be

BRUSSELS IN THE AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS 33

the end of the ancien regime was not an easy time for either the rural or the urban poor. Even though the feudal dues and obligations were relatively less burdensome, the Brabant pea• sants were pressed by rising prices. The Austrian government under Maria Theresa supported the peasants' protests against isolated efforts by the nobility and the bourgeoisie to expro• priate common lands and to introduce new crops. (50) The wage labor force, though not numerous in eighteenth-century Brussels, did increase in number throughout the period as industrialists defied guild employment regulations. Their rela• tive poverty and their number is a matter of heated debate among economic historians. (5I) They constituted a politically inactive substratum of Brussels society. Historians have often noted the complacency of the Belgian artisans, peasants, and wage laborers — a noted contrast to the French in the period. Most of these historians have concluded that the Belgian " lower orders " had been lulled into submis• sion by the Church. From the preceding survey it should be clear that the artisans had good reason to accept the status quo — in Brussels they were members of the privileged. But while the economic position of the Church may not have been as strong as previously assumed, it is nevertheless undeniable that the Church exercised a powerful influence over all groups in the society. According to all contemporary observers, the Church domi• nated eighteenth-century Belgian society to an extent un- equaled in Europe. For centuries the Belgian people had looked devoutly to the Catholic Church for moral guidance. According to doctrine, the Church, not the state, effectively ministered to and controlled society. Brussels lawyer Henri Van der Hoop summarized the Belgian view of the role of the Church : " En effet la religion peut seule donner de la noblesse & de l'efficacité à nos actions morales, sans elle, il n'est même point possible que l'homme soit vraiment juste, vraiment ver-

( °) Jan CRAEYBEC KX. " Les Attitudes de la paysannerie de la fin du XVIIIe siècle à nos jours". Extrait de Les Mouvements paysans dans le monde contemporain (Naples. 1976). (5I ) See for example : COSEMANS ; LEDOUX ; VANDEN BERGHE ; and A. VER- HAEGEN. " Note sur le travail et les salaires en Belgique ", Bulletin de l'institut de recherches économiques. Université de Louvain XIX ( 1953). www.academieroyale.be

34 BRUSSELS IN THE AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS tueux. " (52) The division between church and state was ob• viously not an issue for Belgian society in the eighteenth centu• ry. Each institution was assumed to reinforce the other. Historians have never been able to explain the uniquely Belgian religious devotion. M. de Pradt concluded, " Le Beige est très religieux. Deux cents ans de domination espagnole avaient fait des Belges les Espagnols du nord. " (53) While Spanish rule may have contributed to the establishment or reinforcement of a strong Catholic tradition in Belgium, it is not sufficient as an explanation. Other historians have pointed to the contrast between the top-heavy eighteenth-century French Church and the local seminaries and village priests of the Belgian provinces. Recent research on the French Church however suggests that this picture of a worldly, wealth-hoarding French Church is overstated. The differences in the structures of the French and Belgian Church, however, do at least partial• ly explain why the residents of Brussels continued to look to the Church for moral leadership and why they continued to accept their obligation to support the Church at a time when other peoples throughout Europe were questioning religious authority. The unique distribution of wealth and privilege among the three orders of Brussels society together with the power of the Catholic Church will help to explain the particular course of the Brabant Revolution and First French Occupation. Unlike their French neighbors, members of the third estate shared privileges with the first two estates ; all three orders reaped the prosperity of both the traditional trades and the growth of new commercial enterprises ; and almost universally, all shared a singular devotion to the Catholic Church.

(5J) H. V. VAN DER HOOP. " Sermon constitutionnel pour les Provinces des Pays-Bas " (Louvain, 1787), in Révolution belge, vol. 86, pam. 6. See also Jan ROEGIERS. " Kerk en Staat in de Oostenrijkse Nederlanden ", Algemene Ges­ chiedenis der Nederlanden IX (Haarlem, 1980), pp. 361-375. (") M. de PRADT, La Belgique depuis 1789-1794 (Brussels, 1820), pp. 16-17. www.academieroyale.be

• Plan routier de Bruxelles avec ses divisions, dressé et gravé par J. F. de la Rue. 1782 ». (Extrait de la Description de la ville de Bruxelles, enrichie du plan de la ville el de perspectives. Bruxelles. J. L. de Boubers. 1782). Bruxelles, Bibliothèque Royale Albert I". www.academieroyale.be www.academieroyale.be www.academieroyale.be www.academieroyale.be

CHAPTER II

The resistance 1780-1788

Joseph II

The people of Brussels mourned the passing of their beloved Empress, Maria Theresa. On November 30, 1780, bells tolled and masses were said throughout the city in honor of the Aus• trian ruler who had brought the Belgians thirty years of pros• perity and relative peace. They knew little of her successor, her eldest son Joseph II, but they assumed that as Emperor and Duke of the Brabant he would continue to insure their security without interfering in provincial affairs, just as his mother and the many foreign rulers before her had always done. The next decade was to prove the error of their assumptions. Joseph knew as little about his Belgian subjects as they did about his intentions in 1780. Although he had journeyed exten• sively during his tutelage for the throne, he had never visited the Austrian Netherlands. Shortly before her death, his mother had advised him that although Belgian customs differed greatly from Austrian practices he should not attempt to change them. The Austrian Netherlands, " le seul pays heureux... nous a fourni tant de ressources, " she reminded her son. Therefore, even if the people continued to hold " leurs anciens, même ridicules préjugés, s'ils sont obéissants et attachés et contri• buent plus que nos pays allemands, exténués et mécontents, " she asked, what more could be hoped. (') Never one to accept another's advice without question. Joseph decided to see this rich nation and observe its customs himself. The summer before his formal investiture as Duke of the Brabant, Joseph planned a visit to his newly inherited territory.

(') Maria Theresa to Joseph II. July 22. 1780. in A. VON ARNETH. Briefe der Kaiserin Maria Theresia an Ihre Kinder und Freunde. (Vienna, 1881), I : 3. www.academieroyale.be

36 THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788

The Emperor travelled to Brussels by way of the Hainault and Flanders. Disguised often as a Count Falkenstein, he vis• ited sawmills and factories, inspected army garrisons, hospitals, and schools ; he shunned formal receptions. In Antwerp, for example, instead of residing at the Prinsenhof Palace as would have been customary, he stayed at the Hôtel du Grand Laboureur. Chroniclers along his route reported his assistance at a peasant's marriage that he happened upon on his wan• derings, " O Joseph ! quel bonheur ! quelle réjouissance ! Tout se ressent ici de ta magnificence, " one pamphleteer pro• claimed. (2) The people of Brussels lined the streets to welcome the royal visitor who arrived in the capital on June 2. No sovereign had visited the Belgian provinces since 1559, when Philip II had journeyed to Brussels to participate in festivities in his honor. Joseph observed the cheering crowds of artisans and merchants from his carriage, seemingly unmoved by the popular enthu• siasm. After that, he refused to take part in any further public ceremonies. He left Brussels, bundled in a large dark overcoat as disguise, accompanied by only one aide. Joseph did not stay to receive the new governors-general, his sister Maria Christine and her husband Albert who had been appointed to the post by Maria Theresa shortly before Joseph's ascent to the throne. When Joseph returned to Brussels at the end of his trip, he did not find it necessary to include the royal couple in his meetings with Belgian officials. He preferred to deliberate alone. The governors-general were not alone in their disappoint• ment ; Joseph's blunt informality disillusioned the Belgian peo• ple as well. When Joseph visited convents, hospitals, and schools, his unannounced presence shocked his Belgian hosts ; his abrupt manner offended them. His refusal to partake in any of the ceremonies planned by the villages in his honor baffled them. As he neared the end of his visit, he aroused the public ire in Bruges by not kneeling on the customary velvet

(2) " Recueil des Pièces qui ont paru à la louange de l'Empereur" (Möns), Acquisitions récentes G 302, AGR. See also Mlle Murray, " Stances à l'em­ pereur sur son arrivée aux Pays-Bas" (Namur), Acquisitions récentes G 301, AGR ; and " Le véritable récit du voyage de l'Empereur aux Pays-Bas. " (Möns, 1781), Acquisitions récentes G 303, AGR. www.academieroyale.be

THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788 37

cushion to watch the traditional procession of the Holy Blood and in Ghent by ordering clothes painted on Van Eyck's trip• tych of Adam and Eve hanging in St. Baafs Cathedral. All in all, this first meeting of the Emperor and his Belgian subjects left both parties with uneasy forebodings of their future rela• tions. (3) The Belgian society that Joseph observed troubled him. According to one pamphleteer, " il voyait avec peine que des Moines inutiles & trop ambitieux possédaient des biens im• menses, que la noblesse envahissait toutes les charges & mépri• sait le commerce ; que la robe ne rendait plus la justice, mais la vendait. " (4) The strength of the Catholic Church throughout the provinces, the predominance of the nobility in rural areas and of the guilds and the robe in the cities seemed to him to belong to a medieval society, not to the enlightened eighteenth century. The Belgians' unquestioning respect for privilege and their celebration of tradition clashed with his ideal. The best ordain- ment for the state was " good laws and a just execution of them, well ordered finances, a respect-inspiring army, and a flourishing industry, " he believed, not " splendid festivities, gala holidays, magnificent salons, golden treasures, rich fabrics, and precious jewels. " (5) The Belgians possessed the treasures, displayed prominently in their churches, chateaus, and guild halls. But instead of good laws, he found a myriad of legal customs varying from province to province, elaborate internal customs regulations, and a crumbling series of military fortifi• cations. Furthermore, the complex of local authorities and the Church inhibited the power of the central Austrian state. Although he had been educated by the elderly Johann Christoph von Bartenstein and a series of Jesuits, Joseph seems to have been more deeply influenced by the ideas of Anton

(3) For a description of Joseph's visit see H. PERGAMENI, Le Voyage de Joseph II en Belgique (Brussels, 1900). (*) " Précis de la Révolution Belgique et moyens présentés en forme d'ob­ servations, qui peuvent coopérer au bonheur de la Nation" (Brussels, 1791), Révolution belge, vol. 54, pam. 2, BRB. See also Georg FORSTER, Voyage Philosophique et Pittoresque sur les bords du Rhin (Paris, An III), Il : 18. (5) Joseph II as cited by Saul K. PADOVER, The Revolutionary Emperor: Joseph II of Austria (London, 1934), 2nd edition 1967, p. 36. www.academieroyale.be

38 THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788 von Martini, a professor at the University of Vienna and a disciple of the Austrian enlightenment. According to Martini, a strong centralized state guaranteed the natural rights of the individual citizens. An absolute, enlightened ruler at the helm of the state could see the whole society to decide what was in the best common interest of the society. Intermediate bodies dominated by their own particular interests only obstructed the beneficent authority of the enlightened monarch, according to Joseph. A century before Martini, Thomas Hobbes had de• scribed the " great number of corporations " as " many lesser commonwealths in the bowels of a greater, like worms in the entrayles of a natural man. " (6) Joseph vowed therefore to sweep away the corps intermédiaires so characteristic of the ancien regime. Nothing would stand between the state and the individual citizen enjoying his full natural rights in his realm. Joseph believed that his authority extended to every sphere of society. As emperor he was responsibile for the well-being of his subjects. Even though the unenlightened subjects might not realize the necessity of such measures, he intended to brake the particular interests of the corps intermédiaires in order to grant his subjects their full natural rights. Like the philosophes, Joseph recognized the common people as the most numerous, the most useful, and the most virtuous part of society, who sometimes needed to be led to recognize the best interests. Here he differed sharply from his mother. She shared his goals of reforming the laws of the empire and centralizing power under the monarch, but she did not believe in forcing changes on a reluctant people. Maria Theresa had recognized her son's lack of patience. Long before he began to rule, she warned his tutor : " Da mein Sohn als ein uns so lieb und importantes Pfand mit grosser Zärtlichkeit und Liebe von der Wiege epflegt worden, ist sicher, dass seinem Willen und Ver• langen in vielen Stücken zu viel nachgegeben worden, und insbesondere seine Bediente ihn sowohl durch unterschiedliche Schmeicheleien als auch einige unzeitige Vorstellungen seiner Hoheit verleitet, sich gern gehorsamen und ehren zu sehen,

(6) Thomas HOBBES, Leviathan, vol. I, section 29 as cited by J. DE MEYER, Crisis der Europeesche Staatsphilosophie. De Staatsidee bij de Fransche Philoso- fen op den vooravond van de Revolutie (Antwerp, 1949). p. 213. www.academieroyale.be

THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788 39

hingegen die Widersetzung unangenehm und fast unerträglich zu finden, sich nichts zu versagen gegen Andere aber leicht, ohne gefälligkeit und rude zu handeln. "(7) During the decade of their co-regency, a trying period for both, they clashed over the timing and necessity of proposal after proposal. A French visitor to the Court observed at the end of Maria Theresa's reign that it was divided into two camps of opinion, one cen• tered around Maria Theresa, the other led by Joseph. (8) " I believe that it is necessary to reform the separate states & make them realize how necessary for them would be the des• potism which I propose, " Joseph persisted against his mother's pleas for moderation. (9) While she was alive, the Empress's will reigned supreme. She guarded the Belgian institutions from the sweeping reforms proposed by her increasingly frus• trated son.

The First Belgian Reforms

Joseph returned to Vienna from his travels firmly commit• ted to enlightening his Belgian subjects and to reforming their institutions. He quickly forgot his mother's advice in his haste to pull Belgium within the fold of the Austrian state. The most powerful threat to Joseph's plan for a unified, centralized state was the Catholic Church. Following the ideas of Martini and another faculty member of the University of Vienna, Joseph von Sonnenfels, the Emperor believed that the ruler rightfully retained sovereignty over the Church by virtue of an original contract. Joseph, as a nationalist, a centrist, and a rationalist, also subscribed to the arguments of the influential Justinius Febronius for circumscribing the political power of Rome. During his first five years, Joseph focused his reforming zeal in the Austrian Netherlands on the powerful Catholic Church. He issued a Patent of Toleration on November 1, 1781 to guarantee the rights of his Protestant and Jewish subjects. One

(') Maria Theresa to Count Batthyany, 1751 in ARNETH. Briefe der Kaiserin Maria-Theresia an ihre Kinder und Freunde. IV : 5. (*) PADOVER. p. 45. (*) Joseph II as cited by PADOVER. p. 20. www.academieroyale.be

40 THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788 month later, he decreed that monasteries would be indepen• dent of the Pope, and seven days later forbad priests to appeal to Rome in questions of marriage dispensations. These edicts not only separated the Church from the state, but subordinated the Church to the state. Two years later in an even more direct attack on the Belgian Church, Joseph proclaimed, " que le nombre excessif des cou• vents de l'un et de l'autre sexe, où l'on ne menait qu'une vie purement contemplative, était parfaitement inutile à la reli• gion, à l'État et au prochain. " (10) He declared nine religious orders " useless, " and ordered their suppression. He demanded an inventory of all their wealth with a view to expropriating the " excessive " church treasures to fund socially useful pro• jects. (") The Emperor refused to fill vacant religious positions in the other orders that he left intact — that is, the benedictines whose work he respected and the ursulines and dames de la visitation who trained youth. The clerics, like all the other citizens in his empire, were to work and serve a useful purpose. Joseph further asserted the state's supremacy over the Church by decreeing major changes in the religious practices of his subjects and ordering the priests to read all future im• perial edicts from the pulpit during mass. In the interest of health, he forbad burials under churches in 1784. Two years later, he abolished the confréries, limited the popular season of kermesses or carnivals to one day and limited processions to two a year. He even regulated the wearing of costumes in the processions. The Belgian people would be taught to look to their interests on earth instead of frittering their time away on frivolous ceremonies or being obsessed with the punishing heavens.

(10) Joseph II, as cited by Théodore JUSTE, Les Vonckistes (Brussels : 1878), p. 3. (") For a discussion of the closing of convents and monasteries see Joseph LAENEN, Étude sur la suppression des couvents par l'Empereur Joseph II dans les Pays-Bas Autrichiens et plus spécialement dans le Brabant, 1783-1794 (Antwerp, 1905). For a discussion of Joseph's clerical reforms see Jan ROEGIERS, " Kerk en Staat in de Oostenrijkse Nederlanden. " Algemene geschiedenis der Neder­ landen IX (Haarlem, 1980), pp. 361-375. I would like to thank Dr. Roegiers for sharing with me a copy of his manuscript for the chapter before publication. www.academieroyale.be

THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788 41

Finally, Joseph proposed to wrest political power away from Rome by making the bishops answerable to him instead of the Pope. Like his mother, he already nominated the bishops him• self. Now he proposed to control their education. In conformity with the reforms he had instituted in other Austrain territories, he announced his plans to close Belgian theological seminaries and to construct a Séminaire général in Louvain. His hand- picked professors would train all the future prelates in his empire, he vowed, hoping thereby to crush ultramontism in Belgium. One of the most influential ex-Jesuits foresaw the direction of the reforms long before Joseph announced his attack. The Abbé François Xavier de Feller, the editor of the influential Journal historique et littéraire and a former leader of the dis• banded Jesuit order in Luxemburg reminded his readers in 1778: "Toute puissance vient de Dieu. C'est lui qui a donné des souverains aux peuples et qui a élevé les souverains pour faire le bonheur des peuples. " The rulers who served at the bequest of God " doivent modeler leur gouvernement sur celui de Dieu même," he concluded. ('2) Feller had predicted the reforms that would follow from Joseph's acceptance of the doctrines of the philosophes beginning in 1781, but few pre• lates heeded Feller's early warnings. (I3) When the avalanche of attacks against their privileges began, they ignored Feller's insistent cries of protest. Rather than argue with the Emperor, most priests just disregarded the new regulations and contin• ued to preach and to perform traditional religious ceremonies as they always had. The Archbishop of Mechelen counselled them that it would be unwise to lead the people in questioning established authority. The Brabant Estates periodically protested against the Em• peror's religious reforms as infringements on the constitution of the province and violations of Joseph's inaugural oath to pro• tect the Catholic religion. Perhaps more important, a limited

(l2) Abbé de FELLER, Journal historique el littéraire, 1778, p. 554 cited by Marcel LE MAIRE, S.J. " Un publiciste au siècle des lumières : François Xavier de Feller 1735-1802." unpublished dissertation. Katholieke Universiteit, Leu­ ven. 1949. (") François de Feller, April 15. 1781 cited by Alphonse SPRUNCK, Biogra­ phie nationale du pays de Luxembourg (Luxembourg ; 1947), p. 142. www.academieroyale.be

42 THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788 number of pamphlets attacking Joseph's beliefs began to ap• pear in Brussels. The Church was infallible, the authors ar• gued, reminding Joseph that as a mortal, he too was subject to God's wrath. God spoke to the Emperor as He did to His people through the Church leaders, they reminded him. (14) These pamphlets were answered by a flurry of pamphlets sup• porting Joseph's rights as Emperor to guide his subjects. In one of the most interesting of these pamphlets, the Em• peror and a Count Lauraguais confront the Pope in a hypo• thetical debate. The Pope begins by charging Joseph as the faithless son of a pious mother with usurping the authority of the Church by not allowing the monks to send their money to Rome. Joseph replies : " Il est naturel que les sujets d'un Sou• verain ne prêtent point serment entre les mains d'un autre souverain imaginaire & puissent violer ainsi toutes les loix sur lesquelles la société est établie. " The Count falls on his knees in praise of the Emperor's wisdom. " Dieu soit loué : Voilà un Empereur sans préjugés ! " he proclaims. " C'est pourtant à la philosophie que l'humanité devra sa tolérance & sa liberté sociale. " Joseph thanks his loyal supporter, " C'est Rome qui doit obéir à mes décrets & non me faire respecter les siens, " he concludes, telling the Pope who warns him of the fires of damnation, that he expects to lay the path for future reformers and to be remembered for his courage. (15) Joseph's reforming crusade in Belgium aroused attention in intellectual circles throughout Europe. The journalist, Pierre Lebrun, editor of the Journal général de l'Europe lauded Joseph as an intellectual with both the foresight and the power to enlighten a prejudiced and backward people. (16) " Le feu

('") (Pierre DEDOYER), " Lettres d'un Chanoine Pénitencier" (1785), Révo­ lution belge, vol. 73, BRB ; " Mémoire historique, politique et critique sur les droits de l'Empereur en Matière Ecclésiastique Servant de Réponse à l'ouvrage qui a pour titre Observations Philosophiques sur les principes adoptés par l'Empereur dans les Matières Ecclésiastiques," (1786), Révolution belge, vol. 24, BRB ; " Réflexions sur les Êdits émanés récemment aux Pais-Bas de la part de l'empereur en matière ecclésiastique" (Brussels, 1786), Liasse 610 B, AVB. ('5) " Dialogue entre Joseph II, Empereur des Romains, Giovanni Braschi Pape sous le nom de Pie VI et le Comte de Lauraguais " (Rome, 1782), Varia Belgica B2, BG, KUL. (I6) Journal général de l'Europe, January 3, 1786, 341 : 23. www.academieroyale.be

THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788 43 de son génie a été pour tous ses sujets le flambeau de Promé- thée, " a traveller noted. ('7) A few Belgians joined these foreign observers in applauding the Emperor's courage and his vision. Charles Lambert D'Ou- trepont, a Brussels lawyer recognized as one of Belgium's most distinguished legal theorists, explained : " Sa Majesté prend le parti de la raison contre la tyrannie de l'erreur. " He praised his sovereign as the ruler who " daigne montrer la lumière de la vérité à ses Sujets. " (u) "C'est un nouveau jour qui luit pour l'humanité, " another Belgian pamphleteer added, pro• claiming the happy effects of the Emperor's reforms on his countrymen. (I9) The Emperor had become the hero of Vol• taire and d'Alembert's disciples ; Joseph seemed an ideal philo• sopher-king. Joseph followed his successful attacks on the power of the Belgian Church with an investigation of commercial privilege in the Austrian Netherlands. In 1784 he ordered the magis• trates of all the cities and villages in Belgium to supply " une liste exacte et classifiée " of the regulations and privileges of all the gjilds. (20) He then solicited specific suggestions from the négociants for abolishing those privileges that in their opinion hampered trade and industry. All of the magistrates, except the mayor of Brussels, conducted the survey and most returned the results to Vienna. They frequently complained in the introduc• tions to their reports that the guilds " forment un obstacle au progrès et au développement de l'industrie et blessent la liberté

(") DÉRIVAL (de Gomicourt), Le Voyageur dam les Pays-Bas Autrichiens ou teures sur l'état actuel de ces Pays (Amsterdam, 1782), I : 6. See also " Un défenseur du peuple à l'empereur Joseph II sur son règlement concernant l'émigration, ses diverses réformes etc. " (Dublin. 1785), Varia belgica B6, BG, KUL. ('8) Charles Lambert D'OUTREPONT, " Des Empêchements dirimant le Con­ trat de Mariage dans les Pays-Bas Autrichiens selon l'édit de Sa Majesté l'Empereur et Roi " (Brussels, 1786).

(") » precjs politique sur les différends qui se sont élevés entre l'Empereur & les États-Généraux des Provinces Unies relativement à l'Escaut" (Brussels, 1785) in Révolution belge, vol. 10. pam. 2, BRB. (20) H. VAN HOUTTE, "Chambres de commerce et tribunaux de commerce en Belgique au XVIIIe siècle. " Annales de la société d'histoire et d'archéologie de Gand (1911). pp. 18-19; and H. COPPEJANS-DESMEDT, "De enquête van 1784 over het ambachtzwezen in de Oostenrijkse Nederlanden," Archief en Bibliotheekwezen in België XLII (1971), p. 37. www.academieroyale.be

44 THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788 des citoyens. " (21) That was precisely the response Joseph ex• pected to hear. After gathering the information, the Emperor commissioned a number of " projets, " telling the négociants, for example, that he was considering a " projet d'édit " for the suppression of the guilds. (22) He never carried through any of the major economic reforms, however. Except for some very minor changes, he left the privileges of the guilds intact. His commercial policies fluctuated back and forth between support of open and closed markets. Joseph was not so indecisive on other questions and moved quickly to centralize the administration of his empire. " La nationalité, la religion, ne doivent établir aucune différence entre mes sujets, " he declared in 1783. " Les provinces de la monarchie ne faisant qu'un tout, et n'ayant qu'un seul et même intérêt, tous ces privilèges, qui d'une province à l'autre ont causé jusqu'ici tant de griffonnage inutile, doivent cesser désormais. " (23) His plans to create a homogeneous set of institutions actually meant little for most of the Austrian terri• tories which had already been adapting to conform to Joseph's ideals of efficient administration. In the Austrian Netherlands, on the other hand, where each city and province continued jealously to guard its medieval administrative, judicial, and commercial autonomy, Joseph's plans implied major changes. In 1785, he informed the Belgian officials of his plans to mod• ernize the outmoded and chaotic institutions and regulations, one by one. The first year, he reopened the Scheldt River to commerce and voided the myriad of complex tariff restrictions. Next, he announced a series of reforms designed to standardize the empire's universities. The students of the Belgian Louvain University revolted, protesting that the proposals would lower standards at one of Europe's oldest and most respected univer-

(21) Conseil privé 405-6 and 430, AGR ; and R. LEDOUX, La suppression du régime corporatif dans les Pays-Bas autrichiens en 1784. Un projet d'édit, son auteur et sa date. Mémoires de l'Académie Royale, Lettres (Brussels, 1912), p. 39. (22) " Projet d'Édit de l'Empereur concernant les exclusives et levées d'argent des corps de métiers, " Conseil privé 402, AGR ; and LEDOUX, p. 12. (2') Joseph II, 1783 as cited by L. DELPLACE, Joseph II et la Révolution Brabançonne (Bruges, 1890), p. 88. www.academieroyale.be

THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788 45 sities. Their resistance was shortlived however, and easily silenced by the Emperor's troops.

The Judicial and Administrative Reforms

On New Year's Day 1787, Joseph announced his plans for the revision of the entire Belgian judicial and administrative sys• tem. He decreed the suppression of the traditional seigneurial system of justice, of the powerful Conseil de Justice, the Con• seils collatéraux, and the Contours ecclésiastiques. They were to be replaced by sixty-four regional courts (tribunaux de pre• mière instance) under the central direction of one Conseil souverain in Brussels that was to be appointed by the Emperor himself. For administrative purposes, Belgium was reorganized into nine " circles, " which replaced the traditional provincial divisions. Each circle was to be supervised by an intendant and twelve commissioners, again all appointed by Joseph. The in• tendant and his commissioners could overrule the traditional administrative authority, the Estates. In a further attempt to curtail the power of the Estates, he forbad them to sit in per• manent session. Their only remaining check on the Emperor's authority was their right to vote on the Austrian tax subsidy twice a year, and that right seemed an insignificant survivor in the light of Joseph's virtual coup d'état. The reorganization, although shocking to the Belgians in its precipitous announcement, was actually the product of years of careful consideration. Joseph had been disturbed on his visit to the Low Countries by what he considered to be an excessive number of lawyers who practiced in over six hundred different tribunals, all with their own individual procedures. The result• ing inefficiency of the legal system had appalled him. " Cette diversité dans l'organisation et la compétence des conseils et des tribunaux mettait l'autorité supérieure dans l'impossibilité d'exercer sur eux une surveillance efficace, " he com• plained. (24) The administrative system of the Netherlands, hardly changed since its institution under Charles VI, did not

I24) Arthur GAILLARD. Le Conseil de Brabant (Brussels, 1898), 1: 316. www.academieroyale.be

46 THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788 conform to the Austrian model that he had applied to the other territories of his realm. His administrative reforms were designed to standardize the bureaucracy. With his judicial reforms he hoped to establish " une forme nouvelle pour la direction & l'expédition la plus prompte & la plus régulière des affaires de son ressort. " (25) Joseph hoped to eliminate particu• lar interests and to increase efficiency, consequently making the system more general in its application and more just. He also intended to limit the number of lawyers and to put his own advisors at the head of the new institutions. Joseph had begun working on the details of the judicial and administrative reorganization at the end of 1785 with his minis• tre plénipotentiaire for Belgium, Belgiojoso. Joseph personally intervened on every detail of the work, often ignoring his minister's suggestions. The Prince de Kaunitz also assisted in the administrative reorganization, but his plans were consistently rejected as being too conservative as were Martini's ideas for the judicial reforms. " En faisant un nouveau règlement pour le bien général, " Joseph told the professor, " on ne doit pas avoir l'air de craindre les anciens préjugés. " (26) In the end, the program of reforms resembled Voltaire's pronouncement : " Londres fut une ville pour avoir été brûlée. Voulez-vous de bonnes lois, brûlez les vôtres et faites-en de nouvelles. " (27) The Journal général de l'Europe called the reforms " une révolution, " heralding the end of the chaotic and overlapping traditional Belgian institutions. (28) It used the word " revolu• tion " in its eighteenth-century sense (meaning a major change), but the twentieth-century definition of revolution clearly fits what happened in consequence. It can be argued that the Brabant Revolution as a Belgian resistance movement against the Austrians began on January 1, 1787. The five years of silent discontent were over. Joseph's January decrees attacked the privileges of the most politically aware and active group, the lawyers, most of whom

(") "Diplôme de l'Empereur," January 1, 1787, Conseil Souverain de Justice 56, AGR. (") Joseph II as cited by GAILLARD, 1: 352. (27) VOLTAIRE, Dictionnaire philosophique V, " Lois" section 1, cited by DE MEYER, p. 152. (28) Journal général de l'Europe, April 5, 1787, 352 : 251. www.academieroyale.be

THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788 47 practiced in Brussels. The limitation of their number and the provision that they serve only at the pleasure of the Emperor, the lawyers complained, perhaps overdramatically, would cause " l'anéantissement de leur état sans compensation, leur ruine sans moyen pour la plupart de la réparer et les plaintes amères de leurs femmes et de leurs enfants. " (29) If imple• mented, the Brussels lawyers argued in more general terms, the reforms would violate the terms of the Joyeuse Entrée which expressly limited the power of the Emperor to initiate changes in Belgian institutions. The Conseil de Brabant, the most important traditional Bra• bant judicial institution, charging that the Emperor had over• stepped his authority, refused to publish or to register the new decree as law. The Conseil furthermore refused to abdicate its position to the Emperor's newly appointed judicial authorities. The Estates met to consider the Emperor's plans on January 29. They concluded that not only did he lack the authority to initiate the changes, but that his proposed reforms in fact violated specific articles of the Joyeuse Entrée. They reminded the Emperor that neither the Emperor nor the Estates could legislate changes in the constitution without the consent of the other. They could not give their consent to measures that violated the constitution, they declared. " Les lois fondamentales en Brabant sont aussi anciennes que l'his• toire de ses ducs & le privilège inaugural des souverains, juré solennellement par chacun d'eux, est toujours resté le même quant à la substance, " they reminded him ; his right to rule, derived from the very constitution he had violated. (30) Numerous widely distributed pamphlets published during January and February reiterated these charges against Joseph. (3I) When the Estates met again on March 29, having received no answer to their letter, they told the Emperor that if

2 ( ') J. NAUWELAERS, Histoire des avocats au souverain conseil de Brabant (Brussels. 1947). p. 485. A substantial file of complaints from lawyers who claim that they have been excluded from their former positions can be found in Conseil Souverain de Justice 70. AGR. (,0) "Representation des États de Brabant à leurs Altesses," January 29. 1787 in Journal général de l'Europe, pièces justificatrices, 13 : 56. (") See for example: "Causes de l'agitation excitée dans le Pays-Bas par l'introduction du nouveau système, " Mss 18050, p. 4, BRB ; and " Histoire de la Révolution brabançonne, p. 116. Mss. 19648. BRB. www.academieroyale.be

48 THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788 he continued with his plans, he would be infringing not only on their rights but also upon those of every Brabant citizen. They had a constitutional obligation to protect the rights of the Brabant people and they warned him that they intended to fulfill their duty. Instead of voting the Emperor his taxes as they had been convened to do, they continued to discuss his violations of the rights of the Brabant people. In April, the Estates called upon a Brussels lawyer, Henri Van der Noot, to summarize and state formally their protests against Joseph's January decrees. Van der Noot, the fifty-six year old second son of the noble family of Van der Noot de Vreckem de Keifs, had been licensed in law at Louvain in 1757 before beginning what all contemporary observers note was a rather mediocre legal practice. The Nations of Brussels were among his principal clients, the doyens his closest friends. Van der Noot presented his lengthy legalistic " Mémoire sur les droits du peuple brabançon " to the Estates on April 23, 1787. (32) In his " Mémoire, " he reiterated the already familiar arguments that Joseph's edicts violated fundamental Brabant privileges guaranteed by the Joyeuse Entrée. Not content mere• ly to list the specific provisions as other authors had done, Van der Noot traced every privilege back to its medieval origin. The constitutional provisions that Joseph dismissed as old-fash• ioned and obtrusive, Van der Noot argued, " contiennent seulement ce qu'un bon Prince doit à son Peuple : elles ont l'équité pour principe, & la justice pour base, qui seules sont les fondemens les plus solides de la durée des Royaumes, font la paix & la tranquillité des familles, la félicité du Peuple, le soutien du trône & la gloire du Prince. " (33) The Belgian peo• ple in 1787 depended on the protection the Joyeuse Entrée af• forded them from despotic trespasses just as they had for over four hundred years. The Joyeuse Entrée guaranteed a just and balanced separa• tion of powers. The sixty-four new courts, all under the direc• tion of Joseph's ministers, that would replace the Conseil de Brabant and the imperial intendants who could overrule the

(") Henri VAN DER NOOT, " Mémoire sur les Droits du peuple braban­ çon, " April 24, 1787, in Révolution belge, vol. 35, pam. 4, BRB. (") Ibid www.academieroyale.be

THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788 49

Estates threatened that balance, Van der Noot contended as he asked his compatriots to consider " si cette suppression des Justices n'est pas une ruse pour saper insensiblement, même anéantir l'État Noble de cette Province, comme celle de ne pas conférer les Prélatures vacantes en est une pour anéantir l'État Ecclésiastique, envahir les biens des Abbayes & devenir ainsi seul maître absolu. " (34) With his new ordinances, Joseph planned to emasculate the first and second Estates ; his person• ally appointed officials would rule supreme. Consequently, the Brabançons " dont les fastes & les annales vantent la bravoure, la valeur, " were Van der Noot warned, " tous menacés du despotisme le plus absolu ! " (35) In the name of their ancestors. Van der Noot called upon the Brabant people to resist the usurpations. The terms of the Joyeuse Entrée itself gave them the right of resistance. Van der Noot concluded in his " Mémoire ". The Emperor had sworn in his inauguration as duke to uphold the privileges and the laws of the province according to the Joyeuse Entrée. At the same time, the Estates, in the name of the Brabant people, had sworn their obedience to him as their legal sovereign. The Joyeuse Entrée, " un contrat synallagmatique entre le Duc et le Peuple Brabançon " was based on the medieval principle of the mutual obligations of the lord and his vassals. It specified the rights and limited the powers of both contracting parties — the people and the emperor. If the Emperor persisted with his program of reforms, Van der Noot argued, he would be violat• ing his constitutional oath. And hence, according to Article 59 of the constitution, the people would no longer be under any obligation to recognize him as sovereign. Legally according to the mutual contractual terms of the Joyeuse Entrée, he would cease to be the duke of the Brabant. The Estates heartily approved Van der Noot's " Mémoire ". They sent his list of nine specific grievances and the lengthy justification for resistance to Joseph on April 26, 1787, declar• ing that they would not vote him his taxes until he redressed their grievances.

<54) Ibid. <") Ibid. www.academieroyale.be

50 THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788

Meanwhile, the Conseil de Brabant mounted its own protest against the new judicial system. Six of the newly appointed members of the Conseil d'appel of Brussels refused to take their positions as ordered on May 1, and the Conseil de Bra• bant refused to disband. Letters from officials who refused to take their oath of office for new positions and from dismissed functionaries whose jobs had been eliminated continued to arrive. (36) By May 1, the combined resistance of the Estates and the Conseil was stronger than ever. Joseph's ministers counselled the angered Emperor to be patient. The Belgian proverb, " Ce qu'on n'est pas sûr de faire le lundi, il faut savoir différer jusqu'au samedi, " they told him summarized only too well how the Belgian people preferred to proceed ; he had simply acted too abruptly. (37) If he would appear to compromise, his advisors suggested, the storm would pass and he could reintroduce his reforms quietly and gradual- iy- Joseph followed their advice, offering to withdraw the January decrees until he had obtained the consent of the Estates and to allow the Conseil de Brabant to resume its func• tions. Maria Christine and Albert worked to effect a compro• mise, independently of the Emperor. The Emperor counselled his advisors privately that he was determined not to abandon permanently his plans for reform. His judicial and administrative reforms which made the government more efficient and the judicial process more readi• ly accessible to all of the people and which took both out of the hands of the traditionally privileged classes, he argued, had been designed with the best interests of the majority of the Belgian people in mind. " J'avoue que la Joyeuse Entrée s'y oppose, " one of his spokesmen wrote, " mais le bien général de la nation doit prévaloir. " (38) Joseph was acting in accord

( ) Conseil Souverain de Justice 43 AGR ; and Conseil Souverain de Jus­ tice 71, AGR. (") Madame de Stassart cited by Théodore JUSTE, La Révolution braban­ çonne (Brussels, 1884), p. 65. (38) Assemblée générale des États, May 26, 1787, Liasse 610A, AVB. See also petitions of the Nations to the Estates, États Brabant, Carton 153, AGR. In a typical statement of their view of the relation between the privileges of the first two orders and the rights of the people, the Estates proclaimed : " Enfin www.academieroyale.be

THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788 51 with his notion of the highest common good of the Belgian nation. If his actions violated the Belgian constitution, that just proved the constitution was vicious, benefitted only the privil• eged classes, and needed to be changed. Natural law, the Em• peror concluded, should rule above outdated human conven• tion. The first two Estates gratefully accepted Joseph's compro• mise. In the name of the Brabant people, the Third Estate rejected it. Joseph had only redressed their most immediate grievances, the Third Estate delegates told the first two Estates. As the representatives " d'un peuple outragé dans tous ses Droits, " they demanded that the Emperor demonstrate more convincingly his concern for the well-being of his subjects. The people " a cru voir qu'on continuoit de préparer ses chaînes et de les assurer à côté de l'hydre effroiable de l'intendance, " the Third Estate reported. (39) They had been alarmed by the ar• rest in April of a Brussels burgher, De Hondt, and his transfer to Vienna without trial. Until " le flambeau sacré de la loi constitutionnelle " had regained its original brightness, the doyens and the lawyers told the governors-general, they would not vote Joseph his taxes. (40)

The Popularization of the Resistance

Spokesmen for the nobility of office joined by the high clergy had initiated the Brabant resistance, but by May 1787, it had escaped their control. Duke Albert reported : " Convaincu qu'on en veut à ses droits les plus sacrés, à ses propriétés, à sa liberté même, toute la nation, depuis le premier jusqu'au der-

notre devoir, la nature même des choses ont fait dire que les Abbayes, ces grands corps possessionés, donnant l'être à la Constitution, ne font en même tems qu'un seul être avec elle, qu'il nous est aussi impossible de perdre de vue ce qui tient, même indirectement, à l'existence de ces corps, que de renoncer à la Constitution même, à notre propre existence, à l'existence politique du Peuple, dont nous tenons les droits en dépôt. " Assemblée générale de Brabant à leurs Altesses, Liasse 6I0B, AVB, (") Remonstrance des Étals de Brabant, May 3. 1787, Liasse 601B, AVB. (40) Assemblée générale de Brabant à leurs Altesses, May 15, 1787, Liasse 6I0B, AVB. www.academieroyale.be

52 THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788 nier est pénétrée d'un enthousiasme de patriotisme, qui ferait verser à chacun la dernière goutte de son sang plutôt que de plier sous des lois que l'autorité voudrait imposer, et qui paraî• traient contraires à la Constitution. Les sentimens sont telle• ment unanimes sur ce point, que la persuasion ne pourra opé• rer sur eux. " (4I) Similarly, Joseph's tutor, the Baron de Marti• ni, who had been observing the popular uproar, marvelled :. " dans ces Provinces, chaque Paysan est propriétaire et Seig• neur, usant et jouissant de tous les droits que la Constitution accorde et qu'il connoit, ou croit connoître, aussi bien que les Gens de ville ne se croiant traitables qu'en justice réglée et devant ses juges compétants. Les nobles, les bourgeois, et les habitans des Villes n'ont qu'une seule âme, pour ce qui regarde le prix qu'ils attachent à leur ancienne Constitution, à leurs Chartres, loix et coutumes et se regardant comme partie con• tractant avec le Souverain, jaloux au plus haut point de leurs privilèges vrais et prétendus. " (42) In other countries, Martini explained, an attack on the Estates or the courts either would be ignored or would be praised by the common people as an attack against the institutions of the privileged, but in Belgium it was viewed as a blow against everyone's liberty, the common people's as well as the privileged orders'. The peasants, who had listened to their village priests complaining for three years of Joseph's attacks on the church, and the artisans, who had been hearing rumors of Joseph's plans to abolish the guilds, were very willing to support the Estates' resistance. Moreover, once they had been aroused to action, they were not ready to

41 ( ) Albert as cited by Adolphe BORGNET, Lettres sur la Révolution braban­ çonne (Brussels, 1834), 1: 64. (42) Baron Martini to Kaunitz, May 17. 1787, Liasse 610B, AVB. In a slightly different explanation of the people's interest in the Estates' protest, a distinguished Brussels conseiller, Rapédius de Berg, suggested : " Il fallait que les conseillers de l'Empereur fussent bien persuadés d'avoir affaire à une nation essentiellement moutonnière, pour oser marcher ainsi par-dessus tous les obstacles sans précautions, ni ménagements d'aucune espèce, car ce n'était point assez que d'avoir exaspéré le clergé, la magistrature, les municipalités ; on voulut avant de convoquer les états donner raison aux mécontents de toutes les espèces, par un de ces actes qui dans tous les temps eurent le privilège de soulever les masses, par une violation manifeste de la constitution du pays. " Rapédius DE BERG, Mémoires et Documents pour servir à l'histoire de la Révolu­ tion brabançonne, éd. P.A.F. GÉRARD (Brussels, 1842), Mss. G573, p. 171, BRB. www.academieroyale.be

THE RESISTANCE 1780­1788 53 forget Austrian transgressions as soon as the Emperor offered to compromise over particular grievances, and the leaders of the Third Estate knew that. Essentially, the Third Estate con­ tinued its resistance in May 1787, not to press specific grie­ vances, observers said, but because it was pushed by the anger of its constituency. (43) The resistance movement had ceased to be simply a battle to safeguard the positions of a few lawyers as it had been in the first months of 1787. Broader, more abstract appeals to rebellion against Joseph Π, the usurper of the people's consti­ tutional rights, replaced Van der Noot's formalistic defense of the traditional administrative and judicial institutions. A peti­ tion signed by thirty lawyers advised the Estates that all sovereigns ruled their subjects in one of two ways : either they governed according to a constitution guaranteeing the rights and privileges of both the ruler and the ruled or they reigned by the force of conquest. (44) Joseph had obviously chosen the second. He had ignored the limits of his constitutional authori­ ty in order to impose his reforms. Citing an article from the Joyeuse Entrée, the protesting lawyers reminded the Estates that the constitution explicitly provided for such a situation. According to the constitution, " Quand le Souverain, au mépris de son Serment & du Droit des gens, porte une atteinte publi­ que aux Droits de ce Peuple, son Autorité Souveraine est cen­ sée suspendue jusqu'au parfait redressement de ses infractions & s'il ne les redresse pas, c'est aux Représentans du Peuple, par l'intervention des Loix, à déclarer son autorité suspendue conformément à ce qu'il a approuvé lui­même dans le serment de la Joyeuse Entrée. " (45) Therefore, they declared, unless Joseph voided his five years of unconstitutional attacks on the fundamental Brabant rights and privileges, sovereign authority would legally pass to the Estates as the people's representa­ tives. The lawyers' petition was echoed by numerous pamphlets and handbills published in Brussels in May 1787. The most

("') Hirsinger lo Comie de Montmorin, Brussels. May II. 1787. Manuscrits divers 1582. AGR. (44) "Avis signé par trente Avocats du Brabant au Conseil souverain," Mav 19, 1787, m Révolution belge, vol. 61. BRB. <45) Ibid. www.academieroyale.be

54 THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788

influential one, written by D'Outrepont, formerly the leading Belgian apologist for Joseph II, was "Considérations sur la Constitution des Duchés de Brabant et Limbourg. " (46) D'Ou• trepont did not question the value of Joseph's reforms, he attacked the method of implementation. The Belgians were a free people, Joseph treated them like slaves. For centuries, d'Outrepont explained, the Joyeuse Entrée had assured a mod• erate government in the provinces because it delineated clearly the rights and contractual obligations of the people as well as the sovereign. The mutual contract provided that both the representatives of the people and the duke together determined what was best for the public welfare. Joseph, to the contrary, had not consulted the people or their representatives, the Estates, before instituting his sweeping reforms. " D'ailleurs le Prince peut-il légitimement vouloir juger seul, que ce qu'il veut faire est mieux que ce qu'il doit faire conformément au Pacte inaugural qu'il a juré ; Pacte respectable par son ancienneté, Pacte à l'abri duquel des Pays fleurissent depuis tant de siè• cles ? " d'Outrepont asked, charging that only a tyrant would presume to impose his ideas of what was best for the people against the opposition of that entire people. (47) This appeal to resistance against a despot who ruled " au dessus des loix " placed the Belgian resistance in the main• stream of the rebellions for popular sovereignty occurring on both sides of the Atlantic. (48) The authors of the May pamph• lets repeatedly cited the writings of the philosophes, especially Rousseau, as they pointedly identified their resistance against Joseph II with the other eighteenth-century struggles against despotism. Like the Poles, the Swiss, the Dutch, and the Americans, the Belgians were fighting to protect their natural rights against the usurpation by a tyrannical ruler. " Jamais les peuples éclairés n'ont mieux senti la dignité de l'homme & le prix de la liberté civile, " d'Outrepont explained. " On voit

(46) Charles Lambert D'OUTREPONT, " Considérations sur la Constitution des Duchés de Brabant et Limbourg, " (May 23, 1787) Révolution belge, vol. 35, pam. 13, BRB. See also " Réflexions d'un patricien sur les Affaires du tems, " (1787) in Révolution belge, vol. 55, pam. 14, BRB. (47) Ibid. (48) Comtesse d'YvES, " À la nation Belgique, " Pièces relatives à la Révo­ lution brabançonne, Goethals 210, BRB. www.academieroyale.be

THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788 55 presque partout une lutte continuelle entre le trône appuie par la force, & la liberté soutenue par la voix de la nature & l'auto• rité des loix. " (49) Just like the Americans, the Belgians were fighting to maintain the protection of a just and proven consti• tution against a foreign ruler who did not understand the in• terests of his distant subjects, the authors argued, citing the resemblance of Joseph to George III and of the Belgian Joyeuse Entrée to the English Magna Carta. Even Van der Noot's mistress, Madame de Bellem, known in Brussels as La Pinaud, in one of her many rather unpoetical verses urged the Belgians to look to the American example : Peuple Belgique cour tyranique faisons comme l'amérique. (50)

They cast the Belgian people's fight as one of the many strug• gles of the enlightened people to defend and secure their rights throughout America and Europe. This new resistance won its first temporary victory at the end of May 1787. In response to the threat of a riot in Brussels and to the ultimatum delivered by the Estates that they would cut off Austrian tax revenues if Joseph did not swear to abide by the Joyeuse Entrée, Maria Christine and Albert promised to withdraw all edicts which indirectly or directly contradicted the constitution. Joseph's sister and her husband had repeatedly complained to Vienna of the clumsy and unyielding responses of Belgiojoso to the Belgian protests. They had asked to be given back the responsibility for governing the provinces that rightfully belonged to them as governors-general of the Aus• trian Netherlands. Obstinately, Joseph had ignored their ap• peals. Their declaration of May 28, 1787, in part a statement of sympathy for the Belgian rebels who seemed to be asking for a return to the benevolent, non-interfering reign of Maria There• sa, was also an outburst of defiance after six years of exclusion

(") D'OUTREPONT, " Considérations. " See also : " Trompette anti-autri­ chienne. " in Révolution belge, vol. 102, pam. 20, BRB ; and " Adresse van een burger aan de staeten van Brabant," in Écrits politiques du XVIII' siècle, vol. 29. AGR. (50) Madame de BELLEM. Préliminaires de la Révolution 1787-1789, États Belgiques Unis I. AGR. www.academieroyale.be

56 THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788 from power. (5I) The residents of Brussels who loved Maria Christine as they had admired her mother, celebrated the con• cessions. The people led the governors general in a triumphant procession through Brussels. Crowds celebrated in the streets and the taverns and in special masses held in St. Gudule. (") When Joseph, who had been travelling in Russia at the time, learned of the governors' concessions, he was furious. Bel- giojoso, his trusted minister, had counselled him throughout the spring against the use of force fearing that it would lead to open revolt. Now Joseph saw the result of a policy of modera• tion. His whole administrative and judicial system had been effectively stalled by the steady Belgian resistance. Determined to follow a new policy, Joseph ordered the Austrian governors to return to Vienna, and " comme un bon père " invited the Estates as misbehaving children to send a delegation to discuss their difficulties with him. (53) The celebrations in Brussels ended abruptly. Men met in cafes, talking in hushed voices of the Emperor's plans to ens• lave them. Rumors spread through the city that Joseph intend• ed to impose higher taxes and military conscription. De Hondt, a Brussels citizen who had been transported to Vienna without trial, still had not been released. More ominously, the number of Austrian soldiers drilling in the streets seemed to increase daily. Van der Noot, anxious to consolidate the resistance, called a meeting of the leaders of the five Serments — the bourgeois guard groups — and the heads of the nine Nations of Brussels. The syndics of the nine Nations, the chef-doyens and their notables assembled on June 4, 1787. Van der Noot suggested,

(5') Eliane VAN IMPE, Marie-Christine Van Oostenrijk, Gouvernante- Generaal van de Zuidelijke Nederlanden, 1781-1789; 1790-1792 (Kortrijk : 1979). (") MALINGIÉ, "Livre des jours, " May 1787, II : 334-341, RUG : Baron Hop, June 4, 1787, Staten Generaal 7647, RAN ; "Nouvelle cavalcade emblé­ matique et prophétique en Brabant," (1787), RUG; "Joseph II, Légitime Empereur malgré lui et malgré son conseil aulique, Et malgré les trois Élec­ teurs ecclésiastiques, " (1787), Acquisitions récentes 7, AGR ; and " Éclaircisse­ ment sur la force & l'étendue des pouvoirs des Gouverneurs-Généraux des Pays-Bas, en apparence illimités, " RUG. (") Belgiojoso to Henri Crumpipen, Vienna, July 1787, in Hans SCHUTTER, Briefe und Denkschriften zur Vorgeschichte der Belgischen Revolution (Vienna, 1900), p. 29. www.academieroyale.be

THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788 57

" afin de concourir au maintien du bon ordre et de la tranquil• lité publique," that they organize military battalions. (54) The subsequent nightly discussions of the new " Comité établi pour le corps de volontaires agrégés aux cinq serments de la ville de Bruxelles " centered on military affairs : buying guns and uni• forms and gathering and commanding the troops. Van der Noot reported to the Estates that the Comité had called on the bourgeoisie of Brussels to take up arms and enlist. The volunteer troops came from Brussels' large population of artisans and merchants. (55) The petty-bourgeois member• ship reflected the background of the leadership of Van der Noot's Comité which included nineteen artisans and mer• chants. The other leaders of the committee — two bankers, one engineer, two wholesale merchants, and three lawyers — were " notables " of Brussels who had previously worked with the merchants and artisans in the Nations and Serments. (56) Not surprisingly, the Austrians reported an increase rather than a lessening of activity in the cabarets and the streets after the formation of the civilian guard. (") In fact, several of the men arrested by the Austrian troops in cafes for inciting disor• der belonged to Van der Noot's committee. One observer noted that people could be seen every night streaming out of the taverns, " geschieden door de Straeten met trommels ende

(M) Comité des volontaires des sermens, June 6. 1787, in GÉRARD, p. 269. (55) I compiled the list of active committee members from daily attendance lists in GÉRARD. Rapédius de Berg. Active members included : V. Gillé. halter ; J. J. Saegermans. haberdasher ; J. Schuers. gunsmith ; De Neck, tanner ; Van Lack, leather chair maker; E. Adan, wine merchant ; J. V. Van den Schick, chef doyen of St. Géry ; J. F. Verstraeten ; Appelmans, clothier; P.N. Van Zieune, chef-doyen of St. Michel ; J. Van Parys. dyer. The professional identifi­ cation was made with the aid of numerous almanachs in the Bibliothèque Royale ; the Archives des Corps de métiers. AGR ; Cahiers de Vingtièmes. Etats de Brabant 6008B" to 6034B", AGR ; Recensement de la population et des subsistances, pluviôse an 3. Administration centrale et supérieure de la Belgi­ que 1787-1790. AGR; Pergameni 2895. AVB; Liste des doyens des Nations 1725-1795. Pergameni 3120, AVB; and Alphonse WALTERS. Usie chronologi­ que des doyens des corps de métiers de Bruxelles de 1696 à 1795 (Brussels. 1888). (,6) Other members included: J. Simon le jeune, carriage maker; J.J. Chapel, banker; C. Fisco. engineer; J. D Ί Kint. lawyer; H. Goffin. lawyer ; and J. B. Weemaels. wine wholesaler. (") Reports. June and July. 1787, Staatskanzlei IV DD Β 146. 668 and Staatskanzlei IV DD Β 183 a. 870. H H S. www.academieroyale.be

58 THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788 flyten naer poetsende. " (58) The English ambassador in Brus• sels, Lord Torrington, rather alarmed by " the tumult & dis• content " wrote his government that the people had started a rebellion against the Emperor. (59) The Abbé de Feller report• ed in his journal that the popular revolution had begun. Someone had finally heeded his warnings, he said, and the people had taken up his cause. (60) In July, delegates from the Estates of all the Belgian pro• vinces convened in the Brussels Hôtel de Ville at the suggestion of the Brabant Estates to consider the Emperor's actions and his invitation to send a delegation to Vienna. The windows of their meeting room overlooked the crowds of people, including the volunteers, assembled in the Grand-Place. The Brabant Third Estate urged the other Estates to stand fast in defense of the people gathered below, " un peuple qui se voyait enlever tous ses Droits au nom du Souverain, un peuple accoutumé depuis des siècles à vivre heureux sous la douceur de ses loix natives. " (61) The Brussels Nations sent frequent notes urging protest against the Emperor's continued violation of Belgian traditions. Rejecting the familiar argument that an emperor could do no intentional wrong, that the fault lay with his malicious ministers and advisors, the Nations pointed to his recall of the governors-general and the appointment of the military governor, the Comte de Murray, as interim governor general. They held that the obstinate and conceited Emperor himself was to blame for the province's troubles. One member of the Brabant Second Estate, the Baron de Hove, ridiculed the proposed deputation to Vienna as a purposeless caravan, " une vraie masquarade. " (62)

(58) J. J. Claessens, July 21. 1787, Liasse 610A, AVB : " take to the streets with whistles and drums and begin their pranks. " (59) Lord Torrington, July 5, 1787, Foreign Office Papers 26/9, PRO. Hir- singer reported to the comte de Montmorin for the French foreign office that he feared the new civil police and the Austrian military would soon be fighting. Hubert to Comte de Montmorin, July 25, 1787, Brussels in Eugène HUBERT, Correspondance des Ministres de France accrédités à Bruxelles de 1780 à 1790 (Brussels, 1920), p. 291. O Abbé de FELLER, July 17, 1787, Mss. 21142, BRB. (6I) Résolutions et appointements, États de Brabant 18, AGR. (") Baron de Hove to Comtesse d'Yves, États Belgiques Unis 194, AGR. See also " Copie d'une représentation à sa majesté l'Empereur et Roi, " in Révolution belge, vol. 6, pam. 9, BRB. www.academieroyale.be

THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788 59

Most members of the first two Estates were less concerned about the people in the streets ; they only wanted an end to the disturbances. " The nobles wish to do everything in their power to conciliate matters & gain the good will of his Imperial Majesty, " the Englishman, Lord Torrington, reported. " Timidity has succeeded to the most unanimous & energetick resistance I ever beheld or have read of. " (63) The popular resistance of the summer had frightened most of the clergy and the nobility. Leaders of the first two Estates explained that the months of conflict were the result of a misunderstanding. The fault, they continued to argue, lay with the Austrian ministers and minor officials in Brussels who had given Vienna a false picture of the provinces and had offered Joseph II bad advice. In accord, Van der Noot himself suggested : " Le plus grand malheur est que ce prince ne peut venir lui-même voir et con- noître tout. " (64) The good-hearted, enlightened Sovereign would recognize the error of his ways once he heard the other side. The deputies should proceed to Vienna to tell the Em• peror their own story. After a lengthy debate, the voices coun• selling moderation won out and a mission was sent to Vienna in the hopes of finding accommodation with the Emperor. Joseph received the deputation on August 24 " avec l'indul• gence d'un bon père. " (65) The Estates presented him with a declaration drafted by the Brabant Third Estate. They told him that his innovative plan violated their constitution and bluntly asked him as their sovereign to abandon it in the interest of his people. The Emperor replied angrily to their demands. They had been invited to Vienna, he said, to show proofs of their loyalty, not to question his authority. He instructed the depu• ties to present these proofs to his ministers and he retired to his chambers. A few deputies were granted a private audience with the Emperor the next day while the others took their specific

(") Lord Tomngton. July 8 and July 9. 1787, Foreign Office Papers 26/9. PRO (64) Van der Noot, Flats Belgiques Unis 186. AGR. See also " Copie d'une representation à sa majesté l'Empereur et Roi, " Révolution belge, vol. 6, pam. 9. BRB ; " Dialogue dans les Champs Elysées, " RUG ; and " Avis aux Belges, " Acquisitions récentes, AGR. *' Rapport à faire à Messieurs les États de tout ce qui s'est passé à Vienne. " Étals Belgiques Unis 1, AGR. www.academieroyale.be

60 THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788 grievances to his advisors, Kaunitz and Cobenzl. At the end of the week, they all returned to Belgium discouraged. The insolence of the Estates enraged Joseph. As father of his subjects, had he not the prerogative to determine what was and was not in the best interests of his subjects and did not good children obey the decisions of their parents, he asked his assembled advisors. The subsequent news that a new wave of anti-Austrian pamphlets had flooded Brussels and that the citizens of the capital were wearing " patriotic " cockades did not calm his anger. One group of troublemakers was stirring up discord among his subjects, he said, and he vowed to his advisors that he would silence them once and for all. " Si à Bruxelles, qui est le foyer de l'insolence et où les yeux de toutes les provinces sont fixés, on frappait un coup d'autorité, quel qu'il soit et en arrive ce qui pourra, tous les autres s'ar• rangeraient d'eux-mêmes à l'obéissance, " he stormed. " Il faut donc leur montrer les grosses dents. " (66) He would not permit his subjects to rule above him. He ordered the authoritative blow struck against " les inso• lents bourgeois, le tiers-état de Bruxelles... les possesseurs de belles maisons. " (67) While discussing the possibility of moving the capital to Ghent, the acting governor, Murray, ordered the Conseil d'État in Brussels to publish an imperial edict outlaw• ing the armed bourgeois guard. " Le maintien du bon ordre et de la tranquilité publique est un droit Régal, " he proclaimed. " Y a-t-il deux Souverains en Brabant ? " he asked rhetorical• ly. (68) In accordance with Murray's order, the Conseil met, but after consulting with the Estates, it decided not to publish the edict.

(") Joseph II to Murray, September 9, 1787 in SCHUTTER, p. 87. Similarly, Belgiojoso wrote Crumpipen : " Notre monarque est instruit de tout ce qu'on dit et fait à Bruxelles mieux que je ne l'ai été moi-même sur les lieux [et] voit toutes les gravures et satires que l'on débite aux Pays-Bas sous le manteau, est complètement persuadé que le peuple des villes et de la campagne n'est qu'un tas de moutons conduits par les deux premiers états nobles et ecclésiastiques, qui les gouvernent à leur fantaisie ; et qui tout ensemble sont conduits par des avocats et de la prêtaille, mais surtout par les premiers. " Belgiojoso to Crum­ pipen, September 10, 1787, Vienna in SCHUTTER, p. 48. (6') Ibid. (6>) " Réponse au Mémoire présenté par les Compagnies Bourgeoises de la Ville de Bruxelles au Magistrat de la même ville, " États Belgiques Unis 1, AGR. www.academieroyale.be

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That night a fight erupted outside a nearby cafe between a group of bourgeois and some passing Austrian soldiers. The incident sufficed to ignite the already explosive situation. The Nations leaped to the defense of the injured citizens. In their emergency meeting the next day, the artisans and merchants called upon the Estates to unite in resistance against the Em• peror and his ministers, " ces marchands de sisthèmes, ces col• porteurs de plans, ces monstres ennemis du bonheur de ces Pays. " (69) The nervous gathering of Austrian soldiers around the city clearly demonstrated that Joseph would trample over all obstacles, including the constitutional rights of his subjects, in order to impose his " enlightenment " on the Belgian pro• vinces and to rule as supreme authority. Murray meanwhile published the edict without the Conseil's approval. Angry groups of armed citizens attacked the soldiers and burned the edict. The leaders of the bourgeois guard quickly called their men to assemble in the Grand'Place. The guard arrived ready for an impassioned call to arms. Instead, Van der Noot asked them to turn in their cockades as a symbolic gesture of disar• mament. His explanation, that the concession to the Emperor was necessary for the preservation of public order, left the guard confused. One day earlier, this same man had called the Emperor a tyrant ; what had happened to cause his sudden turnaround ? Van der Noot's speech was scarcely audible through the jeering and hissing. After the speech, the volun• teers filed out of the Grand'Place ; not one of them turned in a cockade. (70) What had happened was that talk of the coming revolution that he had heard in cafes throughout Brussels that night had frightened Van der Noot. He was alarmed that the Third

(") " Représentation des Nations aux Seigneurs États de Brabant, " Sep­ tember 15. 1787, Pergameni 3500, AVB. (™) For further information on this incident see reports by Saegermans, Van Campenhout. J. F. Pasteels. Lambert Lindemans, J. B. Van der Straeten, De Block, and Huyghe of September 20, 1787. Manuscrits divers 1202. AGR ; "Autre relation de ce qui s'est passé à Bruxelles depuis le 15 septembre jus­ qu'au 24. 1787," in Révolution belge, vol. 57. pam. 7, BRB; and "Relation fidèle de la Journée de jeudi 20 septembre 1787, " in Révolution belge, vol. 57, pam. 8, BRB. www.academieroyale.be

62 THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788

Estates' small act of defiance had been amplified so quickly into a popular call to arms. If the people took to the streets, he worried, the leaders of the Estates would be unable to control the crowd. The rebellion was escalating too quickly into a full- scale revolution. A successful revolution would have to be planned, prepared, and led, he believed ; it would not just occur spontaneously. From the experience of the past summer, Van der Noot now realized he could set the people into action, but he did not know if he could control them once they were in the streets. (7I) Despite the volunteers' apparent rejection of his advice, Van der Noot was not going to be easily persuaded to give up his leadership. He talked to members of the guard through the day and called the men back to the Grand'Place the next morning. Half of the guards did come and agreed to relinquish their cockades. The other guards went to the church of St. Géry to attend the funeral of a fellow guard. The Austrian military commander meanwhile had told his troops that he expected further trouble because Van der Noot would not be able to restrain " the mob. " He did not hear of the bourgeois conces• sions ; he was too busy setting up his cannons and assembling his troops for a show of force. When the guards attending the funeral received word of the concessions, it was too late. Aus• trian troops were advancing on the church from three direc• tions. The tocsin was sounded. The volunteers, half without their cockades and half with them, rushed to the Grand'Place. They tore paving stones from the streets as they ran and built barricades at every entrance to the Grand'Place. The Estates, trapped upstairs in the Hôtel de Ville, continued to meet as the battle raged in the streets below. Within a few hours, fifteen Austrian soldiers had been killed and many volunteers wound• ed. The Due d'Ursel, one of the " notables, " was alarmed by the fighting he observed from his window. He left his house in search of the Austrian commander Murray and when he found him, convinced Murray to compromise with the Estates to end the melee and to avert further bloodshed. Murray, in fact, was

(") According to the account in Goethals 210, BRB, Van der Noot had been charged by the Estates with calming the volunteers. www.academieroyale.be

THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788 63

eager to work with the Estates and, until the September inci• dent, had convinced Vienna of the success of his policies of negotiation. He accompanied Ursel through the jeering, rock- throwing crowd to the Hôtel de Ville where he signed the order withdrawing the Austrian troops from the city. The next day, the Due d'Ursel published the full text of the Austrian surren• der in which Murray in the Emperor's name declared the January decrees abolished. Ursel, the descendant of one of Belgium's oldest noble families, led the Nations and the bourgeois guards in triumphant procession through the streets. Kneeling before the Sacrement des Miracles in Ste. Gudule, citizens praised God for sending them Ursel as their new savior. (72) Murray had agreed to redress any infractions, direct or indirect, of the Joyeuse Entrée and to tolerate the existence of the bourgeois armed guard. Joseph sulked when he was in• formed of the conditions of the compromise. Once again he had been humiliated by the timidity of his officials. Murray, he said, had given in to the Brussels mob. (73) Joseph still refusing to believe that more than a handful of Brussels rabblerousers were stirring up trouble, ordered his ministers to return to Vienna, and once again threatened to transfer the Belgian capital to a less troublesome city. He vowed not to allow any further compromise with the Belgians.

The Church Takes up the Battle

In triumph, the jubilant Estates wrote to thank Joseph for his concessions and to demand that he abandon the religious reforms of the past six years, especially his plans for the Sémi• naire général. The seminary, scheduled to open on October 1, 1787 was regarded by the people throughout the province, they said, " non seulement comme une infraction caractérisée des droits de la Province, mais comme subversif des droits les plus sacrés de la Religion. " (74) If Joseph intended to uphold his

(7J) "Sort et Salut du Peuple," (1787), in Révolution belge, vol. 103, pam. 8, BRB (7') Joseph to Murray, September 21, 1787 in SCHUTTER, p. 91. (74) Représentation, September 20, 1787, États Belgiques Unis I, AGR. www.academieroyale.be

64 THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788 constitutional oath as Murray had pledged, then it was his ducal duty to protect the Belgian Catholic Church. Murray, who had not yet left Brussels, promised the Estates that he would try to persuade Joseph to delay the opening of the seminary at least until November. But just before leaving for Vienna, as a final gesture of defiance, he sent instructions to all the bishops of Belgium to prepare their seminary students for eventual transfer to the Séminaire général. The bishops refused and took their protest to the Estates asking the other two Estates to join their resistance against the Séminaire général. This petition marked the beginning of a new phase in the rebellion. For four years the priests had dared to defy the Austrians only by preaching to their pari• shioners against the Emperor. Throughout the first years of Joseph's reign, the politically powerful high Church officials had watched Joseph's reforms almost as passive spectators. As one canon later charged, " les sentinelles qui doivent veiller à la garde de la cité sainte, sont endormis. " (75) The proposed opening of the seminary had finally awakened them. Now, after merely observing the Third Estate's battle with the Em• peror for the last six months, claiming that the grievances did not directly concern the Church, and after observing the Third Estate's recent triumph, the First Estate resolved to fight the Emperor's religious reforms. (76) The clergy feared that the Séminaire général would intro• duce the subversive ideas " de ce siècle pervers infecté par les crimes " into the Austrian Netherlands. (7?) The philosophy that tempted man to question authority and that suggested that man was naturally good taught him to strive for happiness on earth and turned him away from " la félicité éternelle qui fait l'objet principal pour lequel l'homme a été créé. " (78) " Dans un siècle aussi corrompu que le nôtre, " they had seen the new

(15) " Lettres d'un Chanoine pénitencier, " in Révolution belge, vol. 73, BRB, (76) Abbé de Feller, July 7, 1787, Mss. 21142, BRB ; and Abbé de FELLER, Journal historique et littéraire. September 15, 1787. (77) Documents pour la Révolution Brabançonne, Mss. RII 3255, BRB. (78) VAN DER NOOT, " Supplément aux observations, " États Belgiques Unis 186, AGR. www.academieroyale.be

THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788 65 philosophy " se répandre comme un torrent. " (79) Spreading throughout Europe, skepticism had destroyed the Catholic faith in most other societies. " En un mot, le titre fastueux & trompeur de Philosophie est aujourd'hui comme la devise de la liberté de tout penser, de tout écrire, " one priest com• plained. (80) Such an enlightenment philosophy would corrode and destroy the Catholic religion in Belgium, too, if given a chance. The mood of skepticism " régénéré par l'égoïsme des Souverains " was attacking " al wat Geheyligt is. en wel voor- naementlyk... de Roomsch-Katholieke Leering. " (8I ) The " goddeloos jok van Joseph " threatened to cut off and kill " la branche du grand arbre de l'église qui est restée la plus verte, " the Belgian Church. (82) Belgium, according to the bishops, remained the last strong• hold of the Catholic Church in Europe. For centuries the Bel• gian people had bowed to " het Geloof en Christus zyn Wet... als een getrouw Kloekmoedigen knegt. "(83) Many Belgians believed that the Joyeuse Entrée, still the foundation of Bel• gian society, had actually been dictated to their ancestors by God himself in the fifteenth century. The Belgians had ob• served God's law unquestioningly since then, and therefore, like the Israelites before them, they had won God's favor. God has designated the Belgians as His chosen people and contin• ued to watch over them, the Church told them. Alone among the European nations at the end of the eighteenth century, the faithful, churchgoing Belgian people " a pu se glorifier d'avoir une saine morale & des mœurs pures. " (84) God would see the

('*) " Recueil des différentes pièces composées par son excellence Monseig­ neur Cesar Brancadoro " (Brussels. 1793) in Écrits politiques, vol. 160. AGR. (*") " Le triomphe de Thémis pour servir de réponse au parallel entre le capucin et l'avocat. " (1787). in Varia, vol. 34, AAB. ("') " Microscope Ecclésiastique ou Moyen de voir clair à travers les tour­ billons carthésiens. régénérés par des Philosophes souverains, " in Révolution belge, vol 48, pam 3. BRB ; and " Onbetwisbaere Gerechtigheid der tegen­ woordige Nederlandsche Omwenteling... " in Révolution belge, vol. 36, BRB. " All that is religious and especially ... the teachings of Roman Catholicism. " (i:) "Stormklok ofte Rechtveerdigen roep om hulp." in Révolution belge. vol 114. pam 10. BRB; and Abbé de Feller. September 17, 1787. Mss. 21142. BRB " Joseph's godless yoke. " <*') Liasse 611. AVB " Belief and Christ's law... as a loyal servant. " (M) " Représentation des États. " October 22. 1787. Liasse 610. AVB www.academieroyale.be

66 THE RESISTANCE 1780­1788

Austrian assault on the Belgian Church, the bishops warned the Emperor, as a threat against His divinely chosen society. The bishops declared that as a mortal, Joseph had no right to tamper with the Joyeuse Entrée or the institutions of the Catholic Church, both of which had " Dieu même pour Auteur. " The ordinances of the Church and the Belgian con­ stitution " n'a pu être réformé par un diplôme quelconque d'aucune puissance terrestre, sans un sacrilège attentat contre les droits incommunicables du Souverain Maître des Anges & des hommes, " D'Outrepont argued. (85) Another petitioner told Joseph that the Emperor possessed " ni les lumières, ni le pouvoir qui sont nécessaires " to proclaim religious decrees that reversed centuries of religious tradition. " D'ailleurs, " he continued, " depuis quand, & par quel droit, les princes de la terre sont­ils supérieurs de Dieu même ? " (86) Joseph had for­ gotten his mortality and fallibility, the Church charged. The Estates informed Joseph II that they would not tolerate the suppression of the convents, the marriage ordinances, the toleration edicts, the restrictions on carnival processions, or the new seminary. (87) They even denounced the requirement that priests read edicts during mass as part of the " nouveau sistème que le Peuple envisage comme totalement destructif des droits et privilèges du pais. " (88) The people, they said, viewed Joseph's multiple violations of the Church privileges as attacks on their own rights. Once again, the Estates claimed to be speaking as representatives of the people in their defense of privileges. The Conseil d'état seconded their petition. Van der Noot led a group of lawyers in writing " Casus Positie " to defend the Estates' position in appropriate legal terminology. In what had become familiar terms they protested that Joseph's decrees violated the terms of the Joyeuse En­ trée. (89)

(85) Charles Lambert D'Outrepont, "Supplique des corps religieux des Pays­Bas Autrichiens aux États de ces mêmes, " in Révolution belge, vol. 55, pam. 28. BRB. (86) " Les cent nullités " (Brussels, 1787) in Varia, vol. 88, pam. 5, AAB. (87) "Représentation des États," October 8, 1787, Liasse 610, AVB; and " Représentation des Nations, " November 8, 1787, Pergameni 3500, AVB. (88) États Brabant, Carton 153, AGR. (89) Henri VAN DER NOOT, J.J.J. MORIS, Stephanus MOSSELMAN, and J. D. 't Κ.ΙΝΤ, " Casus Positie, " in Écrits politiques, vol. 29, AGR. www.academieroyale.be

THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788 67

The central point of their dispute with the Emperor con• cerned the state's power to control the Church. Joseph believed that he was solely responsible for overseeing all matters, civil and secular, within his realm. " Il a reçu de Dieu le droit d'ins• pection sur tout ce qui se passe dans ses états tant au sacré qu'au profane, tant sur les prêtres que sur les laïcs. " the au• thor of one pro-Austrian pamphlet observed. " Il a reçu droit d'être seul Souverain de son peuple, & d'anéantir le monstre à deux têtes qui a trop longtems ravagé la vigne du Sei• gneur. " (90) Partly it was a question of the Emperor's desire to destroy the barriers that limited his power. But also he sincere• ly believed that it was in the best interests of the people to overrule the superstitious priests and to restore the natural rights to the people. The Austrians did not have a monopoly on natural rights terminology, however. In an elaborate defense of the rights of the Church, phrased in the terms of Rousseau's " Second Dis• course " and his Contrat Social, one pamphleteer asked if it was possible "qu'un prince qui ne sacrifie rien à l'ambition, qui ne poursuit aucun phantôme politique, qui n'est point dirigé par des ministres ignorans, ou des favoris comrompus, ait pu s'appuyer sur des principes aussi vagues, aussi arbitraires qui renversent la religion, violent le droit naturel dans la per• sonne des prêtres, des moines, & des peuples, & introduit une morale qui n'a d'autre fondement que le caprice de ceux qui gouvernent. " (9I ) If the Emperor did not understand their common interests, the pamphlet concluded, it was the duty of his subjects to enlighten him. Other Belgian pamphleteers ar• gued in more traditional terms that religion alone could main• tain order in human society. (92) God had given his apostles, the Church fathers, not the Emperor, the responsibility for the spiritual life of his people. The Emperor ruled over civil soci• ety ; he had no right to interfere in religious affairs. The two spheres of authority were separate. Or as another pamphleteer suggested, if Joseph persisted in closing the convents and con-

(,0) '· Réponse au Libelle, " (1787). in Varia Belpca. A-7, BG. KUL. (") " Observations philosophiques sur les principes adoptés par l'Empereur dans les matières ecclésiastiques." (London, 1784), in Varia Belpca, B 5, BG, KUL. C1) VAN DER NOOT. " Supplément. " www.academieroyale.be

68 THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788 fiscating church wealth, perhaps the Pope should start impri• soning the Emperor's soldiers, declare his palaces " inutiles " and confiscate them. (93) The peasants in the countryside and the artisans in Brussels who had been aroused by the lawyers' cries of protest in May listened attentively to the pleas of the clergy. In the Brabant, the local priests were still the respected leaders in each commu• nity. Their parishioners believed that the clergy stood closest of all men to God, that it transmitted and interpreted the divine word. So when the clergy called upon the parishioners to sup• port God's cause, the peasants vowed to join the battle against the Austrian infidels. (94) In November 1787, the Belgian resis• tance was stronger than it had ever been, led now by the Church and supported by the lawyers, peasants, and artisans. The newly united resistance encountered an Emperor deter• mined to get his subsidies without making further concessions to the rebels. Two months of stalemate ensued. The Count Trauttmansdorff-Weinsburg who had succeeded Murray as ministre plénipotentiaire observed the effects of the stubborn confrontation in the Belgian capital : " Il y a aujourd'hui une stagnation complette... chaque un fait ce qu'il veut, et personne ce qu'il doit. L'autorité légale est sans force ; tout le monde cherche à l'usurper ; on touche enfin de bien près à l'anar• chie. " (95) Finally, in December, the Estates consented to the Austrian tax levy and sent it to the Conseil for its signature. Maybe by making this concession, they reasoned, they could convince the Emperor to desist from his despotic reforms. They added a note to their letter urging the Conseil d'État to join

(") " Les cent nullités;" "Avis Doctrinal sur l'indépendance du pouvoir qu'a reçu l'Église d'enseigner les Vérités de la Foi, & la liberté de l'exercer " (Douay, 1787) ; [Abbé de Feller], " Observations sur les différens qui subsistent entre le gouvernement général des Pays-Bas et l'université de Louvain " (Brus- sels, May 23, 1788), in Révolution belge, vol. 93, pam. 5, BRB ; and " Refuta­ tion du Mémoire Historique, Politique et Critique sur les droits de l'Empereur en matière ecclésiastique" (Amsterdam, 1787), Varia Belgica, C 6, BG, KUL. (94) Abbé de Feller to Comte Ybarra, November 18, 1787, cited in SPRUNCK, p. 160 ; and Report of January 2, 1788, Office fiscal 979, AGR. (95) Trauttmansdorff, October 28, 1787, Brussels, IV DD B Verz f. 66 407, HHS. Joseph had given Trauttmansdorff fuller powers than the previous ministers, instructing him that he was first in command, above the governors- general. www.academieroyale.be

THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788 69 them in their vigilance against future infractions of the Joyeuse Entrée. (96) Joseph responded to this addendum by issuing three new edicts on December 17, 1787. all designed to irritate the Estates and the Conseil. The Conseil, properly annoyed, once again refused to register or to publish the new edicts. The first year of Belgian resistance ended in a deadlock frustrating to both sides. Strategic considerations had overshadowed the original ideological debate over " enlightened " Austrian reforms arid the preservation of traditional Belgian rights and privileges.

