History
Influenced by the Enlightenment, Emperor Joseph II, who became sole ruler of the Habsburg lands after Maria-Theresa’s death in 1780, decreed a series of large-scale reforms in the Austrian Netherlands designed to radically modernize and centralize the political, judicial and administrative system.
Characteristically, the well-intended but autocratic Emperor abruptly imposed his reforms without even a semblance of consultation with the population, including the influential urban intelligentsia and other segments of the ruling classes that were highly receptive to such innovations. His Edict of tolerance of 1781 established religious freedom. Another edict in 1784 took away from the Catholic clergy responsibility for the civil registry and civil marriage was introduced. Contemplative religious orders, deemed useless, were dissolved and diocesan seminaries were abolished and replaced by general seminaries in Louvain and Luxembourg. Feudal and trade corporation regulations and jurisdictions were modified or abolished and, to the stupefaction of all segments of the population, the ancient provinces of Flanders, Brabant, Hainaut, Namur, Luxembourg were abolished and replaced by 9 circles, subdivided in 64 districts. Seigneurial jurisdictions and rights, including the corvée, were abolished. As in Hungary, Joseph II attempted to introduce German as the language of administration for the sake of efficiency.
Read more about this topic: United States Of Belgium
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“A poet’s object is not to tell what actually happened but what could or would happen either probably or inevitably.... For this reason poetry is something more scientific and serious than history, because poetry tends to give general truths while history gives particular facts.”
—Aristotle (384–323 B.C.)
“America is the only nation in history which miraculously has gone directly from barbarism to degeneration without the usual interval of civilization.”
—Georges Clemenceau (1841–1929)
“... all big changes in human history have been arrived at slowly and through many compromises.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962)