The first proposals to unite the
Southern Netherlands with the
Dutch Republic to form a greater Dutch-speaking state were made following the outbreak of the
French Revolution in 1789. The concept was realized following the
Napoleonic Wars in 1815 when the
Congress of Vienna established the
Kingdom of the Netherlands from the territories of the former Dutch Republic and
Austrian Netherlands. Following the independence of
Belgium in 1830, the 1860s saw renewed Flemish interest in a united Dutch-speaking state as some Dutch-speaking Belgian citizens opposed the privileged positions held by the French-speaking bourgeoisie. By the end of the 19th century the Greater Netherlandic movement had emerged alongside the
Flemish Movement in response to the subordination of the Dutch-speaking population in Belgian government and public life. 'Waar Maas en Schelde vloeien' (also known as 'Het Lied der Vlamingen') is a popular Greater Netherlandic song written around this time by
Peter Benoit and
Emmaniel Hiel. In 1895 nationalists from both Belgian Flanders and the Netherlands created the Greater Netherlandic General Dutch Union ( (ANV)) for the purpose of stimulating cooperation between Belgian Flanders and the Netherlands, a role it continues to hold. The
German occupation of Belgium during
World War I further intensified the conflict between the nation's
Walloon and
Flemish communities. Seeing the linguistic division of Belgium as a means of facilitating its occupation, the Germans employed
Flamenpolitik to divide the administration of Belgium between French and Dutch-speaking authorities. This resulted in a surge in the popularity of the ANV in both Flanders and the Netherlands, with a group of more radical students founding the
Dutch Student Association (). Even the
BWP—the first Belgian
socialist party—had a considerable number of Greater Netherlandists among their ranks in
Antwerp, including Maurits Naessens. The Greater Netherlands idea gained more structure in the early 20th century. In the Netherlands, some nationalists began to see Flanders as part of a broader Dutch identity, and this perspective found sympathy in Flemish nationalist circles, where people advocated for the preservation and promotion of the Dutch language. During World War I (1914–1918), some Flemish nationalists saw an opportunity to push their cause by collaborating with the German occupation, which had a policy of encouraging Flemish autonomy as a way to weaken Belgium. The collaboration led to the rise of radical Flemish nationalism, some of which began to promote the idea of a union with the Netherlands. After the war, the Flemish Movement grew in Belgium, with demands for linguistic equality and greater autonomy for Flanders. While this movement was primarily focused on gaining rights within Belgium, a fringe element started advocating for full separation from Belgium and unification with the Netherlands under a "Greater Netherlands." Occupations of Belgium and the Netherlands by
Nazi Germany during
World War II resulted in the belief within nationalist circles that a Greater Netherlands state could be achieved through
collaboration with the German occupiers. While their administration of Belgium was divided along linguistic lines in a policy similar to
Flamenpolitik, the German Nazis did not seek to combine Flanders with the Netherlands. They instead sought either the establishment of a
Pan-Germanist union of the ethnically Germanic Dutch speakers with Germany or a
New Order in which both Belgium and the Netherlands would continue to exist as
de jure independent German
satellite states. The movement saw a drastic decline in popularity following the war due to its association with wartime collaborators in both countries, particularly due to the
Flemish National Union (VNV) in Flanders and the
National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands, though remains popular among some on the
right of Flemish and Dutch politics. == Political parties ==