The Third Estate Alone

To break the stubbornness of the Belgians, Joseph sent a new military commander, General Alton to Brussels. Alton had achieved notoriety by his bloody suppression of Hungarian resistance several months earlier. The Belgians knew him well by reputation. " Il voulut gouverner le peuple comme on con• duit une armée de soldats autrichiens, en inspirant la terreur, " one resident commented when Alton's appointment was an• nounced. (97) Joseph was counting on his reputation to prevent a repetition of the humiliating concessions of May and Septem• ber. When Alton arrived in Brussels, he ordered the Conseil d'État to publish the Emperor's December edicts within twen• ty-four hours. If it did not submit, he warned the Conseil, the people of Brussels would hear his response from the mouths of his cannons. The next morning, January 22, 1788, a crowd gathered in the Grand'Place awaiting the Conseil's decision. The people heckled the Austrian troops stationed around the Grand'Place. After several hours of taunting, soldiers fired into the crowd, killing several people. (98) Instead of reprimanding

(") Gazelle des Pays Bas, supplément. December 17, 1787. (") «Mss. 19648. p. 119, BRB. (,8) For an account of the incident see Gazelle des Pays Bas, January 24, 1788 and the reports of Hop. January 22 and 29, 1788. Van de Spiegel 188, RAN. Alton reported that two-thirds of the crowd that had assembled outside the Conseil were ecclesiastics. Alton. January 23, 1788. " Copie des Lettres. " RUG. www.academieroyale.be

70 THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788 the trigger-happy soldiers, Alton commended them ; the deaths, he said, would spur the Conseil into submission. Fear• ing further bloodshed, the Conseil did agree to publish the decrees that evening. Now it was Joseph's turn to revel in victory. He wrote to congratulate Alton. If terror was the most effective method for quelling the Belgian resistance, then he agreed that terror would have to reign in Brussels. (") He ordered the troops to remain permanently stationed in the city ; the bourgeois guard was ordered to surrender its arms. The soldiers, Joseph assert• ed, would police the city more efficiently. Joseph also banned the two incendiary journals, Feller's Journal historique et litté• raire and the Esprit des journaux and threatened the authors of any further anti-Austrian pamphlets with banishment. Because the Belgian people had rejected the Emperor's paternal guid• ance, the Austrians would have to impose enlightenment on them. He told Alton that the Belgians were henceforth to be treated as a conquered people. (I0°) Joseph then turned his attention to Louvain University, the site of the first resistance and a source of continuing irritation to the Austrian authorities. The students and professors had blocked every Austrian attempt to reform the university, " le vrai paradis des calotins & des frocards " according to one pamphleteer. (101 ) Most recently, the students and professors had been harassing the Austrian troops billeted on their cam• pus. To demonstrate the consequences of resistance to them, Joseph announced that he was transferring the faculties of law, philosophy, and medicine to Brussels. There they could be closely supervised by the Austrian governors. (102) To forestall any protest, the troops stationed in Louvain were put on alert, the Brussels Nations were not allowed to assemble, and the Estates were forbidden to accept any petitions from the Nations.

e (") Adolphe BORGNET, Histoire des Belges à la fin du XVIII siècle (Brus- sels, 1861). p. 91.

I0 ( °) Mss. 19648. p. 122, BRB; and Adolphe BORGNET, Lettres sur la Révolution brabançonne (Brussels, 1834), I : 131-134. (101 ) "Livre blanc ou Révolution Gordune, " Révolution belge, vol. 11, pam. 1, BRB. (I02) Gazelle des Pays Bas, January 7, 1788 ; and Chronique du Chanoine Nys, vol. 1, Pergameni 2960, AVB. www.academieroyale.be

THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788 71

In open defiance, the Nations assembled as soon as they learned of the Emperor's order and, led by Van der Noot, they drew up a petition addressed to the Estates. Without discussing the specific content of the reforms, they argued that according to the constitution Louvain University as a " Brabant institu• tion " was subject only to rules set by the Brabant Estates. (It>3) Austrian interference in university governance therefore was unconstitutional. The Third Estate promptly accepted the peti• tion and refused to approve the Emperor's special March tax levies in protest against the "coup d'autorité absolue. " ('04) The first two Estates, still frightened by the January show of force, submitted to the tax requests and the Nations reluctantly backed down. From previous experience, the Third Estate was wary of standing alone against the Emperor. The Third Estate raised the issues of Joseph's interference in the administration of Louvain University and the construction of the Séminaire général again in the spring of 1788 in antici• pation of the annual May tax vote. It argued that an attack on the university concerned all three Estates equally. Joseph was making the prestigious Catholic university into an institution for dispensing his Austrian enlightenment propaganda, leaders of the Third Estate charged. (I05) But the first two Estates would not listen. Ever since Joseph had sent Alton to maintain order in Brussels, the first two Estates had refrained from protesting against the Austrian plans. Joseph's repeated threats of further attacks on feudal privileges and on Church wealth if the Estates did not immediately approve his taxes frightened the bishops and barons ; his more recent promises of conces• sions to good subjects impressed them.(106) The first two

(LOÏ) GÉRARD, H: 52-5; and "Représentation des Nations de Bruxelles," March 26. 1788, Pergameni 3500. AVB. (104) GÉRARD, II : 52-55 ; De Lausnay, Mss. 19648, BRB ; " Smeek Schrijft van de publieke Dogters der Stad Brussel over het verplaetzen der Universiteyt van Loven, " in Révolution belge, vol. I, pam. 4, BRB ; " Mémoire sur les Droits & Privilèges des Compagnies de la Ville de Bruxelles, " March 17, 1788, Office fiscal 991. AGR ; Hop, March 20, 1788, Staten Generaal 7460, RAN ; and Hop. March 17. 1788, Staten Generaal 7448. RAN. ('05) Jean Joseph Saegermans, June 8, 1788, Liasse 6I0A, AVB; GÉRARD, II : 63 ; and " Représentation des Nations, " Pergameni 3500. AVB.

I106) Journal historique et littéraire. June 15, 1788; and BORGNET, Lettres. 1 ; 141-145. www.academieroyale.be

72 THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788

Estates voted the taxes, but the Third Estate vetoed their ac• tion. Joseph chose to avoid a confrontation since he desperately needed the monies to support his troops now spread through much of Europe. The minister Trauttmansdorff wined and dined the members of the Estates at the royal palace at Lae- ken, and the Austrian troops were ordered to keep to their barricades. The leaders of the Third Estate still seemed deter• mined to continue their resistance ; but under extreme pressure from the first two Estates, they relented again and approved the Austrian tax request. Each time Joseph had requested his tax levy from the Bra• bant, the battle with the Third Estate had grown more intense. Through their struggle, the doyens especially had come to consider it their duty to seek redress for every Austrian action that affected the province. They revelled in the increasing support of large crowds of people gathered under the windows of their meeting room shouting encouragement. Joseph refused to believe that all the people of the Brabant supported the Third Estate's stubborn resistance. The doyens and lawyers were acting in their own particular self-interest. Why, he asked, should the common people support the privil• eged few in their fight against reforms ? Completely convinced that one small coterie of men incited the mobs, wrote the scur• rilous pamphlets, and initiated the petitions of protest, Joseph's informers pinpointed the lawyer Van der Noot as the instigator of the trouble and identified Van der Noot's friends as the followers. (107) If Van der Noot and his friends could be silenced the Emperor and his advisors concluded, then the Brabant people might finally behave as good subjects. Joseph assigned a contingent of spies to monitor the suspect• ed group. All summer they watched the cafes and cabarets. Their surveillance reports convinced Joseph that they had final• ly isolated the source of the Brabant trouble. The lawyers who met regularly with Van der Noot to discuss politics while drinking beer included Van der Noot's colleagues, Henri Gof- fin, Henri Van der Hoop, Stephanus Mosselman, J. J. J. Moris, Van Overstraeten, Charles Van den Cruyce, Andreas Dondel-

(l07) Goethals 206, BRB. www.academieroyale.be

THE RESISTANCE 1780­1788 73 berg, and Jan Baptist Verlooy. They had probably written most of the seditious pamphlets of the last two years, the spies sug­ gested. (I08) The leaders of the Nations — J. Saegermans, Van den Block, Van Parys, D. De Neck, De Blaer, A. Smeesters, and Donckers reportedly joined the political drinking circles in nightly chants of " Vivent les patriotes ! Vivent les Braban­ çons ! Vive notre digne Van der Noot ! " (109) Several religious leaders were also seen frequently in the cafes making what were alleged to be the most seditious remarks of all. Complet­ ing the list of suspicious characters were the wholesale mer­ chants Van Schoor, Bremaecer, and J. B. Weemaels, and the French minister Ruelle. The spies were soon recognized as unwelcome outsiders and chased from the cafes near the Porte d'Halle by stone­throwing drinkers. ("°) The few informers, "les mouches", who dared to remain in Brussels, continued to watch the homes of the most suspicious characters : Van der Noot, Goffin, Saeger­ mans, Van der Hoop, and the Baron de Hove. From their observation posts, the " mouches " reported that every morning the first four men visited the homes and shops of other trou­ ble­makers with packets of papers concealed under their coats ; their conversations usually lasted several hours. A slippered servant would then appear, open the front door a crack, peer out to check for spies, and motion the visitor on to his next meeting. After a day of such secretive sessions, the visitors and their hosts would gather in small groups in one or two cafes for an evening of beer and discussion. ('") Joseph acted swiftly on the reports. He ordered a public­ burning of seditious brochures in the Grand­Place for the twenty­fourth of July and called for the arrest of Van der Noot. Madame de Bellem, Goffin. and Saegermans. The arrest warrants accused the four " d'opposer avec opiniâtreté à l'exer­

<"") Office fiscal 979, 980 and 1010, AGR ; and Affaires de police. Conseil du gouvernement général 87. AGR. (IOT) Office fiscal 980. AGR ; Conseil du gouvernement général 87. AGR ; and Report. July 1787. Staatskanzlei IV DD B 183a. 870, Η Η S. <"°) Lettres adressées à la Comtesse d'Yves, États Belgiques Unis 195, AGR ('") Conseil du gouvernement général 87, AGR ; Office fiscal 980. AGR ; and J. B. VANDERLINDEN. Les Aventures de J. B Vanderlinden ou détails circon­ stanciés sur la Révolution de Brabant, ed. Ch. TERLINDEN (Brussels. 1932). www.academieroyale.be

74 THE RESISTANCE 1780­1788 cice des Droits les plus incontestables & à l'autorité Sou­ veraine... " with the express purpose of arousing the populace, " à le provoquer à la désobéissance & à s'unir pour la sédi­ tion. "(Il2) Joseph ordered the still troublesome conseillers, who had refused to sit on his new courts, to move to Antwerp. He hoped that by isolating them from the political distur­ bances in the capital he could use them to begin legal procee­ dings against the rebels. And once again he forbade the Nations to assemble or carry arms. It appears that Joseph's spies did correctly identify the most active resisters. The original committee composed exclusively of men connected with the Nations and the Serments had ex­ panded to include forty regular members. Fifteen of the forty, or thirty­seven percent of the committee, were members of the Nations. (I13) Although the doyens protested Joseph's reforms of the church, education, and the judicial system, they had a particular cause for grievance as well. All of Joseph's inquiries into the privileges of the guilds had convinced them that the self­willed Emperor would one day move to abolish the guilds. These merchants and artisans performed the committee's daily footwork. They also recruited their friends, the other artisans and merchants of Brussels, to join the crowds that encouraged the Third Estate in the Grand'Place and taunted the Austrian troops. Four bankers and wholesale merchants, including the wealthy financier, Edouard de Walckiers, consulted with the committee. ("4) They shared the doyens' economic worries,

(ll2) Gazetie des Pays Bas, August 11, 1788, LX1V supplément; Alphonse VANDENPEEREBOOM, Glides, corps et métiers et serments. Esquisse historique (Brussels, 1874), p. 33; Alton, May 27, 1788, August 4, 1788 and August 9, 1788. " Copie des Lettres du Général d'Alton à l'Empereur Joseph II, " RUG ; and Crumpipen to Trauttmansdorff, September 27, 1788, Staatskanzlei IV DD B Verz., 464, HHS. ('") The merchants and artisans on the committee included: J.J. Saeger­ mans. haberdasher ; V. Gillé, bourgmestre des Nations ; J. C. Schuers, gun­ smith ; P. J. C. Beeckmans, hosier ; J. B. Van Lack, leather chair maker ; D. De Neck ; Adan, wine merchant ; J. B. Van den Sande, gunsmith ; J. B. C. Huy­ ghens. chef­doyen of St. Christophe ; J. Van den Schick, chef­doyen of St. Gil­ les ; Α. Appelmans. chef­doyen de St. Christophe ; P. N. Van Zieune ; J. Van Parys. dyer ; and Mommaerts, forger. (IU) E. de Walckiers, banker; J. B. Weemaels, wine wholesaler; J. Simon, carriage manufacturer ; and J. J. Chapel were the négociants active in Van der Noot's political activities. www.academieroyale.be

THE RESISTANCE 1780­1788 75 though for very different reasons. Belgian industry and com­ merce which had prospered since 1750 had begun to decline in the middle of the 1780's, and the bankers and wholesale mer­ chants blamed the Austrians' indecisive commercial policy for that slump. These négociants could not understand why the Emperor, who agreed philosophically with their petitions for free trade, refused to act to remedy their grievances. That both the négociants and the Nations opposed Austrian policy is a testament to Joseph's lack of political skill. Nine of the forty committee leaders were lawyers. They wrote all the petitions for the Estates and most of the pamph­ lets that periodically flooded Brussels. ("5) Although Austrian critics attacked the lawyers as acting out of self­interest, Bel­ gians eulogized the lawyers with their years of education and experience as the natural political leaders of a besieged people. The rest of the pamphlets were probably written by the five prelates on the committee. ("6) Van der Noot's brother. Madame De Bellem, and five nobles, including the Due d'Ursel and his brother­in­law the Due d'Arenberg, completed the membership. ("7) Although neither Ursel nor Arenberg were active within the Estates' resistance, both had earned a reputation as popular heroes for their leadership of the people in the streets. As Joseph had suspected. Van der Noot was clearly the leader of the resistance movement, " le drapeau humain " of the party. ("8) His constant haranguing and restless meddling had sparked and sustained the first two years of rebellion. He

(lls) The lawyers on ihe committee included: G. Poringo, J. D. 't Kint, H. Goffin, S. Mosselman, J. J. J. Moris, H. Van der Hoop, C. Van Daelen, and C. L. D'Outrepont. Professional identification was made with the aid of Admis­ sion de notaires, avocats & procureurs. Conseil souverain de justice 70 AGR ; Arthur GAILLARD. Le Conseil Je Brabant (Brussels. 1898); NAUWELAERS. His­ toire des avocats. ("*) Prelates included : Abbé de St. Bernard, Abbé de Tongerloo, M. Van Hove, Abbé de Feller, and M. Nys. (" | Nobles included: Comtesse d'Yves. Duc d'Ursel. Comte de Lim­ minghe. Baron de Romerswael, and the Duc d'Arenberg. Other members of the committee were C. Fisco, engineer ; E. de Walckiers, banker ; J. B. Wee­ maels. wine wholesaler ; J Simon, carriage manufacturer ; and J. J Chapel, banker. ('") J Β COOMANS. " Épisodes de la Révolution brabançonne, " Revue de Bruxelles. September 1841. p. 32. www.academieroyale.be

76 THE RESISTANCE 1780­1788 seemed to be everywhere and into everything at once, refusing to acknowledge obstacles or to shrink from seemingly impossi­ ble challenges. Historians have criticized his lack of political imagination and his inability to state the specific Belgian grie­ vances in broader, more theoretical terms ; very few pages of his extensive notebooks of essays are anything but a legalistic tracing of formal precedents followed by impassioned calls to arms. ("9) But it was precisely this insensitivity to theoretical issues that allowed him to pull liberal lawyers like d'Outrepont and traditionalists like the Abbé de Feller together into one resistance committee. Van der Noot's political ideas in 1787 and 1788 were so diffuse that his petitions could be read as supporting both D'Outrepont's arguments for popular sovereignty and de Feller's defense of feudalism and the hierarchical Church. The leading members of the committee had all been drawn into the resistance through their close friendship with Van der Noot. Madame de Bellem, an extremely important political figure in Brussels, was Van der Noot's mistress. She wrote hundreds of pamphlets in verse to rally the opposition. With her daughter Marianne, she distributed them in the shops and streets of Brussels, often right under the noses of unsuspecting Austrian soldiers. Perhaps of even greater importance, she served as a link in the web of secretive political conversations. Because her relationship with Van der Noot seemed to outsi­ ders to be personal rather than political, she could relate infor­ mation to him from others who dared not be seen too fre­ quently conversing with the known leader of the resis­ tance. (I2°) She also appears to have attracted her own suppor­ ters not, it should be noted, by her political ideas, which were rather feeble echoes of Van der Noofs, but through her reputed personal charm. (Ι2') Goffin, the most active lawyer on

("9) In a typical assessment of Van der Noot, T. Juste characterizes him as " aristocrate avec les états, démagogue avec le peuple, orateur grossier, mais chaleureux, publiciste incorrect mais énergique, politique sans génie, mais dangereux agitateur. " T. JUSTE, Histoire de la Révolution Belge de 1790 (Brus­ sels. 1846). I : 114.

I2 ( °) Frans VAN KALKEN, Madame de Bellem (Brussels, 1923). (m) In the scattered collections of her correspondence can be found letters of fawning adoration such as that signed by Dupont in which he writes : " Si les hommes étoient comme les plantes, il seroit bon de me voir dans un coin de www.academieroyale.be

THE RESISTANCE 1780­1788 77 the committee, had begun his criminal law practice in Brussels under Van der Noot's tutelage. The two remained close politi­ cal allies after Goffin had risen to his position as a legal coun­ sel for the Third Estate. Saegermans, a haberdasher and doyen for the Nation of St. Gilles, like the other members of the Nations on the committee, had become acquainted with Van der Noot when Van der Noot worked as a counsel for the Nations. At the end of August 1788, the Austrians arrested Mmc de Bellem and drove Goffin, Saegermans, and Van der Noot into exile. (I22) The absence of the leaders did not halt the Brussels resistance. Van der Noot continued to direct the movement from London by writing numerous letters to his political allies and the members of the Estates in Brussels. He assured them that he was working night and day composing petitions for them, while bravely disregarding the almost overwhelming hardships of exile, the ghastly English vegetables and the ab­ sence of decent beer. (I23) Van der Noot's brother, Jean Bap­ tiste, and the lawyer Moris sent him daily political reports through an increasingly intricate chain of couriers. Mme de Bellem wrote him unfailingly too, sometimes with political reports, but more often complaining of his neglect of her and of her sufferings in prison. " Je vous ai écrit que j'ai été bien malade, " she pleaded in November after several weeks without letters from him, " mais je ne vous ai pas écrit que j'étois morte. "(124) Her incarceration in fact attracted a great votre jardin, j'attendrais avec impatience chaque jour le moment de l'ouverture de la fenêtre pour jouir de votre présence. " Dupont to Madame Pinaut, July 30. 1787, Goethals 210, AGR. (>u) The Austrians developed elaborate plots first to capture Van der Noot in London and then to lure him back to the Netherlands. See " Mémoire pour Jaubert. " (Lille, 1791). Acquisitions récentes, D 249, AGR. (in) Correspondance d'Henri Van der Noot, États Belgiques Unis 180 and 185. AGR; and Papiers historiques et politiques. États Belgiques Unis 186, AGR. He promised his brother that he was writing "un ouvrage qu'on n'en aura pas vu un pareil." but that even though "je travaille ici sans sortir de mon apartement que pour dîner, mes collègues... ne conçoivent pas comment je puis me soutenir." H. Van der Noot to J. B. Van der Noot. October 31. 1788, London. Étals Belgiques Unis 185. AGR. Ι121) Pinaut to Van der Noot. November 7. 1788. États Belgiques Unis 180, AGR. Other letters can be found in Office fiscal 1002. AGR ; and Goethals 210. BRB www.academieroyale.be

78 THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788 deal of attention in Brussels until Moris finally obtained her release on a technicality following a well-publicized trial. (125) The Comtesse d'Yves, like Madame de Bellem, took advan• tage of her political immunity as a woman to gather around her a diverse group of Brussels rebels. Doyens of the Nations met with members of the nobility at the house she shared with her mother. Many of the most politically active lawyers visited frequently, bringing with them their latest pamphlets ; by all reports she ran an informal Brussels equivalent of a Paris salon. After the trials and arrests, Beeckmans, a leader of the Nations who visited her almost daily, warned that she should moderate her activities. " Vous voiez des gens à toute façon qui vous cultivent pour vos présens, et pour les vues futures, et tout cela roule les rues,... vos paroles, vos conseils, sont contés publiquement, on se vante qu'on vienne chez vous... Soions prudens et circonspect. " (l26) She refused to heed his advice and continued to rally the leaders of the Estates, supplying them with the latest pamphlets and pressing them to keep up their defense of the rights of the Brabant people. In contrast to Van der Noot's mistress who discounted her own abilities, deferring demurely in her letters to her male correspondents because "je ne suis qu'une femme, " the Com• tesse d'Yves avidly distributed her own pamphlets and petitions in addition to those of Van der Noot and D'Outrepont. (I27) She never hesitated to critique another's pamphlet before she forwarded it ; her comments were often given more weight than the original pamphlets by her correspondents. Yves asked the question implied in Van der Noot's early petitions, " si cette nation jadis si grande, le modèle de l'univers et dont la gloire antique a passé jusqu'à la présente génération, sera-t-elle devenue inconséquente. " (128) She was more convinced than Van der Noot in her answer that the Third Estate " si éclairé sur ses droits " would resist Joseph's attempts to violate its

(125) Trial records are in Office fiscal 1326, pp. 71-103, AGR. (126) Beeckmans to Yves, December 17, 1788, États Belgiques Unis 195, AGR. ('27) Goethals210. BRB. (I28) Comtesse d'Yves, " À la nation, " (November 10, 1788), Goethals 210, AGR. www.academieroyale.be

THE RESISTANCE 1780­1788 79 rights. (129) Through the Estates, she believed, "la voix du peuple " would reach the Emperor to convince him that he had overstepped the legal limits of his authority. (13°) In the age of the philosophes, according to Yves, the Emperor needed only to be enlightened concerning his duties to his subjects. The Comtesse d'Yves and a number of other Belgian pamphleteers integrated what historians and political theorists have categorized as separate and opposed ideas — respect for medieval traditions and an appeal to the philosophes' natural rights theories. Beginning with d'Outrepont in 1787, they used the philosophes' terminology to challenge the legitimacy of Joseph's reforms. They based their protests on their appeal to the rule of law and their concern for the common good of the society. Joseph justified his reforms in exactly the same terms. They differed only in the application of these abstract argu­ ments to the Belgian provinces. While the Belgian authors identified their constitution as the foundation of Belgian laws, the source of the people's long and happy history as a free people, the Austrians argued that " les Constitutions des Em­ pires sont l'ouvrage des hommes & des temps ; les hommes & les temps varient successivement, " asking the Belgians how they could think that the " Constitution Brabançonne seroit seule immuable ?" (13') The Belgians regarded such arguments as the opening for despotism — the rule of mortal men above the law. The Belgians diverged from the Austrians in their judgment of the lasting value of the constitution and its rele­ vance to the eighteenth century. Joseph's advisors attacked its violations of individual liberty. The Belgians defended its divi­ sion of society into corporations as the best guarantee of their freedom. (132) On November 21, 1788, the three Estates assembled to vote the Emperor's taxes. As usual during the summer and early

(u'> Ibid. (IJ0) Comtesse d'YvES, November 21, 1788. Goethals 210. BRB. ('") " Discours d'un syndic. " Varia Belgica Ν I, BG, KUL. ('") "Réfutation du Mémoire;" "Commentaire sur l'article LIX de la Joyeuse Entrée appuyé de l'article XLI1 et des principes du Droit public d'où a été puisé la Constitution Belgique " (Rome. 1787). Révolution belge, vol. 49, pam. 8. BRB; and "Tableau du Despotisme peint d'après Nature" (1788), Révolution belge, vol. 48. pam. 8, BRB. www.academieroyale.be

80 THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788

autumn, the Third Estate and the Emperor had sparred over a series of grievances and proposed reforms. The Emperor had vacillated between threats and concessions to the constantly petitioning Third Estate while the Third Estate appealed to the first two Estates to join its resistance. Mmc de Bellem in frustra• tion wrote Van der Noot that the first two Estates " ressem• blent tous aux dieux des gentils, ils ont des yeux, des oreilles et des bouches, mais ils ne voyent, n'entendent et ne parlent plus. Ils ont aussi des pieds et des mains, mais ils ne s'en servent que pour se rendre chez le ministre autrichien. " (133) Van der Noot retorted, " Les deux premiers ordres de l'État ne sont-ils pas pareillement représentans du peuple comme ceux du tiers or• dre ? " (l34) He wrote letters daily to the prelates in the Estates pleading that they show concern for broader issues, warning that if they again failed to support the Third Estate's resistance " niet allenlyck de Roomsche Catholykique en de Apostolique religie sal ten onderen gaan, maar ook de drye Staeten van Brabant sullen vernietight worden ende het volk in de slavere- nye zal gebracht worden. " (l35) The Comtesse d'Yves asked whether it was only mercenary soldiers who were willing to fight to defend the interests of other groups. (136) Just one year earlier, the prelates had rallied the people of Belgium to sup• port their protest against the Séminaire général. How, Van der Noot pleaded, could they so quickly abdicate their responsibili• ty towards their country and their parishioners ? Only a few members of the First Estate listened to Van der Noot's pleas. The archbishop, who had spearheaded the fight against the Séminaire général in November 1787, now favored submission to the Austrian requests, reiterating the standard argument that the Austrian reforms did not specifically affect the Church. The clerics owed their allegiance to Ceasar as well

(133) umc de Bellem, Goethals 210, BRB. (134) Henri Van der Noot to M. le Marquis Preud'homme d'Hailly, Octob­ er 14. 1788. États Belgiques Unis 185. AGR. See also Van der Noot to Abbé de Grimbergen. London, November 30, 1788, États Belgiques Unis 185, AGR. ('35) Henri Van der Noot to Abbé de St. Bernard, September 23, 1788, États Belgiques Unis 185, AGR. " not only the Roman Catholic and Apostolic religion will be buried, but also the three Brabant Estates will be forgotten, and the people enslaved. " (l36) Comtesse d'YvES, August 1788, Goethals 210, BRB. www.academieroyale.be

THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788 81 as the Church, he reminded them. ('37) Feller, for seven years the most ardent opponent of Joseph II, also withdrew his sup• port from the Third Estate's resistance. He even suggested that the Brabant should perhaps declare itself once again a Spanish possession. That would rid the province of the rule of infidels while avoiding the risk of popular rebellion.!138) It was the risk of popular rebellion that frightened all the once political Church leaders. In the vote on the Emperor's tax requests, the few members of the First Estate who voted no were decisively overruled. Even fewer members of the nobility were willing to vote against the Emperor. Most had served the Austrian govern• ment at one time or another in some capacity. Because their interest was so tied to that of the Austrian court. Van der Noot labelled them "courtisans rampans. " ('39) He threatened that their cowardice would bring " l'indignation publique et la colère de Dieu, " down upon them. (M0) The only nobles who would join Van der Noot's resistance were the newest, lowest ranking of the nobility who still held no position at the court and the members of the very oldest noble families who could afford to be independent of the favors of the Austrian court. The majority of the nobles, threatened with a loss of position if they supported the patriots in a losing cause, voted with the Emperor. The Third Estate vetoed the action of the first two Estates. The Emperor's threats which had as usual intimidated the first two Estates " ne firent autre impression sur leurs esprits que de leur donner plus du courage. " (m) His promises to impose

("') Archevêque de Malines à tous les fidèles de son diocèse, in Esprit des Gazettes. July 31, 1788, 18: 156; and J. J. [Moris] to Henri Van der Noot. September 12, 1788. États Belgiques Unis 185. AGR. ('") Abbé de Feller, August 14, 1788, as cited by SPRUNCK. p. 167. Feller's suggestion was echoed by Louis Bousingau in a letter to Van der Noot, Octob­ er 4, 1788, États Belgiques Unis 180, AGR. ("*) Henri Van der Noot to Comte de Limminghe, October 17, 1788, États Belgiques Unis 185, AGR ; and Van der Noot to Duc d'Arenberg, October 10. 1788, London. États Belgiques Unis 185, AGR. (I40) Van der Noot to Marquis de Weemels, London, October 14, 1788. États Belgiques Unis 185. AGR. (Ul) Jean Baptiste Van der Noot to Henri Van der Noot, December 1788. États Belgiques Unis 187. AGR. www.academieroyale.be

82 THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788 even more reforms if they would not grant him his taxes made the Third Estate more resolute in its defiance. " Les sujets des doléances du Peuple nous parviennent préférablement à tous les autres, & même plus directement, " leaders of the Nations had explained to members of the first two Estates. (142) The Third Estate therefore pledged to continue to accept its respon• sibility and act as the people's representatives. The Third Estate's veto blocked the transfer of tax monies to Joseph. The Third Estate of the Hainault province copied the Brabant's resistance. In January 1789, Joseph wrote to the Hainault and Brabant First and Second Estates of his desper• ate need for funds and of his anger at their inability to force the meddlesome Third Estate into compromise. Unless they accorded his taxes immediately, he would consider that " la nation de Brabant et les États de Hainault, par leur refus, rom• pent tous les liens par lesquels sa Majesté a été tenue vis-à-vis d'eux " and as Emperor he would thereby be freed " de toute obligation vis-à-vis du pacte inaugural. " (143) The first two Estates pleaded with the Third Estate but the bourgeoisie refused to reconsider its veto. The first two Estates then appealed to the Emperor : " les très humbles et soumis vassaux et sujets de votre sacrée Majesté... demandons avec une profonde humilité, qu'il nous soit permis d'exposer à Votre Majesté l'affliction extrême où nous sommes d'avoir pu vous déplaire. " (144) The Emperor ignored their petition and sent troops to the center of Brussels. Finally, isolated and under pressure, the Third Estate gave the Emperor his taxes. For the fourth time in two years, the Third Estate had at• tempted to force Joseph to conform to the constitutional limits imposed on his ducal powers by not voting his taxes. They had fought his judicial and legislative proposals which, they protest• ed, were unconstitutional and deprived them of their political rights. They had fought his religious programs which subordi• nated the Church to the enlightened state and which threat• ened to destroy the foundation of the traditional Catholic Church. They had fought his educational program which

(142) Réclamations des trois États de Brabant, " November 30, 1787, États Brabant. Carton 1552, AGR.

43 (' ) Joseph II. January 7, 1789, as cited by BORGNET, Lettres, 1: 174. (I44) " Résolutions des États, " January 26, 1789, États de Brabant 199, AGR. www.academieroyale.be

THE RESISTANCE 1780-1788 83 would have levelled the unique and prestigious Brabant uni• versity to conform to the centralized homogeneous structure of Austrian institutions. And this last time, in more general and abstract terms, they had fought the right of the Emperor as Duke of Brabant to interfere in the internal affairs of the pro• vince without consulting the Estates, the constitutional repres• entatives of the people. When the Third Estate submitted in January 1789, it acknowledged the futility of its solitary resis• tance against a determined emperor, but it remained fundam• entally opposed to Joseph's system of reform. www.academieroyale.be

CHAPTER III

Revolution, 1789

A Funeral Ceremony : The Demise of Legal Protest

News of the Estates' capitulation Filtered down from the second floor chambers of the Hôtel de Ville to the people gathered in the Grand'Place below. Under pressure from the first two Estates, the Third Estate had again submitted and accorded the Emperor his taxes. An undercurrent of anger and disappointment ran through the crowd as it dispersed. The people congregated in the churches of Notre Dame de Bon Secours, Notre Dame de Paix, Saint Nicolas, and Sainte Gudule to pray at the altar of the Sacrement des Miracles for guidance and assistance. If the Estates could not defend their rights, perhaps God would. That evening someone posted a " death notice " in the cen• ter of Brussels announcing : " Les héritiers légitimes de la Liberté, des Privilèges & plus encore de la valeur des Belges, donnent part de la Mort de leur Grand'Mère la Joyeuse En• trée, ainsi que de leur Ayeule la Constitution Brabançonne, toutes deux cruellement assassinées. Lundi 26 janvier, 1789. "(') The announcement added that no funeral services for the Joyeuse Entrée had been scheduled because the survi• vors still hoped to witness a resurrection. No one knew who had posted the notice, but it seemed to express the discourage• ment of the majority of the people milling in the streets the next day. We are tired of playing " le rôle d'un aventurier, " the leaders of the Third Estate's resistance informed their exiled

(') " Billet mortuaire, " January 26, 1789, Écrits politiques du XVIII' siècle, vol. 60, p. 367, AGR. See also : A. HENNE and A. WALTERS, Histoire de la ville de Bruxelles (Brussels, 1843-1845), p. 348; and letters to Van der Noot, États Belgiques Unis 180. AGR. www.academieroyale.be

REVOLUTION, 1789 85 chief. (2) It was too discouraging to protest resolutely for five months and then watch futilely as the Estates dutifully voted the Emperor his taxes twice a year. The first two Estates had proven too many times that they would act resolutely only if " leurs intérêts personnels... soient directement attaqués, " one Louvain professor wrote. (3) The situation had become hope• less, J. J. Moris, one of Van der Noot's closest friends added ; he had decided to leave the Austrian Netherlands for a more peaceful land. He would not be a witness to " le spectacle affreux de l'oppression de ma malheureuse patrie. " (4) Van der Noot would do better to keep his political ambitions and zealous optimism to himself, Moris concluded. Van der Noot wrote back denouncing Moris and his cohorts as cowards for running away from one lost battle. He could understand the reason for their discouragement. " Les deux premiers États après mon départ ont tenu une conduite très blâmable, même repréhensible, " he conceded. The First Estate had been frightened into submission and the Second Estate had been bribed by the Emperor with promises. (5) Still, he instructed his followers to continue working with the Third Estate. They had no alternative. The only channel of lawful resistance open to them was the Estate's refusal of the Em• peror's taxes. Their just cause would triumph in the end, he assured them. The dejection and indecision of the lawyers and doyens meanwhile had convinced the Austrians to press their advan• tage. As he had done after his successful intimidation of the Belgians a year earlier, Alton increased surveillance of the so- called troublemakers and began a new series of arrests. " J'ose assurer à Votre Majesté, que c'est le moment de donner à ce Pays-ci la constitution qu'elle jugera convenir mieux, " Alton urged in a letter to the Emperor. " C'est le moment où je croi-

(2) J. J Moris lo Van der Noot, March 13, 1789. Étals Belgiques Unis 180. AGR (') Van Damme to Van der Noot. February 27, 1789. États Belgiques Unis 180, AGR. (4) J.J. Moris to Van der Noot. March 13, 1789, États Belgiques Unis 180. AGR (5) Van der Noot to Duras, États Belgiques Unis 185, AGR. See also Van der Noot. " Lettre publique, " March 3, 1789, États Belgiques Unis 185, AGR. www.academieroyale.be

86 REVOLUTION, 1789 rois que le changement se feroit sans explosion. " (6) Before focusing on the constitution, however, Joseph turned his atten• tion to the Séminaire général which was scheduled to open in Louvain on March 25, 1789. The Emperor ordered the bishops to send their seminary students to Louvain immediately and instructed the Archbishop of Mechelen, one of the leaders of the earlier opposition, to participate in the opening ceremonies for the new seminary. As Van der Noot had predicted, the religious issue drew the First Estate out of its political retirement. The Archbishop replied to the Emperor, asking that Joseph submit his plans for the seminary to the Estates for their perusal and approval. He added that he would be far too busy with his clerical duties in Mechelen to attend the opening session, even if it were ap• proved by the Estates. A week later, when he received a vague list of threats against the Church from the impatient Emperor, the Archbishop reconsidered his resistance and hastened to Louvain for the first session of the Séminaire général. He had no intention, however, of graciously conceding to the Austrian plans. During the opening exercises, his probing questions con• cerning the proper involvement of the state in the affairs of the Church left all of Joseph's appointed instructors flustered and the students distrustful of their Austrian teachers. Joseph was angry when he learned of the Archbishop's tactics, but he had no recourse other than to order that the session continue after the Archbishop had returned to Mechelen. The Journal général de l'Europe, after two years of observing and reporting the Estates' battles with the Emperor mused : " II y a sans doute de quoi s'étonner qu'une dispute théologique se soit peu à peu tellement liée à l'histoire politique du siècle, qu'elle en fasse pour le moment une partie essentielle. " (7) The Archbishop's dissent only added further proof of the Austrian Netherland's backwardness according to other European com• mentators who applauded Joseph's Séminaire as another victo• ry over ultra-montism. (8)

(6) Alton to Joseph II, January 26, 1789, " Copie des Lettres, " RUG. (') Journal général de l'Europe, April 12, 1789, XIII : 289. (8) For one example see : " Les deux Amboises et les deux Chrisotômes, (January, 1789), RUG. www.academieroyale.be

REVOLUTION, 1789 87

Before the Brabant Estates could further inflame the relig• ious dispute in the upcoming vote of his taxes, Joseph resolved to stifle their political debate. One pamphleteer had clearly located the obstacle to the implementation of his reforms : " Ce diable de Tiers État... ferme comme un mur, avoit refusé les Subsides & les refusa de nouveau avec une opiniâtreté inflexi• ble. " (9) The Third Estate, especially the Nations of Brussels, considered every reform a violation of the constitution and consequently in their interest to fight. Even with his direct attacks on the Church, Joseph had nothing to fear from the first two orders according to the pamphleteer because the nobility and the Church were " plus versés dans l'art de plier à propos, & convaincus par expérience que le vent le plus impé• tueux ne peut rien sur le flexible roseau. "(I0) Joseph decided to bury the troublesome Brussels doyens among a mass of less political rural representatives and hence to silence the Third Estate. On April 29 he announced his plan to widen the repre• sentation of the Brabant Third Estate to allow every Brabant village to send delegates to Brussels. He ordered the Conseil to publish the reform as law. The Conseil stalled and then refused, explaining as it had so often over the last two years that the reform violated the constitution. (") The Austrian ministers in Brussels had not expected such strong resistance from the Conseil, but Trauttmansdorff de• cided to proceed with the calling of the Estates anyway. The Emperor needed his taxes. With the Emperor's permission to shed blood if necessary, Alton moved more troops into Brus• sels. Trauttmansdorff then convened the Estates and ordered them immediately to approve: 1) a permanent tax subsidy, 2) the reorganization of the Third Estate, 3) the establishment of a new judicial order, and 4) a provision that the consent of the Conseil de Brabant would no longer be necessary prior to the publication of laws. Anticipating resistance, Alton had sta• tioned troops behind the Estates' assembly hall. When the Third Estate adjourned to report to the Austrian ministers its

(') " La vérité. " RUG. (I0) Ibid (") Hop. May 4, 7, and 11, 1789, Staten Generaal, RAN ; and Rapédius de BERG, Mémoires el Documents pour servir à l'histoire de la Révolution braban­ çonne, éd. P. A. F. GÉRARD (Brussels, 1842), U : 175, Mss. G 573. BRB. www.academieroyale.be

88 REVOLUTION, 1789 veto of the four proposals and of the Emperor's taxes, the soldiers surrounded the Hôtel de Ville and barred the doors. Joseph then proclaimed all provincial privileges, including the Joyeuse Entrée, "abrogés, cassés, et annulés. " (12) No longer bound by the Joyeuse Entrée, he declared that he would henceforth rule his Brabant subjects alone, without the Estates. He added that as a good father, he would of course continue to protect the individual liberty and property of his subjects. This time it was the Belgians' turn to be surprised. Joseph's coup stunned the leaders of the resistance. With one proclama• tion he had destroyed the centuries-old representative govern• ment and eliminated the only channel of legal opposition.

Pro Aris et Focis and the Breda Committee

The breaking of the Brabant Estates did not daunt the reso• lution of the Brabant people. If anything, they were more determined than before to resist Austrian rule. Since lawful protest was no longer possible, an ever increasing number of artisans, lawyers, and négociants resolved to pursue other means of resistance. Two groups formed in the summer of 1789 to organize armed revolt against Austrian rule. The first group coalesced around the indefatigable Van der Noot. Even before the coup, he had taken the cause of the Brabant people to the Triple Alliance — the Dutch, the Eng• lish, and the Prussians. Van der Noot first appealed for aid to the Dutch Pensionary Laurens Pieter van de Spiegel saying that he had come on behalf of the most influential members of the Estates. (I3) He warned the Dutch that the Austrians

(l2) Gazette des Pays Bas, June 20, 1789, p. 217 ; Goffin to Van der Noot, June 25, 1789, États Belgiques Unis 180, AGR; Hop, July 3, 1789, Staten Generaal 7460, RAN ; Hop, June 25, 1789, Staten Generaal 7448", RAN ; and Journal général de l'Europe, June 23, 1789.

3 (' ) For an account of the meeting see : L. P. VAN DE SPIEGEL, Résumé des négociations qui accompagnèrent la révolution des Pays-Bas A utrichiens (Amster­ dam, 1841), pp. 51 to 54 ; Henri Van der Noot, "Réflexions sur les troubles des Pays-Bas autrichiens suivant lesquelles il est de l'intérêt des autres sou­ verains, savoir la République de Hollande, Sa Majesté Britannique et Sa Majesté Prussienne d'y porter remède et d'empêcher le progrès de l'exécution du plan despotique de la Maison d'Autriche, " Manuscrits divers 2519, AGR ; www.academieroyale.be

REVOLUTION, 1789 89

planned to impose permanent taxation and military conscrip• tion on the Belgians as the first stage of a master plan. The Emperor would use the Belgian wealth and conscripted citizens to attack the Dutch Republic next. Van de Spiegel responded guardedly to Van der Noot's appeals for military assistance. He asked Van der Noot if the Belgians, without an army or leader themselves, would be able to mount an initial resistance within the country. Van der Noot's vague reply did little to convince the Pensionary. When Van de Spiegel asked what the Belgians would do should they succeed in driving the Austrians from Belgium, Van der Noot suggested that he was considering modelling the new state after the Dutch government. Van der Noot even proposed naming the second son of the Prince of Orange as the Belgian stadhouder or perhaps joining the Dutch Republic if the difference in religion did not prove too great an obstacle. Van de Spiegel refused to commit his nation's troops to the uncertain cause, but concluded the inter• view by suggesting that Van der Noot consult with the Prus• sians and the English. Returning to England, Van der Noot planned to warn the English that Austria, enriched by the stolen wealth of the flour• ishing Belgian provinces, would ally herself with America, France, and Russia and threaten England's position as a ruler of the seas. Pitt, who reported that Van der Noot seemed to be " beaucoup au dessous de sa réputation, " refused to meet with the yet unofficial Belgian diplomat. (u) Van der Noot returned to the Netherlands, establishing his residence at Breda, just across the border from the Austrian Netherlands. His subse• quent negotiations with the Prussians, who were worried by the weakened state of Poland and by Austria's territorial ambi• tions, were a bit more successful. Many of the leaders of the Estates' resistance joined Van der Noot in Breda. Citing " non seulement des violations mul• tipliées de la liberté politique, civile, et personnelle et de la propriété des biens, mais même du bouleversement total de la constitution du pays, " they delegated Van der Noot to serve as

Gérard. II : 288 ; and M. J. H. POST, De Driebond van 1788 en de Brabantse Revolutie (Bergen op Zoom. 1961), pp. 27-33. (") Hop. April 17, 1789, Bois le Due. Van de Spiegel 188. RAN. www.academieroyale.be

90 REVOLUTION, 1789 the agent plénipotentiaire of the Brabant people. (15) They au• thorized him to negotiate with foreign allies for the Brabant Estates. No longer content to talk of legal resistance, they had decided to seek disciplined and experienced professional ar• mies to restore to them " les droits primitifs du peuple. " (16) The discussions of the Breda Committee throughout June and July 1789 revolved around the questions of the European bal• ance of powers, various treaty commitments, and the apparent success of Van der Noot's tactical maneuverings to cement foreign alliances. Van der Noot continued his shuttle diploma• cy throughout the summer. Another group of Brussels residents decided that the Bel• gians themselves would have to drive the Austrians from their lands. As they watched the Estates' resistance against the Em• peror they had become increasingly convinced that restrained legal protest could not succeed against a ruler who ignored and then finally annulled the constitution. They did not believe, however, that the answer to the Belgian problem was to be found in help of foreign monarchs. Reflecting on the first two years of struggle, they were impressed with the resilience of the rebellious crowd that had turned up in the Grand-Place to encourage the Third Estate time after time. That was where Belgium's strength lay. The people in the streets, not the Estates, had frightened the Austrians into granting concessions in May and September 1787. The popular movement needed to be coordinated and organized by astute political leaders ; the Belgians did not need to turn to professional armies to stage their revolution, they concluded. (17) At the beginning of the summer, Jan Baptist Verlooy, a lawyer who had supported Van der Noot's earliest resistance, proposed that the group of friends form a new revolutionary committee to organize the armed Belgian resistance. Lawyers J. J. Torfs, Jacques Dominique 't Kint, and Jean François Vonck, wine wholesalers, Antoine D'Aubremez and J. B. Wee- maels, and the city engineer, Claude Fisco,enlisted as the char• ter members of this new society, Pro Aris et Focis (for hearth

(") " Mémoire des États, " July 17. 1789, États Belgiques Unis 186, AGR. ('6) Ibid. ('7) (Verlooy), " Les Auteurs secrets de la Révolution présente, " in Écrits politiques, vol. 29, AGR. See also : Foreign Office, July 28, 1789, 26/13, PRO. www.academieroyale.be

REVOLUTION, 1789 91

and home). Verlooy urged the charter members to talk to " des personnes de tout rang et condition " to convince them to enlist in the revolution. (I8) After being sworn to absolute secrecy, the new recruits in turn would be charged with the same responsibility and asked to pass the list of recruits back through the chain of members until it reached the original committee. " Trois millions de Belges gémissent dans l'escla• vage... et parmi ceux-ci se trouvent bien sept mille hommes en état de se battre et qui sont mécontents, " Verlooy suggested. " Facilement on en trouveroit trois cent mille qui risqueroient leurs biens et leur sang pour la patrie. "(I9) Within a month the society had mushroomed in Brussels and the neighboring villages without the Austrians ever suspecting its existence. (20) The members of the resistance committee in Breda and Brussels were aware of each other's activities, but the leaders preferred to ignore one another. Most of the revolutionaries recruited by Vonck, Verlooy, Torfs, and their friends to join Pro Aris et Focis saw this new Brussels committee as an exten• sion of the original resistance movement. They assumed that the local insurrections organized by Vonck would support Van der Noot's revolution. (21) In fact, many of the resisters did not distinguish between the two committees. Friends of Van der Noot who were unable to join their political leader in Breda assisted Pro Aris et Focis in Brussels. The hatmaker, Saegermans, one of the members of Van der Noot's inner circle, joined with Weemaels and the notary De Coster of Pro Aris et Focis to lead a contingent of Brussels recruits to Liège where they bought guns and ammu• nition for the revolution. (22) To finance these purchases. Van

(") Charles TERLINDEN, ed. Les Souvenirs d'un Vonckiste, les aventures de J B. Vanderlinden ou détails circonstanciés sur la Révolution de Brabant (Brus- sels. 1932). pp. 118-119. See also: Mss. 19648, p. 124, BRB; and Malingié. " Livre des jours "Il : 545, RUG. (") L B.C. Verlooy as cited by Suzanne TASSIER, Figures révolutionnaires (Brussels. 1942). p. 90. (:O) HENNE and WALTERS. II 355 ; " Auteurs secrets ; " TERLINDEN, p. 119 ; and Forster, I : 58. (2I) J. B. COOMANS. " Épisodes de la Révolution Brabançonne, " Revue de Bru xelles. August 1840, p. 67. (") Mémoire van den notaris De Coster Jan Vouder Van Elewyt aen- gaende de revolutie. Mss. 14890, BRB ; Conseil du gouvernement général 2573, AGR ; and Conseil du gouvernement général 2575. AGR. www.academieroyale.be

92 REVOLUTION, 1789 der Noot's closest allies in the First Estate, the Abbé de St. Bernard and the Abbé de Tongerloo, rode through the countryside around Brussels collecting money from the nobility and the clergy. (23) A number of financiers, including the weal• thy banker, Edouard de Walckiers, also supplied Pro Aris et Focis with funds. (24) When members of the Breda committee returned to Brussels for visits, they joined members of Pro Aris et Focis at the home of the Comtesse d'Yves or in cafés, and after the cafés closed, congregated with them in alleys talking in whispers. (25) In the middle of the summer, after two months of coexisting as separate committees, Vonck proposed that Pro Aris et Focis and the Breda Committee merge to make the final revolution• ary preparations. The local insurrections organized by Pro Aris et Focis would bolster a foreign invasion from the north or east. The Belgian troops recruited by Pro Aris et Focis would reinforce the Prussian and Dutch troops that the Breda Com• mittee had enlisted, Vonck suggested. In a circular letter prais• ing Van der Noot's contributions to his fatherland, Vonck asked Van der Noot to command the combined forces. (26) He asked the lawyer, J. J. Moris, Van der Noot's ally, to carry Pro Aris et Focis' appeal for cooperation to the Breda Committee. Moris, after consulting with Van der Noot, told Vonck that the sensitive nature of Van der Noot's plans required that the Breda Committee keep its activities secret. (27) Not discour• aged, Vonck sent the lawyer, De Brouwer, to Breda. De Brouwer asked Van der Noot to command the army recruited by Pro Aris et Focis and to supervise the training of the new recruits in Breda. Van der Noot refused.

(") Mss. 19648, p. 126, BRB. (24) J. BOUCHARDY, " Le Banquier Ed. de Walckiers, " Annales historiques de la Révolution française (March, April, 1938), p. 133 ; and Paul STRUYE, Jean- François Vonck (Brussels, 1927), pp. 25-26. (25) Actes du comité secret au Conseil du gouvernement, Conseil du gou­ vernement général 2573, AGR. (26) Pro Aris et Focis, August 14, 1789, Mss. 14890, BRB. Additional evi­ dence of Vonck's attempts to cooperate with Van der Noot and the high regard in which he held the leader of the resistance of 1787-1788 can be found in a letter signed by J. F. Vonck in a carton entitled " Benedics Neefs 1780-1790, " in the Abdij St. Bernard, Bornem. (27) Mss. 19648, p. 123, BRB ; and TERLINDEN, p. 126. www.academieroyale.be

REVOLUTION, 1789 93

Meanwhile, young men hearing rumors that an army was being recruited rushed to Breda. " Soo hebben wy alles verbe• ten om ons vaderlandt voor te staen, " one fishvender wrote of the emigration. (n) The volunteers knew that Van der Noot had exiled himself in Breda and so they simply assumed that the army would train there. The volunteers instinctively asso• ciated fighting for the fatherland with the name of Henri Van der Noot. When the first recruits arrived in Breda, Van der Noot was not waiting to greet them as they had expected. Instead, his aides told them to return to Brussels because Van der Noot was far too busy with his foreign negotiations to be bothered with them. Some stayed on in Breda in the hope of seeing Van der Noot, while others wandered in groups to nearby Dutch villages to form their own armed forces or returned discour• aged to Brussels. (29) Van der Noot's refusal to cooperate with Pro Aris et Focis was based upon profound suspicion of a potential rival. Van der Noot had resisted the Austrians for two years without any aid from Vonck and his allies, and he was not going to allow this group of political newcomers to assume direction of the revolution. On behalf of the Breda Committee, one of Van der Noot's friends called on Vonck to chastise him for proposing a new strategy that " niet alleen vrugeloos maer selfs schadelyk is aen de gemyne sack (the revolution]. " (30) Van der Noot would not need the support of a popular army, his friend told Vonck.

(n) J. B. VAN DER PERRE, "Journal de J. B. Van der Perre, " États Belgi­ ques Unis 193. AGR; Ruelle to Montmorin, in Eugène HUBERT, Correspon­ dance des Ministres de France accrédités à Bruxelles de 1780 à 1790 (Brussels, 1920). II : 23, Office fiscal 980. AGR ; J. B. Van der Perre to Van der Noot, August 1789. États Belgiques Unis 181. AGR ; and Goethals 216. BRB. <:,| Mss 19648, pp. 127-128, BRB ; and Terlinden, p. 126. (30) Somers to Van der Noot, June 2, 1789, États Belgiques Unis 180, AGR. (" not only futile but that might even jeopardize the whole affair. ") (") STRUYE, p. 23. According to Struye, Vonck had pleaded and won a long trial against Van der Noot some years earlier. That, Struye believes, was the beginning of their dissension, it has also been suggested by Luc Dhondt that the lawyers of Pro Aris et Focis joined the revolution at precisely the moment the Abbé de Tongerloo for whom they had worked, became politically active. According to Dhondt. therefore, there was no ideological division be­ tween the two committees. Luc DHONDT. " Politiek en institutioneel onvermo­ gen 1780-1794 in de Zuidelijke Nederlanden." in Algemene Geschiedenis der Nederlanden (Haarlem. 1980), IX : 146. www.academieroyale.be

94 REVOLUTION, 1789

Vonck was surprised by Van der Noot's refusal to cooperate. He knew that in part it was only a question of personality — Van der Noot did not want to share his revolutionary leader• ship with anyone. (31) But there were also major political dif• ferences separating the two committees. The founders of Pro Aris et Focis had intended to organize the Belgian army and to arm the villages, believing that this would reinforce rather than conflict with the original resistance movement. However, as Vonck now realized, this divergence in tactics reflected fun• damental ideological differences dividing the two committees. The leaders of Pro Aris et Focis questioned the Breda Committee's plans to rely solely on foreign armies to fight their revolution. The Prussian king, " le despote le plus absolu de l'Europe, " did not appear to be a logical revolutionary ally for the Belgians who were fighting to remove their emperor. (32) What possible interest, Vonck asked, would a foreign monarch have in supporting the overthrow of monarchical authority ? It seemed more likely that a foreign monarch would fear the contagion of popular revolution. If a foreign ruler did agree to commit his forces in a battle against the Austrians, what would prevent his troops from remaining in the provinces ? (33) Such territorial ambitions seemed to be the only reason another monarch would send his armies to help overthrow their em• peror. The Belgian subjects shared a common cause with the peo• ples, not the rulers, of nations on both sides of the Atlantic according to the leaders of Pro Aris et Focis. The Belgian people, like the French and the Americans, were fighting to wrest their sovereignty from a despotic monarch. The leaders of Pro Aris et Focis charged that Joseph II, like George III and Louis XVI, had broken the laws of nature by subjugating rather than lawfully governing his subjects. He had trampled the constitution that bound him to the people. (34) Therefore, these Belgians declared, as the Americans and French had done earlier, because the prince had trespassed on the rights of

(") " Plan de l'avocal Vonck, " États Belgiques Unis 188, AGR. (3Î) " Les Belges affranchis ou réflexions d'une société de citoyens " (1789), Révolution belge, vol. 81, pam. 26, BRB. (34) "La vérité à côté du mensonge" (1789), Révolution belge, vol. 3, pam. 2. BRB. www.academieroyale.be

REVOLUTION, 1789 95 the people, " door het recht van God, van den natuer, van de volkeren, en van de civiele wetten,... den prins is vervallen van de souveraniteyt. " (35) A people owed obedience only to a sovereign who ruled in the interest of the common good of the society, they concluded. Unlike the Breda Committee, Pro Aris et Focis did not question the value of Joseph's reforms in themselves. Rather, they challenged his right to impose them against the will of the people. A despotic ruler, no matter what his intentions, usurped rights that inherently and lawfully belonged to the citizens. Reforms such as Joseph proposed were not wrong in themselves, but had to come from or be supported by the people. (36) Following the example of the French and the Americans, the leaders of Pro Aris et Focis, or Vonckists as they were popularly named, called on their fellow citizens to banish the despot and reclaim the sovereignty that rightfully belonged to them. (37) Only a popular revolution fought by the Belgian people themselves would succeed in establishing a just society upon the ruins of the Austrian order, the leaders of Pro Aris et Focis declared. And in striking contrast to the Breda Commit• tee, that was their revolutionary goal : to build a society ruled by laws that both expressed the general will of all the citizens and treated all citizens equally. In many of their pamphlets citing the ideas of Voltaire and Mably and obviously drawing their inspiration from Rousseau, the Vonckists explained that the new society would rise from the congregation of all the citizens joining together to assure their common good. Follow• ing the revolution, the Vonckists suggested, the victorious and sovereign Belgian people would assemble to write the laws that would govern their new society. (38) Every man in the new

(") " Antiochus Erboren ofte het gedrag der Nederlanders gerechtveerdigt door het recht van God, van den natuer. van de volkeren, ende van de borger- lyke wetten" (1789), Révolution belge, vol. 5, pam. 19, BRB. ("According to the law of God, of nature, of the people and according to civil law... the prince is fallen from sovereignty. ") (56) Mss. 19648, p. 115, BRB ; and " Les Belges affranchis. " (") "Adresse van een burger aen de staeten van Brabant," Écrits poli­ tiques, vol. 29. AGR. (,s) See for example Van den Eynde, " Le départ des romains pour la montagne sacrée ( 1788), Mss 19648. BRB ; and " Les Belges affranchis. " www.academieroyale.be

96 REVOLUTION, 1789 society would be free with the condition that he did not in­ fringe upon the rights of others. Laws would concern only the common interests and accord no privileges. The people in the new society would thus be assured the full exercise of their natural rights, including the right of property. (39) The leaders of Pro Aris et Focis did not expect to abolish the old order with one stroke of a pen as Joseph had tried, but rather hoped to reform it gradually. The first two orders would be allowed to retain their titles and positions, if they would agree voluntarily " à renoncer à leurs exemptions & à leurs privilèges, " especially the venality of office. (40) That conces­ sion to the old order, they explained, would maintain stability but was relatively insignificant, because in their new democrat­ ic society all Belgians would be equally honored " du titre de citoyen, mot qui exprime l'idée de l'égalité qui doit régner entre tous les membres d'une cité. "(4I) All of the citizens would be equal in the eye of the law, all equally eligible for public employment without any distinction except that of the differences in individual talent. Similarly, the democrats did not plan to abolish the three Estates, but would modify and extend their representation and provide for all three orders to sit together in one deliberative assembly as the government. " La noblesse, " a member of Pro Aris et Focis argued, " ne doit pas rougir de se trouver dans la même assemblée avec les commissaires qui n'ont pas l'honneur d'être gentilhom­ mes. " (42) As the result of an extensive public educational system, all of the men of the society would be equally capable of participating as intelligent, reasonable citizens in the govern­ ment. The leaders of Pro Aris et Focis realized that their plans for the new Belgian society were not as radical as those of their French neighbors. For example, the Belgian democrats never suggested any changes in the role of the Church in their new

(39) VERLOOY, " Les intrigues du despotisme démasquées '' (1789) ; " Antio­ chus Erboren ; " " Plan de la Constitution, par Μ. Γ Ab... S..., " Écrits politi­ ques, vol. 91, AGR; "Bases de la Constitution à établir dans les Provinces Belgiques, " Mss. 19648, BRB ; and " Les Belges affranchis. " (40) " Les Belges affranchis. " (41) Ibid. (42) Ibid. www.academieroyale.be

REVOLUTION, 1789 97 society. In Belgium, they explained, the high clergy did not hoard wealth and power as in France, but instead all the clerics instructed and assisted the citizens. Furthermore, the Belgians would not have to imitate the French struggle because " nous sommes fondés cent fois d'avantage pour recevoir notre liberté, d'autant plus, que nous avons une Constitution fixe & permanente, qui en France n'étoit encore que douteuse. " (43) The French had had to fight to establish consti• tutional rule, the Belgians had but to regain theirs. But, despite these differences between the two pre-revolutionary societies, the democrats argued that the French provided the Belgians with a model of a successful popular revolution. The French had proven that the people could win their liberty and rights from a usurping monarch. Van der Noot and the Breda Committee did not share Vonck's enthusiasm for the French example. The French revo• lutionaries, the " pseudophilosophes, " were trying to destroy the Catholic Church, they charged. (44) Pierre Van Eupen. an ex-Jesuit from Antwerp and now Van der Noot's closest advis• er, complained that the French had forgotten God. Rather than being natural allies, the godless French, in his view, were Belgium's most obvious enemy, second only to the " enlight• ened " Austrians. (45) The Breda Committee rebelled against Joseph II not to win broader rights for the people, but to preserve the Belgian con• stitution and the traditional social order. For the Breda Com• mittee, popular rights meant the rights guaranteed in the Joyeuse Entrée, and natural rights, " les droits éternels de l'homme, " referred to the Church's interpretation of man's duties to God on earth. (46) The constitution and fundamental laws had been born with the people and after centuries they

f4') "Trompette anti-autrichienne. " Révolution belge, vol. 102, pam. 20. BRB (") Chanoine NYS, Chronique du Chanoine Nys. Pergameni 2960. vol II, AVB One satirical French pamphleteer responded to the Vandernootists" fears : " Belge, souviens-toi bien que la Philosophie est un démon d'Enfer à qui l'on sacrifie. Tout Chrétien qui raisonne a le cerveau blessé. " " Conseils aux Belges. " RUG (45) VAN EUPEN to DE RODE, États Belgiques Unis 189, AGR ; and Journal historique et littéraire, September I, 1789. p. 59. (46) " Le Peuple Brabançon. " Révolution belge, vol. 52, pam. 23. BRB. www.academieroyale.be

98 REVOLUTION, 1789 perfectly fit the national character of the people. Belgium, " une belle et florissante contrée " unequaled " par aucun pays de l'Europe, " owed its prosperity. Van Eupen argued, partly to the fertility of its soil and the industry of its inhabitants, but above all to " les privilèges... la liberté et... la constitution dont elle a joui depuis plusieurs siècles. " (47j The rulers who pre• ceded Joseph had respected their inaugural oath and ruled within the limited bounds of their constitutional authority. By preserving Belgian privileges, liberty, and its constitution, they had helped Belgium prosper. Joseph threatened that prosperi• ty. (48) The Breda Committee was fighting its revolution specif• ically to overthrow Joseph II because he had overstepped the limits of his constitutional authority. The Vandernootists did not propose elaborate, if somewhat hazy, plans for the post- revolutionary society as Pro Aris et Focis did. They talked instead of the return of peace and prosperity to the provinces. Both the Breda Committee and Pro Aris et Focis used the phrase " the rights of the people, " but the two meant quite different things by that phrase. For Pro Aris et Focis, " the people " was the unprivileged bourgeoisie, whereas for the Breda Committee " the people " was the " nation beige, " the three privileged Estates, an organic entity with a unified will. The Breda Committee would rebel against the Austrians to regain those privileges threatened by Joseph's reforms. Theirs was a uniquely Belgian struggle. Pro Aris et Focis, on the other hand, saw its revolution as part of a universal battle to estab• lish the natural rights of the politically powerless — the educat• ed, propertied classes without privilege. This struggle was not to be uniquely Belgian, but rather would be one of the series of popular revolutions that had begun in America in 1776, that had succeeded in France, and that was spreading throughout Western Europe. Not surprisingly, by late August 1789, the memberships of Pro Aris et Focis and the Breda Committee had separated ; only a few members belonged to both groups. With the open antagonism between the leaders and the obvious political dif• ferences between the committees, few members continued to

C7) VAN EUPEN to DE RODE, États Belgiques Unis 189, AGR, (48) " Le Peuple Brabançon. " www.academieroyale.be

REVOLUTION, 1789 99 work with both Vonck and Van der Noot. Twenty­one of the forty original resisters from Brussels joined Van der Noot in Breda while eleven stayed in Brussels to work with Vonck. (49) The leaders of the Breda Committee all came from this group of twenty­one resisters who now formed a majority of the thirty­eight person committee. As one might expect, the philo­ sophy of the Breda Committee closely resembled that of the original resistance movement of the Estates. In contrast, the eleven men from the original resistance committee, who consti­ tuted only nineteen percent of the fifty­six Brussels members of Pro Aris et Focis, played a more limited role in that group. In Pro Aris et Focis, the experienced resisters followed the direc­ tion of the political new­comers. The leaders of Pro Aris et Focis came from backgrounds very different from those of the original resistance committee. The three most active founders of Pro Aris et Focis, all lawyers, had been born to families outside Brussels legal cir­ cles. Jan François Vonck was the son of Flemish peasants ; Jan Baptist Verlooy, alleged by contemporaries also to have pea­ sant roots, was actually the son of a village " secretaris " ; and Jean Joseph Torfs's father had been a poor Brussels liquor merchant. (50) Despite their origins, through early recognition of their intellectual talents and their own determination, they had been allowed to undertake legal studies at Louvain Uni­ versity, usually a closed world. After excelling as students at Louvain. the three lawyers proceeded to Brussels to set up legal practices. Verlooy served the mandatory " stage " under the renowned legal scholar, Philippe Guillaume Malfait. Dur­ ing this time he published the influential Codex Brabanticus, an index of Brabant laws that he dedicated to the Austrian minister, Joseph Crumpipen. Because Verlooy had no ties of his own within Brussels, it appears that he had difficulty get­

f") For a list of Brussels members see Appendix I (50) For biographies of Vonck, Verlooy and Tort's see: Biographie natio­ nale. XXIV: 668­671 and XXV: 439; Baron Paul VERHAEGEN. "Torfs, Juris­ consulte. Diplomate et Administrateur." Revue helge. (June 15. 1924). II: 6. 508­525 ; Jan VAN DEN BROECK. " J. Β C. Verlooy. " Rechtskundig Weekblad. (January 25. 1976). pp. 1281­1294; Paul STRUYE, "Jean François Vonck." (Brussels. 1927); Théodore JUSTE. Les Vonckistes (Brussels. 1878); and Jan VAN DEN BROECK. J Β C. Verlooy. (Antwerp. 1980). www.academieroyale.be

100 REVOLUTION, 1789 ting clients his first years in practice in the capital. He contin• ued to write, publishing several small treatises and the impor• tant Verhandeling op d'onacht der moederlycke tael in which he called for the Belgian people to return to Flemish as their native language. (51) Vonck, who graduated first in his class at Louvain, was appointed avocat fiscal of the chapter of Ste. Gudule and treasurer of the Abbaye de Forest when he arrived in Brussels. Torfs, Verlooy's brother-in-law, graduated several years after the other two lawyers and worked for Vonck. Although by 1787 Vonck, Verlooy, and Torfs were recognized by their colleagues as thoughtful practitioners, and distinguished legal theorists, the three did not join the inner circle of lawyers who had government posts or represented the Estates, the sector from which Van der Noot's political allies had been drawn in 1787. Thirty-seven percent of the total membership of Pro Aris et Focis were lawyers. Jacques Dominique 't Kint, Théodore D'Otrenge, and Charles D'Outrepont, like Vonck, Verlooy, and Torfs, were known in the Brabant for their publications in legal theory. They were joined by fourteen other lawyers and notaires : J. B. Vanderlinden, A. Sandelin, A. Dondelberg, Ch. Van den Cruyce, G. Willems, P. E. De Launay, J. F. Pas- teels, J. Le Hardi, P. F. Charlier, G. Poringo, Messemaecker, J. Emmerichts, M. J. De Brouwer, and Van Doorselaer. Many of these lawyers had worked together before 1789. Of the twenty-one members of the legal profession, only d'Outrepont and 't Kint had participated in the earlier resistance move• ment. (52) These lawyers' leadership of the new revolutionary group is especially interesting because, unlike the Vandernoo• tists, they did not benefit from the privileged positions specifi• cally threatened by Joseph's reforms. Verlooy had nonchalantly observed in the early months of 1787 that as long as men were not angels, there would be a need for lawyers. (53) Like several

5I ( ) J. B. C. VERLOOY, Verhandeling op d'Onacht der moederlyke Tael in de Nederlanden (Maestricht, 1787).

