Under [[Austrian Netherlands|Austrian rule]], the territory was divided into various smaller separate territories, each with their own regional identities:<ref name=BrabRev1>{{cite web|title=The Brabant Revolution of 1789–90|url=http://www.zum.de/whkmla/military/napwars/omwenteling.html|publisher=World History at KMLA|accessdate=11 March 2013}}</ref>
Under [[Austrian Netherlands|Austrian rule]], the territory was divided into various smaller separate territories, each with its own distinct regional identity:<ref name=BrabRev1>{{cite web|title=The Brabant Revolution of 1789–90|url=http://www.zum.de/whkmla/military/napwars/omwenteling.html|publisher=World History at KMLA|accessdate=11 March 2013}}</ref>
The Holy Roman Empire (of which Austria was part) took some time to respond to the crisis as it was embroiled in a war with the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans. However, by the end of 1790, the revolutionaries, wracked by internal division between the "Vonckists" and "Statists", were defeated and the rebellion crushed.
Background
Under Austrian rule, the territory was divided into various smaller separate territories, each with its own distinct regional identity:[1]
In 1786 the EmperorJoseph II began launching a series of liberal reforms in the Austrian Netherlands along the lines of those already introduced in other states of the House of Habsburg, such as the Duchy of Milan. His first reforms included a reform of seminaries in the provinces, followed was the abolition of the Council of Brabant (replaced by a supreme court) in which provoked widespread rioting and even a rising in Brussels known as the "Small Revolution" in May 1787.[2]
By 1789, the imperial government lacked the necessary means to repress political opposition, as for about a year its full military resources were committed to the Austro-Turkish War.
The Emperor was unable to prevent political dissidents fleeing from his territory to the neighboring United Provinces to organize resistance. In the city of Breda, the rebels were able to form a kind of government in exile and to organize militarily. In addition to the United Provinces, the rebels were also supported by the Republic of Liège after the revolutionaries in Liège overthrew their Prince-bishop and declared a republic in August 1789.
Rebel incursions along the Austrian Netherlands' border with the United Provinces began in the Summer of 1789. On 24 October, a column of Rebel soldiers crossed the border into Austrian territory. After capturing the town of Hoogstraten on 24 October, one of the revolt's leaders, Henri Van der Noot, read a declaration of independence for Brabant known as the Manifesto of the People of Brabant[4] and declared the Austrian government invalid.
The rebel army, led by Jean-André van der Mersch, moved further into the Austrian Netherlands and fought a battle with a numerically superior force at Turnhout on 27 October. Van der Mersch lured the Austrian force sent against him into the town and bitter street fighting ensued. After five hours of fighting, the Austrian force withdrew from the combat.
The commanding general of the imperial army in the Austrian Netherlands, Richard d'Alton, was quick to react, giving orders to his subordinate, Lieutenant-Field Marshal von Arberg,[note 1] retaliate in force in order to revenge the defeat and annihilate the military threat. Van der Mersch retreated across the border but not before the night of 10 November.
Following the Austrian defeat at Turnhout, riots began in major cities in the Austrian Netherlands.[5] Unable to maintain control in the face of both the Patriot army and the rebels, Austrian forces retreated from the territory to the Duchy of Luxembourg in the south.[5]
On 26 December 1789, the state of Brabant declared its independence from the Holy Roman Empire in Brussels. [5]
Notes
^Known as Nicolas-Antoine Comte d'Arberg of Valengin and Saint-Empire, (1736–1813), Generalmajor from 1773, Feldmarschalleutnant from 1783. See: Biographical Dictionary of All Austrian Generals
Template:Fr icon Christophe Koch, Histoire abrégée des traités de paix, entre les puissances de l'Europe depuis la paix de Westphalie, Edizione continuata ed aumentata da F. Schoell, Bruxelles, 1837, tomo I, Bruxelles, 1837.
Petrus Johannes Blok, History of the people of The Netherlands, Part V – Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, London, 1912.
Template:En icon F. Franck Bright, Joseph II, 1905, ripubblicato 2007.
Template:Fr icon Louis Dieudonne Joseph Dewez, Histoire générale de la Belgique, tomo 7, Bruxelles,1828.
Template:Fr icon Mathieu Guillaume Delvenne, Biographie du royaume des Pays-Bas, tomo 2, Liegi, 1829.
Friedrich Christoph Schlosser, History of the Eighteenth Century and of the Nineteenth Till the Overthrow of the French Empire, capitolo Belgian and Polish Revolutions, Londra, 1845.
Biographical Dictionary of all Austrian Generals during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonics Wars, 1792–1815.
Template:Fr icon Émilien -François Malingié, Les commencements de la révolution brabançonne, par un moine de l'Abbaye de Saint-Pierre, Messager des Sciences Historiques ou Archives des Arts et de la Bibliographie de Belgique, gand, 1876.
Template:Fr icon Le Général Comte d'Alton, Mémoires pour servir à la justification de feu son Excellence Le Général Comte D'Alton, et à l'Histoire Secrette de La Révolution Belgique, Seconde Edition, corrigée de toutes les fautes de la première, pubblicato sul finire del 1790 e aumentato di un Rapport essentiel touchant la sortie des Troupes Impériales de Bruxelles, le 12 Décembre 1789. Il tutto riedito in 2 tomi, nel 1791, tomo I.
Template:Nl icon Guy Schrans, Vrijmetselaars te Gent in de XVIIIde eeuw, Liberaal Archief Gent.
Template:Fr iconEntretien entre l'Empereur, et Messieurs de Trauttmansdorf, Son Ministre Plénipotentiaire aux Pays-Bas et le Général d'Alton: le 12 Janvier 1790.
Template:Fr iconUn épisode de la prise de Gand par les patriotes-mémoire justificatif par le major Philippe de Vaux , Messager des Sciences Historiques ou Archives des Arts et de la Bibliographie de Belgique, Gand, 1892.
Template:Fr icon Charles Louis Maximilien Diericx, Charles Louis Diericx, Mémoires sur la ville de Gand.
Template:Fr icon Auguste Voisin, Guide des voyageurs dans la ville de Gand, Gand, 1826.
Template:Fr icon Arthur Chunquet LES GUERRES DE LA RÉVOLUTION – IV – Jemappes et la conquete de la Belgique (1792–1793).
Template:Fr icon Antoine-Vincent Arnault, Biographie nouvelle des contemporains (1787–1820), Parigi, 1827.
Holy Roman Empire
United Provinces
Republic of Liège
United States of Belgium (starting on 10 January 1790)
