Talleyrand partition plan for Belgium


The Talleyrand partition plan for Belgium was a proposal developed in 1830 at the London Conference of 1830 by the French ambassador to Britain Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, to partition Belgium. The proposal was part of the intensive negotiations among five great powers over the future of Belgium after the success of the Belgian revolution for independence.

Background

Despite increasing popular demands for independence, major European powers were divided over the future of Belgium; France was in favor of the secession of Wallonia, the territory inhabited by speakers of langues d'oil dialects, largely in hope of annexing those territories. Other European nations opposed the French demand, supporting the continued union of the Netherlands, which had been decided at the Congress of Vienna. A popular uprising spread like wildfire and ended Dutch rule in the Southern Netherlands, upsetting arrangements made at the Congress of Vienna. While Belgians formed provisional government in Brussels, major European powers were forced to consider alternative plans to contain the Belgicists and preserve its union with the Netherlands. Since Napoleonic times, Britain had been anxious that Antwerp should not be in the hands of a belligerent France.

Plan

In lieu of the stalemate, Talleyrand proposed partitioning the Southern Netherlands:
The Talleyrand plan was rejected by European powers, who ultimately approved a unified Belgian state. However, the Talleyrand plan was one of several ideas exploring the concept of partitioning Belgium, which is considered by some as simply a "buffer state" between France and other European nations. Modern proposals include the specific separation of the areas inhabited mainly by French-speakers from those inhabited mainly by Dutch-speakers; but one difficulty in this proposal is that francophone Brussels lies within Flanders, not Wallonia. One should also note that there is currently no majority within the Belgian population for such a project and that the proportion of separatists in the country remains stable throughout the years..