Belgium and the Monarchy: From National Independence to National Disintegration

295 Pages·2011·133.531 MB·English

by  Herman Van Goethem

Belgium and
the monarchy
From National Independence
to National Disintegration

Herman Van GoetHem
Belgium and
the monarchy
From National Independence
to National Disintegration
Cover photo: Brussels, royal archives
Cover design: Stipontwerpt, antwerp
Book design: Stipontwerpt, antwerp
Printed in Belgium
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Published by UPa
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translation of the Dutch text: Ian Connerty
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ISBn 978 90 5487 698 4
nUr 698
Legal Deposit D/2010/11.161/015
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all rights reserved. no parts of this book may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written
permission of the publisher.
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Illustrations:
• Brussels, royal archives: pp. 40, 88, 96, 101, 109, 110, 117, 118,
124, 125, 134, 206, 238, 239, 253
• antwerp, Private Collection Janssens: pp. 23, 28, 30, 33, 42, 51, 52,
54, 56, 64, 72, 73, 78, 136, 143, 155, 162, 170, 172, 176, 180, 183, 190
• antwerp, Private Collection Van Goethem: pp. 19, 91, 148, 196,
199, 259
• antwerp, Private Collection Vanlangendonck: p. 81
• Jules Van Paesschen, photographer: p. 217
• Boudewijn. Een koning en zijn tijd, tielt, Lannoo and
Gemeentekrediet, 1998: pp. 228, 267
• reiner Van Hove, photographer: p. 244
• Photo reuters: p. 46
table of Contents
introduction 9
• National administration and national language 11
• Dutch-speaking Flanders, French-speaking Wallonia and bilingual 12
Brussels
• Belgium after 1893 – in search of a national concept 15
• Problems of terminology: nationalists, the Flemish Movement 16
and federalism
• A focus on the monarchy 20
1 leopold i (1831-1865) 25
• The influence of French language and culture in Flanders and the 27
question of Belgian neutrality
• Leopold I and the ‘true Belgians’ 34
• Leopold I, advocate of the Flemish Movement 38
2 leopold ii (1865-1909) The Situation Stagnates 47
• An unknown king 48
• Crown Prince Boudewijn – a light in the darkness 50
• A concerned Leopold II 53
3 the first cracks in the façade of national unity 59
• The consolidation of a mass Flemish Movement 61
• New institutional problems 62
• In search of an answer: Belgium and bilingualism 67
• Monolingual Wallonia, bilingual Flanders 69
• The beginnings of a federal debate: the break-up of Belgium 71
• The social and economic agenda of the Flemish Movement 73
• Monolingualism for Flanders! … or not really? 75
• “Long live Wallonia, free and independent!” 80
5
Belgium and the monarchy. From national Independence to national Disintegration.
4 albert i (until 1918) King and Commander-in-Chief 85
• On the eve of the Great War 87
• August 1914 – a ‘foreign’ war and an impossible domestic peace 92
• Problems at the Belgian front 95
• 1916: activist fireworks and a failed government declaration 100
• Spring 1917 - towards and independent Flanders 108
• The Open Letter to King Albert of 11 July 1917 113
• Summer 1917: General De Ceuninck acts and Albert makes 115
himself heard
• Nationalist discourse and holy wars 120
• Summer 1917: King Albert’s two-pronged policy 122
• Spring 1918 – the government in panic 123
5 albert i (1918-1934) 131
• The Delacroix administration and the speech from the throne 132
• Questions in parliament – May 1919 137
• King Albert and Frans Van Cauwelaert 138
• Language legislation: 1921-1923 142
• 1921-1923: the first cracks in the Belgian national fabrics 146
• Albert I and the Flemish question, 1925-1928 150
• The coup de grâce for bilingualism in Flanders, 1928-1932 153
• King Albert and the bilingualism of the central administration 160
6 leopold iii (1934-1944/1950) The Radical King 167
• In continuation of King Albert, 1934-1940 169
• Belgium – on the road towards federalization, 1936-1940 173
• May 1940-September 1944 180
7 Prince charles (1944-1950) The Watchful Regent of Belgium 187
6
table of Contents
8 King Boudewijn (1950-1993) A Chronicle of Political Impotence 193
• The ‘quiet’ fifties 195
• The Gilson language laws, 1962-1963 199
• The state reforms of 1970 202
• Belgium in the 1970s – lost in the mist. Region forming, Voeren 210
and the ‘rand’ municipalities
• Belgium in the 1970s – the monarchy under fire, Voeren and the 213
amnesty question
• King Boudewijn wants progress, part I: The Egmont Pact 216
• King Boudewijn wants progress, part II: the constitutional 222
reforms of 1980
• King Boudwijn puts the breaks on: 1983-1988 224
• 1991-1993: state reform, confederalism and separatism 229
9 albert ii A Land Adrift 235
conclusion and diagnosis 249
• Belgium 1831-1893 251
• The power of institutional change: 1893 as a critical juncture 254
• King Albert I and the Flemish Movement 258
• The end of the “narrow-minded and egotistical minority”: 262
a balance
• The power of an institutional choice: 1970 264
• Belgium; an institutional perpetuum mobile 265
• Belgium – a diagnosis 268
• The end of Belgium? New critical junctures 276
endnotes 281
Bibliography 291
7

introduction