(") More information on the democratic lawyers can be found in NAUWE- LAERS ; and Conseil souverain de justice 70, AGR. (53) Verlooy wrote : " Il n'y a pas de danger qu'on puisse nuire beaucoup aux avocats. Aussi longtemps qu'il y aura des loix, aussi longtemps que les hommes ne seront pas des anges, il faudra des avocats. " " Observations sur les www.academieroyale.be

REVOLUTION. 1789 101 of the other lawyers who would join Pro Aris et Focis. he had called for reforms of the judiciary similar to those proposed by Joseph II and actually stood to benefit from the creation of positions in Joseph's new courts. (54) The second largest occupational group represented in the leadership of Pro Aris et Focis was made up of the wholesale merchants and bankers. Four of them — J. Simon, carriage manufacturer ; J. B. Weemaels. wine wholesaler ; and F. de Walckiers and J.J. Chapel, bankers — had participated in the original resistance committee of 1787. The other seven whole­ sale merchants and bankers associated with Pro Aris et f ocis had been previously active in the Assemblée de Commerce, petitioning the Emperor for less state control over commerce and for the restoration of public tranquility by the reinstate­ ment of the rule of law in the Brabant. (55) During the summer of 1789 Pro Aris et Focis eclipsed but did not completely replace the Assemblée as the focus of activity for the wealthy merchants and bankers of Brussels. The other bourgeois members of Pro Aris et Focis came from the liberal professions. C. Fisco, the engineer who had worked with Van der Noot in 1787, was one of the founding members of Pro Aris et Focis. He was joined by E. J. Dinne, doctor ; Gaine, architect ; Hayez and De Haeze, publishers ; P. Secrétan, tutor to the Due d'Ursel's children ; and De Cuy­ per. engineer. These seven men formed a very vocal 12 percent of the committee. (56)

Tribunaux à enger dans la Campine el aux environs. " cited by VAN DEN BROEI κ. J Β C. Verlooy. p. 42. (54) NAUWELAERS, 83 ; and VAN DEN BROECK. J Β C. Verlooy. p. 72. (") Letters of members of the Assemblée de Commerce de Bruxelles can be found in Liasse 611, AVB; and Liasse 1016, AVB. For biographical infor­ mation on Simon, Chapel, de Walckiers, Plowits, De Vleeschouwer, Dannoot and D'Aubremez see : J. LEWINSKI, Evolution industrielle de la Belgique au début du XIX' siècle (Brussels. 1911); FORSTER; Almanack des Négocions (Brussels. 1762); Almanach du département de la Dvle (Brussels, 1804­1814); Almanac h nouveau pour l'année 1767­177} (Brussels); Almanach de Commerce pour l'an bissextile (Brussels, 1804); and Almanach de la Cour de Bruxelles (Brussels : 1725­1804). ('6) For information on Fisco. Dmne. Gaine. De Haeze. Secrétan. and De Cuyper see: Biographie nationale. VII: 74 and VI: 78; and TASSIER. Les Démocrates. www.academieroyale.be

102 REVOLUTION, 1789

All of these members of Pro Aris et Focis shared one distin­ guishing characteristic : they belonged to the intellectual elite. The lawyers had been educated at Louvain University and many of them were known for their scholarly publications. Most of the members of the liberal professions, like the lawyers, had been educated at Louvain and many later earned recognition for their research. Similarly, the wholesale mer­ chants and bankers of Brussels were part of the circle of Euro­ pean intellectuals. They travelled extensively, meeting and cor­ responding with such philosophers and disciples of the enlight­ enment as Dr. Price in England and Voltaire and Mirabeau in France. D'Aubremez, the wine wholesaler, had even participat­ ed in the War of American Independence. The frequent refer­ ences in the committee's correspondence to such thinkers as Locke and Rousseau suggests that the members of Pro Aris et Focis read widely. Most of the members of the Breda Committee were artisans or small shopkeepers. J. J. Saegermans, haberdasher ; J. C. Schuers, gunsmith ; P. J. C. Beeckmans, hosier ; J. B. C. Huyghens, an official of the Nation of St. Christophe ; J. Van Parys, dyer ; and D. De Neck, tanner — all active resis­ ters since 1787, were joined by other leaders of the Nations : F. De Noter, Η. Α. Verhasselt, Van Assche, and Van den Block. (57) Most of the other bourgeois members of the com­ mittee were professionally associated with either the Nations or the Third Estate. The eight lawyers of the Breda Committee — J. J. Moris, S. Mosselman, C. Van Daelen, H. Van der Hoop, H. Van der Noot, Η. Goffin, J. Drugman, and Van Overstrae­ ten — served as legal consellors to the Nations or the Third Estate. Except for Drugman and Van Overstraeten, the lawyers had all participated in the original resistance movement. Drug­ man's background resembled those of the first group of lawyers. He had been trained as a Jesuit and turned to the legal profession after the suppression of the Compagnie de Jésus. As a lawyer, he represented the Nations in court cases. Not from a robe family himself, he had married the daughter

(") For information on the merchants see Archives des corps de métiers, AGR ; Pergameni 2895, AVB ; Pergameni 3120, AVB ; and WALTERS. www.academieroyale.be

REVOLUTION, 1789 103 of Van der Noot de Vreckem, a noble. (58) The only member of the liberal professions to join the committee was Pauwels. Van der Noot's publisher. Two men. De Roy and Longtlls, listed only as " sons, " worked with Van der Noot as did H. Van Hamme, later identified as " military. " The members of the clergy who participated in the resis• tance in 1789, unlike the bourgeoisie, seemed unaware of the split between the two committees. The Abbé de St. Bernard, who had been the most loyal clerical supporter of Van der Noot for two years, was described by a member of Pro Aris et Focis in 1789 as " un des partisans les plus chauds de la révo• lution. " (59) Along with Godfried Hermans, the Abbé de Tongerloo, and Benoit Neefs, the Abbé de St. Bernard contin• ued to consult with Van der Noot in Breda while he also raised funds for Pro Aris et Focis. Most of the other original clerical resisters either joined Van der Noot in Breda or wrote pamph• lets in support of his committee. Two of the clerics who joined the resistance in 1789, the Abbé de Parc, a member of the First Estate, and Van Gils, supported the Breda Committee, and four — Schellekins, known for his democratic sermons in Schaerbeek ; De Hooghe, vicar of the St. Jean hospital ; the Abbé Van Hees, Vonck's personal secretary ; and Morisson — joined Pro Aris et Focis. (60) Members of the nobility were even less willing than the clergy to commit their allegiance to one group or the other. The Comtesse d'Yves, the Duchesse d'Ursel, the Baronne de Romerswael, the Comte de Rosière, the Comte de Limminghe, Van der Noot de Vreckem, the Baron de Romerswael, the Comte de la Marek, and the Baron de Hove participated eager• ly in the revolutionary preparations of both committees. The Comtesse d'Yves served as an important intermediary between the bourgeois leaders of the two committees. She continued to

(") Biographical information on the lawyers can be found in GAILLARD, Le Conseil de Brabant (Brussels, 1898); JOTTRAND, Les Avocats en Belgique (Brussels. 1850) ; and J. NAUWELAERS. Histoire des avocats au souverain conseil de Brabant (Brussels. 1947). (") Journal historique et littéraire, June 1. 1789, p. 232; Office fiscal 26, AGR ; and Mss. 19648, pp. 124-125, BRB. (*°) États Brabant 199, AGR ; and Emest DISCAILLES, " Un chanoine démo­ crate, " Revue de Belgique, 1887. www.academieroyale.be

104 REVOLUTION, 1789

read almost all the published pamphlets of both committees and advised both Van der Noot and Vonck. As the division between the two committees widened in August, Van der Noot won the support of the Comte de Merode, the Comte de Lim- minghe. Van der Noot de Vreckem, the Baron de Romerswael, and the Baron de Hove while Vonck was joined by the Baronne de Romerswael, the Duchesse d'Ursel and the Comte de Rosière. (6|) Curiously, most of the bourgeois members of the Breda committee, like the nobles and the clerics, spoke French, while many of the members of Pro Aris et Focis, especially the lawyers, corresponded in Flemish. Almost all of the Brussels revolutionaries came from Flemish-speaking regions, but it was precisely during this period that the Flemish and Brussels bourgeoisie had begun to follow the nobility in the adoption of French. The members of the Breda Committee held positions in the government and were undoubtedly conscious of the status conferred by a knowledge of French. Verlooy, in fact, wrote his Verhandeling op d'onachi der moederlycke tael to protest against this trend, arguing that the verfransing of the bourgeoisie deprived the Flemish people of a literary culture. He claimed that historically Dutch, not French, had been the language of the Belgian people, the language of liberty. It should be noted, however, that the members of Pro Aris et Focis did not consciously choose to use Flemish from demo• cratic sympathies. The Vonckists moved in different profes• sional circles than did Van der Noot's friends and consequently spoke a different language. (62) The differences in the language used by the leaders of the two groups reflected the difference in their professional backgrounds. The memberships of the two committees differed signifi• cantly from one another. The privileged orders that exercised social and political power in old regime Belgium participated

(61) Duras to Yves, États Belgiques Unis 195, AGR; Prince Arenberg to Estates, États Belgiques Unis 181, AGR; and Conseil du gouvernement général 2573. AGR. (62) For a discussion of the division between Flemish and French speakers in eighteenth century Brussels see : Marcel DENECKERE, Histoire de la langue française dans les Flandres, 1770-1823 (Ghent, 1954), p. 113; and H. J. ELIAS, Geschiedenis van de Vlaamse Gedachte (Antwerp : 1963). www.academieroyale.be

REVOLUTION, 1789 105 in the Breda Committee while Pro Aris et Focis attracted most• ly those educated or wealthy men who had no role in the governing of eighteenth-century Brussels. As shown by the following table, the committees divided along professional lines. Most members of the original resistance committee — the government lawyers, the members of the Nations, most of the clergy, and several nobles — formed the Breda Committee. The other original resisters — the wholesale merchants and bankers, the lawyers who had written the pamphlets in May 1787, and the upper nobility of the original resistance commit• tee — joined Pro Aris et Focis. The traditionally privileged orders of Brussels, the members of the Breda Committee, resisted the Austrian reforms that threatened their privileges. The nobles, clerics, and members of the Third Estate wanted to preserve their centuries-old control of the Brabant government and their traditional social prom• inence. Frightened both by the Emperor's attacks on the Church and the Nations and by the more abstract and nebu• lous threat of his enlightened principles, the members of the Brabant Estates participated in the Breda Committee. They rebelled to preserve the old regime. The leaders of Pro Aris et Focis represented precisely those classes that posed a potential threat to the traditionally privi• leged orders. Many of the lawyers and members of the liberal professions had risen to their professional positions from poor families. The wholesale merchants and bankers and the upper nobility, the wealthiest members of Brussels society, found no social protection for their commercial enterprises. These were the groups that would benefit from fundamental reforms in the old order, reforms that recognized talent rather than inherited privilege in assigning positions. Because of their education, these were also the men who read and corresponded with the philosophes throughout Europe, Joseph had never tried to win these potential supporters of his reforms. Instead the Emperor had alienated them by disre• garding them and by moving too quickly. The Belgian demo• crats were afraid of Joseph's despotism ; they believed that the citizens themselves should have a voice in the direction of the society. These professionals favored reform, but they wanted to create a new society on the foundations of the old. not to over• turn it completely as Joseph intended. www.academieroyale.be

106 REVOLUTION, 1789

TABLE 1. — Professional backgrounds of the members, Original resistance, Breda Committee and Pro Aris et Focis.

Total Pro Aris Original Breda Row pet. et Total Resistance Committee Column pet. Focis

9 8 21 38 Lawyers 24 % 21 % 55 % 100 % ")"> "L ζ 1 /o 17 % Δα to LL ft) 1 1 87 9 Liberal Prof. 11 % 11 % 78 % 100 % J /o J /o iL Ιΐ) 7/ /%o 4 0 11 15 Wholesale Merchants 27 % 63 % 100 % and Bankers 10 % 70 % 11 % 15 10 0 25 Merchants and 60 % 40 % 100 % Artisans 37 % 77 % 19 % 4 7 7 18 Clergy 22% 39% 39% 103% 10% 18% 12% 13 % 5 6 6 17 Nobility 30% 35% 35% 100% 17 % I1 6υ %/o 11 % 13 % 1 Z /0 11/0 1 4 2 7 Miscellaneous 14% 57% 29% 100% 3% 10% 4% 5% 1 2 2 5 Unidentified 20% 40% 40% 100% 3% 5% 4% 4%

40 38 56 134 Total 30% 29% 41 % 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

Spies, Priests, and Pitchforks

The two committees proceeded to pursue their separate plans for organizing the revolution. While Van der Noot sent memoires and pleas to The Hague, Berlin, and London, the members of Pro Aris et Focis gathered and hid arms and am­ munition, bribed Austrian soldiers to desert, and wrote pamph­ lets calling their fellow citizens to join the revolt. www.academieroyale.be

REVOLUTION, 1789 107

Vonck, Torfs, Fisco, D'Aubremez, and Verlooy distributed the pamphlets throughout the Brabant and the Hainault. In the villages they recruited soldiers and organized local revolution• ary committees. According to a master plan drawn up by Pro Aris et Focis, the village militias would rise to support the Belgian troops at the ringing of the tocsin. (63) In the mean• time, in addition to organizing the mobilization of their vil• lages, the local committees were charged with repairing strate• gic bridges, hoarding arms and ammunition, and reporting all strangers whom they suspected of being spies or Austrian in• formers. In Brussels, part of the committee churned out pamphlets while the others continued military preparations. De Brouwer, Emmerichts, and Walckiers's efforts to bribe Austrian soldiers to desert and swear fidelity to the patriots met with success. (64) D'Aubremez and Sandelin persuaded the Duchesse d'Ursel to donate the cannons guarding the family estate to the patriot army, while Fisco and a corps of engineers planned battle logistics and repaired strategic bridges. (65) Willems, Van den Cruyce, and several members of the clergy continued the fund- raising efforts begun by the Abbé de St. Bernard and the Abbé de Tongerloo. (66) They also approached the guilds of Brabant cities for contributions. Meanwhile, Vonck solved a major problem in staging a revolution — finding a general. After looking through a list of possible candidates, he decided to approach colonel Jean An• dré Van der Mersch, who after distinguishing himself in battle, had retired to the Flemish village of Dadizeele when the Aus• trian government refused to recognize his military achieve• ments. Van der Mersch seemed, therefore, a promising candi• date for leadership of the revolutionary forces. Vonck asked a friend from a neighboring village, the curé De Hooghe, to meet with the colonel to discuss the revolutionary plans of the com• mittee. When contacted. Van der Mersch was enthusiastic and proposed an immediate meeting with Vonck. On August 30, Vonck, Fisco, and De Hooghe journeyed to Beckerzeel, a village

<6J) DE BROUWER. MSS. 14890. BRB ; and Mss. 19648, p. 131. BRB.

(64| de WALCKIERS. MSS. 14890. BRB. (") TERLINDEN, p. 137.

(M) Mss. 19648. pp 134-135, BRB. www.academieroyale.be

108 REVOLUTION, 1789 on the road to Ghent, to confer with Van der Mersch. The prospective general, who had come to the secret meeting dis• guised as a pheasant hunter, was told both of the Pro Aris et Focis plans for a popular rebellion and of Van der Noot's refusal to cooperate with them. In a discussion of strategy that lasted nine hours, Van der Mersch and the delegates from Pro Aris et Focis resolved to begin training the revolutionary army as soon as a safe training ground outside of the Belgian pro• vinces could be secured. (67) Members of the committee, including Weemaels, ap• proached Fabry, the mayor of Liège, for permission to station and to train troops on Liège territory. Fabry agreed and Wee• maels established the headquarters for the new revolutionary army in Hasselt. Van den Eynde, De Brouwer, Vanderlinden, Emmerechts and his brother-in-law Colinet, the Abbé Van Hees, and Robyns, a Louvain lawyer, joined him on the border to lay a safe network of paths over which the recruits from Brussels could travel secretly to Liège. When the First recruits arrived, Charlier, Van Bellinghem, Pasteels, and Messemaecker assigned them the task of finding gunpowder and buying cloth to be made into uniforms. (68) Rumors of the revolutionary preparations preceded the Pro Aris et Focis recruiters. Even before the men from Brussels had distributed their pamphlets, they were besieged with questions from villagers about the formation of a revolutionary army. (69) In the capital and surrounding villages, cafés were crowded with men and women anxiously discussing the impending revo• lution in the Austrian Netherlands. They observed that just a few weeks earlier the Bastille had fallen in France ; the Bel• gians had but to follow the example of their neighbors. Grain prices were high in the Brabant, as well as in France, the Brus• sels beer drinkers noted. (70)

(67) For an account of the meeting see TASSIER, Les Démocrates, pp. 136- 140: and VANDERLINDEN, pp. 127-128.

(68) Mss. 19648, BRB ; and TERLINDEN, pp. 132 and 133. (69) P. DE VLOOT to BRINGEN, July 30, 1789, Mss. 14890, BRB. (70) Conseil du gouvernement général 2573, AGR ; July 22, 1789, Conseil du gouvernement général 2575, AGR ; Conseil du gouvernement général 2577, AGR ; and Journal général de l'Europe, August 1, 1789, p. 232 and October 3, 1789, p. 226. A loyal supporter of Joseph II, observed in the Journal général de l'Europe on July 28, 1789 : " Figurez-vous que, dans ce moment-ci, le parti www.academieroyale.be

REVOLUTION, 1789 109

The journalist Linguet warned Trauttmansdorff that the Emperor had chosen an unwise moment for his coup d'é• tat. (7I) It was the Belgians who had given the French the example of popular resistance in the first place, he said. Infor• mers conveyed reports to the Austrian minister of the heated discussions in the cafés. (72) The spies complained that even though they had mouches stationed at all the doors of Ste. Gudule. the mouches had but to doze for two minutes and the persistent rebels posted revolutionary placards. (73) Alarmed by the dramatic increase of revolutionary activity throughout the provinces. Alton requested military reinforce• ments. Trauttmansdorff disagreed. Throughout the summer he had been sending Vienna soothing reports of the calm in the capital. (74) He too had heard the spies' reports that the Breda Committee was negotiating to enlist five Prussian corps to join them on the Dutch border. But he reassured the Emperor. " la seule idée de voir cinq régiments prussiens commandés par l'avocat Van der Noot, ferait rire V. M. si Elle le connaissait en ne jugeant même que d'après l'extérieur de ce généralissime à perruque ronde... Ils parlent de 60,000 hommes comme si un aussi grand nombre de troupes sortait de la terre et allait dîner au cabaret, car certainement il n'y a aucun préparatif en maga• sins et approvisionnements. " (75) Van der Noot. who could not

patriote Brabançon assimile bonnement la situation à celle du parti national à Paris. & faisant abstraction des causes, applaudit à l'effet & au nom. sans voir que la nation est en France précisément d'une opinion contraire à celle que les Fiats des Pays-Bas ont opposés aux réformes, que le souverain prétend y établir. Les ordres privilégiés sont l'objet des plaintes de l'assemblée nationale en France : les ordres privilégiés sont ceux que l'empereur vouloit au Pays-Bas ramener à une condition moins oppressive, moins destructive de l'intérêt général des citoyens de tous les ordres. " " Extrait d'une lettre particulière de Bruxelles. " in Journal general Je l'Europe. July 28. 1789. fi Copie d'une Lettre écrite à S. E. le Ministre par M. Linguet. July 8. 1789 and Linguet to Trauttmansdorff. July 31. 1789, États Belgiques L^ms 206. AGR f;) July 3. 1789. Conseil du gouvernement général 2573. AGR. (*') Deprez. November 5. 1789. Conseil du gouvernement général 2599. AGR f4) See for example: Trauttmansdorff to Joseph IL August 11. 1789 m Hans S( HLiriTR. Geheime Correspondes Josefs 11 mil seinem Minister Trautt­ mansdorff i Vienna. 1900). p. 346. f') Trauttmansdorff. August 14 and 15. 1789. SCHUTTER. Geheime Corre­ spondent, pp. 349 and 352 ; and TASSIER. Les démocrates, p. 346. www.academieroyale.be

110 REVOLUTION, 1789

control the crowds in the streets and who bungled diplomatic negotiations, did not seem to pose much of a threat. Besides, the resisters and the Breda Committee had been so easily infil• trated in the past that it was unlikely that they would launch any offensive now without their initiative being readily detect• ed, Trauttmansdorff reasoned. The Austrians had not yet pene• trated the effective veil of secrecy erected by Pro Aris et Focis. The minister therefore counselled the Emperor to restrain him• self from giving the Belgians, " nos faibles têtes brabançon• nes " overt cause for provocation. (76) Following the advice of his minister, Joseph discounted the café discussions. As a preventive measure, he had banned the export of grain from Belgium, threatened to imprison hoarders, and forbidden the distilling of beer from grain at the beginning of the summer. He hoped both to forestall any possibility of a food shortage in Belgium similar to the one in France and to lessen the Belgian drinking. (77) He was reassured that even though the drinking continued unabated in the cafés, the Bel• gians suffered no shortage of grain. To his sister, however, he confided his deepest worries : " L'ivresse française provient de vin de champagne, qui est prompte mais légère, et se dissipe facilement, pendant que celle des Brabançons vient de bière qui est tenace. " (78) The French may have staged a spectacular and quick revolution, but in the long run, the patient, plodding Belgians seemed capable of causing even greater disruption. The talk of the Belgians imitating the French must, howev• er, have seemed strange to Joseph who saw himself as a disci• ple of the philosophes. After the French and Brabant revolu• tions he observed to the comte de Ségur : " Une folie générale semble s'être emparée de tous les peuples, ceux de Brabant par

(76) Hop sent back a letter through his emissary. Godin, telling Van de Spiegel that both Trauttmansdorff and Crumpipen had accosted him and asked the Dutch to expel the Brabant patriots. Hop in turn asked the Austrians why they had allowed Dutch rebels to assemble in Belgian territories during the previous decade. Hop, July 30, 1789 Van de Spiegel 188, RAN. (77) N. GOETVAL, "Histoire de Belgique, Beschryvinge sedert 't jaer 1780 tot 1790, " IV : 40-41, Mss. 15953, BRB ; Journal général de l'Europe, June 3, 1789 and June 11, 1789; Esprit des Gazettes, July 11, 1789; and HUBERT, pp. 389 and 396. (78) Joseph II to Marie Christine as cited by Frans VAN KALKEN, Histoire de Belgique (Brussels, 1924), p. 165. www.academieroyale.be

REVOLUTION, 1789 111 exemple, se révoltent parce que j'ai voulu leur donner ce que votre nation réclame à grands cris. " (79) Other political writers also commented on the similarity of Joseph's proposed reforms to the plans of the French revolutionaries. One constructed an elaborate chart listing twenty-three comparisons including such reforms as the abolition of mainmorte and the banalités, the suppression of seigneurial justice, and the establishment of equal opportunity for employment in government. (80) Through• out the summer of 1789, Joseph's apologists reiterated their belief that the Belgians were wrong in comparing their resis• tance to the French Revolution ; it was Joseph himself who had tried to effect the revolution in Belgium. The Emperor, the Austrians argued, was the only true Belgian revolutionary. What could be better than a bloodless revolution achieved efficiently by the stroke of a pen?(81) The philosophes them• selves after all had shared Joseph's ambiguous attitude towards the common people. To most theorists before the French Revo• lution, the rule of a strong king seemed quite compatible, if not necessary, to the implementation of enlightened reforms. (82) It is to historians and political theorists with hindsight that despotism and enlightened reform seem incompatible. Just as the French Revolution convinced Europe of the possibility of popular revolution, Joseph's rule in the Austrian Netherlands demonstrated the difficulties of imposing a revolution from above as well as from outside. Part of the problem was Joseph's stubborn conviction that he alone knew what was best. Throughout his brief reign, he refused to relinquish con• trol of any institution and personally directed policy down to the most minute detail. (83) Joseph never considered his sub-

(") VAN KALKEN (ed. 1954). p. 464. (*°) "Tableau comparatif." Journal Patriotique, September 1789. Révolu­ tion belge, vol. 9. BRB. (") "Salus popuh" (November 28, 1789), Acquisitions récentes, 6/17, AGR; "Table d'hôtes du 19 octobre, 1789," RUG; and "Maximes appli­ cables aux circonstances présentes, dédiées aux magistrats et aux citoyens. " Varia Belgica. M-14. BG, KUL. (82) See DE MEYER for a discussion of the philosophes' views of despotism. (i3) The Prince de Starhemberg wrote of Joseph ; " II imagine tout, il voit tout, dirige, exécute et gouverne tout par lui-même. Les divers départements ne sont que des corps organisés auxquels il donne l'impulsion qui les met en mouvement, mais Us ne peuvent rien par eux-mêmes, " as cited by Georges www.academieroyale.be

112 REVOLUTION, 1789 jects' desires in his plans. If citizens opposed his program, he blamed it on their " particular interests. " His mother had warned him : " Vous ne suivez que vos idées et volontés, les­ quelles m'étant pas contredites, ayant le don de la parole et d'écrire, aidées de sophismes sans fin, et de persiflage, vous réussissent la plupart du temps. Animé par là, vous croyez que tous les autres ont tort ou qu'ils ne méritent pas d'atten­ tion. " (84) Joseph had not heeded his mother's counsel. He alone knew what was in his subjects' best interest, and as em­ peror, he believed it was his duty to convince them, by force if necessary. Because he believed that the right would triumph in the end, he continued to ignore the reports of insurrection while he attended to what seemed more pressing diplomatic concerns. In September 1789, however, Joseph and his ministers final­ ly became alarmed as hints of the flurry of activity reached them. " Il me paroit clair que les Pays Bas Autrichiens, et surtout le Brabant, sont dans un état de crise qui ne peut durer longtems, " Trauttmansdorff reported to Vienna. (85) Inflam­ matory pamphlets blanketed the streets of Brussels. In the countryside, the Austrians seized a number of copies of a call to revolution " de la part du Comité Patriotique Brabançois de Hasselt, Pais de Liège. " (86) Soldiers were being seduced to leave the Austrian army, citizens were hoarding arms, and

DUMONT, Histoire des Belges (Brussels, 1954), p. 188. Belgiojoso, one of the Emperor's most loyal ministers similarly complained : " Sa Majesté étoit in­ struite de tout peut­être plus que le gouvernement, " as cited by DE BOOM, Les ministres plénipotentiaires dans les Pays­Bas autrichiens, principalement Cobenzl (Académie Royale de Belgique, Classe des Lettres, Mémoires, XXXI). (Brus­ sels, 1932). p. 343. (84) Marie Theresa to Joseph II, June 20, 1773 in Alfred VON ARNETH, Maria Theresa und Joseph H. Ihre Correspondenz (Vienna, 1867), II : 11. (85) (Trauttmansdorff), "Réflexions," August 15, 1789, Staatskanzlei, IV DD Β Verz. 66 (414), HHS. Similarly, the French ambassador. Ruelle, reported to Montmorin on August 17 : "Il est donc bon de savoir que l'indignation de ces provinces contre l'Empereur surpasse toute expression, " Manuscrits divers 1582, AGR. (86) Conseil du gouvernement général 2592, AGR ; Trauttmansdorff to Joseph II, September 23, 1789, in SCHUTTER, pp. 397­398; September 1789, Conseil du gouvernement général 2584, AGR ; Conseil du gouvernement général 2587, AGR ; August 5 and 24, 1789, Conseil du gouvernement général 2576, AGR ; and Conseil du gouvernement général 2582, AGR. www.academieroyale.be

REVOLUTION, 1789 113 brigades of volunteers assembled in guild halls and cabarets twice a day. (87) By the end of the summer, spies had put together the pieces of Pro Aris et Focis' revolutionary plan and identified many of the leaders of the long-secret group. Al• though Trauttmansdorff thought the plan too complicated to succeed. Joseph asked the mayor of Liège to allow him to send in Austrian troops to quell the potential rebellion. Caught in an impossible position, the mayor agreed, but warned the com• mittee in Hasselt of the Austrian demand just before the Aus• trians crossed the border. The Belgian soldiers quickly scat• tered throughout the countryside. When the Austrians arrived on the tenth of October, finding no sign of the insurgents, they dubbed the elusive force, " l'armée de la lune. " As soon as the Austrian troops had circled through Liège and marched home, most of the recruits cautiously returned to their stations plead• ing with the National Assembly of Liège to protect their natural rights and prevent such attacks in the future. The leaders of the Belgian army fled to Brussels lo confer with the rest of Pro Aris et Focis. They were not safe there either. Within a few days of their return, the central committee of Pro Aris et Focis was betrayed by De Ridder, a wine mer• chant who had been befriended and introduced to the commit• tee by d'Aubremez. For his secrets, De Ridder was well paid by the Austrians ; the Austrians assumed that they had found the source of the rebellion in the tutor Secrétan. (88) Acting quickly on De Ridder's information, the Austrians surprised D'Aubremez, Fisco, and Secrétan in a meeting at D'Aubremez's home. They seized the revolutionary pamphlets and impri• soned the leaders. (89) The Austrians did not find Vonck who

(8?) August 8, 1789, Conseil du gouvernement général 2588; Staatskanzlei, report, IV DD B Verz. 66 (413), HHS ; August 4, 1789, Conseil du gouverne­ ment général 2577, AGR; Hop. August 20. 1789, Brussels, Staten generaal 7460. RAN ; and Alton. " Mémoires, " p. 136. (·") BORGNET, teures, p. 222 ; VERLOOY, " Auteurs secreLs de la Révolution présente. " Écrits politiques 29. AGR ; and GÉRARD. I : 262-264, BRB. (·*) Prior to the Brussels raid Trauttmansdorff had enlisted the aid of Charles Jaubert (who had already tried to lure Van der Noot out of England) to seize Van der Noot in Breda by posing as a Louvain theologian. When that failed. Jaubert hired De Ridder to spy on Pro Ans et Focis. For his efforts, the Austrians considered ennobling Jaubert, but decided against it as Jaubert was a former bankrupt. " Compte des dépenses & débours faîtes par Mr. Walwein www.academieroyale.be

114 REVOLUTION, 1789 had already taken the precaution of spending the night at his brother's home in the countryside. News of the arrests travelled rapidly and the other Vonckists dispersed during the night. Many of the leaders of Pro Aris et Focis, including Vonck, proceeded from their hiding places in the Brabant countryside to safety across the Dutch border. They joined the hundreds of Belgian volunteers who had already encamped in and around Breda. The Austrians tried in vain to enlist the aid of magis­ trates in controlling the number of passports issued. (90) In its effort to stem the migration of young men, the government posted spies in taverns in Louvain, along the suspected emigra­ tion route, to pose as returning recruits and tell the volunteers that there was no Brabant army to be found across the border so that they should return home. The Austrians also ordered all lawyers who wanted to continue their practice to register in person in Brussels and put the members of the Estates under surveillance. (91) Austrian officials doubted the Belgians' ability to raise and equip an army, but they worried about the possi­ bility of foreign assistance, especially from the Dutch. (92) Van der Noot renewed his diplomatic efforts in the fall, first ignoring the ragged corps said to be assembling in Hasselt and then disregarding those gathering right in Breda. He did in­ form Vonckist envoys of his negotiations, hoping to convince them to hold off their plans for revolt until spring when he

& Mr. Jaubert, " Acquisitions récentes 4, AGR ; " Intrigues des satellites du gouvernement autrichien, " Acquisitions récentes 5/37, AGR ; and Arthur MINDER, Charles Jaubert (Brussels, 1940). The Austrians carefully observed and recorded all visits to the arrested members of Pro Aris et Focis. Conseil du gouvernement général 2545, AGR. (90) October 1789, Conseil du gouvernement général 2591 ; Alton, Septem­ ber 23, 1789, Alton, Mémoires, p. 159; Conseil du gouvernement général 2587, AGR ; September 25, 1789, Conseil du gouvernement général 2596 ; Office fiscal 980, AGR ; September 22, 1789, Staatskanzlei IV DD B Verz. 66 (405), HHS ; and September 22 and 26, 1789, Staatskanzlei IV DD Β Verz. 66 (405), HHS. (91) Conseil du gouvernement général 2592, AGR; Ch. de la Gravière to comte de Montmorin, October 13, 1789 in HUBERT, II: 96; September 26, 1789, Conseil du gouvernement général 2590, AGR; and Verbist to Van der Noot, October 3, 1789, Hasselt, États Belgiques Unis 181, AGR. (92) Trauttmansdorff to États généraux, Provinces Unies, October 4, 1789, Staten Generaal 7448", RAN ; and Alton, August 15, 1789, Mémoires, p. 145. www.academieroyale.be

REVOLUTION, 1789 115 said he would receive the backing of foreign troops. (") On behalf of the Estates, as their agent plénipotentiaire, he con­ sulted with Dutch, Prussian, and English agents pleading for their support. The Triple Alliance wavered in its dealings with Van der Noot. The three powers worried that the Belgians might turn to the French for support if they refused it, but were hesitant to anger the Austrians by an open show of support for the rebels. The Dutch especially felt constrained to humor the Austrians who maintained constant pressure on them to expel the Bel­ gians. Trauttmansdorff periodically accosted the Dutch ambas­ sador Hop on his promenades in the Park of Brussels with questions about the rebel army training across the border. The Dutch continually assured Trauttmansdorff that the Belgians were unarmed (they drilled with sticks, he said) and so deserved the protection of any law­abiding resident of the Netherlands. (,4) Therefore, the Dutch proposed stalling Van der Noot while placating the Austrians. England seemed to agree, but Prussia was disposed to lending assistance. Van der Noot left Breda early in October on a final mission to Berlin to obtain the promised Prussian troops for his revolu­ tion. He asked the Abbé de Tongerloo and the Abbé de St. Bernard to meet him in the border village of Wezel to sign the treaty with the Prussians on behalf of the Brabant Estates. In Berlin, the Prussians refused Van der Noot's request for troops and offered to intervene in support of the Belgian ar­ mies only if the French first invaded Belgium on the side of the Austrians. The Berlin negotiations so discouraged Van der Noot that he did not even stop in Wezel to tell the abbés, but rode straight through to Breda.

(") Mss. I%48. p. 137, BRB ; VANDERLINDEN. p. 144 ; Janssens to Van der Νοοι. October 4. 1789. États Belgiques Unis 181. AGR ; " De la part des États de Brabant à chacun de leurs membres, " in Staatskanzlei IV DD B Verz 66 (405). HHS ; and " Mémoire, " August 30. 1789 in GÉRARD, Il : 288. (,4) Van de Speigel to Hop. August 18, 1789 and October 23. 1789. Brus­ sels, in L. P. VAN DE SPIEGEL. Résumé des négociations qui accompagnèrent la révolution des Pays­Bas Autrichiens (Amsterdam, 1841). p. 183. Hop. August 13. 20 and 30. 1789. Staten Generaal 7460. RAN ; Alton, September 28, 1789. Mémoires, and M.J. POST. De Driehond van 1788 en de Brabantse Revolutie (Bergen op Zoom. 1961), pp. 39­40. www.academieroyale.be

REVOLUTION, 1789

After a few days of despair, however, Van der Noot's invet• erate optimism rallied. Refusing to abandon the Belgian cause as hopeless, he looked to God for help. He reminded his dejected followers of what Feller had been telling them for two years : the Belgian struggle was God's own cause. God, he said, knew that the Belgians had been fighting to protect His in• terests on earth and He had been watching over them. In fact. Van der Noot explained, the apparent defeat was a sign of the imminence of the revolutionary victory ; " La main de Dieu ne se fait jamais mieux sentir que lorsque toutes les ressources de ce bas monde paroissent nous manquer. " (95) A year earlier, when he had been in a desperate situation and was forced to flee to England, Van der Noot told his followers, " Je reconnais que Dieu est venu à mon secours, sans sa providence, je serais déjà mort. " (96) If God had intervened to save him from a personal defeat. He would surely lend his assistance to the Belgian nation, now that it was on the verge of a decisive struggle. Centuries earlier, God had saved His first chosen people, the Israelites, from annihilation. Now the God of Mount Sinai, who " op eene ogenblik de herten kan bedwingen om hier door eene volkome verlossinge te bereyden, " would save the Bel• gians. (97) According to pamphlets published by the Breda Committee, " deze Slavernye van de Israëlieten in Egypten is duyzent mael minder geweest als de gene van het vreed God• deloos Oostenryk " for the Austrians were threatening to force the faithful Catholics in Belgium to abandon their religion completely. (98) It thus seemed obvious to Van der Noot's fol• lowers that " denzelven God " who had parted the seas for the Israelites would come to save the Belgians " van Dieven,

I95) " La Grande nouvelle du jour, " Révolution belge, vol. 19, pam. 23, BRB. (96) Henri Van der Noot to l'Évêque d'Anvers, September 23, 1788,, États Belgiques Unis 185. AGR. (97) " Versamelinge van Verscheyde Stukken," Révolution belge, vol. 120, BRB. (" who in one moment can restrain the beasts to prepare full deliver­ ance. ") (98) Ibid. See also : " La vérité à l'évidence ou coup d'oeil sur les abomina­ tions commises dans l'Église Belgique. " Révolution belge, vol. 88, pam. 3, BRB. ("The slavery of the Israelites in Egypt was one thousand times less than that imposed by the alien godless Austrians. ") www.academieroyale.be

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Roovers, Moordenaers, Heyligschenders ende Godslastenaers, die ons door Joseph als hunnen meester zyn toegezonden. " (") God would not allow the last refuge of the Roman Catholic- Church, His religion, to fall prey to the godless infidels. He would not allow Belgium to be engulfed by the eighteenth- century sea of skepticism and atheism. Van der Noot and Feller's messianism was not an isolated outburst of desperation. Both fervently believed that the Cath• olic Belgians were God's chosen people. The Belgians' loyal Catholicism served to define them as a separate and unique people. When the break from Austria appeared to the two revolutionary leaders as inevitable, their zeal only intensified. This religious justification for revolution, however, was not limited to Belgium it should be remembered. Before the American Revolution Ezra Stile declared : " God has located us here and by this... commands us to make a stand, and see the salvation of the Lord. "(I0H) The messianism was more pervasive in the Belgian revolt than in any other revolutionary movement of the period. It was taken up by the priests and their parishioners throughout the Belgian provinces. These priests, calling themselves, " les ministres de Dieu. " reenlisted in the resistance. For Feller, it was the fulfillment of his earlier predictions. As the final revolution approached, he wrote : " Dieu a permis que toute la force se concentrât en eux (the clerics], " Every Thursday, in special masses dedicated to the Sacrement des Miracles, the priests called upon the assembled parishioners to prepare themselves for the impending battle. The people prayed to the same sacrement that the Nations had paraded through the streets in the victorious procession of October 1787. As people filed out of the churches, the organist played the hymn of the volunteers and cockades were distributed. The French minister, astonished at the crowds attending the special masses informed Paris that in

(") " Siorm-klok ofte Rechtveerdigen Roep om Hulp." Révolution belge. vol. 114, pam. 10. BRB. ("from the Thieves. Robbers. Hordes. Heaven-viola­ tors, and Blasphemers, who are sent to us by Joseph, their master. ")

l0 ( °) Ezra Stile cited by Pauline MAIER. From Resistance to Revolution (New York. 1972). p. 264. (I01) Abbé de Keller. February 23. 1788. Mss. 21141. BRB. See also Per­ gameni 3517. AVB. www.academieroyale.be

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Brussels, " le peuple attribue plus d'efficacité aux prières qui s'y [Paris] font. "(102) In the countryside, the Breda Committee called upon the peasants to arm in defense of God's cause. The English ambas• sador to Belgium reported in bemused wonder that he had seen Van der Noot's assistant, the influential cleric, Van Eu• pen, running among the peasants " le crucifix à la main. " (103) Priests in the fields, holding up their long robes, personally ordered the peasants to take up the defense of their religion, telling them " que tous ceux qui mourront dans cette guerre iront droit au ciel. " (104) If the peasants would only exchange their plows for guns, they were told, then God would descend with His thunder and lightning to propel them to victory. They were not to worry about their military inadequacies. " Wij hebben niet te twyfellen aen ons aenstaende geluk, " the priests reminded the men armed with only their pitchforks. " De stantvastige bescherming van God verzekert ons tegen alle onheylen, onze wapens zegenpraelen overal waer zy verschy- nen onder Zyn bestier, onwederleggelyke teekenen van de regt- veirdigheyd onzer zachen, die aldus door den Hemel zelfbeves- tigt word. " (105) If the Belgians prayed and trusted in God, He would supply the military might that they lacked. The Breda Committee also aimed its appeals to God Him• self. " L'intérêt de votre gloire vous y porte, ô mon Dieu. Votre culte l'exige, votre Sainteté le demande !... Les cieux & la terre crient vengeance, portez donc votre bras vengeur du crime, à s'armer pour défendre vos intérêts, & la justice de votre propre cause, que nous ne cessons d'embrasser. Hâtez-vous, Seigneur, de paraître, puisque c'est à vous à la soutenir, puisque c'est à vous à juger, puisque c'est à vous à punir ! Exurge

C02) Gravière to Montmorin, October 9, 1789, Manuscrits divers 1582. AGR. (103) Foreign Office Papers 26/13, September 25, 1789, PRO. (104) Ibid. ('05) " Aenmoedinge tot de Noodzaekelyke Eendrag aen alle waere Neder­ landers, " Révolution belge, vol. 64, pam. 7, BRB. (" We need not doubt our forthcoming fortune. The steadfast protection of God will secure us against all disasters, our weapons will triumph everywhere that they appear under His direction, signs of the Tightness of our cause that is directed by the Heavens themselves. ") www.academieroyale.be

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Domine."

(l06) "Entretien de la créature avec son Créateur sur l'état actuel des affaires du temps. " Révolution belge, vol. 54, pam. 8, BRB. il07| "Collection des vers et chansons dans le tems de la Révolution des Pays-Bas." ed A. J. D. DE BRAECKENIER, Révolution belge, vol. 57, pam. 1, BRB jiotj VERLOOY. " Les Auteurs. " ("") Robyns to Möns. October 11, 1789, Etats Belgiques Unis 181, AGR ; Mss 19648. p 137, BRB , and VERLOOY, " Les Auteurs. " www.academieroyale.be

120 REVOLUTION, 1789

L'armée de la Lune

In mid-October 1789, the Vandernootists and Vonckists for• mally merged to form one revolutionary committee. The leaders of Pro Aris et Focis reported that the army drilling near Breda under the direction of General Van der Mersch was ready and that plans had been laid for civilian rebellions throughout Belgium. They suggested that the revolutionaries begin military operations by the end of October so that they might catch the Austrians unprepared. This proposal was rejected by the Vandernootists ; Van der Noot still wanted to wait until spring. Finally, after a long and bitter debate in which the Vandernootists asked about the consequences of a popular rebellion and the democrats questioned the likelihood of support from foreign armies, the Abbé de St. Bernard and the Abbé de Tongerloo agreed to support an autumn revolu• tion if it were launched on October 24, the feast-day of the Archangel Raphael who would then bless the revolution and speed the Belgians to victory. (uo) The majority of the commit• tee Finally agreed to the date, now less than two weeks away. While Van der Mersch with the aid of Van der Noot's brother Jean completed final military preparations, the Baron de Hoen of Limburg and the Chevalier de Rode were sent as ambassa• dors to the Triple Alliance to continue Van der Noot's negotia• tions. Torfs had already travelled to Paris on behalf of Pro Aris et Focis. Although Van der Noot apparently disapproved, Torfs continued his talks with the French and De Noter was sent to Liège. ('") Both sides had compromised to allow the other to pursue its revolutionary strategy ; they did after all share the common goal of ridding the Belgian provinces of Joseph II. The revolutionary committee issued a declaration of revolu• tion on October 24. The document, written in the spirit of the American Declaration of Independence, blended elements of both traditionalist and democratic philosophies. It began by

(n0) Mss, 19648, pp. 137 and 149, BRB. ('") Torfs to Vonck, October 14, 1789, Mss. 14890, BRB; Mss. 19648, p. 127. BRB ; and VANDERLINDEN, p. 124. www.academieroyale.be

REVOLUTION, 1789 121 asserting that the right of the Sovereign to rule derived from his duty to serve the best interests of his citizens. " Il reste toujours dans le corps de la nation une volonté suprême, un caractère ineffaçable, un droit antérieur à tous les autres droits " — namely the right of the people to declare itself sole sovereign of the country. ("2) This abstract statement of national sovereignty, taken almost directly from Holbach's Politique naturelle by Van der Noot, was followed by a lengthy list detailing the Austrian oppression, with a history of each violation of Brabant privilege and tradition. ("3) The manifesto concluded with the same kind of general revolutionary justifi• cation that had successfully united the democrats and tradition• alists during the first year of resistance : " Pour toutes ces rai• sons, vu la persévérance immuable de l'Empereur à tyranniser le Peuple Belgique, & à le réduire dans l'Esclavage contradic• toire au Pacte Inaugural, & à ses propres engagemens, vu notre obligation de défendre & Maintenir notre Liberté, notre Reli• gion, nos Droits, nos Privilèges, nos usages & Franchises, pour les transmettre intacts à notre postérité, comme il nous ont été transmis par nos devanciers, " the committee proclaimed " nous avons déclaré, comme nous déclarons par cette, l'Em• pereur Joseph II Duc de Brabant etc. ipso jure déchu de la Souveraineté. " H. C. N. Van der Noot signed the document as the " agent plénipotentiaire du Peuple Brabançon. " ('14) The Belgian revolutionaries marched from Breda on Octo• ber 24, 1789, to meet the Austrian army in Flanders. The two forces clashed in the village of Turnhout on October 27. Vil• lagers joined in the mêlée ; the men reinforced the Belgian army by sniping from the windows of their homes and from sheltered alleys, while the women heaved paving stones from the roofs onto the heads of the Austrian troops below. The bombardment was so intense that the Austrian army fled in

" Manifeste du Peuple Brabançon," Révolution belge, vol. 72, pam. 12. BRB. ("') Excerpts from the Politique naturelle can be found in Van der Noot's papers. États Belgiques Unis 186, AGR. For a direct comparison of sections of the " Manifeste " and Holbach's work see J. VERCRUYSSE. " Van der Noot, Holbach, et le Manifeste du Peuple Brabançon. " in Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire. XLVI ( 1968). pp. 1222-1227. I114) " Manifeste. " www.academieroyale.be

122 REVOLUTION, 1789 panic leaving behind their cannons. They had not expe 'ted to meet a battalion supported by the guerrilla action of an entire village ; the " army of the moon, " they had been told, was only a ragged band of pitchfork-wielding peasants. From Turnhout, Van der Mersch led his victorious troops toward Brussels. He assumed that the villagers along the route would rise to join the army as had the residents of Turnhout. Instead, they merely watched the column of tired soldiers from behind barred doors and windows. Without local support, the commander was afraid to proceed further into the Brabant, so he returned to Breda with his troops to plan a new offen• sive. ("5) In Breda, Van der Mersch learned the reason for the Bra• bant villagers' quiescence. The leaders of the village resistance in the Brabant, exposed by Austrian spies, had all been forced to flee the area. Van der Mersch and Vonck therefore suggest• ed that the armies launch another attack in Flanders rather than continuing the planned offensive in the Brabant. Van der Noot and his followers disagreed. They did not see why popu• lar support should be so essential to the military campaign. Finally, Van der Mersch's strategy prevailed and the commit• tee voted to prepare for a new campaign in Flanders. Amid grumbling from the Vandernootists, boats were loaded with troops destined to arrive in Saint Nicholas via the Scheldt river. The patriot army landed in Saint Nicholas on November 7 and marched towards Ghent, pulling the Ursels' and the Aus• trians' cannons behind them. Soldiers posted their declaration of revolution on walls in all the villages through which they passed. But although the ranks of the army swelled with men from each village along the route of march, the quantity of munitions and funds did not. Weemaels had been sent to Brus• sels to collect emergency funds and De Noter to Liège to gath• er more arms, but they had little success. ('16) Cammaerts, a Brussels wholesale merchant and the leader of the Flanders contingent, first tried to pay the army's expenses out of his own

('") E. J. DINNE, Mémoire historique et pièces justificatives pour M. Van der Mersch (Lille, 1791), pp. 8-18. (ll6) Mss. 14890, BRB ; and États Belgiques Unis 181, AGR. www.academieroyale.be

REVOLUTION, 1789 123 pocket. When he had depleted his own resources, he led iaids on Austrian tax collectors' offices. Cammaerts' men even raided boats on the river believed to be carrying shoes, because much of the army was then marching barefoot. When the Vandernootists on the revolutionary committee heard of these raids, they were furious. This was blatant disre• spect for property, they charged, and would not be tolerated. Van der Noot held the leaders of Pro Aris et Focis responsible for this lawlessness since he had cautioned them in October about the consequences of enlisting a popular army. He warned the democrats that they would soon suffer the conse• quences of trusting " the people in the streets, " specifically, of relying on the local insurrectionary committees. Van der Noot demanded that the revolutionary committee in Breda exercise more authority, but the Vonckists refused to take authority away from either the army commanders or the village commit• tees. In support of Van der Noot's protest, some of his followers deserted the army to return to Breda. The desertions came just as the army was preparing to storm the city of Ghent. Howev• er, with the support of the citizens of Ghent, the patriot army defeated the Austrian troops and gained control of one of the key fortresses in Belgium. As soon as he received word of the Ghent victory, Van der Mersch, who had been training new troops in Holland, left with two thousand recruits to battle the Austrians in the Hai• nault. He knew that Pro Aris et Focis volunteers had been organizing in that province and he expected that the citizens would readily support his fledgling troops. They did. As the Austrian troops advanced to meet the patriot army in Möns, battalions of villagers ripped paving stones from the streets, building barricades from which they stoned the approaching Austrian army. Together, the patriot army and the villagers again routed the Austrians. Yet in spite of three successive victories. Van der Mersch was far from confident that his forces could continue winning battles against the professional army. All the Belgian victories had been won with guerrilla tactics within town walls. The Belgian army had relied on the villagers, their paving stones, their barricades, and their knowledge of the city's by-ways. www.academieroyale.be

124 REVOLUTION, 1789

Although he hailed the bravery of the " République naissante, où tout Citoyen doit être Soldat, " the commander feared that his untrained forces would be slaughtered in the first battle fought in an open field. (I17) He knew that such an open con• frontation was inevitable sooner or later. They had been lucky to avoid it for so long. Moreover, the patriots were running desperately short of supplies. Van der Mersch presented the problem to the revolutionary committee, but the Vandernoo• tists dismissed him as a defeatist. While Van der Mersch was trying to persuade the commit• tee to declare a ceasefire, one of the Belgian sentries informed the general that a packet of Austrian letters had been in• tercepted. (118) The correspondence between d'Alton and Trauttmansdorff revealed that the demoralized Austrian leadership had been reduced to bickering over each other's tactical mistakes. Seizing upon the situation, Van der Mersch proposed a ten- day armistice to the Austrians. Through the Dutch intermedi• ary, the Baron Van der Borch, Van der Mersch opened nego• tiations with the Austrians to sign a ten-day armistice. Opposi• tion to the armistice came not from the Austrians, but from the Breda Committee. The clerics refused any accommodation with Joseph II and flooded Brussels once again with pamphlets reminding the Belgians of the Emperor's past treachery. (U9) After a week of staunch rejection of Austrian efforts at concil• iation, Van Eupen was informed by Van der Mersch of the signing of a ten-day ceasefire beginning December 3. " Je crains que Van der Mersch ne nous ait vendus, " he wrote. (12°) Joseph, who had purposefully divided power between his ministre plénipotentiaire and the military commander, ended the rivalry on November 24 by giving Trauttmansdorff full

('") DINNE, 1: 246; and VANDERLINDEN, p. 170. ("*) TASSIER, Les Démocrates, p. 179. ("') See for example : " Nouvelle Anarchie de Joseph II, " (November 26, 1789), RUG. (I2°) (Van Eupen), December 3, 1789, Breda, VAN DE SPIEGEL p. 114; December 7, 1789, Staatskanzlei IV DD B 49/50a (16), HHS; and Lewis LOCHÉE. " Observations sur la Révolution Belgique et Réflexions sur un certain imprimé adressé au Peuple Belgique" (1791), Révolution belge, vol. 11, pam. 2, BRB. www.academieroyale.be

REVOLUTION, 1789 125 power to negotiate with the rebels. (m) The Austrians now expected to profit from the ceasefire by persuading the pro• vinces to settle a permanent accommodation with the Emperor. Throughout November, they had pursued Alton's policy of quelling the revolution by silencing the leaders. They had ques• tioned all the municipal officials in Flanders and the Brabant about the October 24 Mémoire, and had arrested all the mem• bers of the Estates who were still at their residence as well as the pamphleteer Van der Hoop, who to their amazement con• tinued to find the materials to churn out and distribute letters and brochures from prison. That policy had not proved very effective. (122) By November all the members of the First and Third Estates and the lower nobility had fled to Breda so that the only members of the Estates remaining in Brussels were the leaders of the Second Estate. The arrests and surveillance of members of the Second Estate had done little to quell the Belgian rebellion. The upper nobility, heralded in 1787 by the people for playing the heroic- role inherited from their forefathers, appeared to have retired from active involvement in Brabant politics. The Prince de Ligne had marched with the patriot army towards Ghent and then fled back to the security of a French estate before the battle. Ursel was fighting in Turkey with the Austrian army. His brother-in-law, the Prince d'Arenberg transported his belongings from Brussels to Paris. From Paris he periodically advised Van der Noot to seek ties with England because of the closeness of their commercial ties and offered his diplomatic- services. (I23) The only active nobles during the actual revolu• tion appear to have been the Duchesse d'Ursel and the

(L2L| DE BOOM, pp. 368-372; November 12. 1789, FAGEL 1728, AGR; ALTON. "Mémoires;" Chancellerie autrichienne des Pays-Bas 210, AGR; MALINGIÉ. III: 681-682; RUG; VAN DE SPIEGEL, pp. ίθΙ-102; and POST. pp. 46-47. ('") Comité secret. November 6, 1789. Conseil du gouvernement général 2596. AGR ; November 2, 1789. Conseil du gouvernement général 2595. AGR ; and Conseil du gouvernement général 2602. AGR. Gravière reported : " Les prisons regorgent de monde. " Gravière to Montmorin. October 27, 1789. HUBERT. Il : 113 I12') Prince d'Arenberg to Estates. Paris, November 30, 1789. December I. 1789. and November 22, 1789. États Belgiques Unis 181. AGR; and Conseil du Gouvernement général 2601, AGR. www.academieroyale.be

126 REVOLUTION, 1789

Duchesse douairière d'Arenberg who, according to Alton, "sont les têtes de ce parti d'Amazones politiques. " (124) The members of the Second Estate who had joined Van der Noot were the most moderate and soft-spoken members of the Breda Committee. Neither the citizens of Brussels nor the revolutionary com• mittee in Breda was deterred by the quiescence of the nobility. The priests urged their parishioners in confessionals to join the revolution and celebrated daily masses to commemorate patriot victories. The artisans and manufacturers collected arms and held vociferous meetings in the Parc de Bruxelles and cabarets. (125) Austrian troops were reported to be deserting in larger and larger numbers. Trauttmansdorff therefore offered to close permanently the Séminaire général, to free all political prisoners in Brussels, and to reinstate the Brabant privileges abolished on June 18, 1789, if the Belgians would again accept Joseph as their monarch. The people of Brussels angrily rebuffed the Em• peror's offer. Few listened to Joseph's pleas to recognize " nos intentions paternelles. " (126) The Belgians' tenacity gave the Triple Alliance cause to reconsider its treatment of the Breda Committee. Throughout October and November, thé Alliance had tried to appease the Austrians while postponing a response to Van der Noot's requests for aid. As the possibility of peaceful accommodation between the rebels and the Emperor disappeared, the Allies began weighing possible strategies. If the Emperor won, they reasoned, he would exploit the riches of the defeated nation to build up his army and pose a real threat to his neighbors.

(I24) Hop, October and November, 1789, Brussels, Staten Generaal 7460. RAN, ('25) November 11, 1789, Conseil du gouvernement général 2597, AGR; November 2, 1789, Conseil du gouvernement général 2595, AGR ; October 28, 1789, Conseil du gouvernement général 2594, AGR ; Mémoire, November 28, 1789, Goethals 206, BRB ; Deprez, November 4, 1789, Conseil du gouverne­ ment général 2599, AGR; November 9, 1789, Conseil du gouvernement général 2600, AGR ; VAN DEN BROECK, J. B. C. Verlooy, p. 213 ; Hop, Novem­ ber 30, 1789, Staten Generaal 7460, RAN; and Gravière to Montmorin, Manuscrits divers 1582, AGR. (I26) Joseph II, November 21, 1789 in Journal général de l'Europe, Novem­ ber 24, 1789. www.academieroyale.be

REVOLUTION, 1789 127

Worse yet, if the Belgians won, they might turn to the French for support. Faced with this dilemma, the Prussians urged armed intervention on the side of the rebels, the English coun• selled moderation, but both finally agreed with the Dutch suggestion that the Alliance continue to appease the Austrians but be ready to recognize the Belgians should they be victo• rious. (I27) Relations with the Austrians proved particularly difficult, especially when a group of Belgian soldiers seized the newly appointed Austrian minister, Joseph Crumpipen, in Hol• land near Lillo and stubbornly refused to release him. (I28) The Dutch could no longer deny that they were harboring, if not actively encouraging, rebel troops. Rumors also began to circu• late that Prussian armies were amassing on their border ready to lend aid against the Austrians. The Belgian revolutionary leaders also no longer accepted the premise that the Belgian people needed foreign assistance. From Paris, Torfs led the members of Pro Aris et Focis in rejecting offers of foreign aid, but Van der Noot also appeared to agree. When one writer suggested that the Belgians begin looking for a king, advice that would have been heeded by the leaders of the resistance two years earlier, the revolutionaries scoffed. (I29) For centuries, the Belgians had accepted the pro• tection and rule of foreign monarchs. For the first time, the Belgian leaders felt that that was not needed. In the two months of revolution, the Belgians had proven their ability to rule themselves. The village committees set up by Pro Aris et I ocis to direct the local insurrections had effectively governed the villages while the leaders of the revolutionary committee had coordinated the national revolution. They could see no reason to abdicate this responsibility to any foreign monarch.

(I2,l Report to Prussian king by his minister, November 13, 1789, VAN DE SPIEGEL, pp. 123-125; baron de Reede to Grand-Pensionnaire, November 7, 1789. Berlin. VAN DE SPIK.II . pp. 21-22; ROCK, p. 87; POST, p. 54; and VAN DE SPIEGEL, November 8. 1789 and December 8, 1789 Archief van de Spiegel 287. RAN. (I2S) See the exchange of letters, October 26 through November between Austrian officials and Hop. Fagel 1728. RAN ; Hop, October 26, 1789, Staten Generaal 7448". RAN ; and Van de Spiegel. October 23. 1789, Van de Spiegel 287. RAN. (|2') François-Gabriel DE BRAY. Quelques considérations politiques sur la révolte des provinces belges en 1789 et I79() (Brussels, 1908), p. 12 ; and Prince d'Arenberg to Estates. December I, 1789, Etats Belgiques Unis 181. AGR. www.academieroyale.be

128 REVOLUTION, 1789

In their month of fighting together, the Belgians had devel• oped a national spirit. Feller, for example, reacted angrily to a foreign journal reporting the progress of the " guerre civile " in Belgium. " Dans le peuple il n'y a qu'un esprit & qu'un cœur, " Feller wrote. " Les gazetiers qui parlent d'une préten• due guerre civile élevée dans ce pays, sont des imposteurs. Dans les guerres civiles l'on voit des citoyens combattre contre des citoyens, les villes s'arment contre d'autres villes. Ici tout est d'accord. "(I3°) His feelings were echoed by the author of the pamphlet " Mercure Flandrico-Latino-Gallico-Belgique, " who proudly explained that although Belgians spoke three languages in the different provinces, " Ce qui peut-être ne pourrait passer chez toute autre nation que pour une bigarrure ridicule ne pourra donc former chez les BELGES qu'une varié• té amusante et utile. " (131) The revolutionaries recognized their provincial differences but, for the first time in history, called themselves " Belgians. " They were no longer resisting the Em• peror's reforms only to preserve their village traditions and institutions. They were fighting a national revolution and knew that they would not be independent until the Austrians had been driven from every city. No province would be free until they were all free. Two days before the end of the armistice, without any cue from Breda, the citizens of Brussels launched a new offensive against the Austrians. On the 8th and 9th of December, the Austrian commanders had complained wearily of annoying attacks by villagers around Brussels and of numbers of young men milling about in the streets. A solemn mass was celebrated in Ste. Gudule to the Sacrement de miracle asking for the benediction of the heavens on December 10. Attendants dis• tributed cockades at the doors to shouts of " vivent les patrio• tes. " Wearing the cockades, the people taunted the Austrian soldiers late into the night. Early the next morning, armed volunteers clashed with Austrian troops, the tocsin was sound• ed, and the battle began. The rebels won their first victory. The

l3 ( °) Abbé DE FELLER, Journal historique et littéraire, December 1, 1789, États Belgiques Unis 181, AGR. (m) " Mercure Flandrico-Latino-Gallico-Belgique, " Révolution belge, vol. 19, BRB. www.academieroyale.be

REVOLUTION, 1789 129 next day the attacks continued ; scantily armed citizens charged down the streets after brigades of Austrian soldiers. Shots rang out from the windows of houses as the Austrians fled the cen­ ter of Brussels, showered with paving stones dropped from the housetops by the women. By noon on December 12, 1789, all of the Austrians had been driven from the city of Brussels. The routed Austrians continued their flight from Brussels across the Belgian border to Luxembourg. Finally at 2 p.m. on Decem­ ber 12, an Austrian observer reported, " les bourgeois et volon­ taires sont maîtres de la ville. " ('32) The French minister Montmorin added : " L'insurrection de Bruxelles... a été l'effet d'une haine et d'une fermentation longtemps contenues. " (l3î) The citizens of Brussels who had initiated the original resis­ tance had won the final victory of the revolution freeing the Belgian nation from Austrian rule. The Austrians, as well as the rest of Europe, were stunned. In only two months, the Belgian general Van der Mersch and his ragged band of artisans, lawyers, peasants, and monks had driven the Austrian dragoons from their country. Their rebel­ lion shocked Europe even more than the French Revolution had. The French were thought to be naturally tumultuous, but the Belgians were supposed to have been lulled to sleep by centuries of constitutional stability and economic prosperity. The ten insular and passive Belgian provinces had overthrown one of the most powerful rulers in Europe to win national independence.

