The Battle of Turnhout (27 October 1789) was a decisive military engagement between Belgian revolutionary and Austrian forces at

Turnhout Turnhout () is a Belgium, Belgian Municipalities in Belgium, municipality and city located in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp. The municipality comprises only the city of Turnhout proper. ...

in the

Austrian Netherlands The Austrian Netherlands was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The period began with the acquisition by the Austrian Habsburg monarchy of the former Spanish Netherlands under the Treaty of Ras ...

(modern-day

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

). It was the first engagement of the

Brabant Revolution The Brabant Revolution or Brabantine Revolution (, ), sometimes referred to as the Belgian Revolution of 1789–1790 in older writing, was an armed revolution, insurrection that occurred in the Austrian Netherlands (modern-day Belgium) between O ...

and took place shortly after the revolutionary (patriot) army of Jean-André van der Mersch crossed the border from the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

where it had previously been in exile. Their unlikely victory in the engagement led to the rapid collapse of Austrian rule across the

Southern Netherlands The Southern Netherlands, also called the Catholic Netherlands, were the parts of the Low Countries belonging to the Holy Roman Empire which were at first largely controlled by Habsburg Spain (Spanish Netherlands, 1556–1714) and later by the ...

and the temporary withdrawal of Austrian forces in the region to

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

Context

The

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

, Joseph II, was an important figure of

European Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment (also the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment) was a European intellectual and philosophical movement active from the late 17th to early 19th century. Chiefly valuing knowledge gained through rationalism and empirici ...

and a believer in reforming institutions he believed to be outdated. As the head of Habsburg Austria and ruler of the

, he decreed a wide-reaching programme of reforms: Josephinism. He imposed his own policies in the internal affairs of the Church. Furthermore, he published a number of edicts reforming the law and administration of the territory with the aim of re-enforcing the power of the state. These laws were received reluctantly by the people and the church, the bourgeois however saw them as an attack on their democracy and civil rights. In response, a movement of protests against Austrian rule appeared. In January 1789, the states of Brabant and Hainaut refused to pay imperial taxes. The Imperial response was an occupation of the County of Hainaut and a suspension of the rights guaranteed to the Duchy of Brabant on 18 June 1789. The Austrian military governor Count Richard d'Alton judged it useful to concentrate his troops in De Kempen and around

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

, leaving much of the remainder the Austrian Netherlands thinly protected.

Resistance

In May 1789, the secret society ''

Pro aris et focis ("for hearth and home") and ("for God and country") are two Latin phrases used as the motto of many families, military regiments and educational institutions. literally translates "for altars and hearths", but is used by ancient authors to expr ...

'' was founded in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

with the aim of gathering resistance against the emperor. At the same time, the ''Brabançons'' gathered an army in the United Provinces commanded by Jean-André van der Mersch. The army moved into Hoogstraten in Belgium without meeting severe Austrian opposition. In the town, Henri Van der Noot read the '' Manifesto of the People of Brabant'' proclaiming the end of Austrian control of the Southern Netherlands. Van der Noot proclaimed that the attack on southern Netherlands was a reaction to the Austrian Emperor who had not complied with the rights guaranteed by the Joyous Entry of 1356.

Battle of Turnhout

In October 1789, one of the two "divisions" of the patriotic army marched towards Brabant. It arrived in, and easily captured,

on the 25th. They had just left the town when they were informed that an Austrian force was moving towards them. Van der Mersch knew that a battle in open country would be futile and decided that his best chance would be to hold the town and fight in the streets, reducing the numerical advantage of the Austrian forces. With the help of Emmanuel-Joseph Van Gansen, son of a brewer in Westerlo, the inhabitants of the town threw up barricades in the streets. A group took position in the square and another at the entrance to the town near a mill. The town of Turnhout was besieged by the Austrians on 27 October and a violent combat took place. As van der Meersch had hoped, the Austrian forces were not well prepared for fighting in the town itself and, after five hours of fighting, they were forced to retreat, leaving behind five cannons.

Aftermath

News of the victory at Turnhout spread over the

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

and Brabant and resistance increased. The Brabant Revolution became a reality. The towns of

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

Diest Diest () is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. Situated in the northeast of the Hageland region, Diest neighbours the provinces of Antwerp to its North, and Limburg to the East and is situated around ...

Tienen Tienen (; ) is a city and municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in Flanders, Belgium. The municipality comprises Tienen itself and the towns of Bost, Goetsenhoven, Hakendover, Kumtich, Oorbeek, Oplinter, Sint-Margriete-Houtem and Viss ...

, and

fell to the rebels. Austrian forces withdrew to the

Duchy of Luxembourg The Duchy of Luxembourg (; ; ; ) was a Imperial state, state of the Holy Roman Empire, the ancestral homeland of the noble House of Luxembourg. The House of Luxembourg became one of the most important political forces in the 14th century, comp ...

. On 31 December Brabant declared its own