The construction of a Whig interpretation of the Belgium past: British travellers and their attitudes towards the ‘Belgian’ past (1830–70)

Abstract

This article analyses the views of British travellers of the Belgian past for the period 1830–70. The article explores how the Belgian Revolution of 1830 and the closely intertwined rise of contemporary British sympathy for Belgium led to a reinterpretation of the ‘Belgian’ past. After 1830, the British interpretation of the Belgian past was increasingly centred on the sixteenth century and the ‘true’ Belgian national identity was believed to have been oppressed by a chain of foreign oppressors. Furthermore, the travellers saw the Belgian past and national identity as very similar to the British past and national identity. The view of the Belgian past was an integral part of the view of the Belgian future; a future that, so it was believed, would justify British claims that Belgium was a ‘little Britain on the Continent’ and that the Belgian and British national identities were highly similar. Finally, the article also explains why the interpretation of the Belgian past did not change once more after 1850, when the British increasingly lost their sympathy and interest in Belgium and the Belgians.