(m) December 2. 1789, IV DD Β blau 50a (17), HHS. For accounts of the battle see: December II. 1789, Foreign Office Papers 26/13. PRO ; Gravière to Montmorin. Manuscrits divers 1582. AGR ; Goetval 13464, BRB ; " Relation exacte de la prise de Bruxelles par ses habitans" (Brussels, 1789), Varia Belli­ ca. M­7. BG, KUL ; "Vertrek der gouverneurs­generaels," (1789), RUG: "Relation de la délivrance de la ville de Bruxelles arrivée le 12 décembre, 1789," RUG; "Mémoire pour Messieurs Gaine, C. Laurent Deslondes & Henri Van Hamme." (December 30. 1789). Révolution belge, vol. 21, pam. 17, BRB ; and Hop. December 12. 1789, Brussels, Staten Generaal 7448J. RAN. ('") Gravière to Montmorin. December 13. 1789, in HUBERT. II : 199. and Extrait d'une lettre de Bruxelles. December 11. 1789. Staatskanzlei IV DD Β 49/50a (16). HHS. www.academieroyale.be

CHAPTER IV

The republic, 1790

États Belgiques Unis

The only people in Europe who were not surprised by the success of the Brabant Revolution were the victors themselves. Some European commentators dismissed the Belgian victory as a fluke of luck ; the Austrians pointed out that the rebels of Brussels had broken the terms of the armistice. (') Although Vonck and his friends conceded that their revolutionary troops had been lucky, they argued that General Van der Mersch and his popular army were also to be credited for their courage and innovative military strategy. The love of liberty, innate in all men, they claimed, had driven the Brussels citizens in their successful rebellion. (2) The Vandernootists disagreed with these explanations. The Revolution had not been won by mili­ tary might alone, they argued. The ragged troops and their defeatist commander would never have beaten the Austrians with or without luck, unless they had received help from Above. It was God who had given the Belgians their revolu­ tionary victory, Van der Noot claimed. God had assisted his children, his chosen people, in driving the Austrian mercen­ aries from their lands. (3) Van der Noot's assertion of divine intervention prevailed as the official explanation of the Belgian revolutionary committee. Van der Noot's supporters alone were in Breda when the victo­

(') STAATSKANZLEI, IV DD Β blau 51a, 227, HHS. (J) " Mémoire pour Messieurs Benoit Gaine, C. Laurent Deslondes & Hen­ ri Van Hamme," (December 30, 1789), Révolution belge, vol. 21, pam. 17, BRB ; and MALINGIÉ, " Livre des jours, " III : 615, RUG. (3) " Prière patriotique par un volontaire agrégé au Serment de St. Georges, " Révolution belge, vol. 19, pam. 39, BRB ; and " Vers aux Belges en sortant de la messe de Ste. Gudule, Jeudi 3 Décembre 1789, " RUG. www.academieroyale.be

THE REPUBLIC, 1790 131 ry was declared. All of the Vonckists were either serving in the army or had dispersed on special missions throughout the Belgian provinces. With the opportune absence of the demo• crats. Van der Noot issued a series of traditionalist pamphlets and manifestos in the name of the revolutionary committee. (4) Together with Van Eupen, he proclaimed Belgium an indepen• dent Catholic country. The Belgian victory over the heathens had been inevitable. Van der Noot told the Belgian people. " L'ouvrage de notre Révolution a été commencé sous les plus heureux auspices. Dieu a béni visiblement une entreprise qui avait pour but de venger la religion et les lois. " (5) The demo• crats were too far away and scattered to mount a protest against this explanation. Belgian churchmen echoed the theme of divine intervention from every pulpit and in pamphlets. The author of one of many pamphlets told how God the savior had rescued the struggling body of Belgian soldiers. " En effet une petite troupe de Patriotes & qui méritoit à peine la moindre considération, que l'on traitoit par dérision d'Armée de la Lune, qui man- quoit d'argent, de Vivres, de Munitions, d'Armes, qui n'avoit nulle connoissance de la tactique, a jetté la terreur parmi des milliers de barbares bien exercés, les a vaincus & mis en fuite. " The Belgian armies had served as :

les instruments dont Dieu a voulu se servir pour punir l'impiété, les profanations, la persécution de notre Sainte Religion & des bonnes mœurs, les jurements, les blasphèmes & autres crimes qui étoient parvenus à leur comble, & dont le Ciel ne pouvoit plus souffrir l'excès. Oui ! je le répète, c'est le Dieu des armées qui a soutenu vos bras, c'est le Tout puissant à qui le petit ou le grand nombre est indifférent pour l'exécution de ses desseins, qui a rempli vos ennemis de terreur & qui a donné la force à un petit nombre de brebis, de mettre en fuite un grand nombre de loups conduits par la rage & la fureur. (6)

C1) The split into two parties had never healed and had been noticed by foreign observers throughout the Revolution. C) C F. FRANÇOIS et Henri VAN DER NOOT. Lettre au Congrès, March 5. 1790. Brussels, in L. P. GACHARD. Document politiques et diplomatiques sur la Révolution belge de 1790 (Brussels ; 1834). p. 204. (6) " Godefroi par la grace de Dieu, Abbé de Tongerloo. Supérieur Spiri­ tuel des Troupes Belgiques &c. &c " Varia, vol. 236, pam. 7, AAB. www.academieroyale.be

132 THE REPUBLIC, 1790

The troops had served as tools in God's hands. God, not Van der Mersch, had guided the pitchfork-wielding peasants to victory. The Brabant Revolution had triumphed so easily because it was God's own battle. God had purposefully manipulated the course of the Revo• lution, the explanation continued, as a lesson to all the peoples of Europe. God " a distingué ses victoires de celles des autres peuples, " according to a Belgian priest, " pour servir d'exem• ple & de leçon aux races futures ! " (7) God directly intervened and changed the course of human history as a demonstration of his interest in human affairs and as proof of his infinite powers. Like the Israelites over a thousand years earlier, He had first allowed the Belgians to struggle for eight years against overwhelming odds, thus attracting attention throughout Eu• rope to their plight. Then in one miraculous moment, His children, the Belgians had been " délivrés de la servitude, comme ces Israelites. " (8) In the Belgian victory, God had proved once again his power to rescue " des Peuples injuste• ment opprimés qui mettent en lui leur confiance " (9) and his ability " d'humilier les superbes rois de la terre, d'expulser les tyrans orgueilleux de leurs forces mondaines, et de venger une religion sainte de leurs persécutions sacrilèges. " (10) God had defeated the philosophes and their despotic disciple in Belgium and reestablished the loyal Catholics as rulers of the society as an example to guide Europe away from the evil temptations of the so-called enlightenment and back to the true faith — the Catholic religion. Within a week of the Austrian capitulation, Van der Noot, Van Eupen, and their friends returned to Brussels to establish themselves as the new government. Citizens illuminated city buildings and the Church celebrated special masses throughout

(7) " Lettre d'un Ecclésiastique sexagénaire aux Doyens ruraux & curés de la Belgique-unie " (January 30, 1790), Varia, vol. 335, pam. 63, AAB. (8) " Prière du Peuple Belge, " Révolution belge, vol. 4, pam. 8, BRB. (9) " Aux Belges " (Brussels, 1790), Révolution belge, vol. 1, pam. 23, BRB. See also : " Étrennes à l'Empereur Joseph II, ci-devant Duc de Brabant, Comte de Flandres etc., " Révolution belge, vol. 41, pam. 10, BRB. (10) "Lettre d'un Ecclésiastique sexagénaire." See also: [Pierre van Eu­ pen,] États Belgique Unis 191, AGR. www.academieroyale.be

THE REPUBLIC, 1790 133

Belgium in honor of the revolutionary leaders. ( ) On Decem• ber 18, 1789, people lined the streets of the traditional capital of the Southern Netherlands, Brussels, to receive the returning procession of lawyers, artisans, and clerics, as well as a corps of volunteers from Ghent. That evening, the city of Brussels offi• cially honored Van der Noot, the father of the Belgians, " The Belgian Washington, " in a ceremony at the Théâtre de la Monnaie, crowning him with laurel. ('2) Accompanied only by his mistress, Madame De Bellem, Van der Noot received the accolades of the crowd on the steps of the building. He reigned as the undisputed leader of the Belgians during the first days of independence. None of the democrats was present at the ceremony. Vonck, who had been sent to Flanders early in December on mission, remained in Ghent giving ill health as his excuse for not returning to the capital. (13) The people in Brussels, however, did not seem to notice his absence ; his presence throughout the resistance and the revolution had been a silent one. As a resistance group. Pro Aris et Focis had maintained such secrecy that no one now recognized the names of its members as for• mer resisters. During the Revolution, the democrats coordina• ted the military strategy and fought the battles while Van der Noot signed his name to the proclamations. Van der Mersch was known throughout the Belgian provinces, but Van der Noot did his best to downplay the military commander's role in the Revolution after the victory. Shortly after their return to Brussels, the Brabant Estates declared their intention to take up the sovereignty formerly held by the deposed emperor. In two letters to the other pro• vinces written the 20th and 28th of December, they told the other Estates of the Act of Union signed between the Estates of

(") Esprit des Gazettes. December 25, 1789, XX : 511 ; Journal de Bruxelles. January 8, 1790. 1 : 56 ; and " La Grande nouvelle du jour. " Révolution belge. vol. 19. pam. 23. BRB. ('2) L. GALESLOOT. "Chronique des événements les plus remarquables arrivés à Bruxelles de 1780 à 1827," BRB; Suzanne TASSIER, Les Démocrates belges de 1789 (Brussels, 1930), p. 203; Liasse 611, AVB; and Hop, Decem­ ber 21. 1789. Staten Generaal 7460. RAN. ('3) TASSIER. Les Démocrates, p. 205; E. J. DINNE, Mémoire historique et pièces justificatives pour M Van der Mersch (Lille. 1791), I : 186 ; and N. GOET- VAL, " Geschiedenis van Brussel, " p. 49. Mss. 13464. BRB. www.academieroyale.be

134 THE REPUBLIC, 1790 the Brabant and Flanders on November 30, 1789 and invited the other provinces to join in that union. (u) The November Act of Union had called for the establishment of a Congress empowered to make decisions on matters of diplomacy and defense. The Brabant Estates therefore asked each of the other Estates to send delegates to Brussels for a meeting of the Estates General — the first Estates General ever called by the representatives themselves rather than by the sovereign. The deputies who arrived in Brussels before the January 7 convocation of the Estates General attended the meetings of the Brabant Estates. The Brabant deputies from the three Estates sat together in one common room behind closed doors. They elected Van der Noot as president and Van Eupen as secretary of their new provincial government and " avant que de prêter le serment au peuple, prêteront tous aux églises de Brabant. "(15) At Van der Noot's urging, the Estates declared that they would assume the sovereignty formerly held by the duke ; they would hold it in trust for the people. The tradi• tional Brabant constitution, the Joyeuse Entrée, would be pre• served " intact dans tous ses points, " and the Estates would exercise not only their own traditional rights but also the powers formerly given by the constitution to the emperor. All the traditional institutions were to be restored and the counse• lors of 1787 reinstated in their posts. (16) The Estates General opened on January 7 with a mass cele• brated by Pierre Van Eupen. (17) The fifty-three delegates then reassembled in the meeting room of the Brabant Estates. The three Estates sat together, again behind closed doors. A com• mittee from the Estates led by Van Eupen drafted a Treaty of

(") Henri PIRENNE, Histoire de Belgique (Brussels, 1926), V : 447 ; and Lettre des États de Brabant, December 20 and 28, 1789 and Acte d'union, November 30, 1789 in GACHARD, pp. 1-7. (") Résolution des États de Brabant, December 27, 1789 in GACHARD. p. 7. (I6) Esprit des Gazettes, December 18,* 1789, XX: 486; Gazette des Pays- Bas, December 23, 1789, IC : 648 ; Journal général de l'Europe, December 29, 1789, CLVI : 396 ; and Journal de Bruxelles, January 18, 1790, XV : 114. (") Unsigned letter to Cobenzl, January 7, 1790, Brussels, Chancellerie autrichienne des Pays-Bas 211, AGR ; Journal de Bruxelles, January 8, 1790, I : 56. Delegates attended from the Brabant, Flanders, the Hainault, West Flan­ ders, Namur, Gelderland, Mechelen and Tournai. Delegates had not yet ar­ rived from the Limbourg. www.academieroyale.be

THE REPUBLIC, 1790 135

Union obviously modeled after the earlier Act of Union be• tween Flanders and the Brabant. (I8) Three days after their first meeting, the delegates signed the treaty establishing the new government of the États Belgiques Unis. They pledged to protect the Catholic religion and to preserve the separate pro• vincial constitutions " comme le boulevard de leurs libertés et la sauvegarde de leur bonheur. "(I9) Agreeing that the provin• cial Estates should retain all of their traditional powers, the Estates elected delegates from each of the provincial Estates to serve in a permanent national Congress. They limited the au• thority of the new executive body to issuing money and defending the country. The Congress could declare war and peace, establish a national army, and conclude foreign alli• ances. The Estates General would continue to exercise an even more limited legislative function. Financial questions preoccupied the Estates General during its first month. (20) It commissioned a survey of the causes of the recent industrial stagnation in the provinces, calling for ideas from leading merchants and traders on the best means of encouraging commerce. The Estates also reopened the canals for trade and established a customs union. Even though the price of grain had already fallen considerably, the Estates pub• lished a decree limiting the sale of grain to public market places. The delegates' other major concern was the reestablish• ment of the religious orders. (2I)

(l8) Van de Spiegel reported that Van Eupen had begun working out the details of the treaty on December 15, 1789. VAN DE SPIEGEL 287, RAN ; and Leopold ROCK, " De Staten-General en het Soeverein Congres der Verenigde Nederlandse Staten (1790)" Licentieverhandeling, 1971, Katholiek Universi­ teit. Leuven. (") "Traité d'union et établissement du Congrès souverain des États Bel­ giques unis, " January 18, 1790 in GACHARD, p. 113. (20) ROCK, p. 23 . ERNST, January 18, 1790, Brussels, Staten Generaal 7449, RAN ; and " Journal des Séances des États-Généraux. " in GACHARD. (21) États Brabant à Fisco, January 11, 1790, États Brabant 6082, AGR ; " Mémoire sur le Rétablissement des Jésuites présenté à leurs Hautes & Sou­ veraines Puissances nosseigneurs les États-Unis des Pays-Bas par Messire de Villégas d'Estaimberg, Conseiller du Souverain Conseil, " Révolution belge, vol. 27. BRB ; and RUELLE à MONTMORIN, December 30, 1782, Brussels, in Eugène HUBERT, Correspondance des ministres de France accrédités à Bruxelles de 1780 à 1790 (Brussels. 1920), p. 217. www.academieroyale.be

136 THE REPUBLIC, 1790

The Estates General gave over most of its power to the Congress that began meeting on February 20. Their member• ships overlapped so extensively that they had to meet at sep• arate times : the Congress assembled everyday from ten to two and the Estates General met Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from five to nine in the evening. Like its distant American model, the Estates and the Congress of the États Belgiques Unis were not destined to act as a strong centralizing force. The provinces jealously guarded their separate powers. The provincial delegates to the Estates General and the Congress, all members of the prerevolutionary Estates, agreed that their first responsibility was to reestablish traditional Bel• gian institutions and privileges. The delegates quickly set to rest worries such as those expressed by a pamphleteer who asked on the eve of the first meeting : " Que veulent faire les États-Généraux... ? Toute marque distinctive a-t-elle été abo• lie ? La Révolution de Brabant influera-t-elle sur celle de France ? " (22) With Van der Noot and Van Eupen firmly though unofficially in control, and with each provincial body and the national Congress composed of representatives of the privileged classes, there seemed little reason to fear that the Belgians would follow the example of their revolutionary neighbors. Several foreign commentators observed that the revolutionaries seemed obsessed with commerce and religion, to the exclusion of all other matters and were proposing no new laws. (23) The conservatism of the new government was based on a corporative argument. The nobles, clergy, and guild leaders assumed that the Belgian people as a whole, " la nation, " shared common interests. All belonged to one family whose prosperity the Estates worked to assure. " Tout y vivait content au sein de l'allégresse, " according to one pamphleteer. " Le colon, l'artisan, le Clergé, la noblesse n'étaient qu'une famille

(22) " Réflexions d'un Belge patriote ou comparaison respective de la Révo­ lution de France avec celle du Brabant " (London, 1790), Révolution belge, vol, 9, BRB. (23) DERIVAL [de Gomicourt], Le Voyageur dans les Pays-Bas Autrichiens ou Lettres sur l'état actuel de ces Pays (Amsterdam, 1782), 1: 89 ; RUELLE to MONTMORIN, Brussels, December 30, 1789, Hubert II: 217; and Journal de Bruxelles, February 19, 1790, p. 343. www.academieroyale.be

THE REPUBLIC, 1790 137 attachée aux états ; " the citizens made up the harmonious whole of Belgian society. (24) All the people shared in Bel• gium's flourishing economy. Therefore, since the Estates judged that it was the maintenance of their privileges that generated that prosperity, they resolved to buttress the status quo. It followed from the corporative analogy with the family that some men had been born to positions of leadership. The nobility, the clergy, and the guild leaders therefore governed Belgian society in the name of all the people. (25) These three orders, obviously qualified to rule by their position in society according to the corporative arguments, understood the needs of the people. " Le Peuple chrétien peut-il être mieux représen• té que par ses évêques ? " the Abbé de Feller asked rhetorical• ly. " Le Peuple des Campagnes peut-il être mieux représenté que par des Seigneurs qui traitent leurs Sujets en bons maîtres & pères, qui en connoissent les intérêts, & qui dans ces intérêts voient les leurs propres. (26) Why entrust the government to a gathering of ignorant rabble ; if all shared a common interest, it was to the benefit of all the people that " l'aristocratie naturelle " continued to rule. Not surprisingly the Vandernoo• tists pamphlets were applauded by the English conservative Edmund Burke. (27) The Vandernootists found justification for their corporative view in the Catholic religion. God had imposed the hierarchy on human society, they asserted. According to the Church, " Dieu fit les créatures d'une inégale perfection, pour rendre les moins parfaites dépendantes des plus excellentes... et a fait

(u) George TALKER. " Quelques réflexions politicopratiques ou adieux à Bruxelles." Acquisitions récentes, 4/13, AGR. See also: "Les Trois frères, allégorie historique aux Belges," Brochures 1790, vol. II, ULB ; "Dialogue familier entre un royaliste belgique fugitif et un patriote brabançon ambu­ lant, " Révolution belge, vol. 125, pam. 7, BRB ; and " Het groot ligt door den Waeren Brabander. " Brochures 1790, ULB. (") " Qu'étoit-ce qu'un Duc de Brabant, " Révolution belge, vol. 46, pam. 10. BRB ; and " Au peuple brabançon, " RUG. (") " Le Curé, le Bailli et le berger de village, " Révolution belge, vol. 3, pam. 4, BRB ; see also Abbé DE FELLER to M. Le C. A. Magnat de Hongrie, January 30. 1790. Mss. 21141, BRB. (J7) " Pensées d'un Belge sur les Affaires présentes, " Écrits politiques, 146 : 259-276, AGR. Burke's view of the Brabant Revolution is expressed in a letter to the Journal historique et littéraire, December 15, 1791, pp. 620-625. www.academieroyale.be

138 THE REPUBLIC, 1790 dépendre la conservation, le repos et le bonheur des hommes qu'il a assujettis, des soins continuels et de la vigilance de ceux qu'il a établis pour les gouverner. " (28) God had created differ• ing roles for his human subjects ; as loyal Catholics, the Bel• gians would abide by God's intentions. Who were they to question God's wisdom, Feller asked. " Laet Godt syn werk doen, " a priest told the Belgians, " en [laet] ons synen Godde- lyken raed doen en volgen. " (29) The Congress and the Estates intended to mold the new nation into a good Catholic society. There was certainly no talk of the separation of Church and state in Belgium as in other new nations. Unlike other revolutionary societies, the Church, not the state, would maintain morality and preserve order, Van Eupen explained. In the new Belgian society, all the people would have " les droits... de citoyens du ciel, " the liberty to pray to God in the Catholic Church and to perform His work on earth. (30) The Belgians would be as free as God had in• tended for man to be in his state of sin, and they would enjoy all the rights of which they were capable, according to their station in the societal hierarchy. The Brabant Constitution, " une Constitution Démocratique tempérée par une aristocratie raisonnable, " had been written by God himself, according to another Belgian leader. (3I) The Belgian republic was to serve as a model to irreligious innovating despots throughout Eu• rope.

(2S) "Manifeste," Mss. 20373, BRB; see also: "Lettre patriotique aux Belges délivrés du joug de la Maison de Lorraine-Autriche " (Brussels, 1790), Révolution belge, vol. 108, pam. 20, BRB; Ami des Belges, May 28, 1790; A. J. D. de BRAECKENIER, "Contre-Poison," Révolution belge, vol. 11, pam. 8, BRB ; and " Les Sept Pseaumes penitentiaux des Vonckistes, " Révolution belge, vol. 12, pam. 29, BRB. (") " Die Boerkens van Maesel, " Révolution belge, vol. 17, pam. 6, BRB ; see also : VAN EUPEN in Journal général de l'Europe, December 30, 1789 ; and Untitled poem, Liasse 611, AVB. (" Let God do his work and [let] us follow his divine advice. ") (30) Marcellino, grand écuyer de la nation brabançonne, " Lettre d'un grand personnage à MM. les rédacteurs du journal" (December 29, 1789) Révolution belge, vol. 3, pam. 2, BRB ; " La Liberté, " Révolution belge, vol. 47, pam. 6, BRB ; and " Réflexions d'un Belge patriote. " (31) "Aen de Negen Natiën der Stad Brussel," February 28, 1790, Brus­ sels, Écrits politiques, 57: 316-319, AGR; " Qu'étoit-ce qu'un Duc de Bra­ bant ; " " Overwegingen van een welpeyzend' vaderlander aen syn mede- borgers, " Révolution belge, vol. 134, pam. 2, BRB; "Collection complète," www.academieroyale.be

THE REPUBLIC 1790 139

The Opposition : A Bourgeois Coalition

The ruling coalition soon disintegrated. The other provinces questioned the Brabant delegates' assumption of national leadership. The delegates from Flanders, Limburg, and the Gelderland asked why political activity was always centered around Brussels and dominated by its leaders. Officially, the presidency of the Congress rotated from province to province, week by week, and yet Van der Noot and Van Eupen contin• ued informally to dominate national politics. Within the Bra• bant Estates themselves there was also trouble. The first two Estates insisted on meeting separately from the Third Estate and turned their attention increasingly to their own particular concerns — restricting admission to the nobility and outlawing all religious ceremonies other than those conducted by the Roman Catholic Church. (32) After a few days, the first two Estates sensed the discontent growing in the Third Estate. The nobles and clerics asked the deputies of the Third Estate to swear an oath to the combined first two Estates and agree to maintain strict secrecy. The bourgeois delegates were instructed not to report back to the assembled Nations as they had always done in the past. The Third Estate in turn demanded that all three Estates deliberate together on an equal footing in one chamber. When the leaders of the First and Second Estate accused the Third Estate of wanting to imitate the French Revolution, the doyens replied that that was not their intention. The bourgeoisie was worried, they said, that the first two Estates had coalesced into one like-minded cabal. Why, they asked, were the first two Estates afraid to deliberate together with the Third and why

Révolution belge, vol. 3, pam. I, BRB; HOVELANT to VAN DER NOOT, États Belgiques Unis 182. AGR ; " Extract uyt de Resolutien der Staden van Bra­ bant. " December 26. 1789, Liasse 611. AVB; "Réfutation impartiale des causes & moyens d'innovations proposés dans les Constitutions des Provinces Belgiques. " Brochures 1790, ULB ; and " Pensées d'un Belge sur les Affaires présentes, " Écrits politiques, 146 : 259-276. AGR. (") Journal général de l'Europe, December 29, 1789. 156: 401; P.A. F. GÉRARD, Rapédius De Berg (Brussels, 1842), Mss. G. 573, BRB; and February 29, 1790, Foreign Office 26/14, PRO. www.academieroyale.be

140 THE REPUBLIC, 1790

did they demand such secrecy. (33) To answer these questions, Van der Noot and Van Eupen agreed to meet with the doyens of the Nations. At the meeting, the doyens bluntly told the two leaders that the merchants and artisans were afraid of being governed by an aristocracy. They requested that the Third Estate be granted votes equal to the combined voice of the first two orders. (34) Van der Noot and Van Eupen were surprised at the demands ; they told the doyens that such proposals might be expected from French democrats, but not from Brus• sels guild-leaders. Without resolving the dispute, the two leaders left to report back to their friends in the first two Estates. Van der Noot was confused. He had thought the Nations had been placated with resolutions guaranteeing a continuation of commercial privi• leges. What he did not understand was that during the resis• tance and the Revolution the Third Estate had grown accus• tomed to leading the other two Estates. The leaders of the Nations and the lawyers had fought and won the Revolution ; they resented the nobles and clerics who assumed control of the republic once victory was declared. The doyens were not the only Brussels residents dismayed by the new government. Some lawyers who had always strong• ly supported Van der Noot, including the irrepressible pamphle• teer Henri Van der Hoop, protested the " despotisme " of the Congress. (35) Some members of the Conseil de Brabant

(") Journal de Bruxelles, January 15, 1790, p. 100; Postilion, January 15, 1790, p. 2; January 12, 1790, Foreign Office 26/14, PRO; "Van seven zigh- noemende Commissarissen der natiën van Brussel met het opgevolght advies van het magistraet, " December 24, 1789, Mss. 14890, BRB ; Comtesse D'YVES, Goethals 210, BRB; RUELLE to MONTMORIN, December 26, 1789 and Decem­ ber 30, 1789, Manuscrits divers 1582, AGR; Nations, January 11, 1790, États Brabant 199, 2, AGR; WILSON, December 25, 1789, Foreign Office 26/13, PRO ; and VAN DER HOOP to YVES, December 14, 1789, États Belgiques Unis 197, AGR. (34) " Aen die seer Eerweerde ende seer Edele Heeren, Die Hooghmogende Heeren der twee eerste staeten van Brabant & door die Natten van Brussel als derde Lith van den derden Staet der selve provincie, " January 25, 1790, Liasse 616, AVB ; and Postilion, January 22 and 30, 1790, February 3 and 17, 1790. (35) VAN DER HOOP to Congrès, January 19, 1790, États Belgiques Unis 206, AGR ; and VAN DER HOOP to YVES, December 24, 1789, États Belgiques Unis 197, AGR. www.academieroyale.be

THE REPUBLIC, 1790 141 refused to recognize the Estates as the legitimate heir to the authority of the deposed duke. (36) The most vocal of the op­ ponents to the reestablishment of the Estates and the creation of a Congress dominated by the first two Estates were the Vonckists. Once again using the Comtesse d'Yves as an inter­ mediary, Vonck met with Van der Hoop. Van der Hoop then tried to arrange meetings between the democrat and the doyens. (37) Only one former member of Pro Aris et Focis had been offered a position in Van der Noot's new government : the lawyer Jean Torfs, who served as ambassador to France, a post he had filled during the Revolution. Van der Noot, who had never approved of the assignment, could now ignore Torfs' advice, leaving his letters from Paris unanswered and counter­ manding all of his requests. When Torfs returned to Brussels in February for a visit, he was forbidden by Van der Noot to discuss the promise of aid he had just received from France. (38) The Congress and the Estates filled all other diplo­ matic and internal posts with former government functionaries who had been members or supporters of the Breda Commit­ tee ; that excluded the democrats who had neither held posi­ tions in the Austrian government nor supported the leadership of the Breda Committee. In anger and frustration, the democrats regrouped in Brus­ sels. Like the doyens, the former leaders of Pro Aris et Focis felt betrayed by the Estates. They had hoped to reform Belgian institutions to give the unrepresented people a voice. (39) In­ stead, they charged in several annonymous attacks on the Bre­

(") Esprit des Gazettes, December 18, 1789, II : 486.; and TASSIER. p. 210. (") VAN DER HOOP to YVES, December 26, 1789 and March 5. 1790, États Belgiques Unis 197, AGR. Yves ridiculed the projects of the democrats saying that if the organization of the Estates were changed, they would even end up giving a voice to women too Comtesse YVES, Goethals 210. BRB <3!) TORFS to VAN DER NOOT. January 9. 1790 and January II. 1790. Pans, États Belgiques Unis 182. AGR ; TORFS to VAN DER NOOT, January 14, 1790. Pans, États Belgiques Unis 191, AGR; TORFS to VAN EUPEN, January 14, 1790. États Belgiques Unis 191, AGR; VAN DER NOOT to LAFAYETTE. January I. 1790, États Belgiques Unis 185. AGR ; and Ε J. DINNE, 1: 165 (") " Η Van der Noot ontmaskert." Varia Belgica K­l. BG. KUL, (Ver­ looy), " Les Auteurs secrets de la Révolution présente. " Écrits politiques, 29, AGR ; and J. C. CRENTZ. February 14. 1790. Brussels, Mss. 20474. BRB. www.academieroyale.be

142 THE REPUBLIC, 1790

da Committee, the Revolution had been usurped by a privil• eged minority of aristocrats and monks. Van der Noot and his cohorts in Brussels had excluded the active revolutionaries from the government. (40) Once again outside of the government, the democrats coalesced to form a new political association, the Société Patriotique. " Puisque la classe des citoyens instruits n'est point admise dans les assemblées provinciales, il [the Société] pourra du moins rendre service à la patrie en discutant ses intérêts dans un comité agissant de concert avec les états, " (4I) Vonck wrote, explaining the purpose of the new association. The soci• ety would admit " tout le monde de quelque rang ou condi• tion, " for the wide-ranging discussions the Estates had banned. Meeting openly at the Hôtel de Galles, the members of the Société named Vonck president. (42) Although the English counsel Francis Wilson may have exaggerated slightly in his report that over 4,000 persons had signed a petition circulated by the Société calling for the immediate resignation of the Estates, observers reported a steady rise in the democrats' fol• lowing and activity. (43) The petition certainly attracted a good deal of attention. The members of the Société Patriotique challenged the Estates' claim to sovereignty in numerous pamphlets published during the first months of 1790. One of these pamphlets, " Relation d'un député du Comité de la Lune, " written in the form of an allegory, graphically presented their view of the Estates' usurpation of the people's sovereignty. " Je déclare, " the deputy wrote :

que m'étant rendu en Brabant, au mois de Décembre 1789, j'y ai vu de BRAVES GENS qui poursuivoient un homme qu'ils appe- loient leur DUC, & qui portoit sur la tête une couronne qu'ils

(40) Dondelberg, Mss. 20474, BRB; and Fr. PARADIS to VAN NUFFEL, January 8, 1790, Brussels, Mss. 20474, BRB. (41) J. F. Vonck as cited by Théodore JUSTE, Les Vonckistes (Brussels, 1878), p. 16. (42) Ch. TERLINDEN, ed. Les Souvenirs d'un Vonckiste. Les Aventures de J. B. Van der Linden (Brussels, 1932), p. 210; and C. GOFFIN, Office fiscal 1325. AGR. (43) Fr. WILSON, January 26 1790, Brussels, Foreign Office Papers 26/14, PRO. www.academieroyale.be

THE REPUBLIC, 1790 143

appeloient COURONNE SOUVERAINE... Et ayant alors demandé aux braves gens ce qu'ils vouloient faire de cette COURONNE ? ils me dirent qu'ils vouloient la mettre en pièces, afin qu'il n'existât plus de pareille couronne dans leur pays, & que partant, tous les Brabançons devinssent libres & méritent plus désormais d'autres Souverains qu'EUX-MÊMES. Après que les BRAVES GENS m'eurent tenu ce langage, comme ils étoient tous extrêmement fati­ gués, chacun d'eux retourna au logis pour y prendre du repos, & je m'apperçus qu'en partant, ils oubliaient d'emporter avec eux la couronne du Duc expulsé, la quelle resta par terre. Les braves gens étant allés se coucher, voilà que je vois arriver de divers côtés une douzaine d'hommes que j'entendois nommer Abbés, & une couple de douzaines d'autres hommes encore que j'entendois appeller ANCIENS NOBLES. Et pendant que j'étais ainsi dans l'admiration, je remarquai que les nouveaux venus ramassoient la couronne que les braves gens avoient oubliée par terre & qu'ils s'en alloient en l'emportant avec eux. (44)

According to the tale, these several dozen men all tried to fit their heads together into the one crown, while ignoring the pleas of the people to distribute it among them all. Here, as in many of the other democratic pamphlets, the author represen• ted " souveraineté " or " opperheerschapye " as a tangible thing, a power once possessed by the emperor and now belonging to the people. While being transferred to his rightful owners, the democrats charged, it had been stolen by the " paap en edel- dom. "(45) The emperor derived his sovereign power from " le peu• ple, " democratic pamphleteers reminded their readers. (46) With their revolutionary victory, the Belgian people had won back the right to exercise their sovereignty. They had not voted to delegate it back to another authority ; the greedy Estates had simply seized it for themselves. By doing so the Estates had not only stolen something that did not rightfully belong to them.

(44) " Relation d'un député du comité de la lune qui avoit été envoyé dans la Belgique pour y prendre des informations relatives à la Révolution qui s'y operoit. & aux effets qu'y avoient produits les troupes Lunaires qui y étoient descendues " (Brussels, 1790). Révolution belge, vol. 51, pam. 23, BRB. (45) "Adresse aux États Généraux par un Solitaire," Révolution belge, vol 52. pam 26. BRB. (46) Journal général de l'Europe. March, 1790; J. F. VONCK, "Considéra- lions impartiales ; " and J. B. C. VERLOOY " Projet raisonné d'union des Pro- vinces-Belgiques. " Révolution belge, vol. 108, pam. 10, BRB. www.academieroyale.be

144 THE REPUBLIC, 1790

but they had destroyed the balance of power as well. Before the Revolution, sovereign power had been distributed between the Estates, the emperor, and the judiciary. By adding the emperor's former sovereignty to that which they had held pre• viously, the Estates had become too powerful, the democrats argued. Under their new form of republican government, the Estates controlled the exercise of executive as well as legislative power. (47) Therefore, the democrats explained, just as the Estates had traditionally served as the corps intermédiaire to check the extensive sovereign powers of the emperor, so now the people needed a new corps intermédiaire to check the al• most unlimited powers of the Estates. The Vonckists and Vandernootists had united to fight the Revolution because they agreed that the Emperor had misused sovereignty ; they had never discussed the question of who was to inherit his sovereign power. This was the major unresolved issue that had reappeared to divide the revolutionaries, once they had driven the Austrians out of Belgium. The Vonckists now questioned the ability of the members of the three Bra• bant Estates to represent the whole Brabant people. Implicitly, they were challenging the Vandernootists' corporative assump• tions. The representational system reinstituted by the Vandernoo• tists survived as one last relic of feudal society, the Vonckists charged ; much had changed between the fourteenth and the eighteenth centuries. The nobility and the clergy, who had dominated medieval society and politics, no longer performed any essential services in exchange for their privileged positions in eighteenth-century society. (48) The nobles no longer had to fight to protect the common people from marauding knights. Although some democrats went so far as to criticize the domi• nance of the first two Estates in the past as well as the present, arguing that " les Nobles n'ont aucun droit acquis sur le Peu• ple : ils ne l'ont jamais défendu & protégé, mais toujours con• quis & opprimé, " most of the democrats maintained simply

(4 ) " Projet raisonné ; " " Considérations impartiales ; " and " Lettre d'un philanthrope à l'auteur de l'ouvrage intitulé Qu'allons nous devenir, " (January 2, 1790), Écrits politiques, 72 : 173-190, AGR. (48) " Projet raisonné ; " and " Adresse aux Brabançons, " RUG. www.academieroyale.be

THE REPUBLIC, 1790 145 that times had changed. (49) What might have been right in the past was no longer appropriate. Contrary to the corporate argument, they contended that the first two orders no longer represented or understood the interests of the large majority of the people. " N'etoit-il pas ridicule de voir les Paysans, cette classe si nécessaire à la Société, représentée par des Moines, avec qui ils n'ont rien de commun, et dont les intérêts sont différents?" the democrat Dinne asked Feller. (50) The first two estates no longer deserved their privileged position as protectors of the society, the democrats declared. The Third Estate had fought the revolution without the help of the first Two Estates. Two assumptions girded their argument : 1) that one had to earn the right to represent the nation, and 2) that there were divergent interests within the nation to be represented. The democrats contended that the Nations no longer deserved to serve as exclusive spokesmen for the entire Third Estate. The artisans, " qu'on ne doit point supposer capables de former des spéculations en politique, " spoke only for their particular com• mercial interests, leaving out " les hommes instruits, ceux dont la Profession est une science, " one of the particularly vehe• ment critics charged. (51) Vonck, who was more moderate, ar• gued that the bourgeoisie who had fought and won the Revo• lution had acquired experience in commerce as well as industry and as " het geleerste, bekwaemste ende deftighste aen het welzyn van de natie het meeste toebrengt. " (") These useful classes — the lawyers, the businessmen, as well as the peasants who fed the nation, deserved their own representation. Vonck made clear that he was not calling for the total sup• pression of the old order but for its gradual reform. He pro• posed doubling the Third Estate's representation to give it a voice equal to that of the other two Estates combined. " De cette manière, le Tiers État sera du moins pourvu de la force physique qui lui est nécessaire, pour contrebalancer les deux

(**) " Adresse aux États Généraux par un Solitaire. " (50) DINNE, Mémoire. 1: 192. (51) Pamphlet cited in DINNE 1: 193. (52) J. F. VONCK, " Vervolg van staetkundige onderrigtingen voor het Bra­ bantse Volk " (Lille. 1792). Mss. 20474, BRB ; (" The most learned, clever, and dignified... have contributed the most to the well being of the nation. ") www.academieroyale.be

146 THE REPUBLIC, 1790 premiers, " he suggested, echoing the Nations. (") The doub• ling of the Third Estate would extend representation to the villagers and the urban professionals who had been allowed no voice within the Third Estate. This change, which he recog• nized as an imitation of Abbé Sieyès' French proposal, would allow the people to have a voice in the government without disrupting Belgian society. Vonck concluded that the represen• tation of the first two Estates would also have to be changed to include the newer nobility and the secular clergy. Verlooy, who had published a very similar plan several days before Vonck, petitioned the Estates asking them voluntarily to reform their representation. He appealed to their sense of jus• tice, arguing that as nobles and ecclesiastics " vous ne contri• buez rien aux charges de l'État. " (54) He was not demanding radical changes, he said, but merely urging the Estates to re• cognize that gradual change was in their enlightened self-in• terest and that the Revolution had been fought to achieve popular sovereignty. Some of Vonck and Verlooy's friends were not as willing to believe that the first two Estates shared the same conception of equitable justice or that the nobles and clerics would see beyond their immediate self-interests. While Vonck and Ver• looy petitioned the Estates, Charles D'Outrepont and Gerard Poringo pushed for the immediate implementation of the more radical program which Pro Aris et Focis had proposed before the Revolution. These democrats were not convinced that merely reforming the system of representation would be suffi• cient to give the people back their sovereignty. Belgian society would have to be completely overhauled, they argued, to free it from the shackles of custom and tradition. Poringo and D'Outrepont had launched their argument from the same point as Vonck and Verlooy : in defeating the Aus• trians, they all claimed, the Belgian people " a reconquis sa liberté primitive. " (55) Vonck had let the argument drop here,

(") VONCK, "Considérations. " See also "Repentir d'un Aristocrate belge ou Lettre de M...A Messieurs les révérends curés de la Belgique-unie, " Révolu- lion belge, vol. 51, BRB : and " Lettre d'un philanthrope. " ('") VERLOOY, " Projet raisonné. " (") BALZA, " Appel aux États, " Révolution belge, vol. 29, pam. 1, BRB. www.academieroyale.be

THE REPUBLIC, 1790 147 however, Poringo and D'Outrepont pursued it to its logical conclusion. If the Belgians had returned to the beginning, to Rousseau's state of nature, then they were " sans constitution, " D'Outrepont reasoned. " Le mandat des états est annulé par-là même qu'il est devenu sans objet ; et les Belges sont précisé• ment dans le même cas où ils se trouveroient, si dans ce moment ils sortoient des mains du créateur. " (56) Therefore, the only legitimate government of the new society would be one chosen anew by a national convention or by an assembly attended by all the citizens. The Belgians would design the laws to rule the new society and create its institutions. The old constitution was no longer applicable — it did not express " la volonté générale " of the mass of people in whom sovereignty now resided. Rather than reform the government of the Estates, Poringo and D'Outrepont demanded that a constitu• tional assembly be called to choose representatives for a national assembly in which all Belgians would have a voice, just as the Americans had done in 1776. To some extent the dispute between Vonck and Verlooy and the " plus-que-Vonckists " was a question of timing ; they all shared the same critique of the Estates and the same ideal. In the introduction to the second edition of his Considérations impartiales, Vonck complained that d'Outrepont's plans were impolitic and impracticable because they did not accord with the views of the majority of the Belgian people. (") He did not oppose them on philosophical grounds. The two groups contin• ued to meet together in the Société Patriotique as friends. Because the majority of the members of the Société were moderates, their opinion prevailed in public pronouncements. Members of the minority issued their own more radical pamphlets individually. Together, they deluged Brussels with pamphlets, many of which the Vandernootists countered with

('*) Charles Lambert D'Outrepont, " Qu'allons nous devenir, " Révolution belge, vol 46, pam 2, BRB. See also : " Les quatre questions au peuple bra­ bançon par un ami du gouvernement républicain, " Révolution belge, vol. 48, pam. 21. BRB. "L'orateur du peuple," Révolution belge, vol. 9. BRB; and "Le beau jour ou le Jour du Peuple Brabançon," (1790). Révolution belge. vol. 86, pam. 8, BRB. (' ) VONCK, "Considérations impartiales," Second Edition. www.academieroyale.be

148 THE REPUBLIC, 1790 opposing brochures — causing one observer to label Belgium " le pays des brochures. " (58) The democrats challenged the source of the Vandernootists' vision of an ideal society. The democrats suggested that the Belgians emulate contemporary societies on both sides of the Atlantic that also fought revolutions instead of continuing to look back to Belgian society in medieval times. " Sur la moitié du globe, " one pamphleteer explained, " tous les hommes ne jettent qu'un cri, n'ont qu'un besoin, qu'une action, & l'espèce courbée si longtemps sous la tyrannie, se relève avec la fierté d'une liberté majestueuse & effrayante. " (59) The Brabant Re• volution had been but one in a long series of popular revolts against despotic monarchs. The most obvious example of a successful revolution was that of neighboring France. But as a member of the Société Patriotique observed, in Belgium it seemed " que son éclat [de la révolution française] est trop puissant pour les yeux de cette nation [belge], si longtems dans les ténèbres, & gouvernée par des prêtres. " (60) Closer parallels were to be found in the American Revolution. " La tyrannie du Ministère Britannique a forcé les treize États de l'Amérique à se séparer de la mère- patrie, " just as Austrian despotism had led the Belgians to war, Poringo explained. He urged his fellow citizens to learn from the American experience. " Le peuple Américain connoît le prix de la liberté, il en sent toute l'énergie, il n'a conservé de ses anciennes constitutions, qu'il chérissoit, que ce qui est com• patible avec les principes de la démocratie. " (61) The Ameri• cans, " habitués à une vie privée, étrangers aux langages des

(5S) P. VERHAEGEN, " Essai sur la liberté de la Presse en Belgique durant la domination française, 1792-1814, " Annales de la Société d'archéologie de Brux­ elles VIII (1893), p. 195. He speculates that the Brabant Revolution generated over 8,000 pamphlets. (59) " Comme nous étions et ce que nous avons fait, " Écrits politiques. 23 : 236-294, AGR. (60) " Le véritable point de vue de différence entre les États de Brabant & le peuple. " Révolution belge, vol. 3, pam. 37. Although other authors did cite the French example, most urged the Belgians to be more moderate. See for example : " Projet raisonné " and " Les Représentans légitimes. " (61) PORINGO, "Les Représentans légitimes du peuple." Brochures 1790. vol. II. ULB. www.academieroyale.be

THE REPUBLIC, 1790 149

cours, " had excluded the aristocracy from the government. (62) The author of " Triple Parallèle de la Révolution des Sept Pro• vinces Unies en 1579 sous Philippe II, Roi d'Espagne, de la Révolution des Treize-États Unis en 1776 sous George III, Roi de la Grande-Bretagne, & de la Révolution des Onze États Unis en 1790 sous Joseph II, Empereur d'Allemagne, Roi de Hongrie & de la Bohème " asked why the Belgians did not now follow the American example. (63) Pamphlet after pamph• let informed the Belgians of the provisions of the American Declaration of Independence and of the constitutions of the various states, pointing out exemplary passages. (64) In the American Revolution, unlike the French Revolution, the Bel• gian democrats found Montesquieu's ideas of the separation of powers and an emphasis on individual freedom rather than equality. Nevertheless, foreign observers and the Estates insisted on labelling the Société Patriotique " the French Party " and spreading rumors of its plots to invite French armies into the provinces. (65) The leaders of the Estates portrayed France as the land of anarchy overrun by brigands who pillaged churches and estates throughout the countryside. (66) Unlike France and

(62) " La Conduite loyale des congrès de Bruxelles et de Namur ou Abus de leurs pouvoirs confiés avec les preuves de trahisons faites à la Nation. " Révolution belge, vol. 81, pam. 4, BRB. (65) " Triple parallèle de la Révolution... " Révolution belge, vol. I, pam. 13, BRB (64) See J. VERCRUYSSE, " L'indépendance américaine et la Révolution Bra­ bançonne, " Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire LIV (1976), pp. 1098-1108. As an example of the comparative pamphlets see " Adresse d'un citoyen aux États de Brabant, " in Staten Generaal 7460, RAN. (65) Foreign Office papers 26/14, PRO; SOMERS to YVES, February 12, 1790, Namur. États Belgiques Unis 196. AGR ; NYS, January 17, 1790. Per­ gameni 290, II, AVB ; VAN DER NOOT to DE LA SONDE, January 1, 1790, États Belgiques Unis 185. AGR; and VAN EUPEN to DE RODE, February 6, 1790, Brussels, États Belgiques Unis 189, AGR. (") " Pauvre siècle, qui n'a que des noms & des idées d'emprunt, qui voit toujours une chose dans l'autre & toujours de travers, " Feller mused. Journal historique et littéraire, January 1, 1790, p. 52. See also L'Ami des Belges. May 14, 1790; VAN DER NOOT, " Projet conçu," (March 31, 1790), Acquisi­ tions récentes 1/14, AGR; "Collection complète," "Mémoire en forme de Réfutation, " Brochures 1790. H. ULB ; H. J. VAN DER HOOP, " Réfutation des Considérations Impartiales et du Projet d'adresse aux États avec une exposition du danger de ces brochures. " (1790), Révolution belge, vol. 3, pam. 29, BRB ; www.academieroyale.be

150 THE REPUBLIC, 1790

America, one pamphleteer explained, Belgium already had a constitution, " ouvrage plutôt d'un Dieu, que des hommes, sanctionnée par le tems & l'expérience. " (6?) Answering point by point the democrats' plans, the traditionalists pointed out that the three Estates had always ruled the Belgian provinces justly, that the order corresponded to God's hierarchical plan and that Belgium had no need to borrow its ideas from anyone. " Le plus grand ennemi du bien, " they concluded, " c'est le mieux. " (6S) The first two Estates became increasingly concerned through the winter as the democrats' ideas won a wider and wider following. Equally disturbing was the popularity of the Due d'Arenberg and the Due d'Ursel. Both had made triumphant entries into the city of Brussels the first week in January, cheered by throngs of people. For the next month, instead of attending meetings of the Second Estate, the two nobles spent their time with Vonck, Walckiers, and the wine merchant D'Aubremez. (69) The Due d'Ursel and the Due d'Arenberg led the democrat• ic lawyers and bankers in cultivating their popularity among the petite bourgeoisie, the largest segment of the Brussels pop• ulation. The two Dukes staged elegantly elaborate balls for the volunteers, as did the wealthy banker Edouard Walckiers who had also taken command of a section of the volunteers. Wal• ckiers dined nightly with his company, treating the men to food and drink in local taverns. Other democrats began to meet Sundays over breakfast with a new committee of officers of the volunteers. To counter the democrats' influence, the

and " Tableau du "bonheur des Belges ou réponse à la question proposée Qu'allons nous devenir, " Révolution belge, vol. 19, pam. 9, BRB. (67) " Réflexions sur la Brochure intitulée Qu'allons nous devenir? par un ami de la Paix, " Révolution belge, vol. 78, pam. 19, BRB. (68) " Si leurs intentions sont bonnes, ils ne savent ce qu'ils demandent ; si elles ne le sont pas, c'est autre chose, " Révolution belge, vol. 3, pam. 26, BRB. (6') " Votre ami " to Somers, January 28, 1790, Office fiscal 1009, AGR ; HOVE to YVES, États Belgiques Unis 194, AGR; and GÉRARD, February 11, 1790. 1 : 291, BRB ; Journal de Bruxelles, January- 5, 1790, pp. 29-30 ; Gazette des Pays-Bas, January 7, 1790, p. 13 ; Fr. WILSON, January 5, 1790, Foreign Office 26/14, PRO; YVOY to VAN DE SPIEGEL, February 3, 1790 in G. W. VREEDE, Mr. L. P. Van de Spiegel en zijne'tijdgenoten 1737-1800 (Mid­ delburg. 1877), II : 39. www.academieroyale.be

THE REPUBLIC, 1790 151 supporters of the Estates launched a pamphlet war. (70) It ap• parently had little effect in dissuading the volunteers from listening to the democrats. The real battle came over the question of oaths to be sworn by the volunteers. According to some sources, early in February Walckiers proposed an oath containing a recognition that sovereignty resided in the people. (7I) According to other reports, without direct provocation, Van der Noot had ordered the elimination of a number of the volunteers' regiments al• leged to be under the democrats' influence. Whatever the pre• ceding events, Van der Noot summoned the volunteers to the Hôtel de Ville on February 9 and demanded that they swear on oath to the Estates. To set an example for their volunteers, Arenberg and Ursel denounced the " tyrannie " of Van der Noot and refused to swear allegiance to the Estates. Through• out the rest of the month, according to a pamphlet in diary form, the volunteers tried to placate Van der Noot. They told him they would swear the oath with the addition of certain phrases of their own, such as " la souveraineté réside dans le peuple. " Meanwhile the magistrate of Brussels joined Van der Noot and ordered a reduction in the number of volunteers. The first week in March a committee of the volunteers met Vonck and Van der Noot. Van der Noot, according to the report, " a saisi cette occasion de leur ouvrir son cœur, " demonstrating to the committee " qu'il sera toujours homme du peuple. "(72) Finally on March 9, the volunteers swore an oath, with no mention of the Estates, and acclaimed Ursel their new commander in chief. The democrats told a slightly different version of the story. (73) According to their version, on the night that Van der Noot called the volunteers to the Hôtel de Ville and posted the oath throughout the city, the angry officers of the volunteers

(70) " Lettre d'un des souverains de la Province de Brabant à Monsieur Englebert d'Arenberg, " RUG ; and GÉRARD, January 15 and 16, 1790, 1: 62, BRB (71) For one recounting of the incident see: " Règlemens et délibérations de l'assemblée des volontaires agrégés aux Sermens de Bruxelles " RUG. <72) Ibid. (7') The democrats' version is recounted in : DINNE, 1: 222 ; and TERLIN­ DEN, pp. 213-214. www.academieroyale.be

152 THE REPUBLIC, 1790 called upon Vonck at his home to ask his advice on resistance. The officers knew most members of the committee of demo• crats whom they encountered in Vonck's parlor ; they had all fought together as officers in the Revolution. The volunteers listened sympathetically as Vonck suggested that they voice their disapproval of the aristocratic composition of the Estates by publicly swearing their allegiance to the people instead of to the Estates. The officers accepted his advice. Van der Noot was an old friend, their former counselor, but his arbitrary state• ments in favor of aristocratic privilege and the secrecy of the Estates had pushed them towards the democrats, their com• rades from the Revolution. That night, after leaving Vonck's house, they informed the volunteers of their plans for resisting Van der Noot's oath. The next morning Van der Noot arrived to find a deserted Grand'Place. He hastily sent his scouts in search of the volun• teers, who were congregated in various locations around Brus• sels. Most of the two thousand men then answered Van der Noot's summons, but they refused to take his oath. They pledged allegiance instead to the people of Belgium, utilizing an oath written by the democratic banker, J. Chapel. They proclaimed the Due d'Ursel their new leader. Beaten, Van der Noot left the Grand'Place to report the defeat to the Estates. The democrats in this second version of the incident proba• bly exaggerated the extent of the fraternity between themselves and the volunteers, just as the first version undoubtedly under• played the discord between Van der Noot and the officers of the volunteers. For both political groups, the allegiance of the volunteers, representatives of the largest segment of the Brus• sels population, was crucial. The incident of the oaths, al• though insignificant in itself, symbolizes the temporary realign• ment of forces — the joining of the doyens and the democrats, led by two members of the upper nobility, to form an opposi• tion against the " aristocrates. " For three years the doyens had supported Van der Noot because they believed their own par• ticular privileges were tied to the defense of the ancien regime, to the preservation of the system of orders, of the Joyeuse Entrée, and of the Catholic Church. The one time the nobility and the clergy had tried to exclude them from the caste of the privileged, the artisans withdrew their support from the ancien regime and joined the democrats. www.academieroyale.be

THE REPUBLIC, 1790 153

Van der Mersch and the Military Conspiracy : Civil War

By the beginning of March the Estates and the Congress sensed the vulnerability of their position. The republic was not yet three months old and already dissension threatened to topple the government. The volunteers had defected ; they certainly could not be counted on to defend the government against the threat posed by increasingly strident democrats. The Austrians were actively attempting to lure the Belgians back into the empire. And the Triple Alliance, seemingly in league with the Austrians, continued to postpone recognition of the new Belgian government. Finally, disaffection was rife in the army. The Austrian officials who had formerly governed the Bel­ gian provinces had attentively observed the mounting discord in the new republic. From the first week after the Austrian defeat, the ministers confidently reported to Vienna their ex­ pectation of help from men such as the Due d'Ursel and Wal­ ckiers in effecting a reconciliation. Although the Austrian offi­ cials did not support the new democratic opposition and were frightened by talk of a National Assembly, the signs of the dissension pleased them. (74) The death of Joseph II and ascen­ sion to the throne of his brother Leopold II spurred the Aus­ trians' hopes for regaining the provinces. Maria Christine and

(74) In one confidential report submitted in March it was suggested that if the disorder turned into a rebellion in at least one province, the people would gladly return to Austrian rule. Chancellerie autrichienne des Pays­Bas 214, AGR. See also COBENZL, December 21, 1789, Staatskanzlei IV DD Β blau 50a (17), HHS; letter to Joseph II. January 20. 1790. Staatskanzlei IV DD Β blau 50b (221), HHS; COBENZL, December 18, 1789, Luxembourg, Chancellerie autrichienne des Pays­Bas 210, AGR; COBENZL to KAUNITZ, December 31. 1789, Trêves, Chancellerie autrichienne des Pays­Bas 210, AGR; Report, January 5, 1790. Staatskanzlei IV DD B blau 50b (220). HHS; COBENZL. February 6. 1790. Staatskanzlei IV DD Β blau 51a (225), HHS; ALBERT et MARIA CHRISTINE, March 15 and 22. 1790, Bonn, Chancellerie autrichienne des Pays­Bas 214, AGR ; Report to MARIA CHRISTINE and ALBERT. March 23. 1790, The Hague, Chancellerie autrichienne des Pays­Bas 214, AGR; and COBENZL to KAUNITZ, January 25 and 28, 1790, Chancellerie autrichienne des Pays­Bas. 211. AGR. www.academieroyale.be

154 THE REPUBLIC, 1790

Albert continually wrote letters to the provincial estates appeal• ing for conciliation. They neither believed the Belgians really wanted total independence nor did they think the Belgians could long survive without aid from the mother country. Leopold himself launched the major drive to regain the Belgian provinces on March 2, 1790. In his declaration to the Estates, Leopold disavowed any connection with or support of Joseph's policies. He declared that the Estates had been justi• fied in depriving Joseph of his sovereignty once he broke the Joyeuse Entrée. If the Estates would voluntarily accept Leo• pold as their emperor, he would promise that no new laws would be passed without their approval, that taxes collected in Belgium would be spent in Belgium, and that administrators would be drawn from the provinces themselves. Above all, he promised to rule in conformity with the Joyeuse Entrée. Maria Christine and Albert, although privately regretting Leopold's liberalism, forwarded his generous offer reminding the Bel• gians that sovereigns existed only to secure the good of the people. (75) The declaration worried the Congress and the Brabant Estates. Already, pro-Leopoldist pamphlets had begun appear• ing on the streets in Brussels. They presented Leopold as a just emperor who as Duke of Tuscany had been devoted to the welfare of his subjects. (76) The Estates answered with a new flood of pamphlets of their own denouncing Maria Christine and Albert and attacking former Austrian duplicity. (77) Leopold's manifesto met with approval from the Triple Alli• ance. Over the three months, the Belgians' persistent demands

(75) Suzanne TASSIER, " Leopold II et la Révolution Brabançonne : La déclaration du 2 Mars 1790" Revue d'histoire moderne XX (March, April, 1929), pp. 106-116; MARIA CHRISTINE and ALBERT to États de Brabant, March 2, 1790, Acquisitions récentes, vol. I, AGR; ROCK, p. 14; A. WOLF, Leopold II und Marie Christine, Ihr Briefwechsel (1781-1792) (Vienna, 1867); and JUSTE, Histoire des États, p. 137. (76) " Réflexion sur l'insurrection, " Acquisitions récentes, AGR; " Portrait de Leopold II, " RUG ; " L'Hermite de la Grotte aux Belges " (Lille, 1790) Révolution belge, vol. 66, pam. 10, BRB ; and " Van de constitutien der Neder- landsche provinciën in 't algemyn, " Révolution belge, vol. 92, pam. 11, BRB. (77) " Plaintes du Ciel faites par Marie Thérèse d'Autriche impératrice apostolique à son fils l'Empereur Joseph II " Acquisitions récentes, VI, AGR ; " De Drij gezusters, " Varia Belgiea N-8, BG, KUL ; and " En laet ons maer afhangen van ons eygen " (1790), RUG. www.academieroyale.be

THE REPUBLIC, 1790 155 for recognition had proved troublesome to England and the Netherlands. The Revolution that the allies had hoped would serve to shock Joseph II sufficiently to amend his ways had gotten out of hand. The English and Dutch leaders had never expected that the Belgian rebels would overthrow the Emperor. Now the two sea powers worried about the implications of Belgian independence on international politics and trade. More particularly, if the Belgians joined with the French, then other peoples might be encouraged to follow their example and revolt against authority throughout Europe. (78) Prussia alone favored granting recognition to the new government. Its lobby• ing efforts however proved unsuccessful ; the English and Dutch continued to postpone recognition while trying to per• suade the Belgians to return to the empire. But as the Dutch emissary Yvoy, a friend of Van der Noot and Van Eupen, and the English emissary Wilson, who sided with the democrats, pointed out, the Belgians were not likely to take kindly to the Alliance's suggestion that they submit voluntarily to Austrian rule. (79) Just as it became clear to the Estates that they would receive neither military aid nor recognition from the Triple Alliance, the Belgian army itself threatened to mutiny. Early in February, the Due d'Ursel had resigned his post as president of the War Department in protest against Van der Noot's ap• pointment of a Prussian general to the Belgian army. At the same time. General Van der Mersch began to protest the Con• gress' neglect of the revolutionary army. The Breda Commit• tee's clumsy efforts to direct the army's actions during the Revolution and its failure since that time to provide adequate food, shelter, and weapons had irritated the commanding gen• eral. Specifically, Van der Mersch complained that Jean Bap• tiste Van der Noot, appointed by his brother to coordinate military affairs, was incompetent.

(") POST. p. 53. ('*) Van de Spiegel, worried by the fraternity between Yvoy and the leaders of the Estates, warned Yvoy to distance himself from the internal politics of Belgium. Post. p. 64. See : VAN DE SPIEGEL to AUCKLAND, Van de Spiegel 202, RAN ; Baron DE FELTZ, March 30, 1790, The Hague, Chancellerie autrichienne des Pays-Bas 214, AGR; and SCHLIEFFEN, January 20, 1790, Maastricht, Foreign Office 26/14, PRO. www.academieroyale.be

156 THE REPUBLIC, 1790

Since January, the troops had been chafing at their poor living conditions and at the failure of the new government to recognize their revolutionary achievements. The Military Com• mittee's refusal to promote experienced soldiers while appoint• ing newcomers to high positions disturbed the soldiers and officers billeted at Namur. Many wrote to the Congress pro• testing the low wages and insufficient pensions ; others just deserted. (80) By the spring, discipline had become a serious problem. Van der Mersch's secretary, the priest Alexandre De Broux, wrote that he feared that " de la tyrannie d'un seul homme (Joseph II) nous allons tomber dans celle d'une ving• taine d'hommes nouveaux. " (8I) What had happened to the democrats who had won the Revolution he asked ? It seemed that the Estates were trying to destroy the popular army of young, inexperienced volunteers and replace it with a disci• plined, professional force. The Estates did not answer the army's complaints. Van der Mersch therefore resolved to return to the capital in order to confront the Estates in person and to confer with his friend Vonck. Because the Estates refused to grant him an audience, he passed his time dining and talking with members of the Société Patriotique. Van der Mersch had written to Vonck earlier urging him to continue " à employer aussi glorieuse• ment les heureux talens et les belles qualités, dont il a plu à la divine providence de vous donner pour notre bonheur com• mun et achever l'ouvrage que vous avez si heureusement com• mencé. " However, everyone acquainted with the general knew that although a genius in military tactics, he was uninterested and unskilled in political theory and strategy. (82) Van der Mersch left for Namur after several days, returning to the capi• tal again late in February. The conflict over the army contin-

(80) De BROUX, January 14, 1790, États Belgiques Unis 206, AGR ; VAN DER NOOT to VAN DER NOOT DE KELFS, January 22, 1790, États Belgiques Unis, 182, AGR; DE BROUX, February 15, 1790, Namur, Mss. 20474, BRB; DE BROUX to DE HOOGHE, February 8, 1790, Mss. 20474, BRB ; and ROCK, p. 23. (81) DE BROUX to Comtesse D'YVES, January 10, 1790, Namur, États Bel­ giques Unis 195, AGR.

(82) VAN DER MERSCH to VONCK, January 16, 1790, Namur, Mss. 20474, BRB. www.academieroyale.be

THE REPUBLIC, 1790 157 ued to intensify as rumors spread through Brussels that togeth• er the democrats and the army were planning a coup. (83) Frightened by the spread of democratic sympathies the Van• dernootists launched a campaign throughout rural Brabant. Two friends of Van der Noot, H. Van Hamme and Deslondes, rode through the villages addressing groups of peasants and townspeople and collecting their signatures on a petition cal• ling for reprisals against the troublemakers, " les traîtres de la patrie & perturbateurs du repos public. " (84) The democrats threatened to dismantle the constitution and suppress religion, Van Hamme and Deslondes told the assembled neighbors. " C'est une maxime incontestable de prudence " the petition read, " que plus la manie des nouveautés politiques agite l'es• pèce humaine en général, plus il est de l'intérêt d'un peuple sage & éclairé de s'en tenir sur l'objet de l'administration publique à sa constitution, cet ordre constitutionnel en fait constamment la félicité. " (85) In an elaborate public ceremony on February 17, 1790, Van Hamme and Deslondes presented their petition with thousands of signatures to the Brabant Estates. In response, the Vonckists circulated their own petition within Brussels. (86) Expecting to get the signatures of the doyens and volunteers, the democratic leaders invited their recently won allies to a meeting of the Société Patriotique. Most of the volunteers stayed away ; only a few dared to sign the address. Characteristically though, the democrats were not so much concerned with the number of signatures as with presenting a clear statement of their political beliefs. The peti• tion explained in popular terms the democrats' conviction that sovereignty belonged to the people and not to the exclusive Estates. It demanded that the Estates call a national assembly representing all the people to establish a government con• cerned for the common good of the people. (8 ) Signed by forty

(") GÉRARD, 1 : 419 ; and MALINOIÉ " Livre des jours " III : 691, RUG. (84) Esprit des Gazettes. February 22, 1790, p. 187. (,5) Ibid. (,6) "Adresse," March 15, 1790. in DINNE, Pièces justificatives, vol. III. (") Ibid. ; " Ni trop tôt, ni trop tard ou Réponse aux questions prétendues patriotiques, " \Brochures 1790. vol. II, ULB ; " Relation exacte de ce qui s'est passé à Bruxelles les journées de 16 & 17 mars, " Brochures 1790. vol. II, ULB ; and Le Hardy to Vonck, March 15. 1790. Mss. 20474, BRB. www.academieroyale.be

158 THE REPUBLIC, 1790 lawyers, bankers, merchants, and nobles, the petition was pre• sented to the Estates on March 15, 1790. In the hands of the Estates, the petition served as definitive evidence to expose the democrats to the people as dangerous radicals. One pamphleteer remarked, " Cette adresse est le tocsin qui avertit enfin les États & tous les Citoyens attachés à la Constitution " to the ideological threat posed by the Société Patriotique. (8S) The traditionalists openly declared " une guerre civile " against the authors of this " projet de détruire la religion et la Constitution et la vraie Liberté. " (89) If the government was constantly subjected to such challenges, the Estates warned, the Belgian state would weaken and fall prey to either the Austrian or the French armies. Dissent would have to be silenced so that Belgium could enjoy the internal tranquility and security necessary for establishing a stable regime and insuring public happiness. The Estates posted pla• cards throughout Brussels informing the people that the " club marchand " was plotting to destroy both the Catholic religion and the Belgian constitution and urging the citizens to assem• ble the next day in the Grand-Place. (90) The warning produced dramatic results ; it frightened the members of the Nations. Van der Noot had pointed out the political differences that separated the shopkeepers from the democratic intellectuals. He convinced the Nations that the democrats planned to imitate the French Revolution and to abolish the Catholic Church. He also argued convincingly that with their enlightenment beliefs the Belgian democrats were the natural allies, not the enemies, of the Austrians. Most importantly, Van der Noot implicitly invited the doyens back

(88) " Relation exacte. " (89) " La Triple Henriade à la tête des Belges écrasés, " Révolution belge, vol. 55, pam. 21, BRB ; " Décret du Conseil Souverain de Bruxelles, " cited in Journal de Bruxelles, March 18, 1790 ; Journal des Séances du Congrès, GACHARD, Documens, p. 90 ; " Le Curé, Le Bailli, et le Berger de Village, " Révolution belge, vol. 3, pam. 4, BRB ; " Tolle Lege, Aux Amis de la Paix et de la Patrie, " Révolution belge, vol. 1, pam. 12, BRB ; A. C. GAMBIER, " Observa­ tions politiques et juridiques qui démontrent l'inutilité d'une Assemblée Nationale, " Révolution belge, vol. 3, pam. 31, BRB ; and GÉRARD, II : 137-138, BRB. (,0) GÉRARD, II: 137-138, BRB; "Avis aux vrais patriotes," Office fiscal 1325, AGR ; and " Aen de Waere Brabanders, " Liasse 612B, AVB. www.academieroyale.be

THE REPUBLIC, 1790 159 into the privileged coalition. The doyens gratefully accepted the invitation. They decided once again to support their old friend Van der Noot as a means of strengthening the existing republic. (9I) The doyens publicly repudiated the Société Patriotique's letter of support sent several days earlier as well as the March 15 address. For the next three days, groups of shopkeepers and artisans roamed through Brussels, pillaging the homes of the democra• tic petitioners and threatening to hang them from lampposts. Parading through the streets, the crowd chanted, " Vonck, Due d'Ursel, Walckiers, Due d'Arenberg, Herries et Godin sont de l'Assemblée Patriotique les plus zélés soutiens, chacun de la Belgique veut être la lumière. Il faut pour les satisfaire les mettre au réverbère. " (92) When D'Outrepont challenged Van Hamme who was speaking to a crowd assembled at a street corner, Van Hamme turned the crowd against D'Outrepont as a radical troublemaker. (93) His tale was one of many. Not long after that incident, on his way to dinner at Chapel's home, Vanderlinden heard a group of men planning an attack. He tried to dissuade them and found himself the victim. The crowd chased him through the streets, down alleys, across roofs, down a drain pipe, and finally captured him in a garden. Luckily, one of the leaders recognized him as a fellow officer from the revolutionary army and allowed him to return home with only a broken arm. (94) Chapel was charged with hoarding arms in his boat for a counter-revolution. (95) The democrats anxiously petitioned the Nations to police the city and reestablish order. (96) Instead, the civil guard

(") " Protestation des doyens, " (March 28, 1790) Liasse 6I2B, AVB ; and " Prière patriotique, " Revolution belge, vol. 19, pam. 39, BRB. (") GÉRARD. II : 192. See also : LE HARDY to VONCK, March 15. 1790. Mss. 20474. BRB. "Le papier bleu," Varia, vol. 311. pam. 2, AAB ; and ERNST, March 22, 1790. Staten Generaal 7449. RAN. (") GÉRARD. II : 142. BRB. O TERLINDEN, pp. 217-225. (,s) Chapel spent the next two months denying he had harbored any seditious intentions. Mss. 20474, BRB ; CHAPEL. " Verklaring. " May 27, 1790, RUG ; and GÉRARD. March 27. 1790, II : 283 and May 26. 1790, II : 381, BRB. (") Jac. Jos CHAPEL. Brussels, Mss. 20474. BRB; Jean SIMON LE JEUNE à VAN DER NOOT. March 18. 1790. Brussels, Etats Belgiques Unis 182, AGR ; GÉRARD. II: 128-129; "Lettre à M. le Comte Van der Noot de Duras," www.academieroyale.be

160 THE REPUBLIC, 1790 joined the roaming mobs jeering the helpless lawyers and bank• ers. The shopkeepers and artisans had returned to Van der Noot's camp. After three days of violence, on March 19 the tired mobs finally returned quietly to their homes. News of the violence even reached the Pope. He wrote to the Belgian clergy urging them to put an end to the discord. He asked why they did not simply return to Austrian rule. The Archbishop of Mechelen answered respectfully that the Belgians could not return to Austria without abandoning their Catholicism. The Belgians' aim, he said, was to maintain the Catholic religion faithfully in independent Belgium. (97) Van der Noot, the priests, and the Nations urged that anyone who continued to criticize the Estates be punished as a traitor against God and the country. In comparison with the Israelites, a supporter of the Estates explained, " nous trouvons comme eux, après le passage de la mer qui a englouti les enne• mis, d'autres ennemis à combattre. " (98) The " heretics " would have to be controlled. The Abbé de Tongerloo therefore began recruiting his own army among the peasants while the Estates established a new police force for Brussels. (99) That way they would not have to depend on Van der Mersch's mutinous army. French and English observers reported that they expected shortly " a tryal of strength between the two parties, " the aristocrats and the democrats. (10°) The French journalist

Acquisitions récentes, 4/50, AGR ; and URSEL to M. DE VILLÉGAS, March 22, 1790, Office fiscal 1324, AGR. (,7) Adolphe BORGNET, Lettres sur la Révolution Brabançonne (Brussels, 1834), II : 125. (98) "Prière du Peuple Belgique," April, 1790, Écrits politiques, 92: 187- 190, AGR. (99) Liasse 612B, AVB ; " Avis aux gens de loi et habitans de petites villes et plat pays de Brabant," États Belgiques Unis 186, AGR; Journal de Bru­ xelles, April 12. 1790, p. 79; March 23, 1790, Foreign Office 26/14, PRO; Postillon, March 27, 1790, p. 77 ; and VAN EUPEN to DE RODE, April 23, 1790, États Belgiques Unis 189, AGR. (I0°) WILSON, February 2, 1790, Foreign Office 26/14, PRO. The English observer Francis Wilson reported : " The Mystery held by the present Mem­ bers of the States which conceals from the Public all their operations, is the first great cause of Discontent, & the Nature of their Institution, is a second subject of much disapprobation, as they enjoy their places, not by Election, but causal Advantages... Against such an Establishment, it is not to be wondered that there should be a strong opposition. " www.academieroyale.be

THE REPUBLIC, 1790 161

Camille Desmoulins, who had first heralded the success of a second French Revolution in Belgium, was now horrified by the parading of Van der Noot's bust through the streets and the constant street-corner sermons about God's miracles. After he had heard one of Van Eupen's messianic sermons he con• cluded : " Ne nous arrêtons pas d'avantage sur ce peuple, es• pèce de Chinois, dont la raison stationnaire ne fait aucun pro• grès, & dont l'esprit & les idées, comme leur bierre, sont tou• jours les mêmes cette année que l'an passé. "(I01) English and French observers credited Vonck with the military success of the Revolution, predicting that " le premier et le plus modeste des patriotes " would soon return to guide the Revolution back to its original course. (102) Meanwhile, Van der Mersch and a contingent of young army officers continued to address complaints to the Congress. Van der Mersch merely reiterated his earlier pleas for supplies for his army. The officers' was a more blatant attack. In re• sponse to rumors that Van der Mersch was planning to resign, they protested that the general had singlehandedly liberated the country and now represented its only salvation. In an ob• vious attack on Van der Noot's role in undermining the army and forcing Van der Mersch's resignation they charged : "Nul n'est roi chez les Belges que le Peuple, nul n'est chef de l'ar• mée que celui que le Peuple s'est choisi lui-même ; ainsi nulle démission ne peut être donnée qu'au Peuple, ni acceptée que par lui. " They added, " nous voyons les braves Patriotes méprisés, les officiers dégradés, les zélés défenseurs de notre liberté postponés à des gens nés esclaves et la Nation outragée par les affreux excès qui forcèrent les États à envoyer sur les lieux des Députés se disant plénipotentiaires, mais qui ne vou-

("") Camille DESMOULINS, Révolutions de France et de Brabant I : 163, 364. and 417, II : 197. and III : 28. See also Mirabeau to La Marek, December 31. 1789, as cited by Ad. DE BACOURT. Correspondance entre le comte de Mirabeau et le comte de la Marek, 1789-1791 (Brussels, 1851). p. 299 ; Journal général de l'Europe. February, 1790, p. 409; F7 4691, AN F ; and DÉRIVAL to PINAUT, July 29, 1790, Goethals 210, BRB. (I02) RUELLE to MONTMORIN. February 5, 1790. Manuscrits divers 1582, AGR ; RUELLE to VONCK. March 14, 1790, Mss. 20474. BRB ; VAN DER NOOT to LAFAYETTE, January I. 1790, États Belgiques Unis 185. AGR ; LAFAYETTE to l'Evêque d'Anvers. Pans. April 7, 1790. Mss. 18061, BRB; and February 12. 1790. Foreign Office 26/14. PRO. www.academieroyale.be

162 THE REPUBLIC, 1790

lurenl pas remédier aux maux qu'ils reconnurent par leurs yeux. " (103) They concluded by affirming their full support for the March 15 address. Several days later the committee of officers wrote to Vonck in Brussels asking him to come to Namur. The officers wanted him to help restore authority to Van der Mersch as the head of the Belgian armies, to install the Comte de la Marek as his second in command, and to reinstate the Due d'Ursel as the head of the War Department. (104) Despite their fear that their visit would again ignite rumors of civil war, Vonck, Verlooy, Weemaels, and D'Aubremez joined the committee of officers in Namur on April 2, 1790. Before meeting the committee, the four Brussels democrats issued a declaration stating that they did not intend to over• throw the Estates or to convoke a national assembly but asked only for toleration and a wider representation in the existing Estates. The Due d'Ursel and the Due d'Arenberg, who arrived several days later, publicly explained that they had come to Namur to act as mediators between the Estates and the army. Temporarily at least, all at Namur were encouraged by the Estates' public declaration of intent to consider gradual reforms. (105) However, when leaders of the Congress were informed of the open alliance between the army officers and the democrats, they decided to launch a new offensive. Feller reported in his journal that the cabal was arming itself against the Estates. One typical pamphlet attacked Van der Mersch as a lazy, drinking gourmand who " au lieu d'être soldat... prend la plume en main, écrit contre l'état. " (106) The Congress in• formed Van der Mersch that it found the conduct of his of• ficers " extravagant " and charged him with forcing his officers to sign the letter. (107) Leaders of the Congress ordered Gener-

(103) Journal du Congrès, GACHARD, March 15, 1790. (104) Comité des Officiers à M. Vonck, March 31, 1790 as cited in DINNE, III : 24. (105) " Déclaration, " March 31, 1790, Mss. 20474, BRB.

(106) Le Vandermerchisme, " Acquisitions récentes D/198, AGR. See also Journal historique et littéraire, April 1, 1790, p. 595.

(107) DINNE, III : 38 ; VAN EUPEN to RODE, March 23, 1790, États Belgiques Unis 189, AGR ; " Doutes d'un Officier, " (April 3, 1790), RUG ; " Lettre d'un www.academieroyale.be

THE REPUBLIC, 1790 163 al Schonfeld, accompanied by several armed battalions of loyal troops and a committee of doyens to march to Namur. Alerted of the approaching troops, Van der Mersch marched several battalions of his soldiers towards Brussels, encountering Schon• feld in the village of Flawinne. Few words were exchanged. Schonfeld had come with a different purpose. In the ensuing clash, many of the aides accompanying Van der Mersch were arrested. Others saved themselves by hiding in a convent. ('08) Van der Mersch resolved to end the dispute by presenting his case directly to the Congress in Brussels. On his arrival and before he could confer with the Estates, the General was ar• rested and transported several weeks later to the fortress at Antwerp. With Van der Mersch's arrest, the verbal civil war between the two political factions intensified. The democrats issued pamphlet after pamphlet protesting the imprisonment of the General and his aides. " Nos aristocrates ont fait de singuliers progrès en politique depuis la fin de l'an 1789, " one pamphle• teer charged. ('09) Another added, in a pamphlet addressed to the volunteers and doyens : " Des Moines gros & tondus, bouf• fis d'orgueil & d'ignorance... vos nouveaux Tyrans, dans le court espace de trois mois, vous reproduisent de ce que le gouvernement que vous avez chassé a fait en plus de trois années. " (no) But these pamphlets convinced few doyens. They heeded instead the new charges brought by Van der Noot and Van Eupen that Vonck and Van der Mersch had armed the interior of the country in 1789 only to stage an uprising against the patriots and had conspired to lose the Revolution by signing the armistice. The Congress declared that in such a state of siege from internal enemies extraordinary measures, even if they violated

Corporal. " RUG ; and " Réflexions sur une Déclaration du corps d'officiers, " Révolution belge, vol. 41, BRB. (I0S) ROCK, pp. 81-83 ; and Dépêche du Congrès à Son Excellence le Gen­ eral d'Artillerie Van der Mersch, April 9, 1790, Staten Generaal 2449, RAN. ('09) " Ni trop tôt ni trop tard. " ("°) " Le Brutus Belgique aux volontaires de Bruxelles," Révolution belge, vol. I. pam. Il, BRB. See also: "Désespoirs d'un volontaire," (April 21, 1790). RUG ; " Adresse présentée par MM. les volontaires de Bruxelles à M. le baron de Van der Haeghen " (April 18, 1790), RUG ; and " Réponse à M. Ber­ trand. " RUG. www.academieroyale.be

164 THE REPUBLIC, 1790

the law, were necessary. ('") Vigilantes stopped and interroga• ted all of the signers of the March 15 address they could find. The few volunteers who had signed it now disavowed any ties with the democrats, testifying that after too much beer one night they had been compelled to attend the meeting of the Société Patriotique. ("2) Anyone who had been seen with Ursel or Walckiers was also questioned as were army officers repor• ted to have complained about their lack of promotions. Porin• go, accused of writing the March 15 petition, answered that the petition simply reiterated those principles of Holbach's La Poli• tique naturelle that Van der Noot had cited in the preamb1; to his October 89 Manifeste. Poringo's defense did little good. The principal democrats who escaped arrest fled to exile. By the end of April 1790, the Belgian revolutionaries had redivided into democratic and traditionalist groups that resem• bled their predecessors. Pro Aris et Focis and the Breda Com• mittee, in both philosophy and membership. In supporting and opposing the reestablishment of the Estates, the traditionalists and the democrats echoed their pamphlets of the resistance before the Revolution. Some of the resisters had dropped out of politics once the Revolution had been won and many new men joined the two factions. ("3) However, as shown by the

('") "La fortune des Belges," Révolution belge, vol. 3, pam. 5, BRB; " L'insurrection de Namur le 6 Avril 1790, " Office fiscal 1324, AGR ; Journal historique et littéraire, March 15, 1790, p. 497; "À tous les Doyens des métiers, " Acquisitions récentes D/205, AGR ; " Collection des vers, " Révolu­ tion belge, vol. 57, pam. 1, BRB; "Avis d'un avocat au conseil de Brabant," RUG ; Journal de Bruxelles. April 12, 1790 and May 11, 1790 ; and " Déclara­ tion du Baron Van der Haegen, " RUG. ("2) Office fiscal 1325, AGR. Those disavowing signing of their own free will include De Page, Donroy, Turlot and Feigneaux. (m) Twenty-eight of the fifty-two supporters of the Estates had been mem­ bers of the Breda Committee and twenty-six of the sixty-three supporters of the Société Patriotique had been members of Pro Aris et Focis. The lists of mem­ bers of the two groups were compiled from the correspondence of the Estates and the democratic societies. États Belgiques Unis 179-191, 195-197, and 206, AGR; Mss. 14891, Mss. 19648, and Mss. 20474, BRB; from pamphlets, espe­ cially " Tableau de la Dilapidation, Observations sur la Révolution Belgique et Réflexions sur un certain imprimé adressé au Peuple Belgique, " Révolution belge, vol. 11, pam. 2, BRB; "La brochure infernale," Écrits politiques, 69: 314-333, AGR ; " Auteurs secrets de la Révolution présente, " Écrits politiques, vol. 29, AGR ; " Het groot ligt door den Waeren Brabander, N° 2, " Brochures www.academieroyale.be

THE REPUBLIC, 1790 165 following tables, the professional backgrounds of the demo• crats and the traditionalists hardly changed. In 1789 and 1790, the traditionalists' support came from the three groups repre• sented in the Estates: (1) the nobility, (2) the high clergy, and (3) the artisans and government lawyers. Each of these three privileged groups had an obvious interest in preserving the status quo of the old regime. The democrats* support came from : (1) the intellectuals — the lawyers, who had never held positions in the government but were theorists and prolific writers, and the members of the liberal professions, (2) the wealthy bankers and wholesale merchants who resented the restraints of the old system, supported free trade, and through their European contacts were friends of the philosophes, (3) some members of the highest nobility with European con• tacts, broad education, and capitalist investments, and (4) the lower clergy. The continuity in the professional composition of each group supports the hypothesis presented earlier (Chapter III) that professional background and ideological position were related. Before the Revolution, the resisters assigned no major significance to the division between the two groups explaining that Van der Noot's friends had joined him in Breda and Vonck's friends supported his Brussels committee. In 1790, the members of both groups became aware of the substantial polit• ical differences separating the traditionalists from the demo• crats. They also noticed that different professional groups sup• ported the Vandernootists than supported the Vonckists. All of the democrats, they noted, were lawyers, wealthy industrialists and bankers, and men of letters while the traditionalists were monks, barons, and guild leaders. In pamphlet after pamphlet, the democrats attacked the traditionalists as " aristothéocrates " or " feminothéocrates " (alluding to Madame de Bellem's role in the riots of March 16 and 17), who were determined to keep power and privileges for

1790, vol. 11. ULB ; and " Le retour de la liberté Brabançonne, " Mss. 20474, BRB; accounts in journals, especially Postillon, February 6, 1790, p. 21 ; ac­ counts in Gérard, I : 48-51, II : 237, and V : 148 ; government reports. Office fiscal 1004, AGR ; and the list of signers of the March 15, 1790 petition. For a complete list of members, see the appendix. www.academieroyale.be

166 THE REPUBLIC, 1790

TABLE 2. — Professional background of democrats, 1789 and 1790.

1789 1790

Lawyers 21 19 37% 35% Liberal Prof. 7 g 12% 15% Wholesale Merchants and Bankers 11 12 20% 22% Merchants and Artisans 0 2 4% Clergy 7 4 12% 7% Nobility 6 4 11 % 7% Miscellaneous 2 3 4% 5% Unidentified 2 3 4% 5% Total 56 55 100% 100%

TABLE 3. — Professional backgrounds of traditionalists, 1789 and 1790.

1789 1790

Lawyers 8 11 21 % 22% Liberal Prof. 1 3 3% 6% Wholesale Merchants and Bankers 0 0

Merchants and Artisans 10 12 27% 24% Clergy 7 8 18% 16% Nobility 6 8 16% 16% Miscellaneous 4 4 10% 8% Unidentified 2 2 5% 4% Total 39 49 100% 98% www.academieroyale.be

THE REPUBLIC, 1790 167

TABLE 4. — Professional backgrounds of democrats and traditionalists, 1790.

Column % Tradition­ Democrats Row % alists Total

Lawyers II 19 30 37% 63 % 100% 22% 35% 29%

Liberal Prof. 3 8 11 27% 73% 100% 6% 15% 10%

Wholesale Merchants 0 12 12 and Bankers 100% 100% 22% 12%

Merchants and Artisans 12 2 14 86% 14% 100% 24% 4% 13%

Clergy 8 4 12 67% 33% 100%

IO 70 7 % 12 % / /o Nobility 8 4 12 67% 33% 100% 16 % 7 % 12 % Miscellaneous 4 3 7 57% 43% 100% 8% 5% 7%

1 î η 1/1 ΑΠ 11 tt 2 3 5 uniuenuiicu 40% 60% 100% 4% 5% 5 %

Total 49 55 104 48% 52% 100% 100% 100% 100% themselves while crushing the people. ( ll4) The traditionalists attacked the " club marchand " or the ambitious social climb­ ers, who not knowing how to rule themselves, wanted to

(lu) " Maleficos Non Pateris Vivere. Derniers adieux des Aristo­théocrates brabançons." Mss. 19648. BRB; April 13, 1790, Foreign Office 26/14. PRO ; DINNE, 1: 114 ; GÉRARD, January 6, 1790, I : 48­51. BRB ; " Die Boerkens van Maesel, " Revolution belge, vol. 17, pam. 6, BRB; VAN EUPEN to DE RODE, February 6. 1790, Brussels, États Belgiques Unis 189, AGR ; and MIRABEAU to LA MARCK. December 31, 1789, Paris. BACOURT, p. 299. www.academieroyale.be

168 THE REPUBLIC, 1790 spread anarchy throughout the society. ("5) One pamphleteer summed up the split in the Brabant population in April 1790 : "'t grootste deel zyn Aristocraten, en heel weynige Demo• craten... omdit te verstaen is 't noodig te weten, dat men door Aristocraten verstaet de staets-gezinden, en door Democraten de volks-gezinden. " (116)

Van der Noot's Rule : Exile of the Democrats

By May most democrats accepted the division and the role in which they had been cast — the opposition. Vonck's suppor• ters persuaded him to abandon his attempts to reform the Estates and convinced him to flee Brussels before he too was arrested. The Comte de la Marek, who had been detained for a time in Flawinne, together with Secrétan had established a base in Lille and they invited Vonck to join them there. From Lille, they argued, the democrats could launch an effective resistance without constantly fearing for their personal security. A num• ber of Vonck's friends followed him to Lille where they formed Pro Patria, a new political society. (Il7) Pro Patria adopted the regulations for recruitment and secrecy of the original Pro Aris et Focis. The first task Pro Patria set for itself was to publish pam• phlets for distribution in Brussels. The pamphlets reiterated the March 15 statement on liberty, popular sovereignty, and ex• pansion of representation in the Estates. Writing in Flemish for the lower classes, the democrats again told the people that it was their responsibility to overthrow the tyrannical estates. These pamphlets were distributed as handbills in the streets of Brussels by Torfs, Sandelin, D'Aubremez, Dondelberg, Van den

5 (" ) Philippe SECRÉTAN to VONCK, MSS. 19648, BRB. ("6) "Instel en Regels van een Nederlandsch Genootschap onder zinnes- praek. Pro Patria, " RUG. (" Most are Aristocrats, hardly any are Democrats... To understand this, one must know that Aristocrat means supporter of the Estates, and Democrat, of the people. ") ("7) Members of the Lille committee included Vonck, Verlooy, Weemaels, Sandelin, D'Aubremez, Van Hees, Serruys, Herries, the Baron de Loen, Wal­ ckiers, the Due d'Ursel, and Offhuys. " Algemeynen Dag Register, " Mss. 20474, BRB. www.academieroyale.be

THE REPUBLIC, 1790 169

Cruyce, Merckx, Pasteels, the priest of Schaerbeek, the deacon of Ste. Gudule, Meersman, Van Bevère, Jucole, the two Chapels, De Neck, Claeyssens, Charlier, De Roovère, and Jans• sens. (Il8) The banker Walckiers, who took up residence in a chateau at Hem, lent his financial support to their efforts. One group of Brussels democrats emigrated to Flanders instead of following Vonck to Lille. They were attracted by the Flemish government's implementation of significant reforms and by the more politically tolerant Flemish society. The order that Van der Mersch be transferred to a prison in the Flemish capital of Ghent had enraged the Flemish Estates. When the Brussels democrats arrived in Ghent, they therefore received a sympathetic welcome from their new Flemish allies. Although few of the Brussels democrats believed that the general had any chance of acquittal in Van der Noot's courts, they hoped that the trial would at least attract public attention to their plight. Alexandre Sandelin, appointed as Van der Mersch's legal defender, opened his appeal by reminding the court that " la raison des lois est la seule qui doit parler et agir dans un Pays de liberté. " (ll9) In briefs written in collaboration with Vonck, Sandelin argued that personal whim, whether Joseph's or Van der Noot's, should not be allowed to rule above the law in Belgium. Arbitrary arrest in the name of some supposed threat to national security, he concluded, endangered the rule of law and hence the liberty of all citizens. As expected, however, Van der Mersch was convicted. A small group of democrats at Lille, impatient and discour• aged by the failure of the legal protest, devised a scheme to harness the Flemish discontent and to liberate Van der Mersch from his Ghent prison. Armed volunteers from Ghent, Bruges, Courtrai and Ostend were to assemble in Courtrai and then march on the Ghent fortress. But the democrats made a fatal mistake in timing. They paused to allow a wide circulation of their ideas, hoping thereby to win the support of the citizens of neighboring villages. Their plans circulated, but among the

("«) VoNClTApril 30, 1790, Lille. Mss. 20474, BRB ; and VONCK. May 18, 1790, Mss. 20474, BRB. ("*) A. Sandelin to États Belgiques Unis, April 28. 1790 as cited in DINNE. III: 143; and A. SANDELIN. "Deuxième Mémoire adressé au Congrès des États Belgiques Unis. " May 18, 1790, in DINNE. Ill : 157. www.academieroyale.be

170 THE REPUBLIC, 1790 wrong people. Immediately informed of the scheme, Van der Noot's men toured the countryside and in a campaign of fanat• ical sermons discredited the conspirators as traitors. When only a few straggling volunteers turned up to support their insurrec• tion on the twenty-eighth of May, Verlooy, Weemaels, Sande• lin, and the army officers abandoned their project and returned to Lille. (120) The leaders of the aborted Courtrai uprising were met in Lille by a messenger from Van Eupen instructing them to come to Douai. Somewhat hesitantly, Verlooy, Weemaels, D'Aubremez, Sandelin, and Walckiers agreed to meet with the secretary of the Estates, Van Eupen, at the home of the mili• tary adventurer, Cornet de Grez. Van Eupen explained that he had called for negotiations " pour concerter les moiens de finir les différences entre la cabale de Vonck et nous, qui nous cause tant de désordres et principalement pour nous faire reconnoitre par la nation française. "('21 ) Van Eupen, in charge of Belgian affairs, had been disappointed by the lack of progress in negotiations with the Triple Alliance. He now rea• lized that neighbors' support was crucial to the new republic and that the key to French recognition lay in reconciliation with the democrats. In his opening remarks, Van Eupen blamed the misunderstanding between the two revolutionary factions on Van der Noot and the ambitious Nations. He had come to Douai representing the other members of the Estates, who, he said, desired reconciliation between the two parties. Many of the Lille democrats trusted neither Van Eupen nor Cornet de Grez, but after much debate they agreed to work with Van Eupen if they would be allowed to return to Belgium, if Van der Mersch was released, and if the unrepresented peo• ple were given a role in the government. (122) Van Eupen ac• cepted their demands and left for Brussels promising " dat hy

(l2°) For an account of the Courtrai uprising see: Vonck, "Vervolg;" Wildt, Chancellerie autrichienne des Pays-Bas 216, AGR; and VAN DEN BROECK, J. B. C. Verlooy, pp. 176-178. (M) VAN EUPEN to DE RODE, June 8, 1790, États Belgiques Unis 189, AGR. (I22) The democrats in Lille felt further isolated because they feared that their crucial financial supporters, Walckiers, Herries and Arenberg, who favored accommodation with Leopold rather than with the Estates, would stop www.academieroyale.be

THE REPUBLIC, 1790 171 alles zoude inspannen om tot een accommodement [with the Vandernootists) te komen volgens de bovenstaende condi• tiën. "(123) As part of the agreement, Vonck, Verlooy, Sande• lin, d'Aubremez, and Weemaels published an open letter to the Estates on June 1, 1790, petitioning for peaceful compromise between the democrats and the traditionalists. (I24) Van Eupen returned from Douai to a frenzied capital. While he had been away. Van der Noot and other leaders of the Brabant Estates had launched another phase of the civil war against the democrats. Pamphlets and handbills instructed the people of Brussels and the surrounding countryside that the Vonckists, seduced by the rampant " philosophe-ism, " posed a dangerous threat to Belgian religion and traditions. (I25) The democratic emigration to France had provided the traditiona• lists with conclusive evidence of the democrats' affinity with the irreligious French. In that atmosphere, surrounded by the new outpourings of patriotism, no one even noticed the letter sent by Vonck, Verlooy, Sandelin, D'Aubremez and Weemaels. Van Eupen muffled reports of his mission so that nothing came of the negotiations except perhaps for a slight discredi• ting of Van Eupen as an opportunist among members of the Estates. (126)

aid. ARENBERG to VONCK, June 3, 1790, Paris, Mss. 20443 ; and Comte DE LA MARCK. June I, 1790, Paris. Mss. 20474, BRB. (m) Algemeynen Dag Register, Mss. 20474, BRB. ("That he would do his best to reach agreement according to the above conditions. ") ('24) Ibid.; D'AUBREMEZ, SANDELIN, WEEMAELS, VONCK and VERLOOY, June I, 1790, in DINNE, 111 : 329 ; and GÉRARD, 111 : 381. BRB. ('") SMETS, "Réponse à la lettre de Mr. Edouard Walckiers," Révolution belge, vol. 9, pam. 29, BRB ; Feller as cited by Alphonse SPRUNCK, Biographie Nationale du pays du Luxembourg depuis ses origines jusqu'à nos jours (Luxem­ bourg, 1947), p. 171; Congrès Souverain des États Belgiques Unis, May 10, 1790, Etats Belgiques Unis, 191, AGR; Journal de Bruxelles. June 9. 1790, p. 480; "Aen de Waere Brabanders," Liasse 6I2B, AVB; "Ouvrons les yeux, " Révolution belge, vol. 3, pam. 17, BRB ; untitled pamphlet. Révolution belge, vol. 3, pam. 20. BRB ; Feller, April 1, 1790, Mss. 21142, BRB ; FELLER, April 15, 1790 and May 3. 1790, Mss. 21141, BRB; Ami des Belges. May 14, 1790; and "Les Sept Pseaumes pénitentiaux d'un Vonckiste, " Révolution belge, vol. 12, pam. 29, BRB.

(I26) SOMERS to Comtesse D'YVES, May il, 1790, Namur, Etats Belgiques Unis 196, AGR ; VAN DER HOOP to SOMERS, Office fiscal 1004, AGR ; and " Lettre de son excellence Van Eupen... à son excellence Henri Van der Noot, ci-devant Père de la Patrie, " Acquisitions récentes, 21/64, AGR. www.academieroyale.be

172 THE REPUBLIC, 1790

As much as the comparison with the French Revolution had successfully frightened the people, the reminder that the Bel• gians had a divine mission Fired their imaginations. The Bel• gian republic " est un don de Dieu, don céleste, que la philoso• phie de ce siècle ne peut ni donner, ni connoître, " asserted the editor of a new journal, Ami des Belges. (127) The cause of Belgium was identical with the cause of true religion. The Bel• gians were God's chosen people, they were told once again by their priests ; Van der Noot was the second Moses. The com• parison between the two leaders was echoed in pamphlet after pamphlet ; " Moyses leyde de kinderen van Israel droog voets door de roode zee, separende de waters van elkanderen, als twee mueren, desgelykx doet den Heere Van der Noot, met de bedrukte herten van ons Vaderland, hun sonder hinder ley- dende door de roode zee van het bloed-bad. " (128) In com• memoration of the second Moses, the city of Brussels commis• sioned an official painting of Van der Noot leading the Revo• lution. In an upper corner of the painting floated a white cloud with " God " written in Hebrew on it. Rays of light descended from the cloud to illuminate a large temple in the center of which Van der Noofs portrait was suspended. Just above the portrait was the eye of providence gazing down. (I29) Van der Noofs leadership of the Belgians and his faithful adherence to the Catholic religion and traditional ways had earned the Bel• gians a central position in God's sight. In July, the city feted their Moses. God had helped the Belgians win their Revolution, the Estates told the people, so in gratitude the Belgian government

('") Ami des Belges. June 22, 1790. (I2S) "Den Los der drie Heintiens, " Révolution belge, vol. 126, pam. 17, BRB ; see also Lettre du Congrès, May 30, 1790 in GÉRARD, III : 226, BRB ; " Lettre adressée par le Congrès Souverain à tous les Habitans des Pays-Bas, " in Journal de Bruxelles, June 18, 1790, p. 550; J. CHATEIGNE, "Prospectus, Nouveaux trophées de Brabant, " Esprit des Gazettes, June 29, 1790, p. 33 ; " Stryd tusschen den Brabandschen Leeuw en den Keyserlychen Arend, " Révolution belge, vol. 134, pam. 9, BRB ; and Ami des Belges, May 14, 1790. ('") N. GOETVAL, "Histoire de Belgique. Beschryvinge sedert 't jaer 1780 tot 1790, " IV : 269, Mss. 15953, BRB ; " Beminde Medeborgers, " Écrits politi­ ques, vol. 29, AGR ; VAN EUPEN to DE RODE, June 26, 1790, Manuscrits divers 4510, AGR; Abbé DE ST. BERNARD, Correspondence in box entitled " Bene- dics Neefs 1780-1790," AAB ; and "Lied op de wederkomste van den te- verminden Hendrik Van der Noot, " Liasse 611, AVB. www.academieroyale.be

THE REPUBLIC, 1790 173 would set as its first duty to revere and to protect the Catholic religion. The newly formed ecclesiastical committee from the Estates explained that during the Revolution God had spoken to the Belgians through Van der Noot. Van der Noot would continue to serve as God's spokesman to the republic, they asserted. The Estates would follow " les sacrées maximes " allowing providence to take its own course without significant human interference, because " plus on la laisse faire à son aise, mieux Elle fait. "(I3°) The democrats had insisted on interfer• ing in God's affairs, the committee charged. In their ignorance of God's plans, the Vonckists had betrayed both the Catholic- religion and the Belgian nation. But, the committee continued, God had allowed that desertion " afin que le grand ouvrage de la délivrance Belgique subsistant sans le secours & même contre le gré & les intrigues de ses premiers acteurs [les Vonckistes], il fût démontré aux yeux de l'univers que ce n'est point à la sagesse & à l'activité humaine que devoit se rapporter cette merveilleuse révolution. "(131 ) God and not human politicians ruled Belgium, the Estates concluded. The effects of the propaganda campaign were felt through• out Belgium. The Estates invited peasants from all the neigh• boring villages to come to Brussels to help celebrate Belgian independence. Responding to the invitation, peasants armed with pitchforks and led by their village priests on horseback arrived by the thousands every Sunday in May and June. Van der Noot, the doyens of the Nations, the ex-Jesuits, and the priests at the head of every procession whipped up the fervor of zealous nationalism. (I32)

<"°) FELLER, July 28, 1790, Mss. 21142. BRB. See also: SPRUNCK, Biogra­ phie, p. 174 ; DINNE, I : 191. ('") Journal historique el littéraire, June 1, 1790, p. 233. See also Congrès Souverain des ÉtaLs Belgiques Unis aux Rev. curés des villes el villages de Malines, June II. 1790. Mss. 20474, BRB ; Ami des Belges, June 22, 1790 and June I. 1790, p. 233 ; " Het geluk der Nederlanders, " Révolution belge, vol. 64, pam. 3, BRB ; " Le Vonckisme dévoilé par un abonné. " Journal de Bruxelles. June 9, 1790. II: 137, p. 480; and "Ouvrons les Yeux," Révolution belge. vol. 3, pam. 17. BRB. (I3J) TASSIER, p. 384; "Den lver der inwoenders van het platland van Brabant. " Révolution belge, vol. 23, pam. 23, BRB ; RUELLE to MONTMORIN, June 2, 1790, Hubert, Il : 260; (VAN DER NOOT,] "Avis aux gens de Loi et habitans de petites villes et plat pays de Brabant, " États Belgiques Unis 186, www.academieroyale.be

174 THE REPUBLIC, 1790

In the midst of the celebrations, the spy Robineau released democratic correspondence that he had intercepted. The Estates seized upon the occasion to arrest eighty-two suspected democrats. Willems, Le Hardi, Thielens, De Coster, Herbi- naux, Verhuist, Michels, Peeters, Seghers, Morisson, Claeyssens, Tintilair, and Hayez were charged not only with plotting insur• rection but also with planning the assassination of all the dele• gates to the Estates. When Thielens dared to appeal his case to the Estates, Van der Noot jumped from his seat shouting that Thielens deserved to be hanged from the nearest lamp• post^133) Following Van der Noot's example, monks and priests en• couraged their parishioners to shoot or hang any suspected democrat still at large. The villagers and petty bourgeoisie armed themselves to protect Brussels from the liberal bourgeoi• sie. The government had already seized arms of suspects in a house to house search of Brussels. (134) The volunteers and peasants roamed the rural areas in bands seeking out the democrats. By this time, however, few democrats, except those who had already been imprisoned, remained in Belgium. Fear• ing for their lives, they fled, in many cases just escaping the mob. The summer terrorist campaign further polarized the Bel• gian revolutionaries. The campaign had been planned by the most zealous extremists in Van der Noot's group. Its success encouraged Van der Noot to listen to them and to exclude the moderates from power. Van der Noot's fanaticism also radical• ized the democrats by further disillusioning them. The few moderate democrats who had remained in or returned to Brussels to distribute pamphlets and petition the

AGR; ERNST, May 17, 1790, Staten Generaal 7449, RAN; "Extrait d'une lettre de Bruxelles," June 5, 1790, Acquisitions récentes, 3/39, AGR; and CARTON 154', États Brabant, AGR.

('") GÉRARD, Rapédius de Berg, III : 389, BRB ; J. GÉRARD, "Journal des Troubles des Pays-Bas en 1790, " 1: 224-226 ; Mss. 11606, BRB ; GACHARD VI : 226. October 16, 1790, BRB ; and " Liste individuelle des personnes arrêtées & détenues, " RUG.

(I34) May 27, 1790, Wilson, Foreign Office 26/14, PRO; and ERNST, May 24, 1790, and May 26, 1790, Staten Generaal 7449, RAN. The Journal de Bruxelles reported that more than 1,500 guns were seized, Staten Generaal 2449, RAN. www.academieroyale.be

THE REPUBLIC, 1790 175

Estates still hoping to convince the Estates to compromise with the opposition had all been arrested or chased from their homes by mobs. Not surprisingly, by the middle of the summer the democrats' pamphlets had also lost any semblance of a reasonable tone. They were blunt, satirical, scandal sheets directed at the leaders of the Brabant Estates, especially Madame de Bellem. (I35) The most outrageous of the pam• phlets, however were not written by the Brussels democrats themselves but by the malleable pamphleteer, Robineau — "Vie Amoureuse de Jeanne de Bel**m, dite la Pin.u, Maî• tresse en Titre d'un des plus célèbres Personnages du Brabant " and "Histoire secrète de la Révolution. " (l36) Both attacked Pineau as the illegitimate duchess or queen of the Brabant charging her with inciting the most evil and avaricious acts of the revolutionaries, all alleged to be her lovers. In the " His• toire secrète, " it is la Pineau who tells the discouraged Van der Noot after the volunteer's rejection of his oath, " Eh bien ! Il faut les exterminer tous cette nuit. " (137) These pamphlets ob• viously had not been written to convince potential allies to defect from their summer support of the Congress. Even the most moderate democrat in July 1790 agreed that there could be no compromise with Van der Noot's extremism.

("5)See: "Observations sur la Révolution Belgique." Varia Belgica N2/397. BG. KUL; "Chanson Favorite de Madame Pineau." Staatskanzlei IV DD B Fasz 183 C (876), HHS ; " Lettre écrite par Madame Du Buisson, " (May 4. 1790). RUG ; " Le Retour de la Liberté Brabançonne" (October 26, 1790). Acquisitions récentes E-257. AGR ; " Humble requête présentée à Son Excellence madame. Madame de Pauni. par son trés obéissant serviteur, le baron de Thunderhaghen Bergenopomhamburg... " Acquisitions récentes E- 228. AGR ; " Les deux Paillards de l'armée de Schoenfeld en bonne fortune & propos variés avec la fausse DUCHESSE DE BRABANT & son Adulterine. " Acquisitions récentes E-264, AGR ; and " Petit Recueil. " Acquisitions récentes E-263. AGR. (IÏ6) [ROBINEAU,] "Vie amoureuse de Jeanne de Bel**m. dite la Pin.u, Maîtresse en Titre d'un des plus célèbres Personnages du Brabant, " BRB ; and " Histoire secrète et anecdotique de l'insurrection Belgique. " RUG. (Iî7) Ibid. www.academieroyale.be

176 THE REPUBLIC, 1790

Defeat of the Chosen

By late July many Belgians and most foreign governments alike doubted that Belgium would be able to survive for much longer as an independent nation. The country had been so divisively factionalized that the Estates were unable to imple• ment or even decide on new policies. The instability threatened to spread beyond national borders. In July the Brabant Estates gave the French particular cause for alarm — they arrested and imprisoned Ruelle, the French Minister, for spreading gossip and allegedly writing pamphlets. (138) In retaliation, some influential French political figures suggested lending aid to the democrats. Meanwhile the Triple Alliance, disturbed by the disorder, reopened its discussion of a reconciliation be• tween the Belgians and Leopold II. It also appeared that a number of Belgians themselves were ready to consider reconcil• iation with the Austrians. Many of the bankers, wholesale merchants, and nobles who had been lending financial support to Pro Patria had given up any hope for a Belgian republic. " Nous nous sommes retirés du Brabant parce qu'une Aristocratie exclusive s'est emparée de tous les pouvoirs d'une manière incompatible avec la vraie liberté & le bonheur du Peuple, " Edouard Walckiers explained publicly. (139) Van der Noofs fanaticism had proven that the Belgian people were still incapable of ruling themselves, he said. Therefore, along with the Due d'Arenberg in Paris, the Due d'Ursel in Flanders, and Guillaume Herries at Hem, Wal• ckiers suggested inviting the Austrian Emperor Leopold to return to his position as ruler of the Belgians. The exiles " n'eurent plus à choisir qu'entre le régime monstrueux de ces imprudents imposteurs et le gouvernement modéré qu'offrait

('") VAN EUPEN, F7 4691, ANF ; ERNST, July 15, 1790, Staten Generaal 7450, RAN ; RUELLE to MONTMORIN, February 5, 1790, Manuscrits divers 1592, AGR; and RUELLE to VONCK, March 14, 1790, Brussels, Mss. 20474, BRB. Ruelle had been in close contact with Vonck and leading democrats in Brussels, and as the Dutch ambassador reported, had ignored letters of inquiry from the Estates. ("') Walckiers and Herries to Maire de Lille, April 17, 1790 cited in DINNE, Supplément. www.academieroyale.be

THE REPUBLIC. 1790 177

Leopold. " (l4°) They had supported the Belgian Revolution a year earlier, they explained, as a struggle against Joseph II, not against the concept of monarchy in general. This group of wealthy democrats favored the return to sta• bility promised by a monarchy. It seemed an alternative far preferable to that of a government copied from the anarchic- French model or the exclusive rule of the Brabant Estates. The Comte de la Marek, a close friend of the Queen of France, had watched and been alarmed by the violent threats of the French democrats. He could not tolerate a government, either in France or Belgium, he said, that allowed mobs of unruly peo• ple to threaten the life of Marie-Antoinette, and so he joined the democrats in Belgium who wanted a return of the monarch. (Ml) The French upheaval also appeared to threaten the French estates of many of these Belgian nobles, bankers, and wholesale merchants. In sum, La Marek wrote, " les Fran• çais prouvent plus qu'aucune autre nation que le pouvoir légi• time d'un roi doit être un appui nécessaire à la liberté d'un grand peuple. " (l42) A monarch would protect them from the excesses of republican rule. The new Austrian emperor, Leopold, differed greatly from his brother Joseph, this group of democrats suggested. He would guarantee the Belgian people their rights and would abide by the wishes of a democratically elected assembly. They knew that, they said, because Leopold had already promised in informal negotiations to sign a contract with the Belgian peo• ple. If the Austrians were allowed to return, the Belgians would finally enjoy " la liberté sous le gouvernement d'un Monarque sage et éclairé, " Arenberg argued in offering to serve as an

(UO) ARENBERG to VONCK. May 24. 1790. Pans. Mss. 20443, BRB. See- also : Extrait de la Lettre à M. d'Aubremez. August 2. 1790. Mss. 20474. BRB ; HERRIES to VONCK. August 4, 1790, St. Nicolas. Mss. 20474, BRB; ARENBERG to VONCK. July 29. 1790. Pans, Mss. 20443. BRB; DELVILLE to LEBRUN. September 4, 1790, Pans. Mss. 20474, BRB; SERRUYS to VONCK. October 31, 1790. Mss. 20474. BRB ; LA MARCK to Mercy ARGENTEAU, November 19. 1790 cited in BACOURT, II: 90; and Albert MATHIEZ, "Vonck et Proli, " Annales historiques de la Révolution française. January-February, 1927, pp. 58-66. (I4'| Comte DE LA MARCK to Comte DE MERCY-ARGENTEAU. October 28. 1790. cited in BACOURT. II : 44. (I42) Comte DE LA MARCK, November 23, 1790, Mss. 20474. BRB; see also : " Vérités éternelles, " Révolution belge, vol. 6, pam. 17, BRB ; and " La Belgicomanie. " Écrits politiques. 29 : 73. AGR. www.academieroyale.be

178 THE REPUBLIC, 1790 intermediary between the Austrian ministers and the Belgian democrats. (143) The banker Herries drafted a detailed plan for the confederation of Belgium and the kingdom of Hun• gary, o The democrats in Ghent angrily rejected his offer. They were encouraged by the success of the reform of the Flemish Estates, which had demonstrated, they said, that the age of monarchy had ended and that the period of popular rights was beginning. Because the Belgian Revolution was one part of the era of popular revolution, to bring back the Austrians would be to renounce the idea of democratic revolution and admit that popular rule had failed. " Je vous ai dit qu'en concourant à faire conquérir le pays par les Autrichiens, " one Ghent democrat argued, " vous travaillez indirectement contre la révo• lution française dont dépend non seulement notre liberté mais même celle de l'Europe entière. " (145) If the other provincial Estates insisted on maintaining aristocratie privilege, then per• haps the French and the Flemish should be called in to help them follow the Flemish example ; but at all costs, the demo• crats in Ghent insisted, the Emperor Leopold was to be kept out of Belgium. Vonck and many of his friends in Lille remained aloof from both the Austrian negotiations and the appeals to the French. They did declare publicly, however, that they would prefer the rule of Leopold II, " qui assure par une bonne constitution à chaque individu la liberté de penser et d'agir selon la loy, la sûreté personnelle et propriété individuelle, enfin le bonheur général et particulier " to the rule " de nos tyrans actuels for• més en Congrès soi-disant souverain, quoique seulement soute• nus par l'usurpation, fanatisme et fourberie monacale " (146)

(M3) Prince D'ARENBERG to Comte DE LA MARCK, November 23, 1790, Paris, Mss. 20474, BRB; and G. HERRIES, July 18, 1790, Lille, Mss. 20474, BRB. (144) G. HERRIES, "Pour le Comité secret de la confédération Belgique," July 18, 1790, Lille, Mss. 20443, BRB. (145) Letter to VONCK, October 21, 1790, Mss. 20474, BRB; letter, n.d„ p. 70, Mss. 19648, BRB ; Duc D'URSEL, July 7, 1790, July 30, 1790, and Au­ gust 8, 1790, Mss. 20474, BRB ; URSEL to VONCK, November 24, 1790, Mss. 20474, BRB. (146) "Algemynen Dag register," Mss. 20474, BRB; Ph. SECRÉTAN to VONCK, May 3, 1790, Paris, Mss. 20474, BRB ; H. BOULANGER, " L'Affaire des www.academieroyale.be

THE REPUBLIC, 1790 179

The democrats would have been very happy had the Belgians proved capable of governing themselves as a republic, but since they obviously could not, Leopold was the best remaining alternative. The Lille democrats were resigned to their fate. The Austrians had been closely monitoring and encouraging the growth of pro­LeopoIdist sentiment in Belgium. A number of emissaries visited the Belgian committee in Lille and distri­ buted pamphlets throughout the provinces. (147) One strong voice however counselled Leopold against an alliance with the Belgian democrats. His older sister Maria Christine, fervently attached to the idea of a strong monarchy, advised that the democrats would lead Leopold down the road towards a National Assembly. (I48) Leopold ignored his sister's advice. He had initiated contacts with the Triple Alliance in the spring in the hope of forestal­ ling the outbreak of war with Prussia. On July 27, 1790, at the Congress of Reichenbach he called for an armistice with the Turks and a settlement of the Belgian question. Without too much debate, the Triple Alliance signed a declaration guaran­ teeing the return of the Belgian provinces to Austrian rule. Leopold promised to restore to Belgium the constitutional prosperity it had enjoyed under Maria Theresa. (I49) The Eng­ lish and Dutch negotiators pressed the Belgians to send emis­ saries to discuss the final settlement in the Hague. The support given Leopold by the other nations alarmed the Congress. The Belgians asked the Prussian king how he could so nonchalantly sacrifice the Belgians. (I5°) When the Prussians answered that they had acted in accord with political necessity,

Belges et Liégeois unis." Revue du Nord. 1910, pp. 3­40; anonymous letter, pp. 45­46. Mss. 20373, BRB ; D'AUBREMEZ to LE BRUN, July 10, 1790, Paris, Mss. 20474. BRB ; VAN DEN GRAVSCH. November 22, 1790, Mss. 20474. BRB ; and PASTEELS to VONCK, September 9, 1790. Mss. 20474, BRB. (I47) "Exposé simple et véridique, " Staatskanzlei IV DD Β blau 516, HHS ; Ernst, August 12, 1790, Staten Generaal 7450, RAN ; " La Belgicoma­ nie ; " " Vérités éternelles ; " Réflexions sur l'insurrection des Belges, " RUG ; and " Des Monarques et de leurs peuples, " RUG. (I4t) Eliane VAN IMPE. Marie­Chrislirte van Oostenrijk. Gouvernante van de Zuidelijke Nederlanden (Kortrijk­Heule. 1979). ('4') For an excellent description of the Reichenbach negotiations see: GACHARD, Documens ; and Staten Generaal 292, RAN. ("°) VAN DER MERSCH. Van Eupen to Roi de Prusse, August 6, 1790, VAN DE SPIEGEL, p. 303. www.academieroyale.be

180 THE REPUBLIC, 1790 the Congress meeting together with the Estates General called on the provinces to send delegates to an emergency session in Brussels. " Depuis quelques mois, notre pauvre patrie rencon­ tre dix ennemis pour un seul qui lui veuille du bien, " one friend of the Congress lamented. " La plupart disent que nous sommes dans le cas d'Eulenspiegel. "('51) But the Belgians in 1790 lacked the legendary TyPs cunning savvy. The massing of Austrian troops posed such a threat that the Congress finally did agree to send deputies to the Hague. The deputies asked the Triple Alliance to halt the march of Austrian troops while negotiations proceeded. In Brussels the Nations and their supporters had vigorously shown their reaction to talk of accommodation. They burned Leopold's manifesto on the Grand­Place at noon, and called upon God to come to the aid of the Belgian people by inspir­ ing them once again to rally and repel the foreign menace. Belgium was an independent nation, no longer a piece of terri­ tory to be exchanged at whim among the European powers, a group of Brabançons declared. " Vous traitez notre liberté de chimérique, " they charged, asserting that the Belgians were not " bêtes à vendre. " " Nous serions curieux de savoir à quel prix vous avez contracté cet engagement mutuel à l'égard des Pays­Bas. "(152) The Nations and the volunteers petitioned the Estates to begin a new revolution by expelling all royalists and democrats from Belgium. Taking action into their own hands, as they had often done over the last three years, the shopkeepers and arti­ sans again paraded Van der Noot's bust through the streets, threatening to hang from the lampposts any traitors to the Catholic religion or to the Belgian nation. They also threatened to expel from the Estates any defeatists. ('")

(l51) P. HEARN to SAEGERMANS. August 21, 1790, États Belgiques Unis 206, AGR. ('") "Réponse des Brabançons au soi­disant Manifeste de l'Empereur," Révolution belge, vol. 31. BRB; Deslondes, "Aux Belges," Révolution belge. vol. 9, BRB ; and " Le vrai Belge, " Écrits politiques, vol. 29, AGR. ('") TASSIER, pp. 408­412; " Requête présentée aux États de Brabant par des Volontaires Bruxellois," September 1, 1790, Liasse 612, AVB; Malou RIGA to VAN DER NOOT. November 2, 1790, Ypres, États Belgiques Unis 182, AGR ; Report of September 29, 1790, Staatskanzlei IV DD Β blau 5Ia (229), HHS ; " Plaintes de la Nation belgique, " Révolution belge, vol. 109, pam. 31, www.academieroyale.be

THE REPUBLIC, 1790 181

The Estates however were still nervous at the prospect of impending battle. They feared the military situation to be hopeless. (154) Schonfeld, who had replaced Van der Mersch as commander of the Belgian armies, had not drilled or trained his troops at all. Although ten thousand new recruits had en• listed, by autumn many of the regular soldiers had left for home because they refused to serve under such a bumbling and listless commander. It was now clear, even to Van der Noot, that it had been the democrats who supplied the tactical genius in 1789. Schonfeld continued to dismiss their guerrilla tactics as undignified for a professional army. To make matters worse, by the fall of 1790 the Austrian armies could attack Belgium at full strength now that the Turkish campaign was completed. The Estates did not know whether to agree to the Austrian terms for an armistice or not. If they stood resolute, they seemed almost certain to face defeat by the Austrians and their allies. On the other hand, any suggestion of weakness on their part would outrage the zealous crowd now swarming outside their doors. The Triple Alliance continued to urge them to sign an agreement with the Austrians quickly because they feared they could not restrain the Austrians much longer from send• ing troops into Belgium. The deadline for a decision was November 20 and the Austrians threatened to invade on the 22nd. Caught between the two unsavory alternatives, on November 21, 1790 the Estates suggested a compromise to the Austrians : they would accept Leopold's second son as the hereditary grand duke of Belgium. Much to the chagrin of the Triple Alliance, Leopold brusquely rejected this offer. Van de Spiegel sadly informed the Belgians of the failure of the nego• tiations. He said he had tried to convince the Emperor that if he looked at the example of the American Revolution, he

BRB ; DE LINCÉ to SOMERS, August 5, 1790, Brussels, Office fiscal 1009, AGR ; " Note overgegeven aen de twee eerste orders der staeten van Brabant door de natien. " November 5, 1790, Écrits politiques 30: 255-257, AGR; SOMERS, November 5, 1790. Goethals 210, BRB; and "Avis à mes compatriotes." Révolution belge, vol. 108, pam. 23, BRB. ί154) DE LINCÉ to SOMERS, August 7, 1790, Brussels. Office fiscal 1009. AGR; Gazette des Pays-Bas, August 26, 1790, p. 536; and "Aux Belges," Révolution belge, vol. I, pam. 23, BRB www.academieroyale.be

182 THE REPUBLIC, 1790 would realize he could not win the hearts of the people with a military victory. (155) That was little consolation. On November 24, Austrian troops invaded Belgium. They were met by the unorganized, straggling band of pitchfork- wielding peasants they had expected to find a year earlier. Much to their surprise, Schonfeld ordered a retreat as soon as the Austrians fired the first volley. The Estates met for one last time on November 27. Rather than issuing manifestos to rally the people or drawing up plans to coordinate the military defense of the capital, they discussed the best escape routes from Brussels. Before the populace had time to realize what was happening, all the leaders of the Estates had fled to Holland. In shocked disbelief, one pamph• leteer asked rhetorically : " Waer zyn nu de staeten van Bra- band die ten Jaere 1787 uytriepen. " (156) The people could not understand why the Estates had cowered at the threat of Aus• trian troops when just a year earlier they had dared to taunt the government and its troops stationed in the midst of the capital city. Then the revolutionaries had trusted in God to make up for the imbalance in military strength in support of His chosen people. After a year of ceaseless squabbling among the different provinces and violent turmoil between the revolu• tionary factions, the Estates appeared to have abandoned their belief in the divine mission of the Belgians. The Austrians reoccupied Brussels on December 3, 1790. There was no government present to sign a surrender — only crowds of people wandering aimlessly through the streets. Fel• ler answered the triumphant Austrian proclamations by pre• dicting the early rebirth of the republic and dismissing the defeat as a temporary human setback. " Je dis humain, " he wrote, " car mon esprit se refuse encore à croire que le bon Dieu nous abandonne. " ('57) His optimistic prophecy must have sounded strangely anachronistic to the humiliated Bel• gians.

(I55) VAN LEEMPOEL, November 20, 1790 and November 22, 1790, The Hague, Fagel 1728, RAN ; VAN DE SPIEGEL, pp. 348-350; and VAN DE SPIEGEL 292, RAN. ('56) " Den Laesten Roep van Godt ende van het Volk, " Écrits politiques, vol. 29, AGR. (" Where are the Estates of Brabant now that cried out in 1787?") (I57) Feller cited in SPRUNCK, p. 181. www.academieroyale.be

CHAPTER V

Transition, 1791-1792

The Austrians, the Democrats, and the Estates : Three Programs

Disillusioned and exhausted by five years of sporadic politi• cal conflict and instability, most of the citizens of Brussels received the news of the Austrian victory with apparent indif• ference. Although few had desired a Belgian defeat, they ac• cepted the loss of their brief independence without bitter• ness. (') The past year of internal bickering seemed to suggest that the Belgian people were incapable of ruling themselves. Most of the people hoped that the new emperor, Leopold II, would bring back the security and calm that Belgium had once enjoyed. Those Belgians who were most ardently opposed to Austrian rule had all fled across the Belgian border to exile. An observer in Brussels shortly after the defeat would have seen few signs that the Estates and the traditionalists had ever enjoyed massive popular support. Cabaret owners had removed the bust of Van der Noot from their mantels. Pam• phlets attacking the religious fanaticism and backwardness of the independent Belgian government circulated freely through• out Brussels. (2) Many former Vandernootists joined the cri• tics of the Republic in assuring the Austrians of their loyalty. A. J. D. Robineau offered to write an official history of the unsuccessful rebellion, to serve as a lesson to all rebellious peoples. " Mon seul désir en écrivant ce Drame, " he an-

(') Camille DESMOUUNS, Révolutions de France et de Brabam, V : 125 (2) J. B. VAN DER NOOT to Henri VAN DER NOOT, January 24, 1791, États Belgiques Unis 183, AGR ; Journal général de l'Europe. September 19, 1791, p. 268 , " Étrennes aux Amis de la Lappineau, " Acquisitions récentes E/265, AGR ; and " Le Spectre de Guillaume van Kriecken Natif de Wesemael, " (1791), Révolution belge, vol. 37, pam. 7. BRB. www.academieroyale.be

184 TRANSITION, 1791­1792

nounced, " fut d'être un instant agréable, et peut­être un jour utile à ce Prince dont l'Europe entière vante la Sagesse. " (3) Another equally adept and flexible pamphleteer, Henri Van der Hoop, one of the most prolific writers of libels directed against Joseph II in 1788­1789, now began writing pamphlets in praise of the Austrians. Criticizing the anarchy of the repub­ lican experiment, he concluded : " Ce qui est vrai en théorie ne peut point toujours se réaliser en pratique. " (4) Pamphlet after pamphlet praised the new Emperor. (5) Formerly republican journals abandoned their past editorial line in an effort to escape the new government's censorship laws. The Austrian officials and their advisors who followed the armies back into Brussels reprimanded their Belgian subjects for the year­long rebellious spree. " The poor Belgian is a child turned by every wind, " one Austrian pamphleteer wrote, ex­ plaining the revolution as the rebellion of a group of misbe­ having children. (6) The monks and nobles had seduced the simple people with promises of " eternal life " for all suppor­ ters of the anti­democratic revolution. " Le gouvernement aris­ to­monocratique... eût employé les armes de la religion pour combattre la raison et les lumières. " (7) For a year, according

(3) Beaunoir (A. J. D. Robineau) to Prince Kaunitz, " Drame historique, " Manuscrits divers 411 bis, AGR. The Archbishop of Mechelen also wrote Vienna congratulating the Austrians on their victory. December 17, 1790, Staatskanzlei IV DD Β blau 51b, HHS. (4) H. J. VAN DER HOOP, " Les Vrais intérêts de Sa Majesté ou Abolition de tout système perturbateur" (Brussels, 1791), Révolution belge, vol. 75, pam. 4, BRB ; and " Pièce en évidence, " Office fiscal 1010, AGR. (5) " L'Olivier ou discours prononcé à l'arrivée de SAR. " Révolution belge, vol. 45, pam. Il, BRB; "Lettre d'un Bruxellois sur les Pays­Bas ou Abrégé d'observations historiques, critiques et morales sur l'état actuel de ces pays par M. Darté " (November 27, 1791), Révolution belge, vol. 96, pam. 24, BRB ; and " Aux paisibles citoyens, " Révolution belge, vol. 9, pam. 31, BRB. (6) " Couplets patriotiques ou Profession de foi d'un Belge aristocrate en réponse aux couplets d'un Belge démocrate, " Révolution belge, vol. 3, pam. 18, BRB. (7) " Le Coup de Vêpres Brabançonnes ou les vœux de la nation notam­ ment manifestés le 17 et le 18 janvier 1791, " Révolution belge, vol. 20, pam. 23, BRB. See also : " La révolution des États Belgiques condamnée tant par les principes de la Religion, que par ceux de l'équité & de la justice, " Révolution belge, vol. 37, BRB ; " La Lettre K Monsieur l'abbé Feller après la captivité de Babilone, " Révolution belge, vol. 82, pam. 2, BRB ; " Observations sur la Révolution Belgique et Réflexions sur un certain imprimé adressé au Peuple www.academieroyale.be

TRANSITION, 1791-1792 185 to this pamphleteer, bedecked in " une veste rouge, une culotte jaune, un médaillon sur la poitrine, & une cocarde au chapeau, " the Belgian people had run through the streets slandering all foreigners and parading the ancient constitution and Van der Noot's bust on pedestals. (8) This people, so easily swayed and so gullible, needed the strong guidance of an enlightened father, a series of Austrian pamphlets explained. The Emperor Leopold II would be that father. Leopold would bring enlightenment to his misguided subjects, the ignorant artisans and peasants. Leopold would reestablish the rights of the individual. The medieval Belgian republic had defied the eighteenth century for too long, the pamphleteers concluded. (9) The barrage of pro-Austrian pamphlets did not simply imply a comparison between Leo• pold and Joseph ; a number drew direct parallels between the two enlightened brothers. But although Austrian writers publicly praised Joseph II, Leopold was too cautious to follow his brother's ill-fated path. Leopold was no less a philosopher than his brother, but he was less impetuous and less impatient. He had no plans for imme• diate reforms or changes. Instead, as one of his first official acts, he issued a general amnesty that allowed most former revolutionaries to return to Belgium. Some leading figures, however, were specifically excepted : The Cardinal of Meche• len, the Bishop of Antwerp, the Abbé de Tongerloo, the Counts Lannoy, Limminghe, Romerswael, and Duras, the Baron de Hove, Pierre Van Eupen, and Henri Van der Noot. As

Belgique par Lewis Lochée. " Révolution belge, vol. 37. BRB ; " La Conduite loyale du congrès de Bruxelles et de Namur," Révolution belge, vol. 81. pam. 4. BRB; and Dotrenge to Chestret, January 6, 1791, as cited by Eugène HUBERT, Correspondance des Ministres de France accrédités à Bruxelles de 17HO à 1790 (Brussels, 1920), p. 297. (*) " Patriotes Gorduns, " in Livre Blanc. Révolution belge, vol. 11, pam. I, BRB C) " Voyage de Saint Dymphne à Bruxelles, " Révolution belge, vol. 46. pam. 13, BRB ; " Suite de voyage de Sainte Dymphne à Bruxelles. " Révolution belge, vol. 42. BRB ; " Le siècle futur, rêve d'un Belge, " (1791). RUG ; " Mon hommage à Léopold II " (1791), RUG ; " Le Martyrologe Belgique, " Révolu­ tion belge, vol. 45, pam. 19, BRB ; " La lumière et le Guide fidèle des Belges, " (1791), RUG; "Essais philosophiques et politiques." (1791), RUG ; and " Effusion de cœur sur le retour aux Pays-Bas de l'AR Marie Christine et Albert. " RUG. www.academieroyale.be

186 TRANSITION, 1791-1792

Leopold has promised during the treaty negotiations, he recon• firmed his intention to abide by the constitution, provincial privileges, and customs. (I0) Encouraged by rumors of Austrian plans for reform, many democrats returned to Brussels. The democratic faction, denied access to the government for so long, rallied around Austrian invitations for cooperation. " Nous attendons à chaque instant l'arrivée de M. de Mercy, " the Brussels lawyer Serruys in• formed Vonck on January 4, 1791. The Austrian government " nous assure de plus en plus de sa bonne disposition en faveur des démocrates dont le nombre augmente de jour en jour... Tout le monde se fait gloire d'être Vonckiste. "(") When the governor did arrive, he invited democratic leaders to dine fre• quently with him and to work together with the government in organizing the new society. He promised that he would serious• ly consider the proposals contained in pamphlets published by the Brussels democrats over the last three years and that he would listen to their suggestions over dinner. (I2) After a year of being harassed and attacked by the traditionalists, the demo• crats revelled in their new role. With the goal " de rédiger un plan à proposer au gouverne• ment, pour l'amélioration de l'organisation des trois états de Brabant, " the democrats formed yet another association : the Société des Amis du Bien Public. (13) Meeting every evening from six to nine, the new democratic society discussed the proposals presented by the members, most of them based on Vonck's Considérations impartiales. The members all agreed that the Estates needed to be enlarged. " La bizarre composi-

(L0) GARDINER, February 22, 1791, Foreign Office 26/16, PRO. (") SERRUYS to VONCK, January 4, 1791, Mss. 14891, BRB. See also: Unsigned letter, November 25, 1790, Lille, Mss. 20474, BRB ; and SERRUYS to VAN HEES and VONCK, January 25, 1791, Ostende, Mss. 14891, BRB. ('2) Journal général de l'Europe, December 13, 1790, p. 197 ; J. G. MEYER, March 14, 1791, Mss. 14891, BRB; OFFHUYS to VONCK, February 23, 1791, Mss. 14891, BRB; and SERVAES to VONCK, March 3, 1791, Alost, Mss. 14891, BRB. (13) Postilion, March 2, 1791, p. 16; Juan Carlos (VERHULST) to VAN DER NOOT, February 28, 1791, Brussels, États Belgiques Unis 183, AGR ; DONDEL- BERG to VONCK, Mss. 14891, BRB ; B. to VONCK, March 9, 1791, Mss. 14982, BRB; DE BUISSON (Weemaels), March 15, 1791, Mss. 14891, BRB; and HOP, March 15, 1791, Brussels, Staten Generaal 7450, RAN. www.academieroyale.be

TRANSITION, 1791-1792 187 lion des États de Brabant est absolument contraire à tous les principes, " one member asserted, adding that without change it would be " destructible de tout le bien qui devroit résulter d'une bonne organisation de l'ordre social. " ('4) The Société vowed that it would no longer tolerate the " eeuwig kakelende Representaten [die] noyt door ons gekozen zyn geweest. ...By een vry-volk, niemand 't zelve volk en kan verbeelden ten zy dat hy door dit volk zelf gekozen is geweest. " ('5) Gerard Poringo and Mottoulle presented the most extensive proposal for the reform of the Estates : " Observations sur la Constitution Primitive et Originaire des Trois États de Bra• bant. "(I6) Poringo and Mottoulle justified their proposed reforms with a historical argument. Like the traditionalists, they traced the origin of the Estates to the Middle Ages, the time of Charlemagne. These democrats did not glorify the past, but took quite the opposite stance. They characterized the earlier period as " ces terns humilians pour l'humanité " when "il ne se trouvait plus guère d'hommes LIBRES que les NOBLES et les ECCLÉSIASTIQUES et que quant au peuple, soit des villes, soit des campagnes, quoique formant la portion la plus nombreuse et la plus utile de la nation, il était réduit à un état de véritable servitude, ou traité du moins comme s'il eût été réellement esclave. " (l7) According to their narrative, the organization of the government had degenerated still fur• ther since feudal times : the clergy had gained additional tax

(l4) " Protestation et supplique d'un grand nombre de citoyens du Brabant à sa Majesté l'Empereur & Roi, " Révolution belge, vol. 65, pam. 23, BRB. See also " Réflexions générales sur les observations de la Société des amis du bien public à l'égard de la Constitution des trois États de Brabant, " Révolution belge, vol. 65, pam. 2, BRB ; " Boere Politieke of 't saemen spraek tusschen eenen Brabanschen boer ende den Graev M... " Révolution belge, vol. 5, pam. 3, BRB; VAN HOUTTE to VONCK. February 10, 1791, Mss. 14891, BRB; and WEEMAELS to VONCK. February 12. 1791. Mss. 14891, BRB. (") "Boere Politieke." ("The everlasting chatter of delegates whom we were not allowed to choose... No one can represent a free people unless he has been chosen by that people. ") (16) PORINGO and MOTTOULLE. " Observations sur la Constitution primitive et originaire des Trois États de Brabant" (Brussels. 1791), Révolution belge, vol. 18. BRB. See also : " Origine des Trois États de Brabant, " Révolution belge, vol. 65. pam. 20, BRB; Le Postillon, March 2, 1791, p. 15 ; and Théo­ dore JUSTE, Les Vonckistes (Brussels. 1878), p. 12. (17) PORINGO and MOTTOULLF " Observations. " www.academieroyale.be

188 TRANSITION, 1791-1792 privileges, the representation of the nobility had been nar• rowed to include only the old nobility, and the growing third order was represented by the powerful guilds and the magis• trates of the major cities. Therefore, Poringo and Mottoulle argued, in the eighteenth century when all men were at last considered to be equal taxpaying citizens, " il est également absurde, injuste et inconstitutionnel que vingt à trente nobles, treize ecclésiastiques, et les individus de quelques familles et de quelques corporations des trois villes de Brabant, continuent par état à proposer exclusivement leur vœu, ou leur volonté particulière comme le vœu, ou la volonté générale de toute la nation brabançonne. " (l8) With its origin in feudalism, cor• rupted under the influence of the most powerful Belgian insti• tutions, the representational system of the Estates was pro• claimed to be incompatible with eighteenth-century society. Poringo and Mottoulle assured the Société that their pro• posed reforms were moderate and would be implemented gradually. (19) They would change only the system of election for Estates representatives. The elaborate and restrictive requirements for election to the Third Estate would be reduced to five : the delegate must be a Roman Catholic, of legitimate birth, twenty-five years of age, a resident of the Brabant, and either married or widowed. All nobles possessing property would be eligible for election to the Second Estate and both upper and lower clergy would be qualified for election to the First Estate. The two democrats did not advocate a total re• structuring of the Estates. They also reiterated their earlier statements of support for the constitutional monarchy. The Société presented these proposals to the government in March and called for the reorganization of the Belgian Estates. It asked citizens to nominate delegates for a commission to establish the new assembly. From the nominations, the Société appointed thirty commissioners including Andréas Dondelberg, Jean Chapel, Antoine D'Aubremez, Edouard Walckiers, Alex-

(l8) Ibid. (") PORINGO to Postilion, March 2, 1791, p. 15 ; GARDINER, March 1, 1791, Foreign Office 26/16, PRO; Journal de Bruxelles, March 10, 1791, p. 471 ; letter to Depuydt, March, 1791, Mss. 14891, BRB; "Verklaring van het genootschap, " March 8, 1791, Écrits politiques, 77 : 157-160, AGR ; and " De overtuygde lastering, " RUG. www.academieroyale.be

TRANSITION, 1791-1792 189 andre Sandelin, Théodore D'Otrenge, J. B. Weemaels, Jean Joseph Torfs, J. B. C. Verlooy, J. F. Vonck, Pasteels, Charles Lambert D'Outrepont, Herries, Gerard Poringo, and Fisco. (20) The Société distributed its pamphlets widely to educate all classes of the people in the hope of effecting a peaceful evolu• tion to a democratic society. " L'Ouvrage une fois commencé ira grand train et alors ça ira, ça ira, ça ira, " Weemaels trium• phantly predicted in a letter to Vonck. (2I) Despite Weemaels's optimism, the Société du Bien Public- was smaller than the earlier democratic resistance groups. Al• most all of the members come from the bourgeoisie. (22) This was a marked change from the past. Previously, some members of the liberal nobility and lower clergy had participated in democratic meetings, writing pamphlets, and leading troops. Many contemporary commentators noted the absence of the first two orders in the Société. The few democratic clergymen had fallen ill and retired from political activity, but the upper nobility had no such excuse. The Journal général de l'Europe explained somewhat sarcastically that the flight of the nobility from reform was what it had always expected. " C'est folie, en vérité que d'espérer quelque patriotisme d'un cœur gâté par les habitudes de la Cour & les préjugés de la naissance... On les a vus passer subitement de la haine la plus acharnée contre la maison d'Autriche à la plus servile adulation... C'est ainsi, tous les nobles ne sont qu'un, même quand on les croit le plus divisés d'opinions & de parti. "(") It appears that nobles who had supported the Belgian democrats were frightened by the course of the French Revolution. Many found Leopold to be a

(20) DE BUISSON (Weemaels) to VONCK. March 6, 1791 and March 15. 1791. Mss. 14891. BRB; and Gazelle des Pais-Bas, February 17. 1791. pp. 106- 107. (21) WEEMAELS to VONCK. February 12. 1791 and March I. 1791. Mss 14891. BRB. (22) Members included : Poringo, Ί Kint, Mosselman, DOutrepont, Don- delberg, Torfs, Sandelin, Chariier, D'Otrenge, Willems, Serruys, Le Hardi. Foubert. Verlooy, Thielens, Libouton, Van Schelle. Van Parys, Walckiers. Weemaels, Simon. D'Aubremez, G. Chapel, Sironval, Herries, Nicolle, De Neck. Ophalens, de Puydt, Rombaut, Deprès. Fisco, Herbinaux. Van Hees, Mot­ toulle. and Tecman. (23) Journal général de l'Europe. September 2. 1791, pp. 17-18. www.academieroyale.be

190 TRANSITION, 1791-1792 far better emperor than his brother. Furthermore, the nobles were once again enjoying their positions in the Austrian court. The Arenbergs, the Due d'Ursel, and the Prince de Ligne ah refused to join the Société. The Comte de la Marck watched from Paris where, the editor of the Journal général de l'Europe observed that his conduct, " devient tous les jours plus inconce• vable : il a joué le démocrate ici en 1790, à Paris il a feint le patriotisme, il a été l'ami de Mirabeau ; maintenant il est aris• tocrate déclaré. " (24) The Count explained the transition to Mirabeau by saying that he had been alarmed by the com• position of the French National Assembly, for " plus des dix- neuf vingtièmes des membres de cette législature n'ont d'autres équipages que des galoches et des parapluies. " (25) He feared that such a coterie of popular delegates without education, of mediocre talent and little revenue, would overturn Belgian society just as it had done in France. In 1792 he entered the service of the King of Hungary. The Due d'Ursel, also in Paris, continued to correspond with Vonck but refused to return to Brussels until calm had been reestablished. (26) The Due d'Aren• berg and the Prince de Ligne publicly apologized for the role, however small, that they had played in the ridiculous revo• lution led by two simple lawyers. (27) Together with the Due d'Ursel, they left Paris,|which was not the most hospitable place for such outspoken aristocrats, and rejoined the Austrian court at Vienna. Even more noticeable than the nonparticipation of the nobility was the absence of the revolutionary leaders, Vonck and Van der Mersch. Vonck had refused to return to Brussels, ignoring the numerous Austrian invitations, including one offer

(24) Journal général de l'Europe, January 4, 1791, p. 51. (25) Comte DE LA MARCK to Mercy ARGENTEAU, October, 1791 as cited by Ad. BACOURT, Correspondance entre le comte de Mirabeau et le comte de la Marck (Brussels, 1851), II: 330. See also Comte DE LA MARCK to MIRABEAU, October 25, 1790, BACOURT, II : 235. (26) URSEL, Paris, January 2, 1791, Staatskanzlei IV DD B blau 51b (235), HHS. (27) Duc D'ARENBERG, Journal général de l'Europe, January 4, 1792, p. 51 ; Comte DE LA MARCK to MERCY-ARGENTEAU, December 6, 1790, Paris, BACOURT, II : 116-119 ; and Prince DE LIGNE, March 2, 1792, Mss. 14892, BRB. www.academieroyale.be

TRANSITION, 1791-1792 191 of a bribe if he would participate in the government. ( ) To the Austrian pleas that the former revolutionary leader's pres• ence was needed to lend credibility to the government, Vonck simply replied that his " feeble health " prevented travel. Van der Mersch finally did return to Brussels to squelch rumors that he was planning to lead another revolutionary army against the Austrians. (29) He was ushered into the capital at the head of a grand procession and was honored that night at a banquet hosted by Walckiers. The Austrians, concerned by the hero's welcome accorded the general, then publicly accused Van der Mersch of disloyalty. They granted him amnesty when he agreed to leave Brussels and never again to take up arms against the Austrians. Van der Mersch very happily returned to his country home in Dadizele and the rumors subsided. Van der Mersch vowed that he would never again partici• pate in public affairs because the people had been ungrateful. Vonck, on the other hand, told the Brussels democrats that he intended to continue political activities, but from Lille, not Brussels. (30) He did not trust the Austrians, he told his friends in January. The Austrians would never grant the people their sovereignty, he argued. The people would have to win it them• selves. If Leopold granted the people their full legitimate rights, he would thereby subordinate his authority to the popu• lar will, which was a change Vonck suspected Leopold would not tolerate.(3I) Leopold would never acknowledge the supre• macy of a democratically-elected assembly — the most essen• tial reform — Vonck asserted. For similar political reasons, the

( ) MERCY ARGENTEAU to VONCK, January 6, 1791, Mss. 14891 ; and Albert MATHIEZ, "Vonck et Proli, " Annales historiques de la Révolution française, January-February, 1927. (") VONCK, December 17, 1790, Mss. 20474, BRB; VONCK, January 10, 1791, Lille, Mss. 14891, BRB; and GARDINER, January II, 1791, Foreign OITice 26/16, PRO. (50) D'AUBREMEZ to VONCK. January 18, 1791, Mss. 14891, BRB; J. J. MEYER to VONCK, June 27, 1791, Ghent, Mss. 14891, BRB ; DE BROUX to VONCK. May 19, 1791, Mechelen, Mss 14891, BRB; VONCK to Abeille patriote, February 19, 1791, Mss. 14891. BRB ; VERLOOY to VONCK, April 27, 1791, Mss. 14891. BRB; and VONCK to URSEL. December 16, 1790, Lille, Mss. 14891, BRB (") VONCK to VAN SCHELLE, MSS. 14892. BRB; VONCK. January 30, 1791, Mss. 14891, BRB ; DE BROUX to VONC K, May 14, 1791, Mechelen, Mss. 14891, BRB ; and VONCK to NIEULANT, December 21, 1791. Mss. 14891, BRB. www.academieroyale.be

192 TRANSITION, 1791-1792 founder of Pro Aris et Focis, Verlooy, also withdrew from the Société. (32) Without the assistance of some of the most active democrats, the Société continued to meet, write pamphlets, and distribute them. The democratic lawyers, wholesale merchants and bankers still regarded the exiled democrats as their friends and their political leaders and constantly sought their advice. The Estates meanwhile had reconvened themselves without any interference from the Austrians. Although they too were without their traditional leaders — most of whom had fled to the Netherlands — they began immediately to protest against the reappointment of former Austrian functionaries to posts on the Conseil d'état. The Austrian counsellors whom Leopold had reappointed to the Conseil had played particularly vigo• rous roles in suppressing the resistance of 1787 and, the Estates charged, were continuing to press for programs " qui boulever- soient entièrement la Constitution. " (33) The Estates con• demned Leopold for following his brother Joseph in inflicting " false systems of despotism " on the Belgian people. To main• tain civil liberty, the Conseil souverain de justice could not be dependent on the " pouvoir arbitraire, " they argued. (34) In terms reminiscent of the past they pleaded with the Emperor to rule Belgium according to law, not personal whim. One jour• nalist commented, " l'affaire du Conseil souverain de Brabant produit aujourd'hui le même effet qu'il y a trois ans celle du séminaire général de Louvain. " (35) Not only the method of argument but also its intensity equaled that of the first Belgian resistance. As in 1787, the Third Estate soon found itself resisting alone with only sporadic and grudging assistance from the first two Estates. After the nobles and the clergy had acquiesced to the Emperor's demands without hesitation, Leopold tried to fright• en the Third Estate by threatening to disband the Nations. The Emperor's rumblings intimidated the Third Estate for only a

(") VAN DEN BROECK. J. B. C. Verlooy (Antwerp, 1980). (") " Proposition d'une question importante, " Révolution belge, vol. 35, pam. 7, BRB; Journal de Bruxelles, February 14, 1791, pp. 302-312; "Les Vrais intérêts de sa Majesté," Liasse 613A, AVB; Estates, January 15, 1791, Liasse 613A, AVB. (34) J. J. MORIS, May 5, 1791. Liasse 613A. AVB. (35) Journal général de l'Europe, August 23, 1791, pp. 325-326. www.academieroyale.be

TRANSITION, 1791-1792 193 few days. Most of the delegates were so angered by the contin• ued " infractions " that when the Third Estate was convened to vote the Emperor his taxes, it vetoed the first two Estates' vote. (36) The Journal général de l'Europe speculated that the Second Estate approved the Emperor's taxes with so little resistance because it knew that the Third Estate would cancel its vote. The editor of the Journal suggested that the nobles shared the Third Estate's dislike of the Austrian administrative appoint• ments but had found it more expedient to leave the unpleasant task of resistance to the Third Estate. (37) The evidence shows, however, that the Second Estate never intended to debate is• sues that did not directly concern it. The Baron de Hove, now a leader of the Second Estate, in fact repeatedly urged members of the Third Estate to abandon their resistance. (38) As long as the Emperor did not threaten the nobles' privileges, and it seemed unlikely that he would, they were content to allow him to reign and to bring security and stability to the provinces. Unlike the nobility, the First Estate did not refrain from activity in the Estates out of apathy. Having observed the effects of the reforming philosophes on the Church in France where " on ne voit que les persécutions, " the clergy reiterated the theme of Belgium as the last outpost of Christianity. (39) Citing Edmund Burke, it urged the Belgian people to pray for the reestablishment of the Belgian republic, the regime that had restored tradition and Christianity to their proper places in society. But although the clergy was very much interested in resisting the Austrians, it refused to continue to participate actively in the Estates. Its attempts to work through the Estates

(") Jean Xavier VAN DER NOOT lo Henri VAN DER NOOT. January 21. 1791. États Belgiques Ums 183. AGR , Gazelle des Pays-Bas. February 13, 1791. pp. 103-104 ; " La monstrueuse Chimère des Belges ou secrètes anecdotes sur la révolution des Pays-Bas autrichiens. " Varia, vol. 150, pam. 6. AAB ; and " La Puce à l'oreille des aristocrates, " Révolution belge, vol. 71. pam. 15. BRB. ('') Journal général de l'Europe. May 21. 1791. pp. 545-546. <") VAN DER HOOP to Comtesse D'YVES, April 3. 1791. États Belgiques Unis 197. AGR ; and Postillon. July I, 1791. p. 233. ("l M. NYS, Chronique du Chanoine Nys. Pergameni 219-220. 2960 II, AVB ; Journal historique el littéraire. April I. 1791, p. 499. May 1. 1791. p. 52. September 1. 1791. August 1. 1791. p. 551, and November I. 1791. p. 379 ; and DE BROUX to VONCK. May 14, 1791. Mechelen. Mss. 14891. BRB www.academieroyale.be

194 TRANSITION, 1791-1792

in the past had all been frustrated. The sermon, pamphlet, and confessional had proven far more effective tools for their resis• tance. The Austrians watched the developments in Brussels closely. After their initial overtures to the democrats, they did little more to encourage them. They also did little to deter the Estates. Their main concern appears to have been maintaining the fragile tranquility that ruled in the Belgian capital.

Three-party Stalemate

The Austrians' hoped-for-tranquility did not survive the new year. Skirmishes in the streets between supporters of the Socié• té du Bien Public and the members of the Nations were fre• quent. On February 12, 1791, Pasteels, the democrat, encoun• tered the doyen, J. B. De Noter, one of Van Eupen's closest friends, insulted him and pushed him into the mud. Passing Austrian soldiers ignored the two Belgian political leaders rol• ling in the muddy street. (40) In retaliation for such incidents, the two groups broke into each others' homes and pillaged. On February 24 matters grew more serious. A crowd gath• ered in front of the Hôtel de Ville. On signal from one of the members of the crowd, the people charged into the building, chasing the members of the Estates from their meeting rooms. The people, shouting that they wanted new representatives, stoned the waiting carriages, forcing the abbés and barons to flee to safety on foot. The next day, observers reported in the journals that the crowd had been led by " opulent citizens. " (41) These observers, along with the governement, accused the democrats of attempting a coup. (42) The demo• crats accepted no responsibility for the episode. Meeting on February 27, the Société issued an address to the people of Brussels, " l'Exhortation d'un Vonckiste [Sandelin] à ses conci-

(40) Suzanne TASSIER, Les Démocrates belges de 1789 (Brussels, 1930), p. 427. ("') GARDINER, January 25, 1791, Foreign Office 26/16, PRO. (42) " L'Avant-coureur du Manifeste Belgique, " Écrits politiques, vol. 29, AGR; unsigned letter, February 25, 1791, Mss. 14891, BRB; and Office fiscal 1018, AGR. www.academieroyale.be

TRANSITION. 1791-1792 195 toyens, " in which it urged those responsible for the violence to desist. (43) The democrats suspected that the Austrians had incited the attack to turn popular opinion against the demo• crats. The incident convinced them that the Austrians were no more trustworthy than they had been during Joseph's rule. The Austrians had just been trifling with the Belgians in January with their promises of reform and cooperation. Feeling betrayed by the Austrians, the Société turned to the Estates for assistance. Just one day before the attack on the Hôtel de Ville, the Estates had appealed to the democrats to support their resistance against the Austrians. The democrats now accepted the offer. Walckiers, Chapel, Libouton, Sandelin, De Roovère, De Jonghe, and Charlier met with a group of delegates from the Estates. At the first meeting the democrats asked the Estates' delegates if, as an initial gesture, the nobility would voluntarily renounce its accumulated privileges. The delegates answered that they believed such drastic innovations would be unnecessary. They refused to discuss the proposal, forcing the democrats to retreat from their dreams of a com• mon front among Belgian revolutionaries. (44) As the demo• crats reported to Vonck, no matter how moderate the reforms they presented to the committee, the first two Estates refused to compromise. Unable to work together, the two Belgian factions declared war on each other. At first they only attacked the other party in pamphlets. (45) But soon Vandernootists again pillaged the homes of democrats and the so-called royalists, the men they accused of supporting the Emperor. In retaliation, democrats attacked members of the Nations in taverns and alleys after the taverns had closed. Mobs also attacked convents and monas• teries, driving the monks and nuns from their Brussels sanc• tuaries. (46) The situation became so explosive that the mayor

(43) Postilion, March 2. 1791. p. 15. (44) Unsigned letler lo VONCK. March 3, 1791. Mss. 14891, BRB. (45) For examples on these pamphlets see: " Gardez-vous bien," RUG; " Dialogue confidentiel politique et religieux, " RUG ; " Aux Amis de la Chose Publique. " RUG ; and " Journal constitutionnel des fidèles amis de l'ordre et de la Constitution, " RUG. (H) Report of November 29, 1791. Office fiscal 991, AGR ; Report of June, 1791, Office fiscal 991. AGR; Report of August 8. 1791, Office fiscal 982. www.academieroyale.be

196 TRANSITION, 1791­1792 of Brussels closed the cabarets and bars to prevent further Vandernootist­Vonckist clashes. (47) Both groups, the democrats and the Vandernootists, expec­ ted that the situation would cause the Austrians to coalesce with them and to punish the other side. (48) The Third Estate pressed its demands for the removal of the counselors even more vigorously while the democrats continued to urge the Austrians to help them enact a reform program. Both groups misjudged the government. The Austrians were angered by the Estates' continued resis­ tance and the clerics' rural campaign. But they also feared the spread of the more radical French ideas among the democrats. During the month of June they anxiously watched the settle­ ment of French émigrés in Boitsfort, émigrés who were meet­ ing with the traditionalists and telling stories of French anti­ religious atrocities. They also observed the signs of a growing infatuation among the democrats with the French Revolu­ tion. (49) Every allusion to French popular rule in a democratic pamphlet was reported by the governors in Brussels to the ministry in Vienna. Together with the new Austrian minister, Metternich­Winnebourg, the governors convinced Leopold to indulge neither party with further talk of compromise or reform. (50)

AGR ; Journal général de l'Europe, July 25, 1791, pp. 306­307 ; and Gardiner, May 31. 1791, Foreign Office 26/16. PRO. (47) Journal de Bruxelles, June 9, 1791, p. 477 and October 4, 1791, p. 17 ; " Exposé succinct des persécutions qu'a essuyées F. M. Hayez... pendant le tems de la révolution belgique ; " RUG ; and VLEESHOUWER to VONCK, Au­ gust 16. 1791, Mss. 14891, BRB. (48) Journal général de l'Europe, August 11, 1791, pp. 137­140 and Au­ gust 28, 1791, pp. 403­406; Mss. 19648, pp. 186­191, BRB; letter, Septem­ ber 30, 1791, Mss. 14891, BRB; SANDELIN to VONCK, July 17, 1791, Brussels, Mss. 14891, BRB; and WEEMAELS to VONCK. September 16. 1791, Brussels, Mss. 14891. BRB. (49) HOP, March 11, 1791, Van de Spiegel 188, RAN ; Reports of June 14, 1791 and September 16, 1791, Office fiscal 1019, AGR; and TASSIER, Les Démocrates, pp. 439­443. (50) In one minor incident, the Austrian military confiscated two of a serment's cannons. The volunteers countered that the cannons were only toys that shot blanks. Bender, the Austrian military commander replied that he had seen the damage inflicted by such " toys " during the Revolution. Conseil privé 1103, AGR; GAILLARD I: 437­8; KAUNITZ, February 1791. Staatskanzlei IV DD Β blau 516 (234), HHS; KAUNITZ, December 1, 1790, Staatskanzlei IV www.academieroyale.be

TRANSITION, 1791­1792 197

The Austrians responded to the summer's turbulence by increasing surveillance of both the democrats and the Estates. That surveillance led to a number of arrests. In September, the Austrians imprisoned the leaders of the Estates as Leopold angrily chided his Belgian subjects for their mutinous ac­ tions. (5I) He instructed them of his intentions to proceed with the reorganization of the judicial system. By the fall of 1791 Leopold had alienated every political faction in Belgium. " VanderNootistes, Vonckistes, Royalistes, tous ont leur dose de mauvaise humeur contre le gouverne­ ment, " the editor of the Journal général de l'Europe comment­ ed, predicting the birth of a new insurrection against the Em­ peror. (52) Many democrats, heeding Vonck's earlier counsel, had left Brussels. Vonck chastised the Emperor that " dans un siècle éclairé, " surronded by examples of free peoples enjoying their full rights, he should not expect to treat his people as passive subjects. (") The Estates, condemning the " faux systèmes du despotisme, forgés dans les enfers & embrassés par la plupart du petit nombre d'êtres, qui composent vos conseils, & qui gouvernent en votre place, " threatened to launch a new revolution. (54) In August the Vandernootists again proposed to unite with the democrats against the Austrians. Two traditionalists, Somers and De Lincé, suggested to Vonck that he invite Van

DD Β blau 51b, HHS; Report of February 6, 1791. Staatskanzlei IV DD Β 1976, HHS; VAN DE SPIEGEL to HOP, March and April, 1791, Van de Spiegel 188, AGR ; and Journal de Bruxelles. August 20, 1791, pp. 338­339. (") Office fiscal 1004, AGR; Office fiscal 983, AGR; Office fiscal 984, AGR; Office fiscal 985. AGR; Office fiscal 986, AGR; Office fiscal 971, AGR; Office fiscal 1329. AGR; États Brabant Carton I542, AGR. pp. 186­ 191, Mss. 19648. BRB; JONES, January 14. 1792, Brussels, Staten Generaal, 7452. RAN; Leopold II, in Journal général de l'Europe. January 26, 1792; " Copie d'une Dépêche de leurs Altesses Royales aux États de Brabant, " in Journal de Bruxelles. August 20, 1791, VI : 339­339. (") Journal général de l'Europe. August 2, 1791, pp. 28­29 and October 2, 1791, p. 289. (") Meyer, the Ghent democrat, wrote Vonck : " Les affaires jusqu'ici ne prennent point de tournure avantageuse, tout est au contraire gouverné par les anciens royalistes et le bourgeois vexé est rarement écouté," August 5, 1791, Mss. 14891, BRB. (54( États de Brabant, August 3, 1791, Révolution belge, vol. 45, pam. 7. BRB www.academieroyale.be

198 TRANSITION, 1791-1792 der Noot to Lille " pour une réconciliation sincère. " (55) Ail that was needed for a new insurrection, they said, was a coali• tion of the leaders from 1790. They were seconded by some members of the Estates who promised to enact Vonck's plans for the doubling of the Third Estate in their next republic. The reform, they added, would be implemented after the threat of internal disorder had subsided. Traditional privilege would be preserved only while Belgium underwent the transition to a new government. (56) Similar overtures were made to Torfs and to Verlooy. To humor the Vandernootists, the democrats did not dis• courage the invitation. They were afraid that if they rejected their appeals, the Vandernootists might try to compromise with the Austrians in frustration. (57) The democrats also did little in the way of cooperation. They had learned from past experience to distrust the Estates' promises of reform. One member of the Société wrote to Vonck asking " s'il peut entrer dans la tête d'aucun homme de bon sens, d'avoir jamais la moindre confi• ance dans des scélérats. " (58) None of the democrats enter• tained even the smallest hope of working together effectively with the Vandernootists. For the time being, however, pretend• ing to cooperate seemed a good way to intimidate the Aus• trians. While waiting for a firm commitment from the democrats, the Third Estate continued its solitary resistance against the Emperor's judicial reforms. Leopold arrested and jailed several members of the Estates. That set off riots throughout the city. The Third Estate still refused to concede. Once again in De-

(") DE LINCÉ and SOMERS to BRASSART (Vonck), July 19, 1791, Mss. 14891, BRB. See also " Extrait d'une lettre de Bruxelles, " Journal généra! de l'Europe, August 9, 1791, p. 111. (56) VERSTAPPEN and LE GROS [De Lincé and Somers] to Vonck, October 6, 1791, Mss. 14891, BRB; DE VLEESHOUWER to VONCK, August 1, 1791, Mss. 14891, BRB ; and LETTER, September 24, 1791, Mss. 14891, BRB. (") VONCK to VAN DER MEER, November 27, 1791, Mss. 14891, BRB ; Mss. 19648, p. 112, BRB ; and VONCK to VAN DER MEER, November 29, 1791, Mss. 14891, BRB. (5S) Letter to VONCK, October 12, 1791, Mss. 14891, BRB. See also: DE VLEESHOUWER to VONCK, September 18, 1791, Mss. 14891, BRB; V. N. to VONCK, October 26, 1791, Mss. 14891, BRB; VONCK to NIEULANT, Decem­ ber 21, 1791, Mss. 14891, BRB; and VONCK to LE BRUN, January 17, 1792, Mss. 14892, BRB. www.academieroyale.be

TRANSITION, 1791­1792 199 cember it vetoed the first two Estates' vote of the Emperor's taxes. The Nations confidently chided the Emperor, " Que serveroit­il si le premier & le second ordre seuls assemblés en corps, accordoient pour un moment, sans condition & sans réserve ce qu'ils prevoyent, que le tiers qui représente la majeure partie du Peuple & sans l'accession de qui rien n'est fait, rien n'est accordé, " refused. (59) The taxes expired ; the people of Brussels again rejoiced that the Emperor would have no revenue from the province. The battle between Leopold and the Estates continued throughout the winter and spring of 1792. The Third Estate received no support at all from the first two Estates. Although some clergymen continued to protest against the Austrians from their pulpits, members of the First Estate were unwilling to participate in the Estates' resistance. Ruelle, the French ambassador, commented, " On sait généralement que le clergé et la noblesse se coalisent avec le gouvernement général. " (60) At one point, the Third Estate even demanded to inspect the correspondence between the first two Estates and the Austrian ministers in Vienna. (6I) Under pressure from their noble friends, in the spring sever­ al delegates from the Nations switched their votes to accord with the first two Estates against the Third. The doyen Jean Joseph Saegermans, Van der Noot's closest ally during the early resistance, " toujours dévoué aux deux premiers ordres des États de Brabant, " was even rumored to be accepting bribes to work for the nobility against the resistance. (62) The democrats never committed themselves to working with the Estates but continued to write Metternich requesting the imminent reform of the Estates' representation. (63) Their pleas went unanswered. Finally, in January 1792 the Société voted to

(") États to Léopold, Journal général de l'Europe, December 30, 1791, p. 472. (60) RUELLE. April 24, 1792, Pays­Bas 183, AMAE. (") April 15, 1792. Liasse 6I6A. AVB. (") BEECKMANS to Comtesse D'YVES, July 26, 1791, États Belgiques 195, AGR; JBW ]Weemaelsl to VONCK, March 1, 1792. Mss. 14892, BRB; and RUELLE, April 18. 1792, p. 76. Pays­Bas 183, AMAE. (6!) Société des Amis du Bien Public to Metternich, November 27, 1791 and December 2, 1791. Staatskanzlei IV DD Β blau 51b, (234), HHS. www.academieroyale.be

200 TRANSITION, 1791­1792 disband. Secret societies formed in its place. (64) In Brussels, little seemed to have changed since 1789, either in the Aus­ trians' view of the Belgians or the Belgians' response. In April 1792, the first two Estates again approved all of the Emperor's requests without debate. The people of Brussels, many of them milling under the windows of the Hôtel de Ville, looked to the Third Estate for its customary veto. The crowd's indignation had reached such a pitch reporters observed, " que le tiers état, même les doyens gagnés, " did not dare give in to the Emperor. (65) The Austrian governors, sensing the popular excitement and realizing the inevitability of another Austrian defeat at the hands of the Estates, decided not to convoke the Third Estate at all. (66) Once again, as in June 1789, they removed the Estates as a platform for non­violent resistance.

Exile

Ambassador Gardiner reported to the English Foreign Of­ fice in February 1792 : " It may perhaps be satisfactory to your Lordship to know that this country is quieter just now than I have ever remembered it. " (67) However, that tranquility was not the result of Belgian acceptance of the Austrian occupa­ tion. The political leaders — both democrats and traditionalists — had simply left Brussels. Some sought exile in the Nether­ lands, but most crossed the border to France. (68) This time, unlike previous flights, many took their families and furniture with them. They anticipated a long fight. The battle, most acknowledged, would not be as easily won as it had been three years before.

O DESCAMPS to VONCK, January 11, 1792, Mss. 14892, BRB ; and Reports of January 21, 1792 and March 9, 1792, Staatskanzlei IV DD Β 140/3 (650), HHS. (65) Journal général de l'Europe, April 26, 1792, p. 370. f66) Report to TRAUTTMANSDORF, March 13, 1792, Vienna, Vortage, Kar­ ton 150, HHS ; and Staatskanzlei IV DD Β 81, p. 445, HHS. (67) GARDINER, February 21, 1792, Foreign Office 26/18, PRO. (68) DE GRAVE to VONCK, January 14, 1792, Mss. 14892, BRB; LASSERAY, " Corps belges et liégeois aux armées de la Belgique, " Revue d'histoire moderne, May­June, 1929, p. 161 ; and Report, May 11, 1792, Staatskanzlei IV DD Β 140/3 (651), HHS. www.academieroyale.be

TRANSITION, 1791-1792 201

The Vandernootists who fled Brussels did not follow Van der Noot into exile in Holland. Although he had been sending occasional messages to his friends telling them of his hatred for Leopold and of the necessity of an imminent revolt, he gener• ally seemed ineffective and removed from politics. (69) Dujar- din. Van Keerbergen, De Noter, Van der Bergen, de Merckx, Suremont, Dansaert, Wauters, the Comte de Coloma, Baron de Hove, the Comte de Limminghe, and the Abbé de Tonger- loo instead joined the officers of the republican army who had fled to Douai in France before the Austrian occupation. (70) Most of the emigres were members of the Nations, but a sur• prising number of nobles also congregated in Douai. Once assembled, the twenty-one year old adventurer Charost de Béthune offered to organize the forces into a second revolutionary army. Béthune, who claimed descent from the Flemish nobility, proposed to lead an anti-French, anti-Vonckist revolution. In letters, he invited each member of the three Estates to join a new revolutionary committee that he had organized in Douai. Asking for plenipotentiary powers to negotiate with other powers, Béthune assured the Estates that the revolutionaries would allow no innovations in the Belgian constitution. The Belgians would make " la révolution à leur mode en conservant leurs principes et compositions actuelles de leur gouvernement. " (7I) In addition, he promised that they would not fall prey a second time to Van der Noot's revolu• tionary errors. Although he never explained exactly what these grave mistakes had been, Béthune did squelch all talk of bring• ing Van der Noot to Douai and expelled any members of the

(") HENRI to J. B. VAN DER NOOT, August 31. 1791. États Belgiques Unis 183, AGR; VAN DER NOOT to VERHULST, February 7, 1791, États Belgiques Urns 185. AGR ; and Report to LEENHEER, Office fiscal, 1326, AGR. (70) Report of trial of De Noter, June 1792, Office fiscal 1003. AGR ; Arrest warrants. May 19. 1792, Office fiscal 985, AGR ; Report. Office fiscal 1012. AGR ; Report of August 26. 1792, Office fiscal 983. AGR ; Liste des officiers emigres Brabançons à Douay sous les ordres de M. Charost de Béthune. Office fiscal 1003, AGR; VAN DER NOOT to VERHULST. February 7, 1791. États Belgiques Unis 183. AGR ; LA GRAVIÈRE, April 4, 1792, Pays-Bas 183. AMAE ; Reports of December 24, 1791 and January 21, 1792, Office fiscal 1013, AGR ; and L 843, ADN. (71) Béthune DE CHAROST, Office fiscal 1014, AGR; Modèle de procura­ tion. Office fiscal 1003. AGR ; and SEGHERS. February 8. 1792. Mss. 14892. www.academieroyale.be

202 TRANSITION, 1791-1792 committee suspected of having relations with the former hero. Following Béthune's orders, the Douai revolutionaries began to prepare pamphlets and to gather arms. The clergy collected funds in Belgium to support the " confédérés. " During the winter stalemate, the democrats had become as frustrated as the traditionalists. Unable to work with either the Estates or the Austrians, the Brussels democrats now looked to France for their salvation. " Belges, ne soyons plus victimes, " one pamphleteer urged. " Les despotes ont résolu d'arrêter les progrès de la démocratie... Réveillez-vous Belges, il ne nous reste qu'un seul espoir — celui du secours des Français. " (72) Weemaels reported to Vonck that members of the Société saw France both as a potential ally in the next Belgian revolution and as a model for the new Belgium regime. Vonck agreed with Weemaels that the French example offered one very valu• able lesson : it demonstrated the advantages of reforms insti• tuted by the people themselves over those granted by an en• lightened despot. (73) Edouard Walckiers, the wealthy Brussels banker, resigned his post with the Austrian Royal Treasury to organize a Bel• gian democratic committee in Paris. Although the former leaders of the more radical Liège revolution — Fabry, Bas- senge, Lesoinne, Levoz, and Lebrun — joined him, no Belgians followed their compatriot to Paris. Walckiers therefore asked Vonck to send him a list of recommended Belgian democrats who would serve on the new committee to counterbalance the outspoken delegates from Liège. Following Vonck's sugges• tions, he invited E. Vandesteene, J. J. Leunckens (Van der Mersch's former aide) and E. L. Rens. Meeting together for the first time on January 18, 1792, they pledged to take "les mesures les plus convenables à l'effet de briser à jamais le joug intolérable sous lequel gémissent nos malheureuses patries, en chasser les Tyrans qui les oppriment et y faire régner à leur place la Liberté et l'Égalité. " (74) The meetings, veiled in tight

(72) Journal général de l'Europe, December 22, 1792, pp. 337-338 and January 23, 1792, p. 365. See also SANDELIN to VONCK, November 24, 1791, Mss. 20474, BRB ; and DESCHAMPS to VONCK, January 11, 1792, BRB. (") VONCK to NIEULANT, December 21, 1791, Mss. 14891, BRB. (74) Ed. DE WALCKIERS, Journal général de l'Europe, December 22, 1791, p. 342 ; VAN NUFFEL to VAN DER MEER, November 8, 1791, Lille, Mss. 14891, BRB ; VDS and JSLKJ to VONCK, January 18, 1792, Mss. 14892, BRB. www.academieroyale.be

TRANSITION, 1791-1792 203 secrecy and rumored to be dominated by anti-clerical harangu• ing, soon frightened most Belgian democrats away from the committee, so that there was little interchange between the group in Paris and the democrats who remained in Brussels, As a first premise, the Paris committee declared it the duty of all eighteenth-century men to throw off the shackles of the previous centuries of slavery. Centuries ago men had ex• changed their natural rights for a promise of security from the " tyrans usurpateurs, " they explained, but the time had come to demand the reinstatement of these rights. (") "Ces jours d'erreurs sont passés, " they proclaimed. " À la voix toute puis• sante de la philosophie, la lumière enfin a paru. " In other societies, they concluded, " le peuple a voulu ne plus être es• clave, et le peuple a été libre ; le peuple souverain a cessé de reconnoitre et d'obéir à des maîtres. " (76) Guided by what Henri Pirenne has called " cette foi naïve dans les lumières de la raison abstraite et dans la vertu du peuple, " the Paris com• mittee believed that the people had only to be informed of their condition before they would rebel. (77) The rights of the people of Belgium and Liège had been usurped, first by a small privileged elite — the Estates — and then by a series of tyrannical emperors, argued the Paris com• mittee, les Belges et Liégeois Unis. In the name of the people, the Paris democrats therefore declared war on the Austrian Emperor and on the privileged orders of society. " Nous, le PEUPLE des provinces Belgiques ci-dessus dénommées, et le PEUPLE du pays de Liège, déclarons par le même acte, que dès ce moment, nous réunissons nos intentions, nos moyens, nos forces contre nos tyrans respectifs ; jurons de prendre les armes pour ne plus les déposer que quand nous aurons assuré notre indépendance, les droits que nous tenons de la nature, et une constitution qui n'outrage plus ces droits sacrés. " (78) They would create a society in which all men could enjoy their natural rights, they pledged. Receiving an assurance of French

(75) " Belges el Liégeois Unis à tous les peuples, " Révolution belge. vol. 142, BRB. <76) Ibid, see also : Manifeste, Mss. 14892, BRB ; and F,e. ANF. (7?) Henri PIRENNE, Histoire de Belgique (Brussels, 1926), VI : 18. C*) " Belges et Liégeois Unis à tous les Peuples. " www.academieroyale.be

204 TRANSITION, 1791-1792

support from the French general, Dumouriez, the committe began to plan the invasion and ensuing revolution. The Belges et Liégeois Unis even drafted a constitution for the republics, something none of the earlier democratic groups had attempted. It echoed the French constitution almost word for word. Following an opening statement that quoted the " Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen, " the constitu• tion carefully delineated the powers and duties of the legisla• tive, executive, and judicial branches of the government. It provided for a provisional revolutionary committee which would oversee the free election of a new government as soon as independence had been won. The government would be a representative democracy based on popular sovereignty. (79) The Comité des Belges et Liégeois Unis sent all of its manifestos to Vonck asking for his signature. When he refused to be listed as a member of their committee, the Paris demo• crats were stunned. " Que nous avons été surpris, " they wrote, " de ne point y voir votre authorisation pour la signature de la déclaration dont à ce que vous assurez, vous approuvez très fort les articles ; " they pleaded with him to reconsider his refusal. (80) While awaiting his response, they added his name to their proposed constitution. Hearing this, Vonck was infu• riated and wrote that he had " constamment refusé d'adopter le plan du comité révolutionnaire... D'après cela Messieurs, " he asked, " pouvez-vous me persuader que je sois membre de votre Comité révolutionnaire ?" (81) He would continue to direct his own committee in Lille and requested that they no longer use his name in association with their revolutionary exploits. Vonck was disturbed by the Parisian democrats' radical anticlericalism. "Il faut que je vous observe," he wrote, "je n'aime d'autre liberté que celle qui admettant un Dieu et une

(79) Ibid. ; Report of April 9, 1792, Pays-Bas 183, AMAE; and June 1792, Pays-Bas 182, AMAE. (80) VDSJJLRB to VONCK, February 8, 1792, Paris, Mss. 14892, BRB; Letter, August 15, 1792, Mss. 14892, BRB; Letter, February 17, 1792, Mss. 14892, BRB ; VONCK to Belges et Liégeois Unis, August 15, 1792, Mss. 14892, BRB ; Letter, July 29, 1792, Mss. 20474, BRB ; and Letter to VONCK, April 3 1792, Mss. 14892, BRB.

(81) VONCK, June 1792, Mss. 14892, BRB; VONCK, May 1792, Mss. 14892, BRB ; and Letter, August 30, 1792, Mss. 14892, BRB. www.academieroyale.be

TRANSITION, 1791-1792 205 religion, est appuyée par la bonne foi, l'humanité, l'amour du prochain, la justice, l'équité et par toutes les autres vertus sociales. " (82) Secularism ran contrary to the interests of the majority of the Belgian people, he asserted. It would be as wrong to impose an anticlerical regime upon the Belgians as it had been for the Vandernootists to smother the people under a regime of monastic fanaticism. Furthermore, although he recognized that the Joyeuse Entrée had been composed in " des siècles d'ignorance, " he argued that it could still serve as the foundation for a democratic Belgian society. (83) With some modification of the representational system, the constitutional principle of limited powers embodied in the Joyeuse Entrée would assure the reign of popular sovereignty. Why begin all over again he asked. " Les oreilles Belges ne pourraient encore s'accoutumer à l'expression d'assemblée nationale. " (84) Such radical changes would necessarily have to be imposed by a tyrannical regime, he concluded, because they would not be maintained voluntarily by the people. Vonck also distrusted the revolutionaries who had coalesced in Douai around Béthune. Their political beliefs differed great• ly from those of the Paris Committee, but their motivations were similar : they wanted to force Belgium to conform to their ideas and they wanted power. " Il n'est point étonnant, " Vonck wrote, " qu'ils se montrent aussi chauds partisans d'une seconde révolution. Ce n'est point l'intérêt du peuple qui les guide, mais bien l'espoir d'occuper une seconde fois la place du prince. " (85) Béthune, an ambitious petty aristocrat, Vonck charged, " n'est qu'un instrument qu'on met en jeu, comme ci- devant Van der Noot et Van Eupen. " (86) If the Bélhunists gained power, they might even join with Prussia in a union to squelch democracy and to enslave the peasants again like serfs.

I82) VONCK. August 30. 1792, Mss. 14892, BRB. (") VONCK. Mss. 20737. BRB. (84) Ibid, see also: VONCK. May 1792. Mss. 14892. BRB. (8!) VONCK. "Lettre au rédacteur". Journal général de l'Europe. January 17. 1792. p. 302. See also (Vonck). Mss. 20737. BRB. (U) VONCK. MSS. 20737. BRB. See also: VONCK to VAN SCHELLE. MSS. 14892. BRB ; VONC K. June 5. 1792. Mss. 14892. BRB ; VONCK to DE GRAVE. December 21. 1791. Mss 14891, BRB; and VAN SCHELLE to VONCK, MSS 14892. BRB www.academieroyale.be

206 TRANSITION, 1791­1792

Just like the Estates in 1789, Vonck believed, they would talk about republican independence while continuing to perpetuate the privileges of the elite. The Douai committee composed of monks, aristocrats, and privileged artisans would not serve the interests of the majority of the Belgian people. Vonck and his supporters in Lille felt trapped between the two parties. The Paris democrats were too radical, they said, and like the French Jacobins " ont tellement exagéré les principes révolutionnaires, " that they were driving the yet uncommitted peasants into the arms of reaction. (87) On the other hand, the Douai committee clearly intended to restore the times of feudal­ ism. " Que nous reste­t­il à faire ? " Vonck puzzled ; " Nous qui sommes placés entre les deux extrêmes. " (88) Ever since August 1789 when Vonck had first recognized the major political differences separating the Pro Aris et Focis from the Breda Committee, the Vonckists had assumed a posi­ tion as spokesmen for the democratic left in Belgium. Vonck was surprised in the spring of 1790 therefore, when a faction of his party advocated acceptance of a more radical program. Now that the bitter frustration of the second Austrian occupa­ tion had generated even greater support for the extreme left, the more moderate democrats in Lille found themselves thrust into the middle of the road, a position they quickly found to be very uncomfortable. Their only sure support came from the moderate democrats of Flanders. Vonck therefore sent emis­ saries to Ghent to discuss his revolutionary plans with lawyers and capitalists there and asked Van der Mersch to command his army. Van der Mersch refused. (89)

Γ) VONCK, MSS. 14892, BRB. (88) VONCK, MSS. 20737, BRB. (8') Suzanne TASSIER, Histoire de la Belgique sous l'occupation française en 1792 et 1793 (Brussels, 1934), p. 47 ; VAN DEN BROUTHEZ to VONCK, June 20, 1792, Mss. 14892, BRB ; DE GRAVE to VONCK, March 24, 1792, Mss. 14892, BRB ; VAN DER MEER, April 23, 1792, Mss. 14892, BRB. www.academieroyale.be

TRANSITION, 1791-1792 207

The First French Invasion

Convinced that they could not cooperate with each other, the exiles in Douai, Lille, and Paris competed jealously for French approval. Each group sent a delegation to lobby voci• ferously in the Legislative Assembly for pacts of assistance. (90) At the same time, municipal authorities besieged the assem• bly with reports of dangerously large gatherings of Belgian emigres in the towns of Lille, Douai, and Valenciennes. The Belgian emigres had refused to give French municipal authori• ties either their names or their reasons for settling in France. Local French officials therefore suspected the Belgians of being " de véritables ennemis de l'état " who had come " pour sur• prendre et s'emparer de nos places de guerres. " (9I) The national officials in Valenciennes and Paris, believing the reports to be grossly exaggerated and the few refugees to be harmless, counselled local officials that they were obliged by law to treat the new residents courteously. The municipal au• thorities should continue to watch the assemblies vigilantly, Paris counselled, but they could not revoke passports. (92) The French Assembly had discussed extending aid to those countries most likely to follow the French revolutionary exam• ple ; Belgium was considered to be a good possibility. (93) Now,

(,0) Vonck, Mss. 20737, BRB ; and " Copie d'une lettre authentique, " RUG. (") Lettre, December 20. 1791, F7 3683', ANF. See also: December 25, 1792, F7 3683s. ANF ; December 18, 1791, L843, ADN ; Délibération, Direc­ tion du District de Lille, December 4, 1790 L 8188, ADN ; December 1791, L 141. 32 ADN ; Extrait des registres de I" Assemblée Électorale du Départe­ ment du Nord. September 19. 20. 22. and 24, 1792, L756, ADN. (") December 21. 1791, Valenciennes, F7 3683', ANF; Extrait du registre aux Procès-verbaux de séance du Directoire du département du Nord, Decem­ ber 16, 1792, C 141, 132, ANF ; DELEMAR, February 2. 1792, F7 36835, ANF; MERLIN. January I, 1792, L483, ADN ; December 28. 1791, L8I88, ADN ; and December 25, 1791, L8189. ADN; and April 1792. p. 63. Pays-Bas 183, AMAE. (") Papers found in a raid on the home of the chemist Van Möns. Octo­ ber 6, 1792, Office fiscal 984. AGR ; Papers concerning Van Möns. July 28, 1792. Office fiscal 986, AGR ; and Journal général de l'Europe. January 4, 1792, p. 50 and October 3. 1971, p. 20. www.academieroyale.be

208 TRANSITION, 1791-1792

although the Assembly listened attentively to the Douai delega• tion, it was suspicious of the Confédérés' privileged member• ship and ties to the former independent republic. Of the two democratic factions, the French Assembly preferred the Lille group because of its respect for Vonck's leadership in the first Brabant Revolution. (94) The French general Charles François Dumouriez had long been interested in the Belgian cause. Two years earlier, during the summer of 1790, at the request of the Belgian republic, he had inspected and advised the Belgian army. (95) As head of the Ministère des Affaires Étrangères, he decided early in 1792 that the revolutionary excitement of the Belgian refugees in France could be exploited for a successful French military campaign into the Austrian Netherlands. In preparation for the military campaign, Dumouriez again sent French agents to Belgium to investigate the relative strength of the various political factions in Flanders and Brus• sels. The agents would rally " tous les partis de patriotes Belges à un seul, " so that there would no longer be " ni Vonckistes, ni Vandernootistes, ni confédérés, que tous soient solidement patriotes et amis de la liberté. " (96) While his agents were spying in Belgium, the general persuaded the French govern• ment to support a second Belgian revolution. " Dès que l'ar• mée française entrera dans les Provinces Belgiques, elle sera secondée par ces peuples, " he predicted. (97) The French would bring freedom and independence to the Belgian people. On April 23, 1792, the French declared war on Austria. A sizeable fund for the training of a refugee army was estab• lished, most of which the Assembly soon sent to Vonck's com• mittee in Lille. (98) Neighboring countries watched the develop• ments with growing alarm. To calm their fears, the French

(94) DUMOURIEZ to CUSTINE, March 18, 1792, F7 4688N, ANF ; GARDINER, February 22, 1791. Foreign Office 26/16, PRO ; and Report, April 1792, Pays- Bas 183, ANF. (95) G. HAUTECLER, " La mission en Belgique du Général Dumouriez et son jugement sur l'armée des États Belgiques," L'armée — La Nation VII (October 1. 1953), pp. 3-7. (,6) Report, May 1792, p. 241, Pays-Bas 183, AMAE. (97) DUMOURIEZ, Note pour le Conseil, March 22, 1792, F7 4688, ANF. (98) Letter, May 24, 1792, Mss. 14892, BRB; and TASSIER, L'Occupation, p. 42. www.academieroyale.be

TRANSITION, 1791-1792 209 issued a series of statements promising that they would only help the Belgians drive the Austrians from Belgium. The French promised to withdraw after independence had been won, leaving the Belgians free to choose their own government. This war, they declared, would be different from the tradi• tional wars fought for territorial aggrandizement. The French were undertaking the Belgian campaign not as conquerors but as liberators. The French armies crossed the Belgian border in June 1792 at Menin and Courtrai. A delegation from the Comité des Belges et Liégeois Unis trailed behind the troops. The leader of the delegation jubilantly reported, " Nous venions de traverser la rivière qui sépare la Belgique de la France : nous laissons derrière nous un pays libre, nous voyions devant nous de riches contrées qui allaient le devenir. " (") The delegates appealed to the Belgian people lo take up arms and march with the French along "la route de l'indépendance de l'homme. " (lü0) Acting in the name of the Belgian nation, the Belges et Lié• geois Unis empowered local officials of each liberated village to assume power as agents of the new provisional government. Groups of Belgian soldiers and farmers joined the French as they marched through the countryside. The expedition was short-lived, however. On June 29, Luck- ner, the French field marshal in Flanders, learned that the Austrian troops were approaching from Turnhout. Fearing that his small band of soldiers would be caught from behind, he ordered a retreat of the French armies. Luckner was angry that every available Belgian man had not joined the French army. On the march back to France, Maréchal du Camp Jarry in• structed his troops to burn the fields behind them. The shocked citizens of Courtrai protested this treatment by their supposed allies and liberators. " N'est-ce pas, nous disons- nous avec effroi, contre les satellites des despotes qu'il doit

(") Deputation des Belges et Liégeois Unis, Moniteur, July 27, 1792. XIII : 260. (I0°) Pétition des Belges et Liégeois Unis, July 27. 1792. Dxl 17, dossier 88. ANF. See also: Boulanger Maret to Bonne Carrère, June 15, 1792, Mss. 14892, BRB; Belges et Liégeois Unis. June 23, 1792. Mss. 14892. BRB; Belges et Liégeois Unis. June 17. 1792, D"1 17, dossier 88. ANF ; and Moniteur. July 27, 1792. XIII : 268. www.academieroyale.be

210 TRANSITION, 1791-1792

combattre ? Des hommes libres sont-ils les ennemis d'un général français ? Des cris d'allégresse civique et de liberté peuvent-ils déchirer ses oreilles et son cœur ? Que veut-il ? " they asked. (101 ) The Belgians were granted an inquiry into Jarry's conduct by the French Assembly, but the hostility of the town towards the French remained and spread to other Belgian villages. The incident fueled rumors now rampant throughout Belgium that the irreligious French had come to the provinces only to destroy the Catholic religion. Justifying the retreat to the French Assembly Luckner ex• plained that he had not had sufficient troops and that his forces had been outnumbered by the Austrians. He added that the Belgians were hopelessly reactionary and complacent. He had not seen " même la plus légère espérance de l'insurrec• tion " from the Belgians, he reported. (102) Deshaquets, one of the French agents in Belgium concluded : " À l'exception de quelques chefs du parti très peu nombreux des Vonckistes qui pendant leur retraite à Paris, par leurs relations avec l'assem• blée constituante se sont élevés à la hauteur de nos principes, nous n'avons pas de véritables amis. La superstition et l'igno• rance nous font regarder par la majorité comme des Novateurs dangereux. " (l03) The Estates in Brussels had not even voted to support the Belgian troops marching with the French, Luck• ner announced, neglecting to talk of the numerous Belgian citizens who had rallied in support of the French army. It had been ridiculous, according to Luckner, for the French to at• tempt to lead the Belgians in revolution. The Belges et Liégeois Unis indignantly challenged the French assessment of their revolutionary potential. Belgian citizens, they said, had issued patriotic declarations all along the French route of march. Such contributions to the French campaign " nous donnaient des droits à l'estime et la confiance de nos concitoyens [français]. " (l04) It was the French army's weakness and not that of the Belgian people that had caused

("") Moniteur, July 27, 1792, XIII : 260. ('02) Belges et Liégeois Unis, Moniteur, July 15, 1792, XIII : 114. ('03) DESHAQUETS, July 8, 1792, Pays-Bas 183, AMAE. See also Moniteur, July 26, 1792, XIII: 228. (I04) Moniteur, July 15, 1792, XIII : 114. www.academieroyale.be

TRANSITION, 1791-1792 211 the retreat, they declared. Next time, the French would have to send more troops. Despite the Belgian protest, the French Assembly decided to abandon the Belgian campaign at least temporarily while at the same time granting some funds to the Belgian armies for training themselves. One of Dumouriez's agents, Maret, cau• tioned the Assembly during the debate not to believe even the Belges et Liégeois Unis because, he said, they had been seduced by the Douai reactionaries. Heeding his counsel that the two committees should be calmed by " inaction forcée, " the issue of French support for a Belgian revolution was left open for further debate. (I05) The French called the results of their first expedition into Belgium " inconclusive. " Their assessment seems to be an ap• propriate summary of this whole chapter in the history of the Brabant Revolution. The period from December 1790 to July 1792 was essentially one of transition. Immediately following the Austrian victory in 1790, most Belgians believed that a king was needed to stabilize and secure the society. Only a year and a half later, except for the clergy, most of them welcomed the invasion of French troops, some even hoped to see a reenact- ment of the French Revolution in Belgium. This radical change in political outlook caused significant fluctuation in the mem• berships of the political associations. Some of the most influen• tial leaders, Verlooy and Van der Hoop, for example, chose to remain free of all organized parties while other members float• ed in and out of the associations. The core of the former democratic leadership continued to be active throughout the transitional period. (I06) Many of the lawyers, wholesale merchants, bankers, and members of the liberal professions who had participated in Pro Aris et Focis and the Société Patriotique joined the Société des Amis du Bien Public in 1791. By June 1792 most of them had emigrated

(L0S) MARET, July 18, 1792, Pays-Bas 183, AMAE. (I0*) Active democrats included : Poringo, Ί Kint, D'Outrepont, Vanderlin­ den, Van Daelen, Dondelberg, Torfs, Sandelin, Vonck, Van den Cruyce, De Roovère, Serruys, Willems, Donroy, Pasteeis, Claeyssens, Sironval, Niesse, Overman, De Neck. De Puydt, Rombaut, Deprès, Chassein, Dine, De Cuyper, Herbianux, De Vleeschouwer, Van Möns, the Baron de Rosière, Rens, Tec- man, and Mottoulle. www.academieroyale.be

212 TRANSITION, 1791-1792 to France to join the democratic resistance groups there. The democrats in Paris and Lille, although separated by widely divergent political beliefs, continued to correspond with each other as friends. The Paris committee sent delegates to Lille, and the Lille committee sent delegates to Paris. The Belgian leaders of the Paris committee continued to respect Vonck as the democratic leader despite his repudiation of their political philosophy. Because neither group kept a list of members, it would be difficult to identify the members of the two demo• cratic factions. Contemporary observers also confused the membership of the two groups. It is equally difficult to identify the membership of the Douai committee. From committee correspondence it would appear that the leadership of the Douai committee may have been composed of many former Vandernootists, especially the doyens of the Nations. (107) Again, however, the committee left no membership lists and contemporaries were unsure of the traditionalists' allegiance. They did not know who continued to sit in the Estates, who was in exile in Douai, and who had dropped all political activity. The Austrian spies listed Von• ckists and Vandernootists together as troublemakers without bothering to distinguish between the two committees. The transitory nature of the period precludes all but the most general conclusions about the relationship between politi• cal philosophies and memberships of the political committees. Basically, much was in flux ; the membership of the political groups was unstable and political beliefs were evolving. Because the Estates seemed no more able to resist the Aus• trians than they had been to govern a republic, support for the traditionalist faction diminished throughout the period. By the summer of 1792 it was no longer clear that it enjoyed the sup• port of the majority of the residents of Brussels as it always had in the past. Similarly, few people in Brussels listened to the moderate democrats in Lille who continued to propose

(107) Members of the Douai committee from Brussels included : Van Assche, Dansaert, Saegermans, Beeckmans, Appelmans, De Noter, the Abbé de Tongerloo, the Baron de Hove, and Dujardin. Most of the members of the Douai committee came from the other provincial Estates, thus accounting for the relatively small number of Brussels participants. www.academieroyale.be

TRANSITION, 1791-1792 213 plans for gradual reform. And the Brussels democrats who had first attempted to work with the Austrian government had moved by the spring of 1792 to a position more radical than any yet espoused in revolutionary Belgium. Frustrated by the failure of the first revolution and republic and angered for a second time by the Austrians, many Belgians were beginning to look beyond the two experienced political groups for a more radical alternative. www.academieroyale.be

CHAPTER VI

Occupation, 1792-1793

French Liberation

Throughout the summer of 1792, the exiled Belgian leaders appealed to the French for renewed assistance in Fighting the Austrians. Both the Belgian democrats and traditionalists were convinced that without military support from their revolution• ary neighbor the Belgians would be unable to defeat the Aus• trians again. Unwilling to accept Austrian paternalism as their permanent fate, they assured their French correspondents that Belgium was finally ready for independence. The French would just have to send a larger, better organized, more disci• plined force against the Austrians than they had in July. Fighting together with the Belgian citizens, the French could beat " les soldats du despote. " (') The French Convention reopened the question of military aid to the Belgians in September 1792. The secretary of the French legation in Brussels, Ruelle, warned the Convention that a Belgian nation controlled by aristocrats threatened the national security of France. Ruelle, who had been imprisoned by the Brabant Estates in 1790, alarmed the Convention dele• gates with reports that large numbers of French priests and nobles were congregating in Brussels. The Estates, he declared, were harboring the dangerous political refugees. (2) A French- led invasion of Belgium would avenge the Brabant outrages against human liberty. Anacharsis Cloots, the eccentric Prussian who sat in the National Convention, warned that the threat posed by this

(') VONCK. July 2, 1792, Lille, Mss. 14892, BRB. (2) RUELLE, September 27, 1792, Paris, Pays-Bas 183, p. 342, AMAE; Moniteur, October 2, 1792, XIV : 93 and October 27, 1792, XIV : 297 ; and June 14. 1791 and September 16. 1792, Office fiscal 1019, AGR. www.academieroyale.be

OCCUPATION, 1792-1793 215

conservative coalition of French dissidents and Belgians was compounded by the recent gathering of Austrian troops near the Franco-Belgian border. He called for immediate retaliation. The Assembly had recently provided Belgian revolutionaries with funds to train an army, Cloots reminded the other dele• gates. The Belgian troops, with the aid of the French army, could be dispatched to rid Belgium of the aristocratic and despotic menace. " Le délire des tyrans nous oblige de répan• dre la lumière, les armes à la main," he proclaimed. (3) The French had a moral obligation, not only to protect themselves against foreign attack, but to free neighboring people from the tyranny of domestic aristocrats and foreign despots. Not all the French delegates so readily accepted the idea of a military invasion. Debate came from various sections of the Convention concerning the feasibility of another invasion of Belgium so soon after the failure of the first one. Members of the Montagnard group, especially, questioned the Girondins' territorial ambitions and commitment of French resources to foreign wars. (4) It seemed to some members that Cloots and the Girondin-controlled diplomatic committee expected to an• nex all of Europe to France. General Dumouriez, who had recently replaced Lafayette at the head of the Armée du Nord, silenced the debate. After months of dreaming and planning by reading Plutarch and accounts of the Spanish invasion of the Netherlands, on Octo• ber 12 General Dumouriez declared that he was ready to un• dertake a war for Belgian independence. (5) He delivered his report with the same zeal and fervor that he imagined had guided great " liberator-generals " of the past. The French ar• mies would liberate, not conquer, the oppressed Belgian peo-

(') Anacharsis Cloois. Moniteur. August 10, 1792, XIII : 297. (4| 1 or a discussion of the debate see : CHUQUET. Jemappes et la Conquête de la Belgique (Pans. 1890), p. 180; Albert SOREL, L'Europe et la révolution française (Paris, 1897), 111 : 146; Marcel REINHARD, Le Grand Carnot. (Pans, 1950). Il: 28-29; Charles François DUMOURIEZ, Mémoires (London, 1794). p 9 : and Alphonse AULARD, éd. Recueil des actes du Comité de salut public (Paris. 1891). October 2. 1792. Il : 85 and October 6, 1792, II : 100. (5) Plans for the Spanish invasion of the Netherlands of 1572 have been found in Dumouriez's papers in the Archives Nationales in Paris, F7 4689. See also Suzanne TASSIER. Histoire de la Belgique sous l'occupation française en 1792 et 1793 (Brussels, 1934), p. 35. www.academieroyale.be

216 OCCUPATION, 1792-1793 pie, he announced to the loudly-applauding Convention : " Nous ne faisons pas la guerre comme autrefois. " (6) Return• ing with his armies through the recently burned fields of Cour- trai, he would restore the Belgian people's faith in the French principles of freedom. " La liberté va renaître sous tes aus• pices, " one speaker concluded in eulogy ; " Un peuple entier va se livrer à l'allégresse. " (7) Persuaded by Dumouriez's speech, the majority of the Convention delegates consequently authorized him to begin preparing his troops immediately. On November 1, 1792, Dumouriez led the French invasion forces, reinforced by volunteers from the Belges et Liégeois Unis, across the Belgian border. " Nous allons entrer dans la Belgique pour repousser les ennemis barbares, " not to conquer the people, he instructed his troops, adding a warning to refrain from a repetition of the errors of the first invasion. " Entrons dans les belles provinces comme des amis, des frères, et des libérateurs. " (8) In the same spirit, Dumouriez dispatched manifestos to be distributed among the Belgian people, inviting them to ally with the French in the ensuing battle and assuring them of his fraternal intentions. " Nous entrons incessament sur votre territoire ; nous y entrons pour vous aider à planter l'arbre de la liberté, sans nous mêler en rien à la constitution que vous voudrez adopter, " he promised. (9) The French had no intention of imposing French laws on the Belgian people. " Pourvu que vous établissiez la souveraineté du peuple et que vous renonciez à vivre sous des despotes quelconques, nous serons vos frères, vos amis et vos soutiens " he added. ('°) Little did he suspect the trouble that would arise from that proviso over the next four months. The distinction between liberating and conquering a neighbor seemed perfectly clear to him in November. Dumouriez's troops won their first victory in the Belgian campaign at Jemappes. The speed with which the French volunteer forces overwhelmed the professional Austrian armies has become legendary in French military history. The battle,

(6) DUMOURIEZ, October 26, 1792, in CHUQUET, p. 74 ; and TASSIER, p. 52. (7) Collot d'HERBOls, Moniteur, October 17, 1792, XIV : 224. (8) DUMOURIEZ. Moniteur. November 1, 1792, XIV : 367. (9) Ibid. (10) Ibid. www.academieroyale.be

OCCUPATION, 1792-1793 217 military historian A, Chuquet explained, " n'a rien de savant ni de classique, gagnée pour ainsi dire d'élan et d'enthousiasme, par le nombre, par l'impétuosité d'une armée orageuse et ar• dente, et non par l'art. Elle est toute héroïque, toute popu• laire. " (") French and Belgians alike acclaimed Dumouriez as the heroic liberator. In village after village, Belgian peasants joined his forces. At the invitation of the Belges et Liégeois Unis, municipal authorities were overthrown and new govern• ments formed along the route of march. (12) In each village, Dumouriez assured the citizens that the French would not dictate a set of laws ; the Belgians would be a free and sovereign people. The most enthusiastic welcome was awaiting the French troops in Brussels. Before fleeing the capital, the Austrian governors had armed the Nations, instructing them to defend the city for the Emperor. The artisans, angered by the Aus• trians' treatment of the Estates in 1792, had long since decided that Leopold's successor, Francis I, differed very little from his predecessors. For the last twelve years, Austrian emperors had disregarded the Belgian customs and institutions. Instead of defending the city, the artisans turned their borrowed weapons on the remaining Austrian stragglers, and then joined the peas• antry in chasing Austrian carriages through the countryside. When the French arrived in Brussels on November 14, 1792, a large contingent of armed citizens greeted them. The mayor of Brussels waited in the Grand'Place to present Dumouriez with the keys to the city, but Dumouriez refused to accept them. " Citoyens, " he declared, " gardez vos clefs, gardez-les bien vous-mêmes, ne vous laissez pas dominer par aucun étranger, vous n'êtes pas faits pour l'être. "(") That evening the citizens of Brussels and the French troops joined in cele• brating the Austrian government's hasty retreat.

(") CHUQUET. p. 108 ; and F. BORNAREL. Cambon ft la révolution française. (Pans. 1905). p. 205. ('-) TASSIER. pp. 99 and 103 ; AUI.ARD, October 30. 1792 ; Office fiscal 986. AGR : Esprit des Gazettes. October 26. 1792. p. 361 ; and Adolphe LEVAE. Les Jacobins, les patriotes, el les représentants provisoires de Bruxelles (Brussels, 1846). pp. 6-7. (") Moniteur. November 21. 1792. XIV : 21. See also: Jean Baptiste VAN DER NOOT to Henri VAN DER NOOT. November 18, 1792. États Belgiques Unis 186. AGR : SOREL. Ill : 162 ; and TASSIER, p. 106. www.academieroyale.be

218 OCCUPATION, 1792-1793

The Second Belgian Revolution

Traditionalists and democrats alike rejoiced at the news of Dumouriez's victories and his liberation of Brussels. Even Van der Noot wrote to Dumouriez to express " ma vive et sincère gratitude de l'heureuse perspective, que vous venez de nous préparer... Ma patrie sera donc enfin, j'espère, pour jamais libre. " (u) The Brussels populace burned the old Austrian arms. At a banquet feting the French at the Hôtel du Prince de Galles, the physician Emmanuel Dinne, who had served under Van der Mersch, and Alexandre Balza, a lawyer who had recently returned to Brussels from France with the Beiges et Liégeois Unis, proposed the formation of a Jacobin Society to enlighten their fellow citizens by propagating French princi• ples. The group of Belgian democrats invited Dumouriez to the first meeting of the Société des amis de la liberté et de l'égalité. According to one of Vonck's more reliable correspondents, more than one thousand citizens assembled for the meeting in the Church of the Jesuits. (I5) Dumouriez's entry into the church was greeted with a tumultuous ovation. In his opening speech, Dumouriez applauded the Belgians' initiative. He called on them to break their ties with the old regime and to establish a new nation. The French had accomplished their duty by liberating the Belgians from Austrian oppression, he said ; it would now be the responsibility of the Belgians alone to decide how to exercise their newly won sovereignty. The first president of the Brussels society, Balza, responded by toasting the end of " le règne de l'erreur. " With the help of the French, he proclaimed, " la lumière de la liberté a lui sur les peuples et elle les a élevés à la hauteur de leurs droits : de ces droits sacrés et imprescriptibles de la nature qui les fait tous

(L4) VAN DER NOOT to DUMOURIEZ, November 26, 1792, London, F7 4691, ANF. See also Henri VAN DER NOOT, November 18, 1792, États Belgiques Unis 186, AGR. ('5) " Comme nous étions et ce que nous avons fait, " Écrits politiques, 23 : 236-294, AGR ; and " De verdryvinge der Oostenryksche in den Tempel der Waerheyd, " Revolution belge, vol. 114, pam. 2, BRB. www.academieroyale.be

OCCUPATION, 1792-1793 219 des êtres égaux et libres. "(I6) The age of aristocratic rule had ended, speaker after speaker announced. They had glimpsed " la vérité même ! " (l7) After the meeting, Dumouriez accom• panied the members of the Société to the Meyboom Place, where they planted a tree of liberty. Dumouriez then departed to continue his military campaign, leaving General Bornéron in control of Brussels. The exuberance of his Belgian allies worried Dumouriez. Ever since the spring, he had distrusted the leaders of the Comité des Belges et Liégeois Unis. They seemed too eager to force their radical ideas on the Belgian people. He finally decided that the Comité should not exist as a separate revolu• tionary power outside of the government. (18) He therefore proposed that the Société gather the people of Brussels togeth• er to elect a provisional government. The Société followed Dumouriez's suggestion. It posted an• nouncements throughout the city calling the people to elections the following day. This sudden decision surprised many of the Brussels residents who were still happily celebrating. The few former members of the Estates who had remained in Brussels requested a delay of a few days to allow the citizens to prepare for the elections. Balza refused. An opportunity for the tradi• tionalists to mount a campaign was precisely what he had hoped to avoid. As an added precaution against conservative resistance, he decreed that there would be only one election site : the Cathedral of Sainte Gudule. It was to be surrounded by French troops. (I9) Despite the soldiers' presence, chaos broke out at the election assembly when Balza, who was pre• siding, read a prepared list of twenty-four candidates from the Société. Many people left angrily before the voting. Balza announced the results of the election the next day at a meeting of the Société. Although most of the former supporters

(") Moniteur, November 28, 1792, XIV: 580. See also. Journal de la société des Amis de la Liberté (Brussels, 1792), November 20, 1792. See also : DE VLEESCHOUWER to VONCK, November 17, 1792, Mss. 14892, BRB ; DUMOU­ RIEZ, November 17, 1792, Liasse 613A, AVB ; and Administration centrale et supérieure de la Belgique 2392"", AGR. (I?) " Hymne à la vérité, " ( 1792). RUG ; and " Le Canon," (1792), RUG. (ls) F" 30. ANF ; Orient LEE. Les Comités et les clubs des patriotes belges el liégeois im-An ///(Paris, 1893). p. 151 : and TASSIER. pp. 108, 115. and 149. (") Journal. November 1792 ; and LEVAE. p. 78. www.academieroyale.be

220 OCCUPATION, 1792­1793

of the Estates had boycotted the election, a few traditionalist representatives won positions in the new Provisional Assembly. The majority of the eighty­four Provisional Representatives elected were democratic activists who had participated in the resistance and the revolution since 1789. (20) Notable among the new representatives were the Due d'Ursel, J. J. Chapel, Sandelin, Weemaels, Simon, Sironval, Torfs, D'Outrepont, Bal­ za, Thielens, Libouton, Herbinaux, Fisco, D'Aubremez, Ver­ looy, and Michels. They had been rebuffed both by the tradi­ tionalist founders of the republic of 1790 and by the Austrian reformers in 1791 ; now at last, after five years of revolution, the Belgian democrats appeared to control the government of Brussels. At their first meeting, the Provincial Representatives asked the people of Brussels to help them to assure " la félicité de la République naissante. " (2I) From their balcony, the Represen­ tatives declared, " au nom du peuple souverain... à la face du ciel et de la terre, que tous les liens qui nous unissaient à la maison de Lorraine Autriche sont brisés. " They pledged " de ne plus les renouer et de ne reconnaître, à qui ce soit, atlcun droit à la souveraineté du peuple belge, qu'au peuple lui­ même, car nous sommes rentrés dans nos droits primitifs, im­

(20) Journal, November 18, 1792, p. 21 ; and TASSIER, pp. 175­178. Elected as Provisional Representatives in Brussels were : Angelot, Pierre Annemans, le Due d'Arenberg, D'Aubremez, Balza, Gilson, Bedinger, Bosschaert, Brincks, Guillaume Chapel, J. J. Chapel, Claeyssens, Cobus, Cornet de Grez, Debrou, De Neck, J. B. Digneffe, Donroy, Dotrenge, Charles Dupré, Emmerichts, A. J. De la Fontaine, le curé de Finistère, Fisco, Foubert, Francolet, A. J. Fri­ son, Goosens, Goffin, Gruyer, Guerault, Herbinaux, Jacobs, Janssens, Lamotte, Lequimé, Libouton, Michels, Millé, Moerinckx, J. Β. Moris, Nicolle, Niesse, D'Outrepont, Peeters, Pitet, Poringo, C. A. De Raet, curé de St. Nico­ las, comte de Saint Rémy, Rosière, Sandelin, Seghers, Sironval, Simon, Stroo­ barts, Tecman, Thielens, Ursel, Van der Bergen, Van den Borcht, Van der Straeten, Van der Steen, Van Gaeveren, Van Halwyck, Van Hoeten, Van Möns, Verlooy. De Vleeschouwer, Walckiers, de Gamerage, Weemaels. Wittonck, and Yernaux. By profession there were fifteen lawyers, six mer­ chants, fourteen artisans, seven government employees, three doctors, eleven wholesale merchants, four bankers, two apothecaries, one artist, one industrial­ ist, one rentier, three priests and five nobles. Eight remain unidentified. (21) Proclamation au nom du Peuple Souverain, November 23, 1792, Liasse 613A. AVB ; and Procès­Verbaux, Collection des Procès­verbaux des séances des représentants provisoires de la ville libre de Bruxelles, November 19, 1792, BRB. www.academieroyale.be

OCCUPATION, 1792-1793 221 prescriptibles et inaliénables. " ( ) Calling for an end to the provincial rivalries that had so divided the first Belgian repub• lic, the Brussels Representatives appealed to the other local governments for cooperation. " Que désormais on ne dise plus : les Flamands, les Brabançons, mais les Belges, mais les amis de la liberté. " (23) The Provisional Assembly moved expeditiously but cau• tiously during the next weeks to lay the foundations of the new government. It sent Balza and Torfs on mission to the French National Convention in Paris to ask for French recognition of Belgian sovereignty. Arriving in Paris on December 4, Torfs asserted proudly that Belgium had a long history of respect for liberty : " Nous pouvons dire qu'avant la fin du XVIe siècle, il n'y avait que les Belges et les Suisses qui connaissaient la liber• té en Europe, " he proclaimed. (24) The Belgians would justify the French faith in them. One of the first issues the Brussels Representatives consid• ered was the question of economic liberty. " Sous le régime de l'égalité, " the Assembly declared, " nulle distinction ne doit exister entre les membres d'une même cité, entre les enfants de la même patrie, tous les citoyens étant égaux en droits, tous doivent jouir des mêmes prérogatives et nul ne peut prétendre à des exemptions et des immunités personnelles et exclu• sives. " (25) In that spirit, they allowed the free circulation of goods — an end therefore to the guild monopoly in the mar• ketplace. Chapel proposed freeing trade completely from the barriers imposed during the ancien regime. " Le bien être des individus fait la prospérité et la force de l'état, " he argued in his defense of individual rights. (26) On other issues, appointed committees prepared reports that they presented to the whole Assembly for debate. The subse• quent meetings of the Brussels Provisional Representatives

(") journal. November 20. 1792, p. 19, (n) "Adresse des amis de la liberté et de l'égalité à Biuxelles aux Fla­ mands. " RUG. (24) TASSIER. pp 136-137. (;s) Journal. November 13. 1792. p. 59; and Procès-verbaux. November 23. 1792 and December 14. 1792. p. 59. I21") J J. CHAPEL, "Lettre et Mémoire sur le Commerce des Pays-Bas Autrichiens. " Révolution belge, vol. 66. BRB. www.academieroyale.be

222 OCCUPATION, 1792-1793 were marked by both a grave sense of mission and animated enthusiasm. The Assembly declared that all citizens should have equal access to public employment, although after debate, in fact, few changes were made in the office holders. On November 20, the Representatives did abolish the old tribunals and appointed new ones. The seven judges swore their loyalty to the people as sole sovereign and promised to render speedy justice. (27) Exuberance, not gravity, marked the meetings of the Socié• té. The Brussels members traveled throughout Belgium to plant trees of liberty and to announce the dawning of a new age. (28) The first interest of the club, they declared, was to be educa• tion. The democratic lawyer Messemaecker consecrated a table at the front of the assembly room for the recording of new laws so that they could be read by all the members and interes• ted citizens. Estienne, the Frenchman, proposed that three times a week the Joyeuse Entrée and the Droits de l'homme would be read and compared. (29) The Société also involved itself actively in overseeing the creation of the new government. Delegations urged the Provi• sional Representatives to abolish the dîmes, " ce droit odieux, " as well as all other remaining feudal privileges. (30) God had not created the taxes, one delegate affirmed in the beginning of the first sustained argument for the separation of Church and state ; the bishops had created the dîmes for their own benefit. Other delegates, including the Frenchman Goguet, vehemently denounced the corporation as " corps privilégié infecté du poi• son de l'aristocratie. " (3I) The one artisan who regularly at• tended Société meetings, La Faye, added his protest against the butchers who admitted only their relatives to the profes• sion. (32)

(27) GAILLARD, I: 460; Journal, November 21, 1792, p. 51; The seven judges were : Deman, Van Grave, Van den Stegen, De Roovère, Wouters, Mosselman, and Fierlant. (28) Journal. November 25. 1792, pp. 103-104. (29) Journal. November 23, 1792, p. 53 and November 29, 1792, p. 102. (30) Journal. November 19, 1792, p. 25. See also MELSNYDER. Journal. December 12. 1792. p. 204 ; and TASSIER, p. 217. (31) GOGUET, Journal, November 17, 1792, p. 8. (32) LA ¥ WE. Journal, December 2, 1792, p. 135. www.academieroyale.be

OCCUPATION, 1792-1793 223

The other matter that concerned the Société was the recruit• ment of a Belgian volunteer army to lend support to the French. Ever since Jemappes, Dumouriez had been trying to raise a standing Belgian army. (") Members of the Société, most of whom had followed Van der Mersch in 1790, urged the Representatives to consider that the right to self-defense was one of the prerogatives of sovereignty. (34) The Estates had ignored that duty in 1790 in their repudiation of Van der Mersch's popular army. Perhaps remembering the Austrians' victory over Schonfeld's motley array of soldiers in 1790, the Société moved quickly. A military committee began recruiting officers from the former soldiers who had fought in the Bra• bant Revolution. The history of the national guard, headed by Rosières, however, would be far from glorious. His plans to recruit 40,000 men were never realized. The few soldiers who did volunteer constantly complained of a lack of supplies and of disorganization. For example, at its peak, the cavalry had 148 officers, 742 cavaliers, and 27 horses. (35) Although the membership of the Provisional Representa• tives and the Société overlapped, the Provisional Representa• tives invited the Société to send an official delegation to their meetings to avoid potential conflicts over policies. With the Société delegation in attendance at the next meeting, one Rep• resentative stood up to urge the members of the Société " à mettre la plus grande sagesse et modération dans leurs motions afin de ne pas choquer trop vivement l'opinion populaire. " (36) The delegates from the Société brusquely denounced the speaker. The Société continued to propose institutional changes to the Representatives and to urge that the spread of instruc• tion be hastened in Brussels and the countryside.

(") November 24. 1792, C 359 1905. ANF (,4) SANDELIN, MICHIELS et D'OUTREPONT, November 21, 1792, L 4552, ADN ; Baret to Représentants provisoires, December 24, 1792, L 4585. ADN ; L 4576, ADN ; and Journal. November 23, 1792, p. 52. (") L 4585. ADN; L 4552, ADN; ROSIÈRES, December 1792. L 4555, ADN ; and LASSERAY. " Corps belges et liégeois aux armées de la Belgique. " Revue d'histoire moderne. (May-June. 1929). pp. 177-179. (,6) Procès-verbaux. November 25, 1792 and November 26. 1792. See also VERLOOY to VONCK. November 22. 1792, Brussels. Mss. 14892. BRB www.academieroyale.be

224 OCCUPATION, 1792-1793

Resistance and Revolutionary Control

The traditionalists who had welcomed their French libera• tors several days earlier protested vehemently against the hasti• ly organized government. Just as it was the first time that the democrats had played a role in the government, it was also the first time in several centuries that the supporters of the Estates had been totally excluded from control. They were not pleased with the change of roles. In numerous handbills posted on walls around the city, traditionalists attacked the legitimacy of the election of the Provisional Representatives. (37) The ballot boxes in the cathedral had been ringed with French soldiers whose presence frightened away most of the citizens of Brus• sels, they charged. A small organizing clique supported by the French military had thus been able to elect its members to the new Assembly. Jean Baptiste Van der Noot wrote his brother that the majority of the elected representatives " sont les mêmes personnages de l'armée de 1789" — the democrats who had supported Van der Mersch against the republic. (38) These former leaders of Pro Aris et Focis and of the Société du Bien Public, men who had compromised with the Austrians in 1791, " feignent de changer d'opinion selon les événements, et ne consultent que leur intérêt, " another observer com• plained. (39) The traditionalists vowed that they would not pas• sively accept an unjust transfer of power. A group of traditionalists, believing Dumouriez's first pro• nouncements in favor of popular sovereignty, protested to the French against the democrats' seizure of the government. The democrats who had taken over the government had actively cooperated with the Austrians for the last four years, they informed Dumouriez. The demagoguery of the Société had

(3') " Les Bruxellois. " November 18. 1792, Écrits politiques, 159 : 212-215 ; LEVAE. p. 73. CHUQUET, November 30, 1792, WILSON, November 27. 1792, Foreign Office 26/19. PRO. (n) J. B. VAN DER NOOT to Henri VAN DER NOOT, December 3, 1792, États Belgiques Unis 187, AGR. (39) LEVAE. p. 88. See also: METMAN, December 6, 1792, Pays-Bas 183, p. 390. AMAE ; and " Situation de la ville de Bruxelles et des lieux circonvoi- sins depuis l'entrée des français. " Manuscrits divers 2211, AGR. www.academieroyale.be

OCCUPATION, 1792-1793 225 terrified the citizens who cowered in their homes. Such Jacobin clubs might have a place in anarchic France, but, they argued, they were counterproductive in Belgium. (40) " Les Brabançons et les Bruxellois en particulier sont attachés à leurs institutions, parce qu'elles ont toujours fait leur bonheur, " a group of citizens told the French General Bornéron. (4I) The democrats had no right to destroy institutions that, while they might have been abusive in France, in Belgium assured prosperity and happiness. The high clergy attacked the French as well as the new Belgian government. The clerics had been the only critics of the French during the military campaign, so it is not surprising that the First Estate marshalled the new assault. The Abbé de Feller continued to prophesy doom for Belgium if it allowed the irreligious French to intrude in Belgian affairs. (42) Chanoine Nys was horrified at the Jacobin assemblies where he observed Balza ascending the pulpit in Sainte Gudule, an• nouncing '· auditores prima vice ex hac cathedra veritatem audietis, " and then ranting on impiously. " (43) Members of the Société had visited villages denouncing the local priests and stealing church silver. In imitation of their irreligious counter• parts, they would soon attempt to destroy the Belgian Catholic Church, the clergy warned. The former members of the Second Estate did not join the First in protesting against threats to Belgian traditions and privilege. The nobles had seen too many temporary regimes in Belgium during the last four years to worry about who ruled Belgium or what reforms they threatened to impose. Most of the nobility simply left Brussels when the French arrived, ig• noring the legislation pending in the Provisional Assembly. They were content to watch from their country estates, which

(40) " Entretien d'un Curé avec son Paroissien." RUG ; Journal historique et littéraire. May 15. 1792. pp. 154-156. October 15. 1792. p. 257. and Novem­ ber 1. 1792. p. 391 ; and Procès-verbaux. November 21. 1792. (4I| LEVAE. p. 112. See also : " Le Père éternel aux Belges. " RUG. (4*) See : Journal historique el litléraire. C") Chanoine NYS. November 13. 1792. 2960 II. AVB. ("for the first time vou are hearing the truth from this pulpit. ") See also " Croniek. " November 1792. AV 3517. AVB. www.academieroyale.be

226 OCCUPATION, 1792-1793 in the past had always proved to be safely distant from the authority of the central government. (44) On the other hand, the lawyers and doyens who had held positions in the Estates did support the clergy's protest. Just as the clergy foresaw the destruction of the Church, the members of the Nations feared the democrats' intention to bring an end to the guilds' commercial monopoly. The provisional govern• ment's plans to open the Scheldt river for trade and to liberal• ize commercial regulations alarmed them. The Brussels govern• ment threatened to follow the French example by relaxing the stringent restrictions for entry into the artisanat. (45) These changes. Van der Noot's friend Henri Van der Hoop pointed out to the doyens at the meeting, would jeopardize the privi• leged status of the guilds by introducing competition into the marketplace. (46) Van der Hoop took a petition of protest with hundreds of signatures to the National Convention in Paris. Van der Noot joined the resistance. In a number of manifes• tos he reminded the former members of the Estates that the threat posed by the provisional government was broader than the attack on their particular privileges. Without directly attack• ing the French, whom he had so recently applauded, he warned that the French would never be able to understand that Belgium's unique strength depended on a perpetuation of its traditions. The Provisional Assembly looked to the French Revolution rather than to Belgian history for its model of an ideal government ; the delegates wanted to abolish all the Bel• gian customs and traditional institutions. In the longest of the manifestos, " Adresse au Peuple Belge, " he explained : " Chaque nation a le droit d'être libre à sa manière. Les braves Français aiment la liberté sous les couleurs Bleue, Blanche et Rouge ; les braves Belges l'aiment sous les noir, jaune, et rouge. " (47) Per• haps an egalitarian, democratic republic was best for the

(") TASSIER. pp. 206-207. (45) Journal. December 2. 1792; Alph. VANDENPEEREBOOM, Glides, corps ά métiers et serments. Esquisse historique, (Brussels, 1874), p. 34 ; and Procès- verbaux. December 5. 1792. The wigmakers protested the French order that they shave the heads of wrongdoers. (46) VAN DER HOOP to the Chambre du Corps des merciers, cited by LEVAE, pp. 61, 86, and 87. (47) VAN DER NOOT. December 1, 1792, États Belgiques Unis 186. AGR. www.academieroyale.be

OCCUPATION, 1792­1793 227

French, but in Belgium, " il n'y a pas moyen de faire une république. L'expérience hélas ne l'a que trop constaté. " (48) Belgium needed the leadership of a regent like the Duc d'Or­ léans. Therefore, Van der Noot told the Belgian people, he had offered his services to help create a new government. He would willingly serve as the Belgian prince. Only thinly veiled in Van der Noot's manifestos was the traditionalists' underlying fear that the French Revolution would spread to Belgium. Pamphleteers warned their country­ men that the liberty and anarchy of the neighboring regime posed a threat more dangerous than that of any plague. In France, the government had " stolen " the treasures from the church, impoverished the clergy, imprisoned the royal family, and driven the nobility into exile. The French abolition of the Estates and of the dîmes seemed to foreshadow a similar course of events in Belgium. The new Belgian government seemed intent on rupturing all the ties that held together Bel­ gian society. The traditionalists predicted that soon in Belgium as in France, the only law would be " Tout est permis contre tous... " (49) Unlike the moderate Catholic freedom guaranteed by the Brabant Constitution, the realm of total freedom in France had proven to be license. The most widely distributed and influential pamphlet, " Aux amis de la chose publique, " eloquently sums up the traditiona­ lists' grievance against the French and Belgian democrats. (50) The author of the pamphlet argued that the Belgians needed to find a middle ground between tyranny and democracy. The pamphleteer, well versed in the philosophe's arguments, agreed

(4β) Henri VAN DER Noor to Jean Baptiste VAN DER NOOT. November 6. 1792. November 13. 1792. November 23. 1792, and November 30. 1792. États Belgiques Unis 183. AGR See also: Henri VAN DER NOOT to DUMOURIEZ. November 26. 1792. flats Belgiques Unis 185. AGR; VAN DER NOOT ΙΟ Cardinal de Mechelen. November 26, 1792. États Belgiques Unis 185. AGR; VAN DER NOOT. "Faits et reflections" November 24. 1792. Flats Belgiques Unis 186. AGR; and VAN DER NOOT. November 18. 1792. États Belgiques Unis 186. AGR. (4,| Th. ARLET. "La pure vérité." Office fiscal 986, AGR ; Brackeniers. " Particuliere nota nopens de laetse militaire werkengen, " cited by LEVAE. p. 52 ; " Conseil au Peuple belgique. " February 8. 1793. Écrits politiques. 157 : 483­514. AGR ; and " Note des griefs qu'on croit avoir motivé le mécontente­ ment du Peuple de Bruxelles. " Goelhals 208. BRB. (50) " Aux amis de la chose publique. " Écrits politiques. 161 : 448­481. www.academieroyale.be

228 OCCUPATION, 1792-1793 that " rhomme est né pour la liberté. " (51) But, he added, the experience of past history had shown that democracy would soon degenerate into disorder and anarchy. Why, the pamph• leteer asked, did philosophers and legislators only consider extremes ? Why not see that " aristocracie, " a word that had become " presque un blasphème aujourd'hui... fait de l'état une machine heureusement organisée qui marche impérieuse• ment vers le bien général. " (52) He asked his compatriots to look around them at states emerging from revolutions and observe whether they were happier or more flourishing than aristocratic Belgium. Like all the other traditionalist pamphlets of November and December 1792, " Aux Amis de la Chose Publique, " appealed to the lessons of Belgian historical experience to refute the models of the philosophers and French legislators. The author pointed to the corporative image of shared prosperity in Bel• gium, an image that after five years of constant repetition must have sounded familiar to the readers of traditionalist pamph• lets and broadsheets. The traditionalists' resistance was not long limited to pamphlets and letter writing but soon escalated into violence. The former leaders of the Estates declared the first election void and called for a new election assembly in Ste. Gudule. Despite orders from the Provisional Assembly prohibiting the assembly, a large group of citizens gathered outside Ste. Gudule on the morning of November 27. They would respect the authority of the Estates, not that of the democrats' govern• ment, a leader of the crowd defiantly proclaimed. When entry into the cathedral was prevented by a ring of French troops, the crowd marched to Meyboom Place intending to uproot the recently-planted tree of liberty. There they encountered more French troops, commanded by the French General Bornéron. They jeered the French for several hours and then dispersed for the night. The next day they returned to harass members of the Société who were on their way to a meeting. Jeers soon turned to violence ; the crowd pillaged the houses of Brussels democrats, leaving notes of warning to the Belgian " sans-

(51) Ibid. (52) Ibid. www.academieroyale.be

OCCUPATION, 1792-1793 229 culottes. " French spies reported that the crowd was led by the lawyers, doyens, and high clergy who had ruled the republic of 1790. (53) In the villages around Brussels, the traditionalists controlled the streets. Democrats did not dare to venture from their houses. The rather sudden emergence of such a strong resistance movement alarmed both the Belgian and the French demo• crats. Alexandre De Broux, the democratic priest from Meche• len, returning to Brussels from a trip through Flanders report• ed that he had been chased and denounced by the monks as the anti-Christ. (54) Other travellers told the Société that they had observed " le plus crasseux fanatisme " in small villages throughout the Brabant. (55) In the village of Puurs, an abbot had been telling the people that Dumouriez, who had come to Belgium to spread Protestantism, would be damned to the twentieth generation. The traditionalist movement had grown so large, travellers warned, that it posed a threat to the new democratic regime. The proposed reform of " cette gothique constitution de Brabant " had apparently served as a call to arms for the privileged groups. (56) Dumouriez agreed : " La révolution est bien loin d'être faite dans le Brabant, " he reported to Paris. " La cabale des prêtres et des États règne sur les trois-quarts du pays. " (") The Belgian Jacobins pledged to eradicate the religious fanaticism of their fellow citizens. Edouard de Walckiers 1am-

(") TASSIER, p. 201 ; CHUQUET, November 27, 1792 ; Moniteur, December 8, 1792, XIV : 664 ; D*2, 4-5, ANF ; French agents reported that the following people participated in the riots : Blaes, Dansaert, the Comte de Limminghe, Drugman, Moris, De Ridder, Ernoux, Francon, Van Doorselaer, Villard, Nys, Savena, Corbesier, Boutons, Evenpoel, Vander Noot de Vreckem, and rather curiously. Sandelin. Except for Sandelin, all of the above were traditionalists who had been previously active in the revolution. The inclusion of the democrat Sandelin in the list leads one to doubt the absolute accuracy of the list. {'") DE BROUX to VERLOOY. November 30, 1792, Mss. 14892, BRB. (") CHEPY. Journal de la Société, December 9. 1792, p. 165, December 9, 1792. p. 170, Collier, December 2, 1792, p. 124, and WESTERMAN, Decem­ ber 30. p. 130 ; December I. 1792, Pays-Bas 183. p. 383, AMAE ; and " Reflex­ ions sur le caractère qu'a développé chez les Belges. " Révolution belge, vol. 67, pam. 7. BRB. (56) Journal. November 16. 1792. p. 13. and November 28. 1792, p. 87. (") Dumouriez to Pache, edited by CHUQUET. December 6, 1792. See also : CHEPY. November 21. 1792. Fk II, ANF. www.academieroyale.be

230 OCCUPATION, 1792-1793 basted his fellow citizens for their timidity in following the French example : " Citoyens, " he proclaimed,

les Français vous ont délivré de la tyrannie Autrichienne ; c'est à vous à vous délivrer pour toujours de celle de ces perfides états, dont les crimes nous rappellent notre malheureuse révolution... Vous n'avez été que les jouets de ces états ignares, qui, trafiquant de votre liberté pour se conserver leurs prétendus droits... vous ont livrés tous sans défense aux soldats autrichiens. Quittons ces tristes souvenirs, mais qu'ils vous servent de leçon, & sachez en profiter ; ne vous fiez plus qu'à vous-mêmes, détruisez tous les corps d'états, judiciaires ou corporations quelconque, qui ne tiendroient pas leur pouvoir de vous, peuple, seul souverain aujourd'hui ; rentrez dans vos droits imprescriptibles, inaliénables. (58)

From rostrums in central Brussels, Société speakers called for the abolition of religion and of traditional privilege, both of which deprived the common people of their rights. The Joyeuse Entrée had been a pact between the tyrant and the people and, so one speaker urged, it should be abolished. (59) The crowd's response was negative, even hostile ; jeers inter• rupted the Jacobins. Despite the crowds' hostility, the Société planned a cam• paign throughout the Brabant countryside to save its fellow citizens from " les ténèbres de l'esclavage. " (60) The Société launched its campaign in the university town of Louvain, long reputed to be a clerical stronghold. After surveying the political situation, Société members from Brussels urged the organiza• tion of a Jacobin society in Louvain to fight the philosophical conservatism of the faculty and the apathy of the town admin• istration. The main enemy, however, would be the clergy, " ces hommes pervers qui couvroient les peuples du bandeau de l'ignorance & de la superstition. " (61) Ignoring popular resis• tance, the Brussels Jacobins called and held elections for Provi• sional Representatives in Louvain and established a branch of

(S8) Journal, November 23, 1792, pp. 68-69. (") BARET. November 27, 1792, Journal, p. 93; "La mort plutôt que l'esclavage, " RUG ; and " Den Apostel der vryheyd, " RUG. (60) Journal, November 20, 1792, p. 35. (61) Journal, December 9, 1792, p. 180, December 14, 1792, p. 200, and WALCKIERS, December 2, 1792, p. 150. www.academieroyale.be

OCCUPATION, 1792-1793 231 their Société there. Henri Van der Hoop was also arrested again. The delegation then moved to other towns to supervise elections and to harass monks. The Provisional Representatives refused to join the Jacobin missionaries in the countryside. They protested to the Société that their power was provisional and that they had no authori• ty to undertake such activity. The Société nevertheless pressed the Representatives to assume a more active role in governing Belgium. (") The Representatives hesitated ; they did not want to be accused of repeating the errors of the supposedly tempo• rary government of the republic of 1790 which had refused to step down. They replied that they would not assume power not granted to them by the people. Representatives Chapel, D'Otrenge, and D'Aubremez then called for the election of a permanent national assembly to replace the provisional body. Verlooy argued that it would be dangerous to call new elections. The election of a permanent assembly would best be postponed, he explained, because of the growing support for the traditionalists in rural Belgium. He therefore urged the Brussels Assembly to call together the Provisional Representatives from all of Belgium to form a provisional central governing body. In the minority but un• daunted, Verlooy took his request to Dumouriez and the Con• vention in Paris. Dumouriez decided to go ahead with the promised elections, now scheduled for the end of December. By this time, the Provisional Representatives had begun either to ignore or to reject most of the projects submitted to them by the Société. There were discontented murmurs through• out the Assembly when the Jacobin Estienne announced the formation of a league of sans-culottes, shouting vindictively, " si les malveillants poussaient leur audace trop loin, Bruxelles trouvera un autre faubourg St. Antoine qui ne se laissera pas abuser, des soldats victorieux pour assurer la tranquilité publi• que, des jacobins pour démasquer les traîtres, les conspirateurs

(62) Procès-verbaux. December 5. 1792; " Proclamation des représentants provisoires." Pergameni 1019, p 24, AVB ; and VAN ELEWYT to VONCK. November 25. 1792. Brussels, and November 29. 1792, Mss. 14892, BRB; and VERLOOY to DUMOURIEZ. December 8, 1792, F7 4691. ANF. www.academieroyale.be

232 OCCUPATION, 1792-1793

et les agitateurs. " (63) For several weeks, the Provisional As• sembly had been besieged with complaints from citizens about the intolerance and brutality of both the French agents and the Belgian Jacobins. Many of the Provisional Representatives, the former leaders of the democratic resistance, did not believe that it was necessary to force enlightenment and disapproved of the recent violent coercion of their countrymen by the Socié• té and the French. They knew Brussels had no faubourg St. Antoine. Once the majority of the residents, the shopkee• pers and artisans of Brussels, had begun to enjoy true liberty, the moderates believed, they would join voluntarily in support of the new regime. Friction between the Provisional Assembly and the Société increased during December 1792. The men who had emerged as the leaders of the Société were new to Belgian politics and more radical than the experienced democratic leaders. (64) The moderates disapproved of the anticlerical harangues of these new leaders. Most of the former leaders of Pro Aris et Focis no longer attended meetings of the Société and devoted their time to the Provisional Assembly of which they formed the core. (65) The new leaders of the Société in turn charged the provisional government with being too timid. On December 11, the Jaco• bin delegation to the Provisional Assembly stormed out of the meeting. " Nous connaissons ceux d'entre vous qui pensent bien, nous connaissons ceux qui pensent mal, " they shouted as they slammed the door. (66) The democratic coalition formed

I6') Estienne cited by LEVAE, p. 102 ; Rosières to Provisional Representa­ tives. Journal, December 14, 1792, p. 186 ; and Procès-verbaux, December 23, 1792. (64) See : L. LECONTE. Le Citoyen Estienne, Général des sans-culottes belges. Leconte cites one contemporary description of the Jacobin club : " Une tribune aux harangues s'élevait au milieu entourée d'une enceinte en planches à hauteur d'appuis, assez vaste pour contenir les affiliés, le reste du temple était réservé aux profanes et surtout aux Commères qui arrivaient avec leurs chauf­ ferettes, la petite bouteille de genièvre dans la poche, lesquelles commères recevoient cinq plaquettes pour leur vacation consistant à applaudir frénétique­ ment les aboyeurs de l'assemblée. " (65) VAN ELEWYT. November 25, 1792 and November 29, 1792, Mss. 14892, BRB ; Procès-verbaux, November 30, 1792 ; Courrier de l'égalité, November 28, 1792, 102: 224; LEVAE, p. 107; and Paul VERHAEGEN, "Torfs, Jurisconsulte, Diplomate, et Administrateur, " Revue belge, June 15, 1924, II : 49. (66) Procès-verbaux. December 11, 1792, and December 14, 1792. www.academieroyale.be

OCCUPATION, 1792-1793 233 between the Assembly and the Société in November was rapid• ly dissolving. The moderate democrats who dominated the Provisional Assembly and the Jacobins leading the Société could not coalesce in their fight against the growing traditiona• list opposition.

The French : Dumouriez and the Convention

In their exaltation, the French Convention in November had proclaimed the beginning of the new age. French princi• ples would flow from Paris throughout Europe. Lebrun, the Liégeois serving as the French foreign minister had an• nounced : " Il est bien certain que nos principes pénétreront partout d'eux-mêmes... précisément parce que ces principes sont ceux de la saine raison. " (6?) The French armies would drive the despots from the neighboring countries and the peo• ple would flock to adopt the principles of reason. Therefore Lebrun had seconded Dumouriez ; the French would not need to interfere with the Belgian government. Once liberated from the Austrians, the Belgians would follow the French example. The French assumed that the Belgians would break the feudal bonds of the nobility and the clergy themselves. The news of the traditionalists' resistance throughout Belgium therefore greatly troubled the French ministers ; it disturbed their vision. On November 19, the French National Convention issued the first in a series of decrees formally specifying its expecta• tions of liberated peoples. " Au nom de la nation française, " the Convention declared, it would accord " fraternité et secours à tous les peuples qui voudront recouvrer leur liberté. " (68) If the Belgians expected continued friendship and protection, they would have to break the bonds of the ancien regime. The French would henceforth more actively participate in and monitor Belgian progress towards acceptance of the French principles. Several days before the publication of the decree, Lebrun had dispatched three agents, Joseph Marie Bourdois,

(67) Lebrun to Noel, November 11, 1792, as cited by A. SOREL, L'Europe el la révolution française (Paris, 1897) III : 165. (6S) SOREL. III: 170; DUMOURIEZ. p. 13, and M. REINHARD, Le Grand Carnot (Pans, 1950), p. 28. www.academieroyale.be

234 OCCUPATION, 1792-1793

Charles Metman, and Pierre Chépy to Belgium and Liège to assure " parfaitement et sans retard le retour de la liberté des Belges et Liégeois. " (69) But even more troublesome than the Belgians' ideological torpor was their refusal to accept the burden of financing the war against the Austrians. Dumouriez had insisted during the invasion that he would never treat Belgium as an occupied nation. He had pleaded with the Minister of War, Jean Nicolas Pache, to supply his troops with provisions. When Pache did not answer his requests, Dumouriez found himself without provisions. (70) At the end of November, the General finally decided to " borrow " money from the clergy. The Belgian revolutionaries had refused to touch the enormous wealth of the Church, but since the very presence of the French in Bel• gium had already irreparably alienated the Belgian clergy, Dumouriez declared that the Belgian people " étant trop jeune en liberté pour avoir des idées précises sur ce genre de proprié• té nationale " would have to be taught the need for redistribu• tion of such excess wealth. (71) He was unhappy about apply• ing force in Belgium but decided that, if limited to an attack on the clergy, it would not alienate too many Belgians of the " useful classes. " Meanwhile, he worked with individual Bel• gian entrepreneurs such as the Vonckist négociant, Simons, to establish markets for the French forces. Other French generals in Belgium were not as worried about alienating the Belgian people nor as selective in their search for funds and provisions. Believing that the Belgian people had to share the costs of the occupation, they chal• lenged Dumouriez's cautious financial policies. Their troops raided Belgian fields and kitchens for food. Led by General La Bourdonaye, the commander of l'armée du Nord, they insisted that the Belgians accept the almost valueless French assignats as payment for goods. Belgian merchants heretofore had

(69) CHUQUET, p. 181. (70) Dumouriez to Pache, cited by CHUQUET, December 6, 1792. (71) Dumouriez cited by CHUQUET, p. 148. See: DUMOURIEZ to STA, November 20, 1792, in Archivo del général Miranda (Caracas, 1931) XI : 115; Dumouriez to Comité de défense générale, January 10, 1793, C 3 591904, ANF ; Ds2 1-2. ANF ; and DUMOURIEZ to PACHE, November 24, 1792, C 3 59196bis, ANF. www.academieroyale.be

OCCUPATION, 1792­1793 235 refused to accept this French paper money as payment from soldiers. Dumouriez protested La Bourdonaye's actions asking : " De quel droit donnez­vous aux Français l'air de conquérants en attribuant au profit de la Révolution Française les contribu­ tions publiques ?" (72) Such policies, he protested, would fur­ ther alienate both the merchants who detested the assignats and the peasantry whose fields were being trampled — two classes whose support was necessary for the success of the revolution. (73) La Bourdonaye was eventually replaced but his policies had come to stay. On November 20, the Convention sent a mission of four agent» — Danton, Delacroix, Gossuin, and Camus — to inves­ tigate the condition of l'armée du Nord and to settle the con­ flict. The four new agents joined the three who had been in Belgium for almost a month. They reaffirmed Dumouriez's complaints about the lack of supplies, but except for Camus, they neither approved of the General's system of private provi­ sioning of French armies nor of his moderation towards the Belgians. (74) The agents ordered all communities that had not yet elected Provisional Representatives to proceed with such elections. Because the agents were unable to communicate with the vil­ lagers who spoke Flemish, they used armed troops to force villages to assemble for elections. They cajoled peasants in French­speaking villages with satirical remarks directed against the Church and the Estates. (75) Pierre Chépy, the most vitriolic of the agents, openly denounced both the Brussels Vonckists and their champion, General Dumouriez. He described Brus­ sels as the scene of " effrayante incurie. " Even the democrats, he charged, had " nulle idée politique. " The " tiers état divisé,

<72) TASSIER. pp. 111­112. See also REINHARD ; SOREL. ill : 171; CHUQUET. ρ 191 ; and DUMOURIEZ to PACHE. Moniteur. December 2. 1792, XIV : 664. (") DUMOURIEZ lo PACHE. November 24, 1792. November 25. 1792, De­ cember II. 1792. C 359"OJ, ANF. i74) DUMOURIEZ, p. 6; SOREL ρ 172, Moniteur. December 10, 1792, XIV: 703 ; and LIBERMAN. pp. 40­41. 137. (75) ROSIÈRES, Journal. December 15. 1792. ρ 195. November 23, 1792. pp 54­55. November 24, 1792. p. 71. and November 25. 1792; and DUMOU­ RIEZ. ρ 11 : and Marcel DENECKERE. Histoire de la langue française dans les Flandres 1770­1823 (Ghent. 1954), pp. 206­207. www.academieroyale.be

236 OCCUPATION, 1792-1793

sans principe, sans tenue, sans lumières en vérité " did not question the supremacy of the nobility and clergy. " Nous avons beaucoup d'obstacles à vaincre, " he concluded. (76) Dumouriez protested the French agents' bold interference in Belgian affairs. " En même terns qu'ils tyrannisaient les esprits par leurs clubs incendiaires, ils pillaient les propriétés, et ne laissaient aucune liberté, ni physique, ni morale, à leurs nou• veaux frères, " he charged. (77) They were substituting French militarism for Austrian despotism. The Department of War under Pache operated like a club of like-minded men, accord• ing to Dumouriez, and the foreign ministry under Lebrun now seemed intent on disrupting Belgian stability. Apparently no one else cared about the Belgians' ideas or understood their institutions, he complained. Finally, the general threatened to resign if his requests for funds were not granted and the agents' activities not curbed. As the expenses of the Belgian occupation increased, the argument between Dumouriez and the central government only intensified. The general refused to be subjected to the dictates of an elected body sitting far away in France. He did not resign. Dumouriez repeatedly entreated the Convention to be patient with the Belgian people and to follow the spirit of their earlier proclamations. Throughout November Dumouriez had tried to reconcile the political factions within Belgium, assum• ing the people would undertake legal reforms of their own free will. His sympathies, however, went to the democrats. When the traditionalists gained a popular following in early Decem• ber, he finally denounced the traditionalists, giving his full support to the former Vonckists. In an address to the Belgian people in mid-December, he denounced the former Estates as " une autorité féodale qui avilit la pluralité des citoyens. Vous croyez, peuple belge, " he cajoled them, " que tout est fait, parce que vous n'avez plus d'Autrichiens sur votre territoire. Vous vous trompez, vous n'avez encore rien fait pour votre liberté ; vous n'avez pas encore commencé votre révolu-

(76) CHEPY, November 21. 1792, F,E II, ANF; A. COURTOIS, Journal De­ cember 25. 1792, p. 280; MIRANDA, December 4, 1792, VIII ; and December 1, 1792. Pays-Bas 183. AMAE. (77) DUMOURIEZ. 1: 89 and II : 3. www.academieroyale.be

OCCUPATION, 1792-1793 237

tion. " (78) Although more severe than his earlier statements, even in mid-December after the traditionalists' resurgence, Dumouriez had not abandoned his ideal of a moderate repub• lic governed by representatives freely chosen by the people. He intended Belgium to be independent from France, not subject to the turmoil of French Jacobinism. He continued to expect to be honored as the liberator-general of the newly sovereign nation. Ever since the failure of the Brabant Revolution, French pamphleteers and officials had discussed the different tem• peraments of the French and Belgian peoples. One recent mémoire suggested that contrary to the claims of many French pamphleteers, the Belgians did not reject new ideas simply because they were an ignorant and superstitious people. Rath• er, the author of the mémoire explained, " cet esprit de défi• ance contre les sistèmes nouveaux lui est venu de la comparai• son qu'il a faite dans tous les tems, de la félicité et de l'abon• dance dont son pays a joui depuis des siècles avec l'état des autres cantons de l'Europe. " (79) Belgium had prospered under its age-old constitution ; in comparison to conditions in neigh• boring societies, even the common people of Belgium had no reason to abandon their ways for those of their struggling neighbors. The Commissaire du pouvoir exécutif, Publicola Chaussard, recorded in his Mémoires an even clearer statement of the uniqueness of Belgian institutions. (80) However, most of the French reports argued that the privileged Brabant coalition easily seduced the Belgian people who were both " crédule " and " fanatique. " (8I) Of all the Belgians, these authors con• cluded, only the few active Vonckists could be trusted to accept readily new ideas. Without outside help, the gullible Belgian people would not break the bonds that tied them to feudalism. On December 15, 1792, Dumouriez's enemy on the Comité des finances, Pierre-Joseph Cambon, opened a debate in the French Convention over Belgian finances by declaring the

('") DUMOURIEZ. Moniteur. December 12. 1792. XIV: 705-706. See also DUMOURIEZ I : XVII. XXVIII. and II : 162 ; and SOREL, III : 159. I7") Nom. F" 31. ANF. (80) Publicola CHAUSSARD. Mémoires historiques ei politiques sur la Révolu­ tion de la Belgique et du pays de Liège (Pans, 1793). (*') D* 2. 4-5. ANF. See also May 8. 1792. Pays-Bas 5. A M AF www.academieroyale.be

238 OCCUPATION, 1792-1793

need for a drastic change in policy toward the occupied territo• ry. The Belgians were not revolutionary and the war was becoming a serious drain on French resources. War would have to be declared not only against emperors, he argued, but also against all factions defending the old regime. Belgium had proved the impossibility of a half-revolution. (82) The Convention received Cambon's report with marked favor. A majority of the French representatives were obviously tired of supporting so-called " Belgian revolutionaries " who would not even agree to the most basic reforms. They ap• plauded as Cambon summed up his argument : Dumouriez, en entrant dans la Belgique, a annoncé de grands prin­ cipes de philosophie; mais il s'est borné à faire des adresses au peuple. Il a jusqu'ici tout respecté, nobles, privilèges, corvées, féoda­ lité, etc. Tout est encore sur pied ; tous les préjugés gouvernent encore ce pays et le peuple n'y est rien ; c'est-à-dire que nous lui avons bien promis de le rendre heureux, de le délivrer de ses op­ presseurs, mais que nous sommes bornés à des paroles... Il faut donc que nous nous déclarions pouvoir révolutionnaire dans les pays où nous entrons... Lorsque nous entrons dans un pays ennemi, c'est à nous à sonner le tocsin. Si nous ne le sonnions pas; si nous ne proclamions pas solenneJlement la déchéance des tyrans et des privi­ légiés, le peuple, accoutumé d'être enchaîné, ne pourrait briser ses fers ; il n'oserait se lever ;... 11 faut dire aux peuples qui voudraient conserver des castes privilégiées : vous êtes nos ennemis ; alors on les traitera comme tels, puisqu'ils ne voudront ni liberté, ni égalité ; et si au contraire ils paraissent disposés à un régime libre, vous devez non seulement leur donner assistance, mais les assurer d'une protection durable. (8Î)

The resulting decree, approved by the French Convention on December 15, marked a decisive turning point in Franco-Bel• gian relations. The French would henceforth play a direct role in governing the Belgian provinces. The Conseil exécutif in France dispatched the decree to the French agents and the army in Belgium with explicit instruc• tions for its rapid implementation. They were to dissolve all local authorities opposed to French principles — "il ne faut

(82) SOREL. p. 159 ; Moniteur, November 24, 1792 ; C. PARRA PEREZ, Miran­ da et la révolution française (Paris, 1925), p. 21 ; Report of December 27, 1792, F7 4690. Plaq 2, ANF ; and DUMOURIEZ, Première mémoire, F7 4688, ANF. (83) CAMBON, Moniteur, December 18, 1792, XIV : 759. www.academieroyale.be

OCCUPATION, 1792-1793 239 pas que l'ombre même de ces autorités subsiste, autrement elles domineroient encore par le souvenir et par la terreur, " they were told. (84) They were to proceed with the election of a Belgian national convention at the end of December. No offi• cials currently in office would be eligible for reappointment to municipal or judicial appointments. The national convention would be charged with rewriting Belgian laws ; " chez les peu• ples long-temps rabaissés sous un gouvernement despotique et sous l'influence de l'aristocratie, la plupart de ces loix sont contraires aux droits de l'homme, " the Conseil decreed. (85) At the same time as the traditional taxes were abolished, the municipal governments were ordered to begin provisioning the French army. (86) Finally, the decree provided that any dissen• sion would be viewed by the French agents as treason. Alone among the French officials, Dumouriez vigorously denounced the decree. He returned to Paris to protest the French policy on the first of January. " Le décret du quinze décembre est une loi de violence dictée par des conquérants et nous n'avons pas conquis la Belgique, " he complained, pre• dicting that the decree would drive even the Belgian democrats into the opposition. (87) The Foreign Ministry did not heed Dumouriez's warning.

1793 : Traditionalists, Democrats and Jacobins

Several weeks passed before the decree could be published and posted in Belgium. The mails were normally slow, and many postal agents refused to distribute French documents. Once the news reached the cafés and cabarets, however, the reaction was immediate. At open meetings in Brussels, mem• bers of the Estates and their followers pledged to check the spread of French anarchy.

(*") " Observations sur les mesures à prendre pour l'exécution de chaque article du décret du 15 décembre. " in CHAUSSARD, December 15. 1792, p. 189; AULARD, December 16. 1792 ; MIRANDA. VIII : 43 ; and D' 3. 35. dossier 39 bis. ANF. (") Ibid. (U) DUMOURIEZ. pp. 32-33. (V) DUMOURIEZ. Première mémoire. F7 4688. ANF. www.academieroyale.be

240 OCCUPATION, 1792-1793

The decree confirmed the worst fears of the traditionalists. One widely distributed poem chronicled the Belgians' initial joy: Quand vous entrâtes dans les Pays-Bas Pour nous tirer de l'esclavage Chacun de nous se portant sur vos pas S'empressant de vous rendre hommage

and their subsequent disillusionment : Vous renversez droits, loix, Religion, États, Conseils & privilèges Vous révoltez toute une Nation Par vos horribles sacrilèges. (88)

The December decree proved what the traditionalists had begun to suspect by the end of November : the French, " des hommes qui rejettent toutes les observations de l'expérience pour se conformer à leur théorie", intended to impose their theories of liberty and equality on the Belgians. (89) Van der Noot rejoiced in England when he heard of the protest. To him, it served as definitive proof that " le sistème français ne peut s'établir dans les provinces, d'ailleurs... les Belges du moins de toutes les provinces ne l'admettront pas. " (90) Feller echoed his glee. " Les Belges, avantageuse• ment arriérés dans les opinions du siècle, " he rejoiced, would continue to revere their natural leaders. (9I) Other pamphle• teers stressed the differences in the social structure between France and Belgium. In Belgium, they argued, the clergy and nobility still performed essential services and consequently

(88) " Les Français aux Belges et les Belges aux Français, " Écrits politiques 157: 173-174. AGR. (89) " De l'intérêt de l'Europe dans la Révolution française, " Écrits poli­ tiques. 10: 56-89, AGR.

(,0) VAN DER NOOT to M. Charles Comte DE THIENNES DE LOMBIZE, De­ cember 27. 1792, États Belgiques Unis 185, AGR. See also : VAN DER NOOT to VAN GILS, January 11, 1793, London, États Belgiques Unis 185, AGR. (9I) FELLER, Journal historique et littéraire, January 15, 1793, p. 154. See also: Journal historique el littéraire. February 15, 1793, p. 319; "Pétition présentée à la Convention nationale par le citoyen belge Henri Van Hamme, " Révolution belge, vol. 139, pam. 8, BRB ; Mss. II 995, BRB ; and " Le peuple souverain à d'Otrenge, " RUG. www.academieroyale.be

OCCUPATION, 1792-1793 241 deserved representation, not banishment. ( ) The Belgians in• tended to maintain their sovereign independence, the tradition• alists vowed, in stubborn statements that closely resembled their pronouncements of 1790. The traditionalists were not alone in publicly protesting the French action. The Provisional Representatives charged that the decree infringed on Belgian freedom and sovereignty. What had happened, the democrats asked the French, to the repeated assurances that the Belgians would be allowed to establish their own national government according to their own needs ? The revolution was succeeding in France, but why should the Belgians be forced to accomplish in one year what had taken the French four years to achieve ? (93) And why should the Belgians not be allowed to choose what was most appropriate from the three democratic models, American, Eng• lish, and French ? After all, the Provisional Representatives argued, Belgium was a nation quite unlike prerevolutionary France. Belgium enjoyed the protection of an old and just constitution and set of laws. Any foreign model, particularly the French one, would have to be applied " avec les réserves & les ménagements que l'on doit à un Pays qui diffère de mœurs & d'opinions & qui n'est travaillé, ni par les mêmes abus ni par les mêmes besoins qui ont amené & nécessité la révolution en France. " (94) A free and sovereign people had to be al• lowed to choose its own path, to elect its own representatives who would be free to act in the general interest of the new nation without suffering the pressures of foreign rulers. The Brussels Assembly invited representatives from the other Bel• gian cities to discuss the decree with them. After some discussion, the Provisional Representatives of Brussels resolved to take their protest directly to the French Convention. Sandelin drafted a petition charging " que le décret du 15 décembre était destructif de la souveraineté bel- gique ;... une contradiction de conduite et de maximes, de faits

(92) See for example : Manuscrits divers 5041, AGR ; and Journal historique et littéraire, January 15. 1793, p. 154. (95) Cornet DE GREZ to DUMOURIEZ., F7 4691, ANF. (94) "Coup d'œil sur les principaux points d'une constitution à adopter dans la république. " Varia, vol. 343, pam. 4, AAB. See also d'Outrepont. Fle 27. ANF ; and Archives centrales et supérieures de la Belgique 2399, AGR. www.academieroyale.be

242 OCCUPATION, 1792-1793 et de promesses ; c'était en supprimant le nom de la chose, conquérir les Belges par le fait. " (95) The Belgian Assembly delegated Walckiers, Charles D'Outrepont, and Alexandre Bal• za to present the petition to the French. Walckiers refused ; D'Outrepont requested that he be allowed en route to make such changes in the petition as he thought required (a request which was refused) ; and there is no evidence that Balza actually delivered the address. But whether or not the French received the petition, they did hear informally about the Provisional Representatives' objections. The Société des amis de la liberté et de l'égalité denounced the " aristocratie " Brussels representatives for their cowardly address to the French Convention. (96) Alone among the Bel• gians, the Jacobin societies enthusiastically championed the December decree. The French agents attending the Société meetings applauded their zeal. Together, they called upon the Belgians to exercise their first true act of sovereignty in electing delegates to a national assembly. (97) On December 29, 1792, election assemblies were held through• out Brussels. Most of the assemblies disintegrated into shouting chaos as people crowded the rostrum proclaiming loudly that they would recognize no authority other than the Estates. They denounced the French election instructions as well as the De• cember decree and demanded the reinstatement of " leur an• cienne constitution, leur Conseil de Brabant, [et] la Sainte Reli• gion Catholique Apostolique et Romaine. " (98) Once order had been established, many of the assemblies refused to proceed with the elections, objecting to the French ballot boxes.

i95) Procès-verbaux, December 21, 1792 and December 24, 1792. (96) MESEMAKER, Journal, January 22, 1793, p. 460 ; and January 4, 1793, p. 341 ; [Dinne] " Réponse au libelle anonyme, " Acquisitions récentes, AGR ; and CAMBON in F. BORNAREL, Cambon et la révolution française (Paris, 1905), p. 223. (97) J. J. CHAPEL, January 23, 1793, Bouteville 480, BRB ; Journal, Chepy, December 28, 1792. p. 272, and December 17, 1792, pp. 210-213. (98) Section 2, Ds 3, 29. 1792, ANF; see also: "Sur les Assemblées pri­ maires dans la Belgique, " Révolution belge, vol. 14, pam. 26, BRB ; Metman, December 19, 1792, Fle, 11. ANF; Archives centrales et supérieures de la Belgique 2392, AGR ; Procès-verbaux of Sections 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14. 15, 16, 17, 18, 20 and 21, December 29, 1792, Ds 3, 29, ANF ; Procès-verbal tenu dans l'église de la Madeleine, December 29, 1792, Acquisitions récentes, 2/24, AGR ; and Jones, December 31, 1792, Staten Generaal 7452, RAN. www.academieroyale.be

OCCUPATION, 1792-1793 243

Those assemblies that did eventually hold elections chose an overwhelming majority of traditionalists, including the doyens Van Parys, Van den Block, and Van Campenhout. Even the absent Van der Noot and Van der Hoop received large num• bers of votes. The elected delegates of thirteen of the seventeen assemblies supervised by pro-French members of the Jacobin Société refused to repeat the French oath to the liberty and equality of the people. Instead in assembly after assembly they swore " d'être fidèles au peuple libre et souverain de la pro• vince de Brabant. " They pledged in a repetition of the oath of 1790, " de maintenir la religion Catholique, apostolique. " (") As well as protesting against the imposition of French prin• ciples in Catholic Belgium, the Brussels assemblies renounced Belgian nationalism. The traditionalists who dominated the assemblies vigorously attacked plans for the incorporation of the Brabant into a Belgian nation. The Brabançons were a historically distinct people, they protested, and should remain so, (l0°) In their provincialism, the delegates rallied against the Brussels Société's vocal nationalism and frequent calls for unity. But the assemblies were also, though less consciously, rejecting the nationalism of 1790. Perhaps the Flemish demon• strations of democratic sympathies since the spring of 1790 had frightened the Brussels traditionalists. More likely, the idealism of 1790 had been shattered, for traditionalists as well as demo• crats. The Provisional Representatives annulled the results of the election. In a bitter proclamation to the Brussels people, they expressed their disappointment with the election results. They reminded the people that they had protested formally against the decree by sending a declaration to Paris. But now, they cautioned, the French would easily find justification for exer• cising the right of conquerors. " La France vous a donc donné l'option, entre la véritable liberté & la servitude de la con• quête, " they reflected. " Elle vous a laissé le droit, non pas de créer selon votre caprice, des prétendues souverainetés provin-

(*9) D' 29, ANF. See also Procès verbal gehouden in de kerke der Cathuy- sers. Liasse 613, AVB. (10°) " Le peuple souverain de la ville libre de Bruxelles à Théodore d'O­ trenge. " www.academieroyale.be

244 OCCUPATION, 1792-1793 dales ou partielles, aussi ridicules que monstrueuses en prin• cipe, mais de reprendre l'exercice de la souveraineté nationale pour toute la Belgique. " Instead, seduced by " toute cette conspiration de fanatiques & aristocrates, " the people had shown they were not ready to be free, " ils ont opté pour la servitude & pour la conquête. " (l01) Although the Representa• tives did not condone French force, they admitted in their proclamation that " un peuple qui ne demande que des fers, les trouve facilement. " (102) They implied that they had done all they could to win over their fellow countrymen. They were tired ; the former Vonckists again recognized the strength of the Brussels resistance to democratic principles. The elections infuriated both the French agents and the leaders of the Société. The chosen representatives " n'étaient pour la plupart que des satellites soudoyés du clergé et de la noblesse, " they declared. " Chaque jour confirme une vérité qu'on n'a cessé de répéter depuis longtemps, que la majorité chez les Belges, et surtout parmi les Brabançons, ne voulait ni de la liberté ni de l'égalité, ni de la raison, ni de la philoso• phie. " (103) The rich doyens along with the first two orders had once again misled and bribed the citizens of Brussels. Belgium was not a special nation with needs different from the French, the Société told its fellow countrymen. The Bra• bançons were not blessed with a unique set of laws or customs. The Joyeuse Entrée, like the French laws that had survived from the ancien regime, they argued " est devenue détestable auprès des principes de la philosophie qui nous éclaire. " (104) And just like the contemptible French clergy, the Belgian priests " opposent à ces [French] lumières les ténèbres de l'er• reur, " forcing the common men " préoccupés du ciel, " to forget " dans cet instant qu'ils étoient encore sur la terre. " (l05) The only difference was that in Belgium, unlike France, the

l01 ( ) Théodore D'OTRENGE, " Proclamation au Nom du peuple souverain. " December 29. 1792. RUG. ('02) Ibid. ('03) Moniteur, January 6, 1793. XV : 49 ; and " Coup d'oeil impartial, " Fle 11. ANF.

104 ( ) Journal, cited by TASSIER. p. 253; and J.J. CHAPEL to Provisional Representatives. January 23, 1792, Bouteville 480. AVB.

105 ( ) Journal. Alexandre COURTOIS, p. 308. See also: Journal, GOGUET. January 8. 1793. p. 337 and DE NECK, January 7, 1793, p. 372. www.academieroyale.be

OCCUPATION. 1792­1793 245 aristocratie conspiracy had seduced the bourgeoisie into sup­ porting the privileged constitution and feudal laws. Even the Belgian moderates were afraid of radical change. According to the Société that was why the former Vonckists, the Provisional Representatives, had joined the privileged traditionalists. (I06) The Jacobins' denunciations further alienated the moderate democrats from their former allies. Throughout January the Société steadily and publicly lambasted the timidity of the Provisional Representatives. When the moderate democrats stopped attending the Société altogether, the Jacobins ordered the names of the Provisional Representatives struck from the membership lists of the Société. The remaining Jacobins who had been elected Provisional Representatives refused to attend the Provisional Assembly and only begrudgingly acknowledged its continued existence. (I07) Essentially, this split between moderate and radical demo­ crats was a division between the experienced democratic­ leaders and the newcomers to Brussels politics. The core of the Provisional Assembly, the moderate democrats, were the same men who had founded Pro Aris et Focis back in 1789, had signed the March 15 petition in 1790 and had participated in the Société du Bien Public. The one significant absentee was Vonck, who died in December 1792 following several months of illness. The General Van der Mersch had also died in 1792, depriving the democrats of their two figureheads. Of the twen­ ty­six members of this moderate democratic group in January 1793, eleven had led the democratic resistance since 1789. Only five of these twenty­six were new to Brussels politics. (I08) The moderate democrats in 1793 continued to be firm advo­ cates of gradualism, both because they had come to respect

(i'») MESEMAKER. Journal. January 22. 1793. p. 460, Baret. January 5, 1793. ρ 360. Courtois. January II. 1793. p. 361. Baret. December 28. 1792. p. 299. Plubeau. January 3. 1793. p. 334. Baret. January 1, 1793. p. 322. Charles and Fstiennc. December 30. 1792. pp. 306­311; Walckiers to the Société. January 18. 1793. Bordeaux. Écrits politiques. 161 : 299­305. AGR; " Réflex­ ions faites par le citoyen Mesemaker, " Écrits politiques. 160 : 276­287. AGR. ('"'> Procès­verbaux. December 24. 1792. p. 34; and Journal. January 28. 1793. p. 485 and January 16. 1793. p. 432. (I0S) The ten democrats who had participated in the resistance since 1789 were : Fisco, D'Outrepont, Torfs, Sandelin, D'Otrenge, Weemaels, Simon. D'Aubremez, Sironval and J.J. Chapel De Vleeschouwer was active in 1789; www.academieroyale.be

246 OCCUPATION, 1792-1793 some of the Belgian traditions and because they believed that liberty could not be forced on an unwilling people. The majori• ty of the Belgian people would be alienated by too many reforms imposed too hastily, they said. These moderates also opposed intervention by foreign rulers in the affairs of the Belgian people. In fact, their position had changed remarkably little over the five-year period of revolution. As in the past, most of the moderate democrats were intel• lectuals and wealthy négociants who wanted to expand the representational system of the government and to liberalize commercial regulations. Although the number of active demo• crats shrank by half, many having joined the Jacobins or retired from politics out of frustration, the proportion of lawyers without a position in the government, members of the liberal professions, and wholesale merchants and bankers remained almost identical to that of membership of the earlier democratic resistance groups (see Table 5). The intellectuals, that is the lawyers and members of the liberal professions, made up over fifty percent of the group in 1793. Although the number of wholesale merchants and bankers declined in 1793, they now played a much more significant role than they had in the past. These négociants were the only Provisional Represen• tatives who maintained extensive contact with the Jacobins. They supported many of the Jacobin ideas but would not actively participate in the Société because they disliked the " ruffians " who were leading the Société and disapproved of the French participation in the group. Otherwise, the major difference between the membership of the democratic group in 1793 and those of 1789 and 1790 was the decline in noble and clerical membership. The traditionalists, like the democrats, were led by a core of members who had been active since the earliest resistance. Of the twenty-three most active traditionalists in 1793, twenty-two were experienced in Brussels politics. (109) Only one member of

Peeters, and Saint Remy in 1790; Deprès in 1791. The Due d'Ursel participa­ ted in 1787 and 1790; and Nicolle, Moerinckx, Foubert, Thielens, Claeyssens, Tintilair, Herbinaux, Michels, and Messemaecker in 1790 and 1791. New to politics were : Bosschaert, Wittonck, and Janssens. (109) The traditionalists who had been active since 1787 included : Van der Noot, Van der Hoop, Beeckmans, Van Parys, comte de Limminghe, Baron de www.academieroyale.be

OCCUPATION, 1792-1793 247 the traditionalist opposition in the period of the French occu• pation had no record of previous activity. As with the moder• ate democrats, the philosophy of the traditionalists had varied little since 1787. In 1793, as in 1787, the group supported tradi• tion, privilege, and the Church and opposed both foreign inter• ference in Belgian affairs and reform. Similarly, the membership of the traditionalist resistance was composed of the same privileged members of society as in the past (see Table 6.) The number of artisan members dropped, many having given up politics since they could no longer exercise influence through the Nations and the Estates. Some, including the former leader De Noter, had emigrated from Belgium. The lawyers active in 1793 were the same ones who had held government positions in the past, the clergy came from the upper hierarchy, and the nobility was drawn from the same middle levels as in the past. Except for the sculptor Fernandez, who had just joined, the members of the liberal professions in 1793 had also been associated with the Estates : Pauwels and De Braeckenier as the Estates' printers and Bisschop as the doctor to many of the traditionalists. On the other hand, by January the Société included very few experienced politicians in its membership. Of the twenty- nine active Jacobins, only ten had been previously involved in the democratic resistance. ("°) Most of the experienced demo• crats who joined the Jacobin society had fought in the Belgian

Romerswael, abbé de St. Bernard, abbé de Tongerloo, Saegermans, and de F eller. The following traditionalists had participated in the resistance since 1789: Vw Hamme. Drugman, Van Assehe, Pauwels. Van der Noot de Vrc- ckem. and the Baron de Hove. Dansaert had participated in 1790 and 1791 ; Ί Kint in 1787 and 1790; Van Daelen in 1787 and 1789; and Duvivier, Duras, Bisschop, and de Braeckenier in 1790. The only newcomer to Belgian politics was Fernandez. ("°) Three of the experienced democrats who joined the Jacobins — Van Möns, Dinne, and Walckiers — had led the attempt to work with the Austrians in 1791 and had then urged the French to intervene in Belgium the next year. Verlooy had abandoned politics for a year because of his disapproval of the moderate democratic leadership and Balza had simply disappeared from Brus­ sels in 1790 to return with the French. Jacobins new to Brussels politics were : Collier, De Bère, Frison, Heyndricks, Baret, Lubin, Espagnac, De Raet, Chateigner, Estienne, Goguet, Grimault, Lorenzo, Jaubert, Cobus, La Faye, De Prenne, Melsnyder and Jacobs. I would like to thank Roland Hissel for sharing his lists of Brussels Jacobins' participation with me. www.academieroyale.be

248 OCCUPATION, 1792-1793

TABLE 5. — Professional background of democrats, 1789, 1790, and 1793.

1789 1790 1973

21 19 9 Lawyers 37% 35% 35% 7 8 5 Liberal Prof. 12% 15% 19% 11 12 8 Wholesale Merchants and Bankers 20% 22% 31 % 0 2 2 Merchants and Artisans 6% 8% 7 4 0 Clergy 12% 7% 6 4 2 Nobility 11 % 7% 8% 2 3 0 Miscellaneous 4% 5% 2 3 0 Unidentified 4% 5%

56 55 ' 26 Total 100% 100% 101 %

army of 1789 and served in 1790 either with Van der Mersch in Namur or with a batallion of volunteers in Brussels. The treatment they received in the service of the Belgian republic as well as their military experience had apparently radicalized them, setting them apart from their former political allies who remained moderate democrats. Many of them had moved to Paris preferring either to work with the Austrians or to urge the French to intervene in Belgium. All had openly repudiated attempts over the last three years to work with the traditiona• lists. The professional backgrounds of the democrats who joined the Jacobins did not differ greatly from those of demo• crats who were active in the Provisional Representatives. In• stead, they were divided by their revolutionary activities during the three year period before the French occupation. The other twenty members of the Société had never partici• pated in Belgian politics. Experience, or lack of it, was clearly reflected in the political differences separating the Jacobins www.academieroyale.be

OCCUPATION, 1792-1793 249

TABLE 6. — Professional background of traditionalists, 1789, 1790, and 1793.

1789 1790 1793

8 11 5 Lawyers 21 % 22% 22 % 1 3 4 Liberal rrot. 3% 6% 17% Wholesale Merchants and Bankers 0 0 0 10 12 5 Merchants and Artisans 27% 24% 22 % 7 8 4 Clergy 18% 16% 17% 6 8 5 Nobility 16% 16% 22% 4 4 0 Miscellaneous 10% 8% 2 2 0 Unidentified 5% 4%

39 49 23 Total 100% 100% 101 % from the moderate democrats and the traditionalists. Most of the Jacobins had no political position to preserve ; many had never even been inside the Hôtel de Ville. They were only beginning to realize what the experienced democrats by 1793 accepted as established fact : that is, that a large number of Belgians would resist any but the most gradual reforms. These newcomers optimistically believed that change could be easily implemented. They intended to create a new Belgian society, freed of what they regarded as the shackles of past tradition. Unlike the moderate democrats and the traditionalists, most of the Jacobins had no ties to the Belgian past. The professional background of the members of the Jacobin Society also differed significantly from those of the members of the older groups (see Table 7). In contrast to the traditionalists and the moderate democrats, the Jacobins in 1793 were almost equally divided between intellectuals and members of the lowest order of the population. In addition to the influence of political experience or lack of it on the political philosophies of www.academieroyale.be

250 OCCUPATION, 1792-1793

TABLE 7. — Professional backgrounds in 1793 : traditiona• lists, democrats and jacobins.

Total Tradition­ Row pet. Democrats Jacobins Total alists Column pet.

5 9 4 18 Lawyers 28% 50% 22% 100% 22% 35% 14% 23 % 4 5 7 16 Liberal Prof. 25% 31 % 44% 100% 17% 19% 24% 21 % 0 8 4 12 Wholesale Merchants 67% 33% 100% and Bankers 31 % 14% 15% 5 2 1 8 Merchants and Artisans 63% 25% 12% 100% 22% 8% 3% 10% 4 0 0 4 Clergy 100% 100% 17% 5% 5 2 0 7 NJ i,f,ilit\. / 1 /o ZV /o 1UU 7o iNouuuy 22% 8% 9% 0 0 9 9 Miscellaneous 100% 100% 10% 12% 0 0 4 4 Unidentified 100% 100% 14% 5%

23 26 29 78 Total 29% 33% 38% 100% 101 % 100% 99% 100% the three groups, the divergence in political ideas was related to the differences between the professional backgrounds of the memberships of the three groups. Intellectuals — the lawyers and members of the liberal pro• fessions — comprised thirty-eight percent of the Société. Three of four lawyers had not actively practiced in Brussels for sever• al years. All three had been diverted from the law to the read• ing and writing of works on social issues and ideas. Similarly, three of the four doctors had turned their professional practice www.academieroyale.be

OCCUPATION, 1792-1793 251 toward humanitarian concerns. Doctors Dinne, De Frenne, and Jacobs practiced medicine among the poor and sought to ex• tend medical practice in general to all segments of the Brussels population. The chemist Van Möns continued to blend his professional scientific correspondence with the planning of societal experimentation through his membership in French scientific societies. Their motivation in joining the Société clearly stemmed from their humanitarian convictions. They all believed that justice required granting all men their full natural rights. Seven members joined the Jacobins for a variety of personal and professional reasons. Hayez, the publisher, had for several years been involved in publishing the most radical democratic pamphlets. Of the two men listed in the merchant-artisan cate• gory, C. H. Melsnyder, a garçon chapelier, had been vehement• ly anti-clerical for several years and La Faye, the perfume salesman, was the most outspoken opponent of the privileges of the Nations. Finally, four Jacobins were bankers and whole• sale merchants, with wide international connections, who want• ed a voice in the governing of their society and an end to re• strictive regional trade barriers. Almost half of the Jacobins had no established professional position in Brussels society. The Jacobins listed under the cate• gory " miscellaneous " in Table 7 included six military men who had recently joined the French army in search of adven• ture, one monk, one man who had tried at least three different professions in Paris before coming to Brussels, and one man who described himself as an " employee. " The four Jacobins listed in the " unidentified " category were apparently not em• ployed. Much was written about them by their contemporaries but without any mention of employment. According to one pamphleteer, the Jacobins were led by " Français, de ban• queroutiers, d'hommes ruinés qui n'ont d'espoir de relever leur fortune dissipée qu'en remplaçant les lois par l'ancienne anar• chie. " ('") Contemporaries were well aware of the less settled backgrounds of the Jacobins. They also recognized that the professional backgrounds, as well as the political ideas, of the Jacobins were an anomaly in eighteenth-century Brussels.

('") "Cri unanime des Belges, " cited by LEVAF, p. 73. www.academieroyale.be

252 OCCUPATION, 1792-1793

Annexation and Defeat

The Jacobins gradually assumed control of the city, unoffi• cially replacing the Provisional Assembly as the municipal au• thority. They renamed the main streets of Brussels in January, adopting such labels as rue des Sans-culottes, rue Franco-belge, rue d'Égalité, rue du Bonnet rouge, rue de la Philosophie, and rue du Divorce. ("2) The Société nationalized the breweries, standardized the weight and price of bread, and authorized merchants who were not members of the Nations to sell their goods in the Grand'Place at lower prices than the Nations. The fish sellers thanked them for allowing them to compete with the masters. " Plus de corporation : la liberté, toute la liberté, rien que la liberté," their spokesman declared. (113) A new oath was required of the lawyers. When one of the most re• spected Brussels lawyers refused to take the oath, Estienne publicly ridiculed him as " un sot & un aristocrate " and barred him from practice. ("4) The Société openly proclaimed its irreverence. The Société meetings, held in a series of churches, were opened with the singing of the Marseillaise and indecent songs about the Pope. (115) It held public processions led by the sans-culottes carrying a bust of General Van der Mersch bedecked with a bonnet rouge through the streets. After a drinking bout, a number of the sans-culottes attacked the statues adorning the Park. In the Place Royale, they toppled the statue of Due Charles by attaching his head to lines pulled by horses. Several days later, one member was reported to have proposed bring• ing the guillotine to Brussels to dispose of living enemies. ("6)

(ll2) Journal, December 31, 1792, p. 318 ; Moniteur, January 16, 1793, XV : 226 ; and DESHAQUETS, January 13, 1793, Brussels, Fle 11, ANF. ("3) LA FAYE, Moni.eur, January 20, 1793, XV: 171; Journal, Colin, February 11, 1793, p. 649, Melsnyder, February 18, 1793, II: 350, Jaubert, January 22, 1793, p. 458, and La Faye, January 9, 1973, p. 386; and DESHA• QUETS, January 13, 1793, Fk 11, ANF. ("4) Journal, Estienne, January 11, 1793, p. 400. See also: Journal. La Faye. January 9, 1793, p. 386; and N. GOETVAL, "Histoire de Belgique. Bes- chryvinge sedert 't jaer 1780 tot 1793, " Mss. VIII : 386, BRB. ("5) LECONTE, p. 33 ; Brun LA FOND, Journal, January 5, 1793, p. 356. ("6) JONES, January 1, 1793, Staten Generaal 7452, RAN ; and Esprit des Gazelles, January 13, p. 56. www.academieroyale.be

OCCUPATION, 1792­1793 253

One Jacobin proposed that the Eglise des Jésuites be torn down so that the materials could be used to build a new meeting house for the Jacobins ; another suggested that at least the stained glass windows in several churches be destroyed as " signes gothiques de notre ancienne servitude. " ("7) At the height of its boldness, the Société sent a delegation to the Provisional Representatives demanding the original copy of the Joyeuse Entrée for burning in a public ceremony. " La Constitution autrefois passable est maintenant passée, " the French soldier Goguet declared. ("8) The Provisional Repre­ sentatives refused to hand over the constitution or to honor the Société's request that they dismiss all employees who had pre­ viously served the Estates. The Société in turn, condemned the ideological " léthargie, " of the Representatives, specifically denouncing the assembly's refusal to help in the expropriation of church goods. The Société decreed that all meetings of the Provisional Assembly would henceforth be open to the public — that is, open to Jacobin heckling — and that all the proceed­ ings were to be published and posted. They stationed troops of sans­culottes at the assembly hall. ("9) By late January, a few of the provisional Belgian authorities continued to resist, sending frequent protests to Paris, but most retreated in the face of the Jacobin harassment. The judges who had been appointed by the Provisional Representatives in November refused to publish the French decrees and Jacobin pronouncements, and local officials held the president of the Société, Estienne, waiting in the antechamber of their hall for what he described as an impertinently long time before keep­ ing a scheduled appointment. (I2°) The Provisional Representa­

("') MESEMAKER. Journal. January 10. 1793. p. 398. Sec also: Journal de Bruxelles. March 26. 1793. XIII: 578; Moniteur. December 28. 1792. XIV: 845. January 15. 1793. and February 4. 1793. XV : 341 ; JAUBERT. Procès­ver­ baux. January 12. 1793; CHEPY. January 15. 1793. F" II. ANF; and March 15. 1793. Pergameni 1019. p. 43, AVB. The windows were protected, after debate, as works of art. Journal. March 3, 1793, II : 147, ("') GOGUET. Journal. ("'*) Journal. January 13. 1793. p. 406. DINNE. January 5. and January 12, 1793. pp. 321 and 407; LORENZO. •'Réforme urgente et salutaire" (February 6. 1793). Ecrits politiques. 116: 114­117. AGR; and JONES. January 21 and 24. 1793. Staten Generaal 7452. RAN. <Ι;Ο) LECONTE. p. 33; and Juges aux Représentants provisoires, February 11. 1793. Pergameni 1019. p. 26. AVB. www.academieroyale.be

254 OCCUPATION, 1792­1793 tives tried briefly to compromise with the Société. When Ver­ looy renewed his request that the Brussels Representatives call an assembly of all the Belgian Representatives as a Provisional National Convention, the Brussels Provisional Representatives finally agreed. The leaders of the Société, however, actively discouraged the plan, and Representatives from other cities refused to attend. After that, the Provisional Representatives abandoned any pretense of governing Brussels. J. J. Chapel suggested turning over governing power to the French generals in name as well as in fact. (Ι2') The traditionalists were more outspoken in their disapproval of the Jacobin regime. The French regime would bring the destruction of the Belgian church, they charged in a deluge of pamphlets. In the village of Puurs, a group of monks attacked the Jacobin chemist Van Möns. One monk, holding a petition, shouted to a group of angry peasants, " C'est la damnation qu'on se propose de substituer à votre constitution, au culte de vos pères. Vous êtes perdu à jamais avec votre postérité si vous ne signez pas à l'instant, si vous ne jurez avec moi, de ne reconnoitre pour vos représentans que les trois ordres des états du Brabant & pour votre Dieu, le Dieu des Chrétiens. " (l22) Similar incidents were reported by Jacobins travelling through villages all over the province in January. The strength of Bel­ gian traditionalism, of loyalty to the Church and the Estates, seemed in fact to be swelling among the peasantry in the rural areas of the province. In Brussels, traditionalists had tried to hold a service for the soul of the recently beheaded French king.(123) French officials reported to Paris that Belgian society had degenerated into " une anarchie vraiment sans exemple. " ('24) Because the Belgian people had never known justice, they had been unable to exercise their own sovereignty. " Un peuple

(m) J.J. CHAPEL. January 23, 1793, Bouteville 480. AVB; Lettre des Représentants provisoires de Bruxelles. January 17. 1793 in Journal de Bru­ xelles. XIII : 115 ; and Procès­Verbaux. January 13. 1793 and March 22, 1793. (122) Journal. January 16. 1793. pp. 430­432. See also: Moniteur. February 8, 1793, XV: 373; DE BROUX. Journal. December 19. 1793. p. 237 and February 12. 1793. p. 593. (123) CHEPY, January 25. 1793, Fle 18, ANF ; and "Gaston aux Français," RUG. (124) C. METMAN. Pavs­Bas 184, January 25, 1793. p. 19 AMAE. www.academieroyale.be

OCCUPATION, 1792-1793 255 ignorant n'est souverain que de droit et de nom, " one member of the French Convention concluded. ('") Something had to be done, the officials told the Convention, because the Belgians had proved unable to rule themselves. Belgium was slipping back into the control of the monks and the aristocrats. Accord• ing to the reports, if the Belgians were left to themselves, they would lose their newly-won independence. The French Convention responded by declaring that as long as Belgian liberty was still " à son berceau, " the French would have to protect it. (I26) In a new series of decrees that gave " une forme de gouvernement à un pays qui, depuis trois mois, n'en a presque aucune, " the French declared that they would hold Belgian sovereignty in trust for the Belgian people until the Belgians were ready to exercise it responsibly. (127) Belgian governing officials would be replaced by French advisers who would teach the people to accept the institutions of revolution• ary government. The French, with their four years of revolu• tionary experience, promised to tear off " le bandeau qui couvre les yeux des habitans de ce pays. " (128) Then, once they had been enlightened, the Belgians would finally be true revo• lutionaries capable of governing themselves. The strict regulations of the new decrees and the firm leadership of the French agents, now supplemented by thirty more commissioners, would meanwhile " lier les mains des malveillants, des émissaires autrichiens, qui voudraient exciter la sédition, " while the Belgians developed the proper habits and beliefs. (129) Besides educating the people, the thirty new French agents would enforce the December 15 decree; they would patrol the countryside to supervise the collection of Belgian subsistence payments for the French army and monitor denunciations of traitors. Belgians suspected of not supporting French principles would be arrested.

('") AULARD. January 8. 1793, p. 423. See also: CHAUSSARD, February 3. 1793 : and Moniteur. February 11. 1793. XV : 402. I126) BRISSOT. Moniteur. January 12, 1793. XV : 131. (I27) Moniteur. February 15. 1793. XV : 434. <128) January 4. 1793. L'. ANF. (I2,| "Les Français libres à leurs frères les Belges." Révolution belge. vol. 6. pam. 13. BRB ; Moniteur 11. 1793. XV : 401 : CHfcPY. February 9. 1793, F'e 18. ANF ; and " Projet raisonné d'union des Provinces Belgiques. " Révolu- non belge, vol. 108. pam. 10. BRB. www.academieroyale.be

256 OCCUPATION, 1792-1793

The Brussels Société again volunteered to educate its obsti• nate countrymen. The French agent Pierre Chépy, instructing the Société on the use of propaganda, told the Belgian Jaco• bins how to turn around " toutes les idées (des paysans et des artisans), même les plus fausses et les plus extravagantes, " so that the peasants would accept the French system. (I3°) The French had years of experience in that task, he added. The members of the Société then fanned out once more into the countryside to establish more Jacobin societies and to convince the peasantry that the old constitution was corrupt, the feudal tax burden unjust, the bourgeoisie and the peasantry virtuous and far more capable of governing themselves than the aristo• cracy, and the French justified in executing Louis XVI. The Jacobin agents directed most of their effort at dispelling popu• lar religious beliefs. They recited lists of the evil actions of the priests in 1790 urging the people: " n'oubliez jamais que cet hydre sous le nom des États, de haut clergé, vous a trompé & réduit à un double esclavage. " (131) Backed by the ever-present French army, the Jacobins invited the people to adopt the French humanitarian religion and to throw off the domination of the local priests. Like previous radical campaigns in the countryside, this one proved counter-productive. The Jacobins continually exhorted the people to ignore the rumor-mongers who attempted " de nous peindre comme des Athées, des cannibales, qui foulent aux pieds les Loix divines & humaines. " (132) They assured the villagers that the French " ne veulent pas détruire la religion, " that they only wanted to change it to benefit the people during their life on earth. (I33) The Société's arguments convinced few artisans and even fewer peasants. The peasants nicknamed the

(L3°) CHEPY. February 20, 1793, Fle 18, ANF. See also: Journal, Courtois, January 22, 1793, p. 462, and Dinne, February 7, 1793, p. 551; Metman, March 13, 1793, Pays-Bas 184, AMAE; Chaussard, February 1, 1793, Fle 18, ANF ; Camus, Moniteur, January 22, 1793, XV : 279 ; and Chepy, January 30, 1793. Flc 18, ANF. (m) "Unité, fraternité. Égalité," Ds 3, 2 bis, 20 bis, ANF. See also: February 22. 1793, C 247, ANF ; Jaubert, Journal, January 22, 1793, p. 458 and January 26. 1793, p. 491 ; and "Au nom de la République française, " Révolu­ tion belge, vol. 142, pam. 11, BRB. (132) " Au nom de la République française. " (133) GONCHON, Journal, February 25, 1793, II : 78. www.academieroyale.be

OCCUPATION, 1792-1793 257

Jacobins " vrey-geesten. " Rumors circulated widely that the agents, both French and Belgian, were marching from village to village to tear down the local church and kidnap the priest. (I34) It was not long before the extreme public dissatisfaction with the French occupation affected the Brussels Société's membership. From a group of five hundred people attending meetings in the autumn of 1792, membership dropped to fifty participants in February, and at one meeting only twelve men attended. The president, Charles, had asked earlier if all the absent members were spending their time " à la toilette, à la comédie, & chez les dames ?"(135) Groups were sent to bring back the absent delegates but met with little success. No one wanted to be identified with the Jacobins. Even among the remaining members, there was much dissent and calls for cen• sure were frequent. (136) The Société, reduced now to its most ardently revolutionary leaders, became even more radical in its actions. A month ear• lier, the Société had identified two ways of managing the Bel• gians : "répandons l'instruction ou prenons les armes. "(137 ) They had first decided to try education. But now that the Bel• gians had obviously rejected their tutors, the Société declared that it would have to resort to armed force in defense of the new order. Any Belgian who did not actively support the French would be considered an enemy. Walckiers urged the other members of the Société " d'agir plus sévèrement avec ces perturbateurs du repos public. " (l38) Estienne concurred, shouting from the rostrum that the French had freed the Bel• gians. " Si cependant vous ne voulez pas l'être [libre], eh bien ! vous le serez malgré vous ; dansons la carmagnole et ça ira. " (139) These threats of violence, however, were never to be implemented. The French had a new plan.

(1J1) Mss. 13007, BRB. See also: Journal, February 12. 1793. p. 598; Kroniek. Pergameni 2517, AVB; "Braves Francois," Écrits politiques. 159: 188-195. AGR ; and " ABC des Brabançons. " Revolution belge, vol. 112. BRB. (I55l CHARLES. Journal. January 7, 1793. p. 330. I156) Journal. January 28, 1793. p. 576; February 6, 1793. p. 614, Courtois. January 22. 1793. pp. 462-463. and February 9, 1793. p. 599. (13?) DULAC, Journal. January 15. 1793. p. 417. ('") WALCKIERS, January 20, 1793. Procès-Verbaux. January 31, 1793. ("') FSTIENNE. Journal. February 10, 1793, p. 611. www.academieroyale.be

258 OCCUPATION, 1792-1793

The Ministre des Affaires Étrangères informed his agents in Belgium that Belgium would be more easily controlled if it were annexed to France. It had become too difficult for the French to rule Belgium indirectly, even with the aid of the Belgian Jacobins. The majority of the Belgians were so passive that, even with coercive guidance, they would not assume con• trol of their own destiny. The French agents stationed in Bel• gium had observed incredulously that many Belgians even believed God would right their affairs for them without human assistance. Combatting such obstinacy would require the united efforts of both the French and the enlightened Belgians. The union of the two neighbors was an obvious solution, leaders of the Convention decided after a lengthy discussion. " La France par sa situation & le Brabant par sa localité semblent diposés par la Nature pour être unis l'un à l'autre. "(I40) The annex• ation of Belgium would bring to reality an old dream — the attainment of France's natural frontiers. (141) A month-long propaganda campaign followed, interspersed with clashes between reluctant peasants and enthusiastic agents. In late February 1793, the Belgians were assembled to vote for or against union with France. The elections were held in churches in large cities, and the ballot boxes were guarded by French troops. The elections were also spaced out over several days so that French officials and troops could be pres• ent at each one. Given this elaborate supervision, it is not surprising that the results were unanimous in favor of annex• ation to France. The evening after the Brussels vote the Société boasted : " Le canon tire, les cloches vont se faire entendre ; toute la journée se passe en fêtes et en réjouissances " (l42) According to a letter that later appeared in the Paris Moniteur, the Belgian Jacobins also celebrated by tearing down statues in

(l40) " La réunion. " Révolution belge, vol. 14, pam. 33. See also : " Projet raisonné ; " and " Réflexions sur le caractère. " Baret suggested : " 11 y a moins de différence entre Paris et Bruxelles qu'entre Marseille et Paris, " in LEVAE, p. 246. (M) DANTON, February 10, 1793 as cited by REINHARD, p. 31 ; Procès-Ver­ baux. March 19, 1793 ; and CAMBON, Moniteur, March 4, 1793, XV : 608. (I42) Moniteur, February 27, 1793, XV: 581; March 2, 1793, XV : 600 ; March 4, 1793. XV : 602 ; and March 9, 1793, XV : 655 ; Metman, February 26, 1793, Pays-Bas 184. p. 105 ; " Discours prononcé dans l'église de Ste. Gudule, " February 25, 1793, RUG ; and Le Batave. February 28, 1793, p. 58. www.academieroyale.be

OCCUPATION, 1792-1793 259 churches and burning archives, while the people of Brussels cowered in their homes. (I43) Ignoring such reports, the French began planning taxes, new roads, hospitals, an army, and the revision of the court system. (I44) General Dumouriez, who had led a military expedition into Holland in February, returned to Brussels as soon as he received news of the elections. When he arrived, he was ap• palled by the roving committees of Jacobins, the verbal intimi• dation of citizens in the streets, and the pillaging of homes. Entering into open confrontation with the Convention, he reported that the French Revolution had escaped its cage and in Belgium it rampaged like a monster. " La révolution fran• çaise, sous prétexte d'égaliser tout, a tout avili, " he charged. (I45) He commanded his home government to reex• amine its policies. In open defiance of the French decrees, he imprisoned the leaders of the Société and forced the most zealous French agents to flee from the provincial centers, Dumouriez's intervention caused the Provisional Represen• tatives to emerge from their torpor. They acclaimed Dumou• riez their hero, the symbol of democratic moderation and of French respect for Belgian independence. " Dumouriez dévoile dans cette lettre la véritable situation des choses dans la Bel• gique, " they proclaimed. ('46) They denounced the Jacobins and their sans-culottes as the scourge of Brussels. In a series of pamphlets, the Provisional Representatives joined the traditionalists in decrying the French occupation. Together they urged the Belgians to cling to their old traditions and their constitution. " Le Belge est essentiellement jaloux de sa liberté, " one pamphleteer explained, " mais il est aussi religieux, ami de l'ordre, de l'économie et de la justice. "(147) More emphatically than before, the Vonckists declared that the

('") " Extrait d'une lettre de Bruxelles du 1er mars, " Moniteur, XV : 626. <144) February 28, 1793, Paris, DXXUL 2, ANF; Le Batave. February 27, 1793, p. 53 and March 2, 1793, p. 66 ; and TASSIER, p. 315. (145) DUMOURIEZ, p. 97. See also; Dumouriez au peuple de la Belgique. Moniteur, February 20, 1792, XV: 497, and March 16, 1793, XV: 702; and DUMOURIEZ. pp. 2, 68, 74. 76, 78 and 97 ; and DUMOURIEZ, C 359, ANF. (146) Procès-verbaux, March 18, 1793 and March 22. 1793. See also: Moni­ teur, March 18, 1793. XV : 732 ; and Journal de Bruxelles. XIII : 549. ('47) Procès-verbaux, March 22, 1793. www.academieroyale.be

260 OCCUPATION, 1792-1793

Belgians were not like the French — they wanted to be free in their own manner. In one anonymous letter, a citizen of Brus• sels warned the French that if they should withdraw their troops for one moment, they would find all their " infernal " agents hanging from trees. " Après les concussions, les exac• tions, les fourberies, les irritations, les insultes, les cruautés, les vols, les spoliations, les rapines, les violences, la tyrannie af• freuse, les meurtres, les barbaries, l'oppression sacrilège et inouïe que vous exercez sur ce peuple brave et vertueux depuis le premier instant de votre entrée en leur pays, " what else could you have expected? he asked. (148) The traditionalists echoed the democratic attack on the French and on the Bel• gian Jacobins. (149) Four years earlier, in 1789, a similar coalition of democrats and traditionalists had driven out the Austrians. Now that Belgian anger was directed at France, the Austrians saw an opportunity to win back Belgian support. Encouraged by the resistance, the Austrians decided to attack the French in Bel• gium. Austrian troops crossed the Ruhr on March 1, 1793. The few French troops stationed in the region fled in their path. Dumouriez abandoned the battle and offered to bargain with the Austrians. The commanders of the Belgian divisions or• dered all soldiers to Brussels on March 20. After not being paid for four months, few showed up. (15°) As could have been expected, the French armies received little assistance from the Belgian civilians. " Les habitants des campagnes s'arment con• tre nous... C'est pour eux une guerre sacrée, " one beleagured French officer reported. " Nous sommes en ce moment envi• ronnés d'ennemis. " (m) French soldiers angrily pillaged the Belgian villages along their line of retreat, sometimes shooting

(l48) "Réponse du peuple Belgique au C. M. Haussman, " Manuscrits divers 2211. AGR. (|4') Journal historique et littéraire, March 1, 1793 and March 15, 1793, p. 418. (I5°) Fisco. March 20. 1793, L 4550, ADN; Fisco, February 28, 1793, L4586, ADN ; Comité Militaire, January 14, 1793, L 4586, ADN; and Projet d'invitation au Corps des Brasseurs de cette ville de Bruxelles pour en obtenir un emprunt quelconque, L 4586, ADN ; and Comité Militaire, January 10, 1793 and January 17, 1793, L 4585, ADN. ("') Moniteur, March 16, 1793, XV: 701. See also: Moniteur, March 22, 1793, XV : 772-773. www.academieroyale.be

OCCUPATION, 1792-1793 261

Belgian citizens who would not support " their fellow country• men. " In contrast to the harsh French treatment, the Austrian Emperor issued a series of proclamations promising the Bel• gian people that he would protect the Joyeuse Entrée, the Catholic Church, and Belgian traditions. Within two weeks, the Austrians had completely routed the disorganized and discour• aged French army. The Austrian ministers triumphantly returned to Brussels to be greeted by throngs of Belgians singing parodies of the Marseillaise. At last the Belgians could settle back into their old, quiet ways. ('") Given a choice between the French revo• lutionary occupation and Austrian despotism, most of them were quite content to return to Austrian rule. The French agents and Belgian Jacobins had attacked their religion by pillaging the churches and abusing the monks ; they had not only threatened to change the guild structure but had encour• aged outsiders to compete in the marketplace ; and they had tried to burn the Joyeuse Entrée. All the reforms that had once been talked about by Joseph had in fact been implemented by the French revolutionary regime. The French, like the Austri• ans in previous years, had been unwilling to wait patiently for the Belgians to adjust gradually to reforms, and they too had been unable to understand the Belgian desire to preserve at least some Belgian traditions. Both conquerors had resorted to arbitrary rule, using force to impose changes on their Belgian subjects. The moderate democrats now realized that there was not much difference between enlightened despotism and the French Revolution when the two systems were applied to an• other country. They continued to believe that the Belgians, given the right circumstances, would prove themselves the best revolutionaries in Europe. (I53) The anti-French resistance of 1793 brought to mind the first verbal battles with the Austrians in 1787. The resistance reunited the moderate democrats, who again claimed that the foreign ruler was trespassing on Belgian sovereignty, and the

('") Dumouriez to Ministre de la guerre, March 22, 23, and 24, 1793. C 359, 1904. ADN ; and Le Baiave. March 13. 1793. p. 166. ("') This is a recurring theme throughout the last months of the French Occupation. See for example : " Coup d'œil sur les principaux. " or the more traditionalist " Observations particulières sur les Instructions, " RUG. www.academieroyale.be

262 OCCUPATION, 1792-1793 traditionalists, who continued to oppose any reform that lim• ited their privileges. Although they were motivated by divergent grievances, the two political groups agreed to join together in 1793 because they had exhausted all the alternative alliances during the four years of revolution. The traditionalists knew from bitter experience that they could not fight a foreign power alone. They had suffered a major setback in 1790 and had lost many of their supporters in Belgium. Even though they had regained support during the period of French occupa• tion, the traditionalists knew they could no longer marshal a majority of Belgians behind them. The democrats had realized since the beginning the impossibility of resisting a foreign con• queror by themselves. They had learned the difficulty of being caught between the radicals and the conservatives and the problems involved in trying to work with the Jacobins. When the Jacobin-moderate democratic alliance disintegrated, the moderate democrats could only look to their original partners from the 1789 resistance for assistance. The Belgian revolution, however, had not simply returned to its starting point. For the time being, the majority of the Brus• sels citizens were content with the stability of the Austrian regime. But in the course of five years of rebellion, the tradi• tionalists and the democrats had learned the possibilities as well as the frustrations of resistance. As for the Jacobins, those formidable newcomers to Brussels politics, they too had not abandoned their dreams. In April 1793, as the French army retreated to Paris, the leaders of the Société followed in its wake. Already they were looking ahead to the next Belgian revolution. (154)

154 ( ) Robert DEVLEESHOUWER, L'arrondissement du Brabant sous l'occupa­ tion française, I794-I795 (Brussels, 1964), p. 498 ; and DESHAQUETS, March 30, 1793, Pays-Bas 184, AMAE. Deshaquets reported that he had removed from the archives in Belgium all the documents concerning the wealth of the Church which he suspected might be of use in planning the next invasion of Belgium. On the Belgian refugees in France during the Austrian reign of 1793 see: Ds 3. 36, ANF; F'5 3504, ANF; F7 4420, ANF; F7 4676, ANF; AF*II 254, ANF ; and F15 3509, ANF. www.academieroyale.be

CHAPTER VII

Monks, commerce, and Atlantic Revolution

" The Age of Democratic Revolution "

A number of eighteenth-century historians have argued that the rebellions against the ancien regime in America, England, and throughout Western Europe should be considered as varia• tions on a single revolutionary theme. According to its two leading proponents, Jacques Godechot and R. R. Palmer, the Atlantic Revolution " a commencé dans les colonies anglaises d'Amérique peu après 1763, s'est prolongée par les révolutions de Suisse, des Pays-Bas, d'Irlande, avant d'atteindre la France entre 1787 et 1789. De France, elle a rebondi aux Pays-Bas, a gagné l'Allemagne rhénane, la Suisse, l'Italie, Malte, la Médi• terranée orientale, et l'Égypte... " (') All of the revolutionaries challenged " the possession of government, or any public pow• er, by any established, privileged, closed, or self-recruiting groups of men. " (2) In the most monumental of the compara• tive studies of the chain of revolts. Palmer suggested that all were rooted in the political theories of enlightenment. Palmer's analysis of the Brabant Revolution in his compara• tive history of " the Age of Democratic Revolution " relied on Suzanne Tassier's and hence Georg Forster's picture of the Belgian provinces at the end of the eighteenth century. There• fore, although he conceded that " satisfaction with the constitu• tion was as characteristic of the Belgian provinces as of Eng• land, " he concluded : " Town life and burgher interests in Belgium, like the habits and outlook of clergy and nobles, remained those of a by-gone day. " (3) In this "placid land,"

(') Jacques GODECHOT, La grande Nation, L'Expansion révolutionnaire de la France dans le monde. 1789-1799 (Pans, 1956), I : II. (2) R. R. PALMER. The Age of Democratic Revolution (Princeton. 1959). I : 4. (') PALMER. 1: 341-342. www.academieroyale.be

264 MONKS, COMMERCE, AND ATLANTIC REVOLUTION the " Boeotia of Europe, " he argued, the Belgian people rebelled " against the innovations of a modernizing govern• ment, " rather than echoing the cause of democratic revolu• tion. (4) Palmer was more tempered in his dismissal of the Brabant Revolution as a conservative counter-revolution than most Bel• gian historians have been. " À l'époque de la Révolution bra• bançonne nous étions, hommes et idées, en arrière de plus de cent ans sur la France, " Frederic Hennebert conceded. (5) " Que l'on suppose, " he continued in a typical portrait of revolutionary Belgium, " une nation engourdie dans une sorte d'hébétement, sans avoir même la conscience de son infériorité, étrangère aux préoccupations du reste du monde, une Boéotie, une Chine européenne, et voilà ce qu'était la Belgique. " (6) Even Henri Pirenne in his multi-volume history of Belgium devoted relatively little attention to the " révolution défen• sive ; " he dismissed it as " une révolution conservatrice. " (7) The Brabant Revolution was a dismal counter-revolution ac• cording to the standard interpretation. Rather than challenging the rule of the Estates, it reestablished and reinforced the au• thority of Palmer's " privileged, closed or self-recruiting groups of men. " This standard picture of the Brabant Revolution caused Jan Craeybeckx, based on his research on Belgian industrialization, to question how it was that such a conservative revolution could occur in the most industrially advanced society. " How are we to explain, " he asked, " that despite the comparatively high level of economic development, the Brabant Revolution of 1789 and 1790 could still result in a victory for the privi• leged classes, though probably only a temporary one ? " (8) Tentatively suggesting that the Vandernootists' victory was only short-term, a parallel development that is to the first stages of the French Revolution, Craeybeckx called for further studies of

C) Ibid., p. 347. (5) Frederic Hennebert cited by Ernest DISCAILLES, " Un chanoine démo­ crate. " Revue de Belgique, LVII (1887), p. 200. (6) Ibid. C) Henri PIRENNE, Histoire de Belgique (Brussels, 1926), V : 383. (8) Jan CRAEYBECKX, " The Brabant Revolution : A Conservative Revolu­ tion in a Backward Country ? " Acta Historica Neerlandica IV (1970), p. 62. www.academieroyale.be

MONKS, COMMERCE, AND ATLANTIC REVOLUTION 265 the social foundations of the Brabant Revolution. Only then, he concluded, would the Brabant Revolution as well as the other " minor revolts " be conclusively set in the comparative context. The preceding study of the Brabant Revolution in Brussels suggests, however, that not only is the portrait of the Revolu• tion as a counter-revolution inadequate, but that to understand the Belgian Revolution within the context of the " Atlantic Revolution, " Craeybeckx's question must be extended. The Brabant Revolution was not simply a counter-revolution but a three-pronged movement that embodied drives for change and resistance to change — the struggle led by privileged groups to conserve tradition, the cosmopolitan movement of the liberal and commercial bourgeoisie to create a democratic society, and the attempt by a small Jacobin contingent to recreate the French Revolution in Belgium. Craeybeckx's question might be rephrased : Why within the prosperous industrializing society did certain men and women resist innovation, why did others advocate gradual evolution, while still others called for radical revolution ?

Traditionalists, Democrats, and Jacobins

The three revolutionary groups in Brussels coalesced only to drive the Austrians from Belgian lands ; over the seven years of continued struggle they never reached agreement on specific revolutionary goals. Despite the almost uninterrupted debate and interchange of ideas, first between the democrats and the traditionalists and then between the Jacobins, the democrats, and the traditionalists, there was little give-and-take or evolu• tion in their political theories. The revolutionary goals of the three groups changed very little during the seven year struggle. The membership of the three remained equally constant. Indi• viduals tired of the struggle and retired, but the men and wom• en who appeared to replace them came from the same social groups as their predecessors. The socio-economic background of the members of the three groups of Brussels revolutionaries varied little through the two revolts and intermittent Austrian occupation. www.academieroyale.be

266 MONKS, COMMERCE, AND ATLANTIC REVOLUTION

The revolt of the Vandernootists in Brussels was a struggle of the privileged to preserve their position within a stable society. To perpetuate the harmony and prosperity traditionally enjoyed by the Belgian provinces, they vowed to fight for the preservation of the privileges that God had bestowed upon them as the natural leaders of the society. The Brussels Nations led the traditionalists' movement through the seven years of revolt and resistance. Except for the brief period in 1790 when the first two Estates tried to exclude the leaders of the Third Estate from the privileged coalition, the Brussels guilds rallied against all proposed reforms, wheth• er from the Austrians, the French, or the Belgians themselves. These shopkeepers and artisans realized that their continued economic prosperity depended on the maintenance of their privileges in a society of orders. In fact, the privileges that the Brussels artisans and shopkeepers were defending, their com• mercial monopoly and their voice in the Estates, were precisely the " rights " demanded by groups of " revolutionary " shop• keepers in French cahiers de doléance. The other section within the third estate threatened by the reforms, the group of lawyers who worked for the government and the Estates, joined in the leadership of the traditionalists. Staffing the top administrative institutions of the city and the province and serving as advisors to the guilds and churches, these lawyers had traditionally exercised a great deal of politi• cal power in Brussels — power that they fought to preserve. Also employed in provincial administration, the middle nobili• ty joined the lawyers' protest because they too depended on their positions in the government and concomitant privileges for the maintenance of their status and wealth. Although most directly affected by the Austrian and French reforms, the clergy's participation in the traditionalist move• ment was sporadic. Belgian clerics ignored the reforms that did not specifically affect them and usually preferred to resist the direct attacks by speaking from the pulpit rather than working through the Estates. Palmer has suggested that the traditionalist movement in the Austrian Netherlands paralleled the first stages of the French Revolution — the so-called aristocratic reaction. At the same time as the privileged orders were reasserting their control in www.academieroyale.be

MONKS, COMMERCE, AND ATLANTIC REVOLUTION 267 the Belgian provinces, privileged orders throughout Europe were demanding the preservation of the ancien regime in their countries. In these other societies, however, only the nobility and the higher orders of the clergy considered themselves to be privileged, and their voice was quickly drowned out by the great mass of the unprivileged. In contrast, the privileged groups in Brussels constituted a major segment of the popula• tion ; they continued to dominate revolutionary politics through• out the period. While in France the privileged orders were struggling against the pressures of a shrinking pre-industrial economy, in the Belgian provinces the privileged orders, espe• cially the Nations, were defending their prosperity against the encroachment of a rapidly industrializing economy. The tradi• tionalists' predominance in Brussels in the Brabant Revolution cannot be dismissed either as a révolution bloquée or as the first stages of a potentially " radical " revolution on the model of the French Revolution. After extensive travels through the Belgian provinces, the chronicler de Gomicourt reported : " On ne parle ici que de moines et de commerce. Ce sont les deux objets qui intéressent aujourd'hui tous les citoyens. " (9) Furthermore, he added, those interested in the one did not care about the other. What made the traditionalist movement in Brussels viable was the ability of the two interests to link in coalition to defend the stable status quo. The traditionalists maintained that their revolution was uniquely Belgian. Because centuries-old constitutional and religious traditions had shaped their revolutionary goals, their goals differed markedly from those of other European revolu• tionaries. The traditionalists explained that neither the Ameri• cans nor the French had a constitution to protect and that the French Church was resented because of its abuses. The Belgian provinces, in contrast, already had sound and workable consti• tutions, and the priests who lived among the people were leaders and friends. It was not surprising to the Vandernootists that people fighting under such different conditions would have different goals. Blessed by economic prosperity and a rich

(') DÉRIVAI. (DE GOMICOURT), Le voyageur dans les Pays-Bas autrichiens (Amsterdam, 1782), 1: 89. www.academieroyale.be

268 MONKS, COMMERCE, AND ATLANTIC REVOLUTION

œnstitutional heritage, they explained, the Belgian people alone among the Europeans had risen en masse to defend the old order. Belgian history as distinguished from that of its neighbors, the Vandernootists predicted, would continue to be a tale of gradual growth, each new phase growing naturally out of the evolving past. The Belgian democrats argued that the Belgian revolts were not uniquely Belgian, but part of a chain of revolutions stretch• ing across Europe and the Atlantic. They were fighting to keep alive the revolution for popular sovereignty that had begun in America, they explained, challenging implicitly the prevailing vision of a corporative harmony. The majority of the Belgian people were unrepresented in the traditional Estates, the demo• crats pointed out. The medieval system of orders was no longer appropriate ; the clergy and nobility contributed less than did large unrepresented groups within the third estate. In increas• ingly radical programs, the Brussels democrats called for a society ordered according to individual talent, education, and wealth, not the happenstance of birth. As one would expect, democratic support came predomi• nantly from outside of the privileged classes. Lawyers who had little connection with provincial or municipal administration consistently made up the most active forty percent of the mem• bership of the Brussels democratic societies — Pro Aris et Focis the Société Patriotique, Pro Patria, and the Provisional Repre• sentatives. The lawyers were joined by other members of the liberal professions who also read and corresponded widely. The democratic wholesale merchants and bankers who formed a consistent thirty percent of the membership of the Brussels societies, like the members of the intellectual bourgeoisie, were part of the circle of European intellectuals. They too demanded that the propertied and educated bourgeoisie govern society. They also voiced their particular pleas that closed markets and professions be opened to individ• ual enterprise. Several nobles and clerics joined the democrats from time to time. The four nobles who supported the democratic resistance came from the upper nobility ; their interests were tied to Eu• ropean courts and to Belgian industrial enterprises in which they invested rather than to the ancien regime of Belgium. The www.academieroyale.be

MONKS, COMMERCE, AND ATLANTIC REVOLUTION 269 active participation of the clerics, like that of the nobles, dwin• dled during the course of the Revolution. Both in membership and beliefs, the Brussels democrats had much in common with other " Atlantic revolutionaries. " For example, the professional background of the Brussels demo• crats closely resembled the membership lists of the municipal councils of Amiens, Bordeaux, Nancy, and Toulouse during the first half of the French Revolution that have been analyzed by American historian Lynn Hunt. (10) Whether Belgian, French, or Dutch, these members of the liberal professions, lawyers, négociants, and members of the upper or " liberal " nobility asked similar questions of the ancien regime. Despite their shared criticism of the restrictions of privilege and of monarchical tyranny, few of these democrats advocated over• turning society ; they only wanted to reform it to grant repre• sentation to the educated and propertied citizens who had prospered but won no voice under the ancien regime. Although the Brussels democrats saw their revolution as part of a universal eighteenth-century struggle against despo• tism, they did not expect to copy a solution directly from their neighbors who had preceded them in revolution. A unique Belgian society would be built on the foundations of the old, they explained. The Vonckists achieved little success in the short run. The majority of the politically active residents of Brussels identified their interests with the preservation of the ancien regime. In popular literature, pamphleteers jeered the democrats as a cabal of intellectuals intent on seducing the simple Belgian folk with " détestable philosophe-ism. " (") The democrats were not without influence, however. The liberal nationalism originated by the Vonckists reappeared forty years later in the Belgian Constitution of 1830. It could be argued, as indeed many of the nineteenth-century liberal revolutionaries did, that except for a change in the relationship of church and state, the fathers

(l0) Lynn HUNT. "Who Made the French Revolution.' Evidence from Four Cities. " 1 am grateful to Professor Hunt for sharing with me a manus­ cript copy of this chapter in her forthcoming book. See also: Lynn HUNT. Revolution and Urban Politics in Provincial France (Stanford. California. 1978). (") GÉRARD. Rapédius de Berg. January 6, 1790, 1 : 148-151. Mss. G 573, BRB www.academieroyale.be

270 MONKS, COMMERCE, AND ATLANTIC REVOLUTION

of Belgian independence were direct ideological descendants of the Vonckists. In sharp contrast to both the Brussels traditionalists and the democrats, the Jacobins recognized no important differences separating Belgian society from that of its neighbors. The hierarchy and laws of the ancien regime, whether French or Belgian, violated the principles of philosophy, they charged. The priests, nobles, and guilds in Brussels had trafficked in popular rights, the Jacobins informed the people, making them but " the ignorant playthings " of the privileged orders. There• fore, the Jacobins called for the complete destruction of the ancien regime — a leveling of all privilege, full citizen partici• pation in elections for a national assembly, and a curb to the secular authority of the Church. The) members of the Société des amis de la liberté et de l'égalité looked to the French Revolution as the one true democratic revolution. The French alone had succeeded in establishing " la vraie liberté et même une véritable égalité en droit;" no other nation had done that. (12) "La Constitution Française est le fruit de cinq années de révolution et d'expé• rience, " the Jacobins told their compatriots. " Elle est le résul• tat de toutes les lumières des Philosophes et des légis• lateurs. " (13) The example of the French Revolution would serve to teach all the world. The Belgians would benefit greatly from their neighbors' aid ; together they could telescope the five years of revolutionary experience into one. The Brussels Jacobins expected to draw their support from among the same classes that had backed the French Revolu• tion in Paris. Brussels had no faubourg St. Antoine, however, or at least its residents did not identify one. In an article on the sans-culottes, Claude Mazauric cited a contemporary Parisian self-definition of a sans-culotte : " C'est un être qui va toujours à pied, qui n'a point de châteaux, point de valets pour le servir et qui loge tout simplement avec sa femme et ses enfants, s'il en a, au quatrième et cinquième étage — il est utile, car il sait

( ) J. B. C. Verlooy as cited by Suzanne TASSIER, Figures révolutionnaires (Brussels. 1954), p. 97. (I3) J. VAN BOECKHOUT, " La Réunion, " Révolution belge, vol. 14, pam. 35, BRB. www.academieroyale.be

MONKS, COMMERCE, AND ATLANTIC REVOLUTION 271 labourer un champ, forger, scier, limer, couvrir un toit, faire des souliers et verser jusqu'à la dernière goutte de son sang pour le salut de la République. " (14) Mazauric rejected the picturesque definition as too vague, too all-inclusive. Few Brus• sels residents would have claimed it in 1792-1793 as a descrip• tion of themselves. The French émigrés and army officers who assumed leading roles in the Société des amis de la liberté et de l'égalité could not understand why the Belgians considered themselves benefi• ciaries of the economic status quo and why they clung so reverently to the Catholic Church. Twenty of the twenty-nine Brussels Jacobins were newcomers to Brussels politics. The few experienced democrats active in the Société — the members of the liberal profession, the lawyers, and the négociants — had been radicalized by their experience in the army of the États Belgiques Unis as well as by their residence in France. These " plus-que-Vonckistes " had lost faith in their ability to per• suade their compatriots to change; they had not lost their idealism. The Jacobin society dwindled in the five months of French occupation to a contingent of less than twenty regular mem• bers. The club had so little following in part because the classes that supported the radical philosophy in France were largely absent from Belgium. Few Bruxellois were unemployed or wage workers. But more important, the petite bourgeoisie con• sidered itself to be a privileged class. A few intellectuals es• poused the Jacobin cause, but they could not make a revolu• tion on their own. The strength of the French army of occupa• tion and the zeal of the French agents alone allowed the Jaco• bin revolution to survive for five months. It is not surprising that the historians, who like the Brussels Jacobins assess eighteenth-century revolutions on the basis of the willingness of revolutionaries to follow the lead of the French Revolution, see the Brabant Revolution as a most dis• mal footnote to the history of the glorious French Revolution. The economic backgrounds and the ideas of the Jacobins proved an anomaly in eighteenth-century Brussels.

(u) Claude MAZAURIC and Louis BERGERON, " Les sans-culottes et la révo­ lution française. " Annales. Économies - Sociétés - Civilisations XVIII (Novem­ ber-December. 1963). p. 1101. www.academieroyale.be

272 MONKS, COMMERCE, AND ATLANTIC REVOLUTION

The Jacobins, the democrats, and the traditionalists all used the same words to define their revolutionary goals. They were all fighting for the " sovereignty of the people. " However, based on their three distinct definitions of " le peuple " or " het volk, " the three groups interpreted that phrase very differently. By popular sovereignty, the Jacobins in Brussels meant ab• solute equality, an end to all privileges and all distinctions. Their promise to fight for the broadest possible category of " the people " won few supporters in Brussels because most Bruxellois used that broad term to apply to " the others. " The democrats fought to create a society that would guaran• tee all " citizens " their full rights under the rule of law. By " citizens, " they meant the members of the educated and prop• ertied bourgeoisie. Natural rights meant the liberty for each to rise according to his individual talents. Finally, the traditionalists interpreted popular sovereignty to mean the indirect representation of all the Belgian people by their natural leaders, that is, by the privileged orders. Natural rights referred to the Church's interpretation of man's duties to God on earth. It was the traditionalists' definition of popular sovereignty that appealed to a majority of the politically active residents of Brussels at the end of the eighteenth century. Unlike Paris, where the petite bourgeoisie constituted a majority of the sans• culottes, in Brussels the guild members as well as the officers considered themselves to be part of the privileged elite. With the industrialization and commercial expansion in the Belgian provinces beginning in the second half of the century, a new commercial bourgeoisie had begun to challenge the guilds. The upper nobility, also investing in new enterprises, and a new liberal bourgeoisie with roots in the peasant class joined the commercial bourgeoisie in demanding a broader definition of popular sovereignty. Theirs was a protest that cannot be ignored in dismissing the Brabant Revolution as a conservative reaction. The only group that achieved little fol• lowing was the Société des amis de la liberté et de l'égalité ; few Bruxellois wanted to overturn a society that was flourish• ing. www.academieroyale.be

MONKS, COMMERCE, AND ATLANTIC REVOLUTION 273

Conclusion

Albert Soboul criticized Palmer and Godechot for drowning the French Revolution in a sea of minor eighteenth-century revolts. In their emphasis on the comparability of the ideas that underlay the chain of revolts on both sides of the Atlantic, the two historians not only minimized the radical character of the French Revolution, Soboul charged, but more seriously. Palmer and Godechot ignored the social causes of the French Revolution. According to Soboul, " l'interprétation occidentale ou atlantique de la Révolution française, en vidant celle-ci de tout contenu spécifique, économique (anti-féodale et capital• iste), social (anti-aristocratique et bourgeois) et national (un et indivisible), tiendrait pour nul un demi-siècle de l'historiogra• phie classique de Jean Jaurès à Georges Lefebvre. " (15) As Palmer and Godechot originally phrased their analyses of the series of revolutions, Soboul's concerns are justified. In their comparative history of the " Age of Democratic Revolution, " they focused on an ideological current that ran through all the revolutions, minimizing the differences in the social and eco• nomic foundations of the various revolts. Palmer and Godechot's work opened the way for other Anglo-American and French historians to criticize the social theories of the French Revolution defended by Soboul. Alfred Cobban and George Taylor first claimed that the revolutionary bourgeoisie were not capitalists as French historians had tradi• tionally argued. Instead, according to Cobban, they were offi• ciers. According to Taylor they were predominantly rentiers and propriétaires. ('6) Herbert Lüthy has similarly contended that the orthodox picture of a rising and revolutionary com-

(") Albert SOBOUL, "L'Historiographie classique de la Révolution fran­ çaise : Sur des controverses récentes, " Historical Reflections : Réflexions histori­ ques I (1974), p. 146. (16) Alfred COBBAN, The Social Interpretation of the French Revolution (Cambridge, 1964) and George TAYLOR, " Non-capitalist Wealth and the Ori­ gins of (he French Revolution," American Historical Review. LXI1 (January. 1967). www.academieroyale.be

274 MONKS, COMMERCE, AND ATLANTIC REVOLUTION mercial bourgeoisie was out of place in a country that would not industrialize for at least another half of a century. (17) Other historians of the French Revolution, in their local monographs on French towns and revolutionary groups, have gone further to challenge the class character of the French Revolution. The French Revolution was not a struggle of the rising bourgeoisie against a reactionary aristocracy, according to American historian Elizabeth Eisenstein. (18) She asserted that a group of liberal intellectuals — nobles as well as bourgeois — adopted the ideas of the philosophes as revolu• tionary propaganda. In his study of the Girondins, M. J. Sydenham has claimed that the social backgrounds of the Jacobins and Girondins in France were almost indistinguish• able. (19) More recently, François Furet and Denis Richet's attempts to debunk the notion of bourgeois revolution have been followed by well-documented studies further challenging orthodox notions of a revolutionary bourgeoisie and counter• revolutionary aristocracy. (20) In fact, support for the social theory of revolution might be found by returning to the comparative studies that first ex• posed the theory to criticism. The social histories of the French Revolution cited by Soboul are not necessarily irreconcilable with the theory of Atlantic Revolution. Comparative studies of the social foundations of eighteenth-century revolution may well reinforce rather than call into question the orthodox inter• pretation of the French Revolution. Set against an in-depth analysis of the different societal foundations of the various revolts, the study of the diffusion and development of political theories and revolutionary goals in America and Europe should amplify the question that first spurred French histo-

(") Herbert LÜTHY, La banque protestante en France de la révocation de l'Édit de Nantes à la Révolution (Paris, 1959-1961). (I8) Elizabeth EISENSTEIN, "Who Intervened in 1788, A Commentary on the Coming of the French Revolution. " American Historical Review LXXI (October, 1965). (") M.J. SYDENHAM, The Girondins (London, 1961). (20) François FURET and Denis RICHET, La Révolution française (Paris, 1972) ; and Denis RICHET, " Autour des origines idéologiques lointaines de la Révolution française: Élites et despotisme," Annales. Économies - Sociétés, - Civilisations (1969). www.academieroyale.be

MONKS, COMMERCE, AND ATLANTIC REVOLUTION 275 nans : What groups (classes, orders) initiated, fought, and coalesced in the Revolution and why ? What has emerged from this study of the Brabant Revolu• tion and the First French Occupation in Brussels is a very clear alignment of ideological movements along socio-economic lines. The privileged groups — the officiers or government lawyers and the members of the guilds as well as the nobles and clerics — supported the traditionalists ; the lawyers without administrative positions, the members of the liberal professions, the négociants, and for a time the wealthy nobles supported the democrats ; and newcomers or outsiders — the army officers, members of the liberal professions, a few lawyers, some négociants, and the unemployed — supported the Jacobins. In very general terms, the privileged fought to retain the status quo. The educated bourgeoisie with wealth but no privilege struggled to open up society to allow them• selves a voice. The societal outsiders as well as some négociants and representatives of the liberal professions attempted to overthrow the ancien regime. Orthodox theories of the revolutionary rising commercial bourgeoisie do apply to the capital city of the industrializing Belgian provinces. Economic arguments between the guilds and the négociants preceded the Revolution by a decade. The three revolutionary groups in Brussels resumed the same argu• ments in 1789, broadening them to fit the larger political ques• tions of sovereignty and representation. The liberal professions joined the debate, arguing for a freeing of society from the constraints of privilege. That these democrats did not attempt to topple the old regime all at once is no more proof of their ideological backwardness than was the relative quiescence of the first English working class movement, the London Corre• sponding Society (whose most violent act in the 1790's was inadvertently to assemble too many men in the second floor of a pub causing the floor beams to collapse on the drinkers below), proof of the political backwardness of the first indus• trial nation. Both societies, the English and the Belgian, had long-standing traditions of constitutional gradualism. In the Belgian provinces, that was reinforced by the Church. And both societies had evolved to a position where too much would have been risked in a violent revolution. In the Belgian pro- www.academieroyale.be

276 MONKS, COMMERCE, AND ATLANTIC REVOLUTION vinces, the Church and the privileged continued to hold the support of the majority of the population, thus assuring the defeat in 1793 of the French Occupation not at the hands of the traditionalists alone, but of the old 1789 coalition of Von• ckists and Vandernootists. In the end, it was the blending of Belgian traditionalism, democratic idealism, and the French intervention that made the Brabant Revolution and the First French Occupation a uniquely Belgian variation on the theme of eighteenth-century revolution. www.academieroyale.be

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Rijksarchief, The Netherlands, the Hague (RAN).

Archief Fagel. Retracta betreffende de Brabandsche Patriotten, 1728. Archief van M. Laurens Pieter van de Spiegel. Minuten van brieven aan Maximilaan Louis Hangest Genlis baron d'Yvoy van Mijdrecht, February 4 to April 23, 1790, 173. Minuten van brieven aan differente ministers buitens'lands, January 17, 1788 to October 22, 1792, 183. Brieven van Hendrik Hop en van zijn secretaris van Niewerkerke, 1788, 1789, and 1791-1793, 188. Brieven van verschillende personen, 249. Oostenrijksche Nederlanden, Copieen van ontcijferde brieven van vers­ chillende personen, inc. van den prince de Béthune Comte de Charost aan le Chevalier de Bellecomte te s'Gravenhage uit Parijs February 21, 1790 en van den gedeputeerde in de Staten van België van Leempoel, 287. Ongeteekende brieven door Maximilaan Louis van Hengest Genlis baron d'Yvoy van Mijndrecht aan den Raadpensionaris geschreven January 13 to April 21, 1790, 289. Extracten van secrete resolutien van de Staten-Generaal betreffende het te s'Gravenhage gehouden congres, 291. Particulier verbaal gehouden door den Raadpensionaris van de Spiegel (Reichenbach, 292). Briven van Mercy d'Argenteau, minuten van de Spiegel, enz. 293. Aanteekening van rapporten van den gezant Hop te Brussel en ande­ ren, January to February 1791, enz. 295. www.academieroyale.be

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Brieven van den minister Hendrik Hop te Brussel, 296. Brief van Hobbe Aylva Eberstein etz, 296. Staten Generaal. Ingekomen secrete brieven en stukken van vorstelijke personen, gezan­ ten enz. betreffende de Oostenrijkse Nederlanden. 1773­1787, 7459. 1788­1794, 7460. Ingekomen ordinans brieven en stukken van vorstelijke personen, gezanten enz. betreffende de Oostenrijkse Nederlanden. 1779­1781, 7444. 1782­1783, 7445. 1784­1786, 7446. 1787, 7447. 1788­1789, 7448. 1790, January to July, 7449. July 1790 to 1791, 7450. 1792, 7451. 1793, 7452.

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Haus­Hof und Staatsarchiv, Vienna (HHS).

The parentheses indicate numbers of microfilm boxes located in the Archives Générales du Royaume, Brussels. Die Brabanter Revolution, Denkschriften, IV Rep. DD Sect. Β Faszikel blau 50a to 51b. Documents et mémoires secrets de Mercy Argenteau, Trauttmansdorff, et Crumpipen relatifs à la Révolution brabançonne, Staatskanzlei IV Rep. DD Sect. Β Verz. 66 (404­414). Die Brabanter Revolution, Staatskanzlei IV Rep. DD Sect. Β Fasz. 140, 142, 198, 243, and 245. Staatskanzlei IV Rep. DD Sect. Β Fasz. 183a (870­872) and c (876­877). Affaires États, Belgien IV„ Fasz. 82­84 (454­460).

Bibliography

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MANN, L'Abbé. Abrégé de l'histoire ecclésiastique, civile et naturelle de la ville de Bruxelles. Brussels, 1784. NENY, de. Mémoires historiques et politiques sur les Pays­Bas autrichiens et sur la constitution tant interne qu'externe des provinces qui les com­ posent. Brussels, 1786. Procès­verbaux des séances de la municipalité de Bruxelles. Brussels. Pamphlet Collection, Rijksuniversiteit, Gent. Révolution belge. 159 vols. Bibliothèque Royale. SCHUTTER, Hanns. Briefe un Denkschriften zur Vorgeschichte der Belgis­ chen Revolution. Vienne, 1900. SCHUTTER, Hanns. Geheime Correspondes Josefs II mit seinem Minister Trauttmansdorff Vienna, 1902. SCHUTTER, Hanns. Briefe der Erzherzogin Marie Christine Statthalterin der Niederlanden an Leopold II. Vienna, 1896. Varia. 400 vols. Bornem, Belgium : Archief, Abdij St. Bernard.

Journals

L'Ami des Belges. Annales politiques, civiles et littéraires du XVIII' siècle. Le Bat ave. Courrier de l'égalité par l'auteur des lettres du père Duchêne. Esprit des Gazettes. Esprit des Journaux français el étrangers. Journal de Bruxelles. Journal général de l'Europe. Journal historique et littéraire. Gazette des Pays­Bas. Moniteur. Le Postillon européen. Révolutions de France et de Brabant.

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CAVANAUGH, G. J. " The Present State of French Revolutionary Historio­ graphy : Alfred Cobban and Beyond, " French Historical Studies VII (1972), pp. 587­606. CHURCH, Clive. " The Social Basis of the French Social Bureaucracy under the Directory, " Past and Present XXXVI (1967), pp. 59­72. EISENSTEIN, Ε. "Who Intervened in 1788?" American Historical Review (1965), pp. 77­103. EISENSTEIN, E„ KAPLOW, J. and SHAPIRO, G. " Class in the French Revo­ lution : A Discussion, " American Historical Review (1967), pp. 497­522. ELLIS, G. " Review Article ; The Marxist Interpretation of the French Revolution, " English Historical Review XCIII (1978), pp. 353­376. FURET, F. "Ancien Régime et Révolution :'Réinterprétations, " Annales. Économies­Sociétés­Civilisations ( 1974). GEYL, P. " Noord Nederlandse Patriottenbeweging en Brabantse Revolu­ tie, " Nieuwe Vlaams Tijdschrift VII (1952­1953), pp. 624­641. GODECHOT, J. and PALMER, R. R. " Le problème de l'Atlantique du XVIIIe siècle au XXe siècle, " Congresso Internazionale de Scienze sto­ riche. Relazioni. Florence, 1955. GODECHOT, J. La Grande Nation. 2 vols. Paris, 1956. GORMAN, T. K. America and Belgium, A Study of the Influence of the United States upon the Belgian Revolution of J 788­1789. London, 1925. HELIN, E. " Le caractère national comme révélateur de déterminismes sociaux, " Études sur le XVIII'siècle III (1976), pp. 57­75. LEFEBVRE, G. " La Révolution française dans l'histoire du monde, " Annales III (1948). MATHIEZ, A. La Révolution et l'Église. Paris, 1910. MATHIEZ, A. La Révolution et les étrangers. Paris, 1919. MAZAURIC, C. " Quelques voies nouvelles pour l'histoire politique de la Révolution française, " Annales historiques de la Révolution française XLVII (1975), pp. 134­175. MAZAURIC, C. and BERGERON, L. " Les sans­culottes et la révolution fran­ çaise, " Annales. Économies­Sociétés­Civilisations XVIII (November­ December, 1963), pp. 1098­1127. Occupants­Occupés 1792­1813. Colloque de Bruxelles. January 29­30, 1968. Brussels, 1969. PALMER, R. R. The Age of Democratic Revolution, A Political History of Europe and America 1760 to 1800. 2 vols. Princeton, 1959, 1964. PALMER, R. R. " Popular Democracy in the French Revolution, " French Historical Studies I (1960), pp. 445­469. PALMER, R. R. " The World Revolution of the West, " Political Science Quarterly LXIX (1954), pp. 1­14. www.academieroyale.be

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RICHET, D. " Autour des origines lointaines de la Révolution française : Élites et despotisme, " Annales. Économies-Sociétés-Civilisaiions (1969). SOBOUL, A. " La Révolution française dans l'histoire du monde contempo­ rain. " in ed. Allain, M. and Conrad, G. France and North America, The Revolutionary Experience. Lafayette, Louisiana, 1974. SOREL A. L'Europe et la révolution française. Vol. 3. Paris, 1897. TASSIER, S. " Les Belges et la Révolution française, " Revue de l'Université de Bruxelles (1934), pp. 452-470. VAN PRAET, J. " Les Pays-Bas autrichiens. Leur révolution au point de vue rétrospectif et européen. " in Essais sur l'histoire politique des derniers siècles. III (Brussels. 1884, pp. 259-320). VERCRUYSEE, J. " L'indépendance américaine et la Révolution Braban­ çonne, " Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire LIV (1976), pp. 1098- 1108. VON SYBEL H. Histoire de l'Europe pendant la Révolution française. Paris, 1882. www.academieroyale.be

APPENDIX

Brabant Revolutionaries in Brussels 1787 to 1793

Traditionalists Democrats Jacobins Legal Professions 87 89 90 93 89 90 93 93

Balza, A. x x Bosschaert x Charlier, P. F. x x Claeyssens χ Cobus, J. F. x De Brouwer, M. J. x De Launay, P. Ε, χ Dondelberg, Α. Ν, χ χ D'Otrenge, T. χ χ x D'Outrepont, CL. χ χ χ x Drugman, J. χ x x Emmerichts, J. x Foubert, J. χ x Goffin, H. XXX Le Hardi, J. χ Messemaecker χ χ x Moerinckx, F. x x Moris, J. J. J. XXX Mosselman, S. χ x Pasteels, J. F. χ x Poringo, G. χ χ χ x Sandelin, Α. χ χ x Serruys x Thielens, J. Β. χ x 't Kint, J. D. χ χ x x Torfs, J. J. XXX Triponetti x Turlot, J. Β. x Van Bevère, J. J. x Van Campenhout x Van Cools x Van Daelen, C. χ χ x Van den Cruyce, C. x Vanderlinden|, J. B. x x Van der Hoop, H. χ χ χ x Van der Noot, H. χ χ χ x Van Doorselaer, J. F. x Van Overstraeten, Ν. χ x Verlooy, J. B. C. x x x Vonck, J. F. XX Willems, G. χ x Wittonck, G. x www.academieroyale.be

APPENDIX 301

Traditionalists Democrats Jacobins Liberal Professions 87 89 90 93 89 90 93 93

Baret, J. F. Bisschop Claeyssens, G. J. De Braeckenier De Cuyper, C. De Frenne. J. J. De Haeze Dinne, E. J. Espagnac, M R. S Fernandez Fisco, C. Gaine H ayez, F. Herbinaux, J. G. Jacobs Janssens, J. M. Pauwels, F. Peelers, J. J. Secrétan, Ph. Van Möns, J. B.

Traditionalists Democrats Jacobins Wholesale Merchants 87 89 90 93 89 90 93 93 and Bankers

Chapel, J. Chapel. G. Dannoot, D. D'Aubremez, A. De Vleeschouwer, J. Frison, A. J. Herries Heyndrickx. P. E. Michels, J. Moris, J. B. Nicolle, F. J. Pins, F. J. Plowits Seghers Simon, J. Jr. Sironval, E. Walckiers, Ed. Weemaels, J. B. www.academieroyale.be

302 APPENDIX

Traditionalists Democrats Jacobins Merchants and Artisans 87 89 90 93 89 90 93 93

Adan, E. χ χ Appelmans, A. χ Beeckmans, P. J. C. χ χ χ Dansaert χ De Neck, D. χ χ De Noter, Fr. χ χ Deprès Doms, Ρ. χ Gille, V. χ Greuse Huyghens, J. B. C. χ χ La Faye Mommaerts χ Ophalens, F. J. χ Saegermans, J. J. χ χ χ Schuers, J. C. χ χ Smeesters X Tintilair, A. J. Van Assche, J. S. χ Χ Van den Block χ Van den Sande, J. B. χ Van den Schick, J. V. χ Van der Stricht, A. F. Χ Van Lack, J. B. χ Van Parys, J. χ χ Χ Van Zieune, Ρ. N. χ Verhasselt, Η. Α. χ Χ Verstraeten, J. F. χ

Traditionalists Democrats Jacobins Unidentified 87 89 90 93 89 90 93 93

Bosmans x

Collier x Colinet x

De Bere x

De Raet x Deslondes x χ

Lubin x Meersman x Millecamps x

Snoeck x x Van der Noot, J. Β. χ χ www.academieroyale.be

APPENDIX 303

Traditionalists Democrats Jacobins Clergy 87 89 90 93 89 90 93 93

De Hooghe x x De Parc. Abbé x x Duvivier, Chanoine x * Feller. Abbé de χ χ χ χ Grimberghe χ Huyghe x x Janssens. Curé x Morisson. prêtre x Rossi, Chapelain x Saint Bernard. Abbé de χ χ χ χ χ Schellekins x * Tongerloo. Abbé de χ χ χ χ x Van Gils Van Hees. Abbé Van Hove Vlierbeeck. Abbé de

Traditionalists Democrats Jacobins Nobility 87 89 90 93 89 90 93 93

Arenberg. Duc d' χ x De Hove. Baron x x x De Lannoy x x Duras. Comte x Godin. Baron de x La Marck. Comte de x Limminghe. Comte de χ χ χ x Mérode. Comte de x Romerswael. Baronne x Romerswael. Baron χ χ χ x Rosière. Comte de x Saint Rémy. Comte de x x Ursel. Duc d' x χ χ χ Ursel. Duchesse d' x Van der Haegen x Van der Noot de Vreckem χ χ x Yves. Comtesse d' χ χ χ x www.academieroyale.be

304 APPENDIX

Traditionalists Democrats Jacobins Miscellaneous 87 89 90 93 89 90 93 93

Arnaerts (military) x χ Blaes (bodyguard) x Chateigner (employee) x De Brancas (military) x De Man, Madame x De Page (rentier) x De Pinaud, Madame χ χ χ De Roy (son) χ Dujardin (son) χ Estienne (military) χ Goguet (military) χ Grimault (ex­Monk) χ Jaubert (military) χ Longfils χ Lorenzo (military) χ Melsnyder (" garçon ") χ Millé (pleban) χ Rosières (military) x χ Van Hamme (military) χ χ χ www.academieroyale.be

Index

Act of Union, 133­134. Army, French, 209, 210­211. See ADAN, Ε., 57, 74, 302. also Armée du Nord. Agriculture, 20. ARNAERTS, 304. ALBERT, Archduke, 17, 36, 51, 55, Artisans, 74, 302, Breda Committee 153­154. 106, 102 ; support for Etats Bel­ ALTON, General : arrival in Brus­ giques Unis, 159­160, 165­168. sels, 69, 70 ; surveillance 85, 86, See also Nations. 125, 126; and Austrian troops, Assemblée de Commerce, 31, 101. 87, 109. Assemblée Nationale, French, 207­ Amides Beiges, 172. 208, 211. Annexation : Belgian provinces to Assignats, 234­235. France, 258­259. Austrians. See Army ; Spies ; APPELMANS, Α., 212, 302. Joseph II ; Leopold ; Albert ; American Revolution : Compari­ Maria Christine ; Maria The­ sons with Brabant Revolution, resa ; Governors­General. 55, 94­95, 102. 120, 148­149, 181. BACON, Nicolas, 24­25.

ANGELOT, 220. BALZA, Alexandre, 300 ; organiza­

ANNEMANS, P., 220. tion of Société, 218, 219, 220,

APPELMANS, Α., 57, 74, 302. 221 ; leadership of Société, 225, ARENBERG, Duchesse douanière d', 242, 247. 126. Bankers. See Négociants. ARENBERG, Duc d", 27, 303 ; pre­ BARET, J. F., 247, 301. revolutionary resistance (1787­ BEDINGER, 220. 1788), 75; and volunteers BEECKMANS, P. J. C, 74, 78, 102, (1790), 150, 151, 159; mediator, 212, 246, 302. Estates and Army (1790), 162; BELGIOJOSO, 46. relations with Austrians, 176­ Belges et Liégeois Unis, 202­204, 177, 190; as Provisional Repre­ 209­211, 216­217. sentative, ( 1792­1793), 220. BELLEM, Madame de, 304 ; pre­ Armée du Nord, 215, 216, 234­235, revolutionary resistance (1787­ 256, 260­261. 1788), 55, 73, 75, 80 ; arrest of, Army, Austrian, 69­70, 112, 12Ι­ 76, 77, 78; Republic (1790), 133, Ι 22, 182. 165, 175. Army, Belgian : and Revolution, BÉTHUNE, Charost de, 201, 205­206. 94, 106­110, 113, 121­122, 124; 208. Estates' dispute with (1790), 131, BISSCHOP, 247, 301. 131, 155­156, 160, 161­163; BLAES, 229, 304. French view of, 223. BORNÉRON, General, 219, 225, 228. www.academieroyale.be

306 INDEX

BOSNIANS, 302. CLAEYSSENS, G.J., 169, 174, 211,

BOSSCHAERT, 220, 246, 300. 220, 246, 301. BOURDOIS, Joseph, 233­234. CLERGY, 28­29, 248, 249, 250, 268­ BOUTONS, 229. 269, 303 ; pre­revolutionary Brabant Revolution, 106­129 ; inter­ resistance (1787­1788), 75, 103, pretation of, 130­132. 105, 106; Revolution (1789), Breda Committee, 89­90; opposi­ 124, 131 ; Republic (1790), 165­ tion to Pro Aris et Focis, 91, 92, 168, 173, 174; democrats' view 93, 97, 98 ; Joseph's view of, of, 187­188; abstention from 110 ; membership of, 99, 102­ political struggle, 80, 193­194, 105, 164 ; religious appeals, 116­ 199 ; support for Béthune (1791), 119; in Revolution, 126, 131. 202 ; during French, Occupation

BREMAECER, 73. (1792­1793), 225, 230.

BRINCKS, 220. CLOOTS, Anacharsis, 216­217. Brussels, 15, 22­23, 34 '. COBBAN, Alfred, 273. BURKE, Edmund, 137, 193. COBENZL P., 60. COBUS, 220, 247, 300. CAMBON, P. J., 237­238. COLINET, 108, 302. CAMMAERTS, 122­123. COLLIER, P., 247, 302. CAMUS, 235. COLOMA, de, 201. « Casus Positie », 66. Congress, Belgian (1790), 134­138, CHAPEL, G., 169, 189, 220, 301. 153, 162, 180­182. See also États CHAPEL, J. J., 31, 301 ; pre­revolu­ Belgiques Unis ; Estates. tionary resistance (1787­1788), Congress of Reichenbach, 179­180. 57, 74, 75 ; Pro Aris et Focis « Considérations sur la Constitution (1789), 101; Republic (1790), des Duchés du Brabant et Lim­ 152, 159, 169; Société du Bien bourg », 54­55. See also Public (1791­1792), 188, 195; D'Outrepont, Charles Lambert. Provisional Representative, 220, « Considérations impartiales », 147, 221, 231, 245, 254. 186. CHARLES, 257. Conseil de Brabant, 32, 192 ; oppo­

CHARLIER, P. F., 100, 108, 169, 189, sition to Joseph, 47, 50, 74, 87 ; 195, 300. opposition to first Estates, 140­

CHASSEIN, 211. 141.

CHATEIGNER, 247, 304. Conseil des finances, 17. CHAUSSARD, Publicola, 237. Conseil d'état, 17; opposition to CHÉPY, Pierre, 234, 235­236, 256. Joseph Π, 60, 66, 68, 69, 70; CHUQUET, Α., 217. opposition to Leopold II, 192. Church, Catholic: position in Bel­ Conseil privé, 17. gian provinces 33­34 ; Joseph's Convention, French National : aid reforms of, 39­43, 66, 67, 68; to Belgian revolutionaries, 214­ democrats' view of, 96­97 ; and 216; and Dumouriez, 233, 236; Breda Committee, 105, 116­117; Decrees, 233, 238­239, 255.

Republic (1790), 160, 172­173; CORBESIER, 229. French view of, 253, 254, 256­ CORNET DE GREZ, 170­171, 220. 257. See also Clergy ; Messian­ Corporativism, 38, 137­138. ism. CRAYEBECKX, Jan, 20, 264­265. CLAEYSSENS (lawyer), 300. CRUMPIPEN, Joseph, 99, 127. www.academieroyale.be

INDEX 307

DANNOOT, D., 101, 301. DE PUYDT, 189, 211. DANSAERT, 201, 212, 229, 247, 302, DE RAET, C. Α., 220, 247, 302. DANTON, 235. DE RIDDER, 113. D'AUBREMEZ, Antoine, 301 ; Pro DERIVAL. See Gomicourt, de. Aris et Focis (1789), 90, 102, DE ROOVÈRE, 169, 195, 211. 107, 113; with volunteers and DE ROY, 103, 304. Army (1790), 150, 162; Pro DESHAQUETS, 210. Patria (1790), 168, 170­171; DESLONDES, C. L., 157, 302. Société du Bien Public (179Ι­ DESMOULINS, Camille, 160­161. Ι 792), 188, 189; Provisional DE VLEESCHOUWER, J. B., 211, 220, Representatives (1792­1793), 245, 301. 220, 231, 245, DIGNEFFE, J. B., 220. DE BÈRE, 247, 302. DINNE, E. J., 301 ; Pro Aris et Focis DE BLAER, 73. (1789) , 101 ; Société Patriotique DE BRAECKENIER, 247, 301. (1790) , 145, 211 ; and French,

DE BRANCAS, 304. 218, 247, 251.

DEBROU, 220. Doctors, 250­251. See also Liberal DE BROUWER, M.J., 92, 100, 107, Professions.

108, 300. DOMS, P., 302. DE BROUX, Alexandre, 156, 229. DONCKERS, 73. DECOSTER.91, 174. DONDELBERG, Andreas, 300; pre­

DE CUYPER, C, 101, 211, 301. revolutionary resistance (1787­ DE FRENNE, J.J., 247, 251, 301. 1788), 72­73 ; Pro Aris et Focis DE HAEZE, 101, 301. (1789), 100; Pro Patria (1790),

DE HONDT, 51. 168; Société du Bien Public DE HOOGHE, 103, 107, 303. (1791­1792), 188, 189, 211. DE JONGHE, 195. DONROY, 211, 220. DE LAUNAY, P. E., 100, 300. D'OTRENGE, Théodore, 100, 189, DELACROIX, 235. 220, 231, 245, 300. DE LA FONTAINE, 220. Douai, 170, 201­202, 212. DE LINCÉ, 197. D'OUTREPONT, Charles Lambert, DE MAN, 304. 43, 300 ; support for Austrian Democrats, 121, 130­131 ; mem­ reforms, 54­55 ; pre­revolution­ bership, 166, 167, 211, 220, 248, ary resistance (1787­1788), 75, 265; philosophy, 95­%, 261, 76, 78­79; Pro Aris et Focis 268­270, 272; French view of, (1789), 100; opposition, Repu­ 235­236. See also Pro Aris et blic (1790), 146­147, 159; Focis (1789) ; Pro Patria (1790) ; Société du Bien Public (179Ι­ Société Patriotique (1790); Ι 792), 189, 211; Provisional Société des Amis du Bien Public Representative (1792­1793), 220, (1791­1792); Provisional Repre­ 242, 245.

sentatives (1792­1793). DRUGMAN, J., 102­103, 229, 247,

DE NECK, D., 57, 73, 74, 102, 169, 300. 189, 211, 220, 302. DUJARDIN, 201, 212, 304. DE NOTER, F., 102, 120, 122, 194, DUMOURIEZ, General : relations 201, 212, 302. with Belgian democrats, 204, DE PAGE, 304. 208, 219 ; and National Conven­ DEPRÈS, 211, 246, 302. üon, 215­216, 233, 235­238; Bel­ www.academieroyale.be

308 INDEX

gian invasion, 216­217; 239­240 ; as seen by Dumouriez, finances, 234­235, 237­239 ; and 236­237.

Société, 218­219, 231 ; and tradi­ ESTIENNE, 222, 231­232, 247, 253, tionalists, 224, 229 ; annexation 257, 304. of Belgium to France, 259, 260. États Belges Unis, 135, 180­182. See DUPRÉ, C, 220. also Estates ; Estates General ; DURAS, Count, 185, 247, 303. Congress. Dutch. See Netherlands. Estates General, 134­139. See also DUVIVIER, Chanoine, 247, 303. Estates. EVENPOEL, 229. EISENSTEIN, Ε., 274.

EMMERICHTS, J., 100, 107, 108, 220, FABRY, 108, 202. 300. FELLER, Abbé François Xavier de, England, 88, 89, 118, 127, 155, 179. 303 ; opposition to Austrian See also Triple Alliance. church reforms, 41, 75 ; Revolu­ Enlightened Despotism, 37­38, 69, tion, 58, 76, 116, 117, 119, 128; 79, 95, 111, 185. See also conciliation with Austrians, 81 ; Joseph II ; Leopold II. Republic (1790), 137­138, 182; Enlightenment, 64­65, 71. See also and French, 225, 240­241, 247. Philosophes. FERNANDEZ, 247, 301. ERNOUX, 229. Finistère, curé de, 220. ESPAGNAC, M. R. S., 247, 301. Fisco, Claude, 301 ; pre­revolution­ Esprit des journaux, 70. ary resistance (1787­1788), 57, Estates, Brabant, 18, 75 ; opposition 75 ; Pro Aris et Focis (1789), 90, to Austrian religious reforms, 101, 107, 113 ; Société du Bien 41, 66, 86; opposition to Aus­ Public (1791­1792), 189, 220; trian administrative reforms, 47­ Provisional Representatives 49, 53 ; delegation to Vienna, (1792­1793), 245.

56, 58, 60; leadership of the FLANDERS, 139, 169, 178, 206. " people ", 52, 62, 63 ; taxes, 68, Flemish Language, 104, 168. 72, 79­80 ; opposition to changes FORSTER, Georg, 10, 27, 28, 39, in Louvain, 70­71, 84, 85, 87; 263­264.

Joseph's attacks on, 88, 114, FOUBERT, J., 189, 220, 246, 300. 125 ; leaders in Breda, 89­90, 99, FRANCIS I., 217, 261.

115; disputes between Third FRANCOLET, 220. and first Estates (1790), 139, FRANCON, 229. 140 ; attack on democrats, 149­ French Army, See Army : French. 150, 158­164, 174; Etats Bel­ French Emigres, 196. giques Unis, (1790), 133­134, French Language, 104. 153, 171, 173, 176, 180­182; French Revolution, 94­95 ; com­ Leopold's treatment of, 154, pared to Brabant Revolution, 192, 197, 198, 199­200; demo­ 108, 110, 111, 129, 139; as seen crats' view of, 157, 168, 177, by Belgian revolutionaries, 97, 178, 186­187 ; supporters of 164­ 148, 149, 172, 177, 202, 227 ; aid 165 ; attempts to compromise to Belgian democrats, 176, 196, with democrats (1791­1792), 211. 194­196, 198; relations with FRISON, A. J., 220, 247, 301. French, 214, 219, 226, 228­229, FURET, F., 294. www.academieroyale.be

INDEX 309

GACHARD. L. P., 9, 10. Jacobins, Belgian. See Société des

GAINE, B., 101, 301. Amis de Liberté et de l'Égalité.

GARDINER, 200. JACOBS, 220, 247, 251, 301.

GILLE, V., 57, 74, 302. JANSSENS, curé, 303.

GILSON, 220. JANSSENS, J. M., 169, 220, 246, 301. GODECHOT, Jacques, 263, 273. JARRY, 209­210. GODIN, Baron de, 159, 303. JAUBERT, 247, 304. GOFFIN, Henri, 57, 72, 73, 76­77, JEMAPPES, Battle of, 216­217. 102, 220, 300. JOSEPH II, 35 ; visit to Belgian pro­ GOGUET, 222, 247, 253, 304. vinces, 35­37 ; education of, 37­ GOMICOURT, de, (Dérivai), 15, 22, 39 ; religious reforms, 39­43, 63­ 43, 136, 267. 64, 67­68, 79, 80, 86, 1)1­112; GOOSENS, 220. economic policies, 16­17, 25­26,

GOSSUIN, 235. 43­44, 74­75 ; administrative and Governors­General, 17, 196, 200, judicial reforms, 44­50 ; struggle 217. See also Albert; Maria with Estates, 48­51, 53­56, 59­60, Christine ; Murray. 66­72, 82, 87, 88 ; as seen by Pro GREUSE, 302. Aris et Focis, 94­96, 105 ; as

GRIMAULT, 247, 304. seen by Breda Committee, 97­

GRIMBERGHE, 303. 98, 110; and philosophes, 1 ΙΟ­

GRUYER, 220. Ι 11 ; and Revolution, 124, 126; Guilds : opposition to industrializa­ comparison with Leopold, 153­ tion, 23­24, 30 ; Joseph's 154, 185. attempts to abolish, 43­44, 74, JOTTRAND, 291. 197; Société's attacks on, 221. Journal général de l'Europe, 42, 46, See Nations. 189, 193, 197. GUERAULT, 220. Journal historique et littéraire, 41, Hasselt, 108, 114. 70.

HAYEZ, F., 101, 174, 251, 301. Joyeuse Entrée, 17; revolutionary

HENNEBERT, F., 264. defense of, 50, 54, 65, 66, 79;

HERBINAUX, J G., 174, 189, 211, Joseph's attacks on, 63, 84, 88 ; 220, 246, 301. under Etats Belgiques Unis, 134, HERRIES, Guillaume, 23­24, 159, 154 ; Vonck's view of 203 ; com­ 168, 176­178, 189, 301. pared to Déclaration des droits

HEYNDRICKX, P. Ε., 247, 301. de l'homme, 222, 261 ; as seen HOVE, Baron de, 303 ; Brabant by Société, 230, 244, 253. Second Estate, 58, 73, 193; JUCOLE, 169. Revolution (1789), 103­104, 185; Douai (1791­1792), 201, KAUNITZ, 18, 46, 60. 212 ; French Occupation (1792­ 1793), 247.

HUYGHE, 303. LA BOURDONAYE, 234­235.

HUYGHENS, J. B. C, 74, 102, 302. LA FAYE, 222, 247, 251, 302. HUNT, Lynn, 269. LA MARCK, comte de (Prince d'Arenberg), 103, 125, 162, 168, 190, 303. Industrialization: Belgian, 11, 18­ LAMOTTE, 220. 26, 272. LANNOY, comte de, 185, 303. www.academieroyale.be

310 INDEX

LAWYERS, 31­32, 105, 114; resis­ Louvain, 230 ; University of, 31 ; tance to Joseph II, 45­47, 53, 44­45, 70­71, 102. 75 ; membership in democratic LUBIN, 247, 302.

groups, 102, 106, 248, 250, 268, LUCKNER, 209, 210. 165­168, 300; membership in LÜTHY, Herbert, 273­274. traditionali't groups, 102­103, 106, 140, 165­168, 249, 266, 300;

membership in Société, 250, MALFAIT, P. G., 99. 300 ; status of, 105 ; Jacobin « Manifeste du Peuple Braban­ oath, 252. çon », 120­121. LEBRUN, Pierre, 42, 202, 233, 236. MARET, 211. LECONTE, 287. Maria Christine, 17, 36, 55­56, 153­ Legal Professions. See Lawyers. 154, 179. See also Governor­ LE HARDI, J., 100, 174, 189, 300. General. LEOPOLD II : comparison with Maria Theresa, 17, 25, 33, 35, 38, Joseph II, 153­154, 185, 189­ 55, 112. 190 ; relations with Belgian MARTINI, Anton von, 38, 39, 52. democrats, 176­179, 183, 190, MAZAURIC, C, 270­271. 197 ; and Triple Alliance, 179, Mechelen, Archibishop of, 41, 160.

181 ; relations with traditiona­ MEERSMAN, 169, 302.

lists, 183­184, 185­186, 197; MELSNYDER, C. Η., 247, 251, 304. struggle with Estates, 192, 196, « Mémoire sur les Droits du Peuple 198, 199. Brabançon », 48. LEQUIMÉ, 220. Merchants : See Guilds ; Artisans ; LESOINNE, 202. Nations.

LEUNCKENS, J. J„ 202. MERCKX, de, 169, 201.

LEVOZ, 202. MERCY, de, 186. Liberal Professions, 32 ; member­ MERODE, comte de, 104, 303. ship in democratic groups, 102, MESSEMAECKER, 100, 108, 222, 246, 105, 106, 165­168, 248; mem­ 300. bership in traditionalist groups, Messianism : Belgians as chosen 103, 106, 249 ; membership in people, 116­119, 160, 172­173; Jacobin Société, 250. divine intervention in Brabant LIBOUTON, 188, 195, 220. Revolution, 41­42, 117. Liège, 91, 108, 120, 122, 202. METMAN, Charles, 234.

LIGNE, Prince de, 190. METTERNICH­WINNEBOURG, 196, Lille : Committee of Belgian Demo­ 199.

crats, 168, 178­179, 206­207, 208. MICHELS, J., 174, 220, 246, 301.

See also Pro Patria. MILLÉ, 220, 304.

LIMMINGHE, comte de, 303 ; pre­ MILLECAMPS, 302. revolutionary resistance (1787­ Ministre Plénipotentiaire, 17. See 1788), 75; Revolution (1789), also BELGIOJOSO ; CRUMPIPEN ; 103, 104; exile, 185, 201 ; anti­ METTERNICH­WINNEBOURG ;

French riots, 229, 246. MURRAY ; TRAUTTMANSDORFF.

LINGUET, 109. MIRABEAU, 190.

LOEN, Baron de, 168. MOERINCKX, F., 220, 246, 300.

LONGFILS, 102, 103, 304. MOMMAERTS, 74, 302.

LORENZO, 247, 304. MORIS, J. B., 220, 301. www.academieroyale.be

INDEX 311

MORIS, J. J. J., 300 ; pre­revolution­ PACHE, J. N., 234, 236. ary resistance (1787­1788), 75, PALMER, R. R , 263­264, 266­267, 77, 78; Revolution (1789), 85, 273, 92, 102 ; French Occupation PARC, Abbé de, 103, 303. (1792­1793) 229. PASTEELS, J. F., 100, 108, 169, 189, MoRissoN, 103, 174, 303. 211, 300. MOSSELMAN, Stephanus, 72, 75, Patent of Toleration, 39­40. 102, 189, 300. PAUWELS, F., 103, 247, 301. MOTTOULLE, 187, 188, 189, 211. PEETERS, J. J., 174, 220, 246, 301. MURRAY, comte de, 58,61,62,63,64. Philosophes, 27, 67, 78­79, 95, 102, III, 269. See also Enligh­ Nations, 30 ; as volunteers, 56­57, tenment. 63, 70­75, 266; leading Third PINAUD. See Bellem, Madame de. Estate opposition to Joseph II, PINS, F. J., 301. 58, 60, 61, 70, 77, 82; dispute PIRENNE, Henri, 203, 264. with first two Estates (1790), PITET, 220. 139­141; democrats' view of, PLOWITS, 101, 301. 145 ; attacks on democrats, 158­ PORINGO, Gerard, 100, 300; pre­ 160, 194, 199; in Douai, 212 ; revolutionary resistance (1787­ relations with French, 217, 226; 1788), 75 , plus­que Vonckist as democrats, 248 ; as traditio­ (1790), 146­147, 148­149, 164; nalists, 173, 180, 249 ; as Jaco­ Société du Bien Public (179Ι­ bins, 250, 252. See also Guilds ; Ι 792), 187, 189, 211 ; Provisio­ Artisans. nal Representative (1792­1793), Natural Rights, 51, 54­55, 67­68, 95, 220. 147, 203. Privileges, 28, 30, 31 ; traditiona­ Négociants, 30­32 ; opposition to lists' defense of, 105, 136­137, guilds, 43­44 ; relations with 193­195, 267­268; democrats* Austrians, 74, 75, 176 ; as demo­ attack on 144­145, 151­152, 203; crats, 101, 106, 165­168, 246, Austrians* attack on, 184­185; 248, 268 ; as traditionalists, 249 ; Société's attack on, 222, 229. as Jacobins, 250. Pro Aris et Focis : organization of Netherlands, 85­89, 106, 114, 127, 90­91; philosophy, 94­96, 98; 155, 179. See also Triple membership, 99­102, 103, 164­ Alliance. 165 ; revolutionary strategy, 92, NICOLLE, F. J., 189, 220, 246, 301. 100, 106­108, 113, 114, 119; NIESSE, 211, 220. revolutionary participation, 120­ Nobility, 27­28, 59 ; abstention from 123, 127, 133; excluded from political opposition, 59, 189­190, government of Etats Belgiques 193, 199 ; democrats' view of, 81, Unis, 141­142. 96, 144­145, 188; as traditiona­ Pro Patria, 168­169, 176. lists, 102, 106, 165­167, 201, 247, Provisional Representatives : elec­ 249 ; as democrats, 166­167, 249. tion of, 219­220; proclamations, NYS, Chanoine, 75, 225, 229. 220­222 ; relations with Société, 223, 231­233, 245, 252­254;

OFFHUYS, 168. reactions to French, 243­244, OPHALENS, F. J., 189, 302. 259­260; membership, 245­246, OVERMAN, 211. 248, 250. www.academieroyale.be

312 INDEX

Prussians : Van der Noot's negotia­ Saint Nicolas, curé de, 220. tions with, 88, 94, 106, 115 ; Con­ SAINT RÉMY, comte de, 220, 246, gress of Reichenbach, 179­180; 303.

rumors of Prussian troops, 109, SANDELIN, Alexandre, 300 ; Pro 127. See also Triple Alliance. Aris et Focis (1789), 100, 107; Lille, 168, 170­171 ; lawyer for « Relation d'un député du Comité Van der Mersch, 169 ; Société de la Lune », 142­143. du Bien Public (1791­1792), 189, RENS, E. L„ 202, 211. 194­195, 211; Provisional Revolution, American. See Ameri­ Representative (1792­1793), 220, can Revolution. 229, 241­242, 245. Revolution, Comparative Democra­ Schaerbeek, curé of, 169. tic, 9, 54 ; Belgian democrats' SCHELLEKINS, 103, 303. view of, 94­95, 148­149; histor­ SCHONFELD, General, 163, 181­182. iographical interpretation of, SCHUERS, J. C, 57, 74, 102, 302. 263­264, 273, 274. SECRÉTAN, P., 101, 113, 168, 301. Revolution, Brabant. See Brabant SEGHERS, 174, 220, 301. Revolution. Séminaire général, 63­64, 71, 80, Revolution, French. See French 86, 126. See also Church. Revolution. SERMENTS, 56, 57. See also Nations. RICHET, Denis, 29<*. SERRUYS, 168, 186, 189, 211, 300.

ROBINEAU, A.J. D., 174­175, 183­ SIEVES, Abbé, 146. 184. SIMON, J., 57, 74, 101, 189, 220,

ROBYNS, 108. 245, 301. ROMBAUT, 189, 211. SIRONVAL, E., 189, 211, 220, 245, ROMERSWAEL, Baron de, 75, 104, 301.

185, 247, 303. SMEESTERS, Α., 73, 302.

ROMERSWAEL, Baronne de, 103, SNOECK, 302. 104, 303. SOBOUL, Albert, 273. ROSIÈRE, comte de, 103­104, 211, Société des amis de liberté et de 220, 223, 303. l'égalité, 12 ; relations with Pro­ Rosières (military), 304. visional Representatives, 223, Rossi, 303. 231­233, 242, 245, 253; as RUELLE, 73, 176, 199, 214. viewed by traditionalists, 224­ 225, 229­230, 243 ; membership SAEGERMANS, Jean Joseph, 302; 247­251, 257, 265, 270­271, 275; pre­revolutionary resistance control of Brussels, 243­244, (1787­1788), 57, 73, 77, 91; 252­253 ; cooperation with Breda Committee (1789), 102; French, 256­257, 262; philo­ failure to oppose Leopold, 199, sophy, 270­272. 212; French Occupation ( 1792­ Société des Amis du Bien Public 1793), 247. ( 1791 ­1792) : organization, Saint Bernard, Abbé de (Benoit goals, and membership, 186, Neefs), 303 ; pre­revolutionary 187­189, 199­200; relations with resistance (1787­1788), 92; traditionalists, 194­195, 197; Revolution (1789), 103, 107, view of Leopold, 197. 115, 120; French Occupation Société Patriotique (1790): philo­ (1792­1793), 247. sophy, 142­149; March 15 Peti­ www.academieroyale.be

INDEX 313

lion, 157­160, 162, 164; mem­ and democrats, 195 ; view of bership, 164­168. French, 224­225, 243, 254, 259­ SOMERS, 197. 260, 261­262. See also Estates; SPIES, Austrian, 73­74, 109­110, Breda Committee ; Corporati­

113, 122. vism ; Privileges ; Messianism. STROOBARTS, 220. Trauttmansdorf, 17; and Estates, SUREMONT, 201. 68, 72, 87, 126; disagreements SYDENHAM, M. J., 274. with Alton, 109, 124; reporting of revolutionary intelligence, 68,

TASSIER, Suzanne, 10, II, 28, 263. 112, 113, 115. TAYLOR, George, 273. Treaty of Union, 134­135. TECMAN, 189, 211, 220. Triple Alliance : Van der Noot's TEXTILE INDUSTRIES, 20, 21. appeals to, 88, 119, 120, 126; THIELENS, J. B., 174, 189, 220, 241, refusal to recognize independent 300. Belgian republic, 153, 154­155; Third Estate, 51, 53, 58, 59, 60, 71, negotiations, Etats Belgiques 72, 78­79, 80, 266 ; opposition to Unis and Leopold II, 176, 179­ Joseph II. 81­83, 84; Joseph's 181. See also Netherlands ; Prus­ attempts to reform representa­ sia ; England. tion of, 188; dispute with first TRIPONETTI, 300. Estates, 139­141 ; democrats' TURLOT, J. B., 300. view of, 145­147; dispute with Turnhout, Battles of, 121­122, 209. Leopold, 192­193, 196, 198­200. See also Estates ; Nations. URSEL, Duc de, 27, 303 ; leader of TINTILAIR, A. J., 174, 246, 302. volunteers, 62­63, 75, 150, 151, 'T KINT, Jacques Dominique, 57, 153, 159, 164; Lille, 168; cooper­ 90, 100, 189, 247, 300. ation with Austrians, 125, 176, TONGERLOO, Abbé de (Godfried 190 ; Provisional Representative, Hermans), 303 ; pre­revolution­ 220, 246. ary resistance (1787­1788), 75, URSEL, Duchesse d', 103­104, 107, 92; Revolution (1789), 103, 107, 125­126, 303. 115, 120; Republic (1790), 160; VAN ASSCHE, J. S., 102, 211, 247, exile (1791­1792), 185, 201, 212; 302. French Occupation (1792­1793), VAN BELLINGHEM, 108. 247. VAN BEVÈRE, J. J., 169, 300. TORFS, J. J., 300 ; Pro Aris et Focis VAN CAMPENHOUT, 243, 300. (1789), 90. 91, 99­100, 107; Bel­ VAN COOLS, 300. gian Ambassador to France, VAN DAELEN, C, 75, 102, 211, 247, 120, 127, 141 ; Pro Patria ( 1790), 300. 168 ; Société du Bien Public VAN DEN BLOCK, 73, 102, 243, 302. (1791­1792), 189, 198, 211 ; Pro­ VAN DEN BORCHT, 220. visional Representative (179Ι­ VAN DEN BROECK, 289. Ι 792), 220, 245. VAN DEN CRUYCE, Charles, 72, 100, Torrington, 58­59. 107, 168­169, 211, 300. Traditionalists, 12; and Austrians, VAN DEN EYNDE, 108. 57, 183, 197 ; membership, 164­ VAN DEN SANDE, J. B., 74, 302. 168, 201, 246­247, 265, 275 ; phi­ VAN DEN SCHICK, J. V., 57, 74, 302. losophy, 130­132, 266­268, 272; VAN DER BERGEN, 201, 220. www.academieroyale.be

314 INDEX

VAN DER HAEGEN, 303. VAN DE SPIEGEL, Laurens Pieter, VAN DER HOOP, Henri, 246, 300; 88­89, 181. pre­revolutionary resistance VAN DOORSELAER, J. F., 100, 229, (1787­1788) 72­73; Breda Com­ 300. mittee (1789), 102, 125; Estates, VAN EUPEN, Pierre : Breda Com­ 33, 140­141 ; political ambiva­ mittee, 97­98, 118, 124; Etats lence, 184, 211; relations with Belgiques Unis, 132­136, 138, French, 211, 226, 231, 243. 139­140, 161, 163 ; meeting with VANDERLINDEN, J. Β., 100, 108, 211, democrats (1790), 170­171, 185. 300. VAN GAEVEREN, 220. VAN DER MERSCH, Jean André : VAN GILS, 103, 303. commander, revolutionary VAN HALWYCK, 220. army, 107­108, 120, 122, 123, VAN HAMME, Η., 103, 157, 159, 247, 124, 129; dispute between 304. democrats and traditionalists, VAN HEES, Abbé, 103, 168, 189,303. (1790), 130, 133, 155­156, 161­ VAN HOETEN, 220. 162; arrest, 163, 169; withdra­ VAN HOVE, M., 75, 303. wal from politics, 190­191, 206, VAN KEERBERGEN, 201. 223 ; death, 245. VAN LACK, J. B., 57, 74, 302. VAN DER NOOT, Henri, 300; resis­ VAN MÖNS, J. Β., 211, 220, 247, tance to Austrian reforms ( 1787­ 251, 254, 301. 1789), 48­49, 66, 71, 72, 73, 75­ VAN OVERSTRAETEN, Ν., 72,102,300. 78, 80; and volunteers, 51­52, VAN PARYS, J., 57, 73, 74, 102, 189,

56, 57, 58, 61, 62; negotiations 243, 246, 302. with Triple Alliance, 88­90, 106, VAN SCHELLE, 189. 109, 114­116, 119 ; revolutionary VAN SCHOOR, 73. preparations in exile (1788), 84­ VAN ZIEUNE, P. N., 57, 74, 302. 85, 89­90, 91, 93, 104, 164; rela­ VERHAEGEN, 290. tions with democrats, 93, 94, VERHASSELT, Η. Α., 102, 302. 120, 158­159, 174, 197­198 ; Bra­ VERHULST, 174. bant Revolution (1789), 120­121, VERLOOY, Jan Baptist, 300; pre­ 122, 123, 124, 130 ; Etats Bel­ revolutionary resistance (1787­ giques Unis (1790), 132­136, 1788), 73; Pro Aris et Focis 139, 140­141, 171, 180; and (1789), 90­91, 99­101, 107 ; Ver­ army, 155, 161, 170; reputation handeling op d'onacht der moe­ of, 183, 185, 201­202; relations derlycke Tael, 104 ; Société with French (1792­1793), 218, Patriotique (1790), 146, 147, 226­227, 240, 243. 162; Pro Patria (1790), 168, 170­ VAN DER NOOT, Jean­Baptiste, 75, 171, 189 ; Société du Bien Public 77, 120, 155, 224, 302. (1791­1792), 189, 192, 211, 220; VAN DER NOOT DE VRECKEM, 103, Provisional Representative 104, 229, 247, 303. (1792­1793), 231, 247, 254. Vandernootists. See Traditionalists ; VERSTRAETEN, J. F., 57, 302. Estates ; Breda. VILLARD, 229. VAN DER STEEN, 220. VLIERBEECK, Abbé, de, 303. VAN DER STRAETEN, 220. VOLUNTEERS, 11, 56­58, 61­62, 113,

VAN DER STRICHT, Α. F., 302. 128­129, 151­152, 153, 163, 164, VANDESTEENE, Ε., 202. 174. www.academieroyale.be

INDEX 315

VONCK, Jan François, 300; Pro 191, 195 ; Belges et Liégeois Aris et Focis (1789), 90-94, 99- Unis, 202; Provisional Repre­ 100, 104; Brabant Revolution sentative (1792-1793), 220, 242; (1789), 114, !!9, 122, 130, 161 ; Société (1792-1793), 229-230, Société Patriotique (1790), 142, 247, 257. 151-152, 159; plans for reform WALTERS, 201. of Etats Belgiques Unis, 145- WEEMAELS, J. B., 301 ; pre-revolu- 146, 147, 150; and Army, 107, tionary resistance ( 1787-1788), 162, 163 ; in Lille, 168, 169, 178, 57, 73, 74, 75 ; Pro Aris et Focis 189, 195 ; refusal to work with (1789), 90, 91, 101, 108; Army Austrians after Revolution, 188, (1789-1790), 122, 162; in Lille, 190-191, 197; relations with tra­ 168, 170-171 ; Société du Bien ditionalists, 133, 197-198 ; rela­ Public (1791-1792), 189, 202; tions with Belges et Liégeois Provisional Representative Unis, 202, 204-206 ; French view (1792-1793), 220, 245. of, 208, 211 ; death, 245. WILLEMS, G., 100, 107, 174, 189, VONCKISTS. See Democrats. 211, 300. WILSON, Francis, 142, 155. WALCKIERS, Édouard de, 301 ; pre- WrrroNCK, G., 220, 246, 300. revolutionary resistance (1787- 1788), 74, 75 ; Pro Aris et Focis (1789), 92, 101, 107 ; opposition, YERNAUX, 220. Republic (1790), 150-151, 153, YVES, Comtesse de, 78-79, 80, 92, 159, 164, 169 ; Société des Amis 103-104, 141, 303. du Bien Public (1791), 188, 189, YVOY, 155. Liste des publicationwww.academieroyale.bes récentes de l'Académie CLASSE DES LETTRES ET DES SC IENCES MORALES ET POLITIQUES

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