Revolutions in the Netherlands

Everyone considers the storming of the Bastille (14 July 1789) the opening gambit of the Revolutionary-Napoleonic era. What fewer people know, is that in 1787 the Dutch Patriot Revolt - seeking to curb the powers of the prince of Orange - occurred. With the help of the prince's brother-in-law, the king of Prussia, the revolt was suppressed.

Also, the southern Netherlands were in revolt against the centralizing/modernizing reforms of Holy Roman Emperor Josef II, revolting in January '89 in the Brabant Revolution and then the Liègoise Revolution in August. This rash of revolutions was crushed by the Imperial Army by December 1790/January 1791 - the irony is that the selfsame king of Prussia who had sent troops to crush the revolt in the north, sent troops to support the rebels in the south.

What if these revolts had been successful? Would we see another version of the Dutch Wars of Independence/80 Years War? Would this start the French agitating even more for changes in the government if the Patriots were successful? How would this affect the house of Orange's standing in the Netherlands?

Thoughts and opinions are appreciated
 
Well, these are two separate revolutions, no? I don't see why they would join. That said, I think that this may mitigate the French Revolution; the French failure to support the Patriots was part of the reason the Revolution broke out when it did.
 
The king of Prussia opposed the Dutch Patriots because his sister was married to Dutch stadtholder William V. Preventing that marriage means no Prussian intervention in 1787, meaning the Patriotic Revolt has a good chance of succeeding there and then.

It would actually lessen the French influence over the Patriotic government in the Netherlands. IOTL, the French "liberated" the Netherlands, maintained a military presence, and basically called the shots. In this alternative course of events, France would have a "sister republic" to the north. Maybe two, although the Brabant revolt was... poorly organized. Maybe France and the Netherlands can team up and support the Brabantian revolutionaries?

With the Netherlands becoming a stadtholderless, modern Republic by their own strength, this system might turn out to be stable. In state case, the desire to see the house of Orange restored will be diminished... even if the French lose as IOTL. If the Dutch 'switch sides' to the coalition at the right moment, they'll be counted among the winners, and remain stadtholderless.

(As a republican Dutchman, I must admit: this scenario certainly appeals to me. :D Something very much like it appears in my own TL, although due to earlier changes & butterflies, the timeframe and circumstances are different. I'd certainly like to see where you end up taking this. :cool:)
 
I agree with Widukind.
If the Patriotic revolt of 1787 succeeded they might apriciate the request of the later Brabant revolt to join a United States of the Netherlands more as in OTL.
However the Patriots in the Dutch Republic were in favor of more centralisation while the the Brabant revolt opposed centralise reforms. It need to be said that there were two sides in the Brabnt revolt, the very conservative and the more liberal, minded side open to reform only on the terms of Brabant/Flandres.

Besides this it would take great statemen ship to guide a Patriotic Dutch Republic through the events cuased by the French Revolution. But I am also convinced that an Independent Dutch Patriotic Republic would come out better of the Revolution and Napoleontic aera as in OTL
 
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