The Batavian Republic (Dutch: Bataafse Republiek; French: République Batave) was the successor state to the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on 19 January 1795 and ended on 5 June 1806, with the accession of Louis Bonaparte to the Dutch throne. From October 1801 onward, it was known as the Batavian Commonwealth (Dutch: Bataafs Gemenebest). Both names refer to the Germanic tribe of the Batavi, representing both the Dutch ancestry and their ancient quest for liberty in their nationalistic lore.
In early 1795, intervention by the French Republic led to the downfall of the old Dutch Republic. The new republic enjoyed widespread support from the Dutch populace and was the product of a genuine popular revolution. However, it was founded with the armed support of the French Revolutionary Army. The Batavian Republic became a client state, the first of the "sister-republics", and later part of the French Empire of Napoleon. Its politics were deeply influenced by the French, who supported no fewer than three coups d'état to bring the different political factions to power that France favored at different moments in its own political development. Nevertheless, the process of creating a written Dutch constitution was mainly driven by internal political factors and not by French influence until Napoleon forced the Dutch government to accept his brother, Louis Bonaparte, as monarch.[4]
The political, economic, and social reforms that were brought about during the relatively short duration of the Batavian Republic have had a lasting impact. The confederal structure of the old Dutch Republic was permanently replaced by a unitary state. For the first time in Dutch history, the constitution that was adopted in 1798 had a genuinely democratic character. For a time, the Republic was governed democratically, although a coup d'état in 1801 put an authoritarian regime in power after another change to the constitution. The influence of this period helped smooth the transition to a more democratic government in 1848 (the constitutional revision by Johan Rudolph Thorbecke, limiting the power of the king). A type of ministerial government was introduced for the first time in Dutch history and many of the current government departments date their history back to this period.
Though the Batavian Republic was a client state of France, its successive governments tried to maintain a degree of independence and to serve Dutch interests even where they clashed with the interests of the French. This clash of interests led to the eventual demise of the Republic when the short-lived experiment with the regime of "Grand Pensionary" Rutger Jan Schimmelpenninck proved unsatisfactory to Napoleon. The subsequent king Louis Bonaparte also refused to follow French dictates, which ultimately led in turn to his downfall in 1810 when the territory was annexed into the French Empire.
^Rutjes, M. (2012). Door gelijkheid gegrepen: democratie, burgerschap en staat in Nederland 1795-1801(PDF) (in Dutch). p. 21. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
^"Volkstelling in de Nederlandsche Republiek, uitgegeven op last der commissie tot het ontwerpen van een plan van constitutie voor het volk van Nederland". Archived from the original on 11 September 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
^The Netherlands: country population Archived 26 December 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Jan Lahmeyer. Retrieved on 28 September 2013.
The BatavianRepublic (Dutch: Bataafse Republiek; French: République Batave) was the successor state to the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. It...
18th century that marked the end of the Dutch Republic and saw the proclamation of the BatavianRepublic. The initial period, from about 1780 to 1787,...
the cap of liberty. This flag had a life as short as that of the BatavianRepublic for which it was created. Louis Bonaparte, made king of Holland by...
of Holland. Seal of the BatavianRepublic, 1796–1802 Seal of the Batavian Commonwealth, 1802–1806 Seal of the BatavianRepublic Navy Napoleon's brother...
referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor...
Dutch Republic. The French entered Amsterdam on 19 January 1795 to stay there over winter. That same day, the Dutch proclaimed the BatavianRepublic, effectively...
dated 1799 and 1800. The VOC was nationalised by the Netherlands (the BatavianRepublic) in 1800, and a Council for Eastern Possessions was established to...
revolutionary France, Dutch republicans proclaimed the BatavianRepublic, modelled after the French Republic and rendering the Netherlands a unitary state on...
(modern); French: Royaume de Hollande) was the successor state of the BatavianRepublic. It was created by Napoleon Bonaparte in March 1806 in order to strengthen...
VOC rule from 1652 to 1795 and from 1803 to 1806 was ruled by the BatavianRepublic. Much to the dismay of the shareholders of the VOC, who focused primarily...
ancestors of the Dutch people. The Netherlands were briefly known as the BatavianRepublic. Moreover, during the time Indonesia was a Dutch colony (the Dutch...
The Revolutionary Committee of the BatavianRepublic was formed on 17 January 1795, when revolution broke out in the Netherlands against the regime of...
The Batavian navy (Dutch: Bataafsche marine) was the navy of the BatavianRepublic which was a continuation of the Staatse vloot (Dutch for Fleet of the...
and advanced beyond France. The French established the BatavianRepublic as a sister republic (May 1795) and gained Prussian recognition of French control...
the mostly peaceful establishment of the BatavianRepublic, a satellite state of the French First Republic. From 1795 to 1802, Colonel Janssens served...
Antiquity of the BatavianRepublic, which attempted to show the States of Holland had always been sovereign (even since the Batavians), and could appoint...
include: United Provinces, or Dutch Republic (1581–1795): see List of wars involving the Dutch RepublicBatavianRepublic (1795–1806) Kingdom of Holland (1806–1810)...
1802 the BatavianRepublic reverted to the Republican lion, although it does not carry seven arrows. With the replacement of the BatavianRepublic with the...
Dutch in 1619. The Dutch republic created in 1795 on the basis of French revolutionary principles was called the BatavianRepublic. Hence, leaders of the...
grand pensionaries of Holland, Zeeland and the BatavianRepublic. During the time of the Dutch Republic, the grand pensionary was the most prominent member...
to a Revolutionary Committee of the new BatavianRepublic. The same day the stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, William V, Prince of Orange fled the country...
who had occupied the Netherlands. Britain returned control to the BatavianRepublic in 1802 but captured the colonies a year later during the Napoleonic...
the Cape back to the newly established BatavianRepublic that replaced the Dutch Republic. The BatavianRepublic would later become a puppet state of the...
revolutionary republic in Rhenish Hesse and the Electoral Palatinate The BatavianRepublic (1795–1806) The Cisrhenian Republic (1797) The Irish Republic (1798)...
Orange opted for exile on 19 January, leaving the field open for the BatavianRepublic to be set up. Carel de Vos van Steenwijk formed a revolutionary committee...
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