The London Conference of 1830 brought together five major European powers, including Britain, France and Germany. They recognized the success of the Belgian revolution from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and permanently guaranteed Belgian independence. In 1914 Germany rejected the promise as a "scrap of paper," and invaded Belgium. Britain responded by declaring war.[1]
The Dutch were strongly opposed to Belgian independence. Not until 1839 did the Dutch accept the decision of the London conference and recognize Belgian independence.
Fishman says that it was "an extraordinarily successful conference" because it "provided the institutional framework through which the leading powers of the time safeguarded the peace of Europe."[2] However historians of both Belgium and the Netherlands have largely ignored it. Dutch historians see it as their nadir in the 19th century, for the loss of the southern territories shook the nation's confidence. Belgian historians see the result not as a victory, says Fishman, but as a frustrating and humiliating experience in which the great powers allowed Belgium to come into existence