The Spirit of Dismay: The Dutch Perceptions of Revolutionary Threats in 1830 and 1848

Abstract

The Kingdom of the Netherlands was created at the Vienna Congress of 1815 as a powerful neighbour of France and therefore played an important role in the post-Napoleonic order. This order was particularly challenged during the revolutionary years of 1830 and 1848. These revolutions are often portrayed in Dutch historiography concerning the Belgian secession (1830) and the constitutional change in 1848. Through analysing the Dutch perceptions of revolutionary threat and the security practices that followed those perceptions, this thesis analyses the influence of post-Napoleonic security on Dutch politics during the revolutionary years of 1830 and 1848. These perceptions and practices have been made clear by studying diplomatic correspondence from this period, as well as various government documents. The post-Napoleonic order dominated the actions of the Dutch government at the time of the revolution until 1848. In this period revolutionary France was considered the main threat to public order. This was initially translated militarily: in 1830 the Wellington barrier played a major role in the measures to be taken by the Dutch government and in 1848, temporary military cooperation with Belgium was established to ward off the revolutionary danger. Domestically, the government used a fixed repertoire in 1830 and 1848. This was reflected in the monitoring of foreigners, especially from France, and the setting up of a domestic intelligence network in which regional and local authorities took part. The haute police as it still existed in the early nineteenth century was barely operational in 1830 and defunct by 1848. This research therefore hopes to be a first step towards a broader investigation into how the post-Napoleonic safety culture was implemented in the autocratic Netherlands.