biography
| name: |
William I (of the Netherlands)
|
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (1772–1843)
|
| biography:
| King of the Netherlands (1815–40), born in The Hague, W Netherlands, the son of Stadtholder William V and Wilhelmina of Prussia. He married Frederica of Prussia in 1791. After leading the campaign against the French in 1793–4 he left for England, and from there joined the Prussian forces. His admiration for Napoleon led him to an accommodation with him, gaining compensation from him for losses incurred by the House of Orange in Germany. He settled in Fulda, but lost this territory again by the Treaty of Tilsit. He then joined the alliance against Napoleon, serving in the Austrian army, and was again a refugee in England after Wagram. In 1813 he was invited back to The Netherlands by Hogendorp as sovereign ruler. The Congress of Vienna wanted The Netherlands, both North and South, as a buffer against French expansion; William proclaimed himself king of both. He promoted industrial and commercial expansion and the cultuurstelsel in the colonies and ruled as an enlightened despot, by decree, restricting the States-General's control of finance by establishing an Amortization Syndicate, setting a 10-year budget. He also restricted legal appeals against his decisions, and revised the control of the Dutch Reformed Church. These measures were unpopular with the mass of the population, but welcomed by a few large industrialists. Like most post-Napoleonic rulers he also restricted freedom of the press and of association. Dissatisfaction grew, particularly in the mainly Catholic S, with a considerable French-speaking population and accustomed to a protected economy rather than the free-trade traditions of the N. This finally led to the Belgian Revolution in 1830, partition of the kingdom, and the creation of Belgium, guaranteed by the Great Powers. William's unpopularity was by now such that he abdicated in 1840, to be succeeded by his son as King William II. As Count of Nassau he married morganatically Countess d'Oultremont de Wégimont, lady-in-waiting to his first wife. |
|
|
