Bataafse Republic
| Batavian Republic | ||||||||||
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Bataafse Republiek République Batave |
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| Client state of France | ||||||||||
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 Flag
 Emblem
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Motto Gelykheid, Vryheid, Broederschap "Equality, Liberty, Fraternity" |
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 The Batavian Republic
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| Capital | The Hague | |||||||||
| Languages | Dutch, French | |||||||||
| Government | Revolutionary republic | |||||||||
| Executive Government | ||||||||||
| • | 1795 | Revolutionary Comm. | ||||||||
| • | 1795–1796 | States-General | ||||||||
| • | 1796–1798 | National Assembly | ||||||||
| • | 1798–1801 | Executive Authority | ||||||||
| • | 1801–1805 | State Council | ||||||||
| • | 1805–1806 | Rutger Jan Schimmelpennincka | ||||||||
| Historical era | Revolutionary Wars | |||||||||
| • | Batavian Revolution | 19 January 1795 | ||||||||
| • | Treaty of The Hague | 16 May 1795 | ||||||||
| • | Monarchy proclaimed | 5 June 1806 | ||||||||
| Population | ||||||||||
| • | 1795 est. | 1,883,009 | ||||||||
| • | 1806 est. | 2,178,000 | ||||||||
| Currency | Guilder | |||||||||
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| Today part of |
 Netherlands Belgium Germany
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| a. As "Grand Pensionary of Batavia". | ||||||||||
The Batavian Republic (Dutch: Bataafse Republiek; French: République Batave) was the successor of 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 I to the throne of Holland. From October 1801 onward, it was known as the Batavian Commonwealth (Dutch: Bataafs Gemenebest). Both names refer to the Germanic tribe of the Batavians, representing both the Dutch ancestry and their ancient quest for liberty in their nationalistic lore.
In early 1795, intervention by French revolutionary forces led to the downfall of the old Dutch Republic. The new Republic enjoyed widespread support from the Dutch population and was the product of a genuine popular revolution. Nevertheless, it clearly was founded with the armed support of the revolutionary French Republic. The Batavian Republic became a client state, the first of the "sister-republics" and later part of the French Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte, and 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, not by French influence, until Napoleon forced the Dutch government to accept his brother as monarch.
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 while the Republic was governed democratically, although the coup d'état of 1801 put an authoritarian regime in power, after another change in constitution. Nevertheless, the memory of this brief experiment with democracy 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.
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Wikipedia