In the Netherlands we have had a constitution for a long time, which includes our fundamental rights. But when did this constitution come into being? And what did it say 160 years ago? Here you can read about the origins of the Dutch constitution and how it came about.
How it started
The constitution of 1848 started with the liberal Johan Rudolf Thorbecke. He had been worried about the Netherlands for a long time. After Belgium seceded, things went downhill. King William I arranged everything for the people, which made Dutch citizens lazy and not encouraged to do their best. Thorbecke believed that this had to be changed, and quickly otherwise the Dutch nation would perish.
He believed that citizens should elect parliament and that parliament should have supreme power. Ministers no longer had to be servants of the king but had to seek support from parliament. Parliament also had to be given ample room to monitor the government. However, Thorbecke received little support from the chamber with this plan. The king and the regents did not like his ideas, they wanted to keep the situation as it was. And they received a lot of support from the conservatives in the population, who were simply the best suited to have power.
There was little support among the population for Thorbecke’s plan, but tensions in the country increased considerably. There were harsh winters, epidemics such as malaria and cholera, and grain harvests failed. And tensions only increased as large demonstrations and bloody street battles took place in major cities such as Paris, Prague, Milan, Budapest and Berlin. Kings and other rulers everywhere became afraid and made concessions to the liberals to ensure that they could remain in power.
The constitution actually came into being
Source: National Archives, Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
And so this also happened in the Netherlands. It was still relatively quiet here, but William II (he had succeeded his father in 1840) also saw what was happening in the rest of Europe and became nervous. That is why he commissioned Thorbecke to write a constitution in 1848. It was finished within three weeks. It became one of the most modern constitutions in Europe, as it stipulated that the House of Representatives was directly elected by the citizens. The Senate was elected by the Provincial Council but had little influence. The House of Representatives now had power. The constitution also stipulated that ministers were accountable to parliament. In addition, the king’s power was restricted and he became inviolable from now on. This means that if he did something wrong, the ministers were responsible for it.
This constitution also gave citizens more rights, such as freedom of religion, speech, printing, assembly and association. These rights are also called classical fundamental rights. However, Thorbecke had no interest in universal suffrage. He established a census franchise in the constitution. This meant that only 10% of adult men could vote.
However, William II soon regretted his decision, and he wanted to reverse it all as quickly as possible. But he died in 1849 of a heart attack. His successor King William III tried it, but this resulted in fierce clashes with the House of Representatives. And this attempt did not succeed. From then on, the House of Representatives had power in the country.