They had not stuck to
the brave Dutch, and fought on till they were free, and so never could
tell who were to be their next rulers.
This could not be good for the character of any people. However, they
were, on the whole, happy under the House of Hapsburg till an Emperor
called Joseph II. came to the Austrian throne. He was a good man, and
wise in many ways, but he made the mistake of trying to bring in new
laws and customs which the people did not like. Belgium had been sunk,
ever since the time of Philip II., in poverty and ignorance. All the
people wished for was to be let alone, to amuse themselves, and to
have peace. But Joseph II. wanted to raise them up, and, most of all,
to spread knowledge and education among them.
The Austrian Netherlands--that is, Belgium--were more Catholic than
ever, and all the Bishops and priests were up in arms against the
reforms proposed by Joseph; and there was a revolution, which had not
finished when he died. It came to an end, however, soon after his
death, when the Catholics got all they wanted, though the Austrians
remained in power. But the country had become restless.
Pages:
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96