In search of a constitutional identity: The making of the Constitution of the Kingdom of The Netherlands of 1815

IIn the aftermath of the Napoleonic wars, the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815) created a new state: the Kingdom of the Netherlands. This kingdom consisted of the territory of the former Dutch Republic in the north, which had regained its independence from Napoleonic France in 1813 with William I (1772-1843) as its sovereign, and Belgium in the south. Although these territories shared a common history under the rule of the Habsburgs in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the creation of the new kingdom was undoubtedly an audacious experiment. After all, the Dutch revolt in the second half of the sixteenth century had resulted in a separation, and since then, the north and the south had travelled different roads. This separation lasted several centuries and created profound differences in religion, language, and political culture. It was up to William I, who became the king of the enlarged state, to try to overcome these divisions and develop a common identity for the new kingdom. The first opportunity to give form and substance to that identity presented itself immediately in 1815, when a new constitution had to be drafted. After all, constitutions are not just organisational documents that regulate the institutions of a political entity and their competences, but they also have the integrative function of providing an identity for the polity. This article aims to show that the quest for a new constitutional identity is quite challenging and that fundamental issues of identity are heavily contested. It was difficult to determine the name of the new state and its inhabitants, the location of the capital, and the symbols of the new state, such as an anthem and a flag. In this study, special attention will be devoted to the debates of the committee charged with drafting the constitution, which consisted of an equal number of delegates from the north and south. It will become apparent that, in particular, the northern members of the constitutional committee were reluctant to abandon their distinct traditions in favour of a new encompassing constitutional identity. Consequently, the Dutch Grondwet (constitution) of 1815 became a relatively sober document, failing to provide the newly created state with a coherent shared identity. This failure foreshadowed the revolt in Belgium, which took place only 15 years later and led to its secession from the kingdom