1839
In 1839 the Dutch finally accepted Belgian independence.
A settlement was reached in which Belgium gave back the south of Limburg.
Luxembourg was split up. The part of Luxemburg, in which French was spoken
remained with Belgium, but the Belgians had to give up the part in which German
dialects were spoken. Luxembourg remained a Grandduchy, with the Dutch King as
its Grand duke but was not at the same time a Province of the Netherlands
anymore, but a fully separate state. That is why it is no longer coloured orange
on the map. The Belgians were rather bitter about the loss of Luxembourg and
referred to the country as "le partie cedee" the party that separated from us.
The German Confederation wanted retribution for the lost territory in Luxembourg
and received large parts of the Dutch province of Limburg (except the city of
Maastricht) which now became a German Duchy in personal union with the
Netherlands, remaining at the same time a Dutch Province, much like Luxembourg
had been before.
