POTTER United Families

The bourgeoisie began to fear for their property the next day when
the mob still had not settled down, and formed a bourgeoisie guard.
This unit was headed by van der Linden d'Hoogvorst.
Some Belgians wanted annexation to France, particularly the French
republican society, "The Friends of the People;" in Liège.
Orangist groups were to pop up and fight back around the country,
notably at Ghent and Antwerp; but the Brabant flag was already
flown over the town hall at Brussels, and it was an hour entirely
Belgian.
It took two days to reestablish order, and Brussels was clearly a city
in revolt: "News of the Brussels uprising quickly spread to the in
provincial towns and there similar incidents occurred which were
handled in like manner.
Thus power slipped imperceptibly into the hands of the bourgeoisie
throughout the whole of Belgium before William had even time to
recover from his surprise or make anything like a display of military
force. He was outmaneuvered by events, accelerated by the
publishers in and outside the country.
Despite indications that the revolt itself may have been entirely
spontaneous, and this is something we may never be completely able
to determine, there is evidence that some revolutionary activity had
been underfoot.
There had been much sentiment for a reunion with the newly liberal
France: Early in August, De Brouckere, De Stassart, and LeHon went
to Paris to negotiate over the union with the now liberal France.
The offices of the Courrier des Pays-Bas became the center of secret
deliberations, and Gendebien, supported by the young lawyer Van de
Weyer, took the lead in the proposed movement.
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