@stevep59
As an inabitant of the area, and one who has studied its history, I know that the "ancestors" of the people of today fought in the Belgian revolution against the Dutch king William 1st of Oranje-Nassau. Even in the WW 1, when Luxembourg was officially neutral, Luxembourgers managed to cross borders to join the Allies, there's a monoment in Ettelbruck mentioning the brave Luxembourgers who fought in WW I with the Allies. So, yes, they were pro-Belgium in 1830.
It was only the "great powers" of that time that decided to please both William the 1st and the Prussians who occupied Luxembourg city just to make sure that Belgium wouldn't finally decide to rejoin France. Remember, the first candidate who was asked to become king of Belgium was a French prince, of course rejected by Prussia and England. The second one Leopold, who finally became king was Victoria's uncle...
The European powers granted William the title of grand-duke of Luxembourg. In other words, the new Grand-Duchy had the same monarch as the Netherlands, but the Grand-Duchy was NOT part of the Netherlands, it was just a "personal union". So your statement, probably grabbed from Wikipedia, is not really correct, the Dutch king wasn't the grand-duke BUT William was king of the Netherlands and grand-duke of Luxembourg, it's a detail but the difference is essential. This became even clearer some years later when his successor William III died witout a male heir. His daughter could become queen of the Netherlands, but she couldn't become the grand-duchess of Luxembourg, at that time only a male monarch was allowed. It put an end to the "personal union".
After WW 1, when the Grand Duchy was a neutral state, there was a dynastic turmoil in Luxembourg, and the grand-duchess Marie-Adélaïde who had been a bit too favourable to Prussia, had to abdicate in favour of her sister Charlotte (whom the Luxembourgers adored). At that time there was also question of referendum questioning the Luxembourgers on the future status of the Grand-Duchy, some wanted to join Belgium, more wanted to join France, the majority decided for independence.
As for your "Possibly the German speaking population", you must know that the Luxembourgers are proud to speak Luxembourgish, while official documents and laws are in German and French (unless this has changed recently). The population of the 19th century, apart from people who had had the chance to go to secondary school, spoke Luxembourgish. Unlike Belgium with its 3 linguisitic communities, there are no linguistic "areas" in Luxembourg.
The English of 1839 meddled in stuff that didn't concern them, drawing borders elsewhere when they should have minded their own business.
60
@stevep59
As an inabitant of the area, and one who has studied its history, I know that the "ancestors" of the people of today fought in the Belgian revolution against the Dutch king William 1st of Oranje-Nassau. Even in the WW 1, when Luxembourg was officially neutral, Luxembourgers managed to cross borders to join the Allies, there's a monoment in Ettelbruck mentioning the brave Luxembourgers who fought in WW I with the Allies. So, yes, they were pro-Belgium in 1830.
It was only the "great powers" of that time that decided to please both William the 1st and the Prussians who occupied Luxembourg city just to make sure that Belgium wouldn't finally decide to rejoin France. Remember, the first candidate who was asked to become king of Belgium was a French prince, of course rejected by Prussia and England. The second one Leopold, who finally became king was Victoria's uncle...
The European powers granted William the title of grand-duke of Luxembourg. In other words, the new Grand-Duchy had the same monarch as the Netherlands, but the Grand-Duchy was NOT part of the Netherlands, it was just a "personal union". So your statement, probably grabbed from Wikipedia, is not really correct, the Dutch king wasn't the grand-duke BUT William was king of the Netherlands and grand-duke of Luxembourg, it's a detail but the difference is essential. This became even clearer some years later when his successor William III died witout a male heir. His daughter could become queen of the Netherlands, but she couldn't become the grand-duchess of Luxembourg, at that time only a male monarch was allowed. It put an end to the "personal union".
After WW 1, when the Grand Duchy was a neutral state, there was a dynastic turmoil in Luxembourg, and the grand-duchess Marie-Adélaïde who had been a bit too favourable to Prussia, had to abdicate in favour of her sister Charlotte (whom the Luxembourgers adored). At that time there was also question of referendum questioning the Luxembourgers on the future status of the Grand-Duchy, some wanted to join Belgium, more wanted to join France, the majority decided for independence.
As for your "Possibly the German speaking population", you must know that the Luxembourgers are proud to speak Luxembourgish, while official documents and laws are in German and French (unless this has changed recently). The population of the 19th century, apart from people who had had the chance to go to secondary school, spoke Luxembourgish. Unlike Belgium with its 3 linguisitic communities, there are no linguistic "areas" in Luxembourg.
The English of 1839 meddled in stuff that didn't concern them, drawing borders elsewhere when they should have minded their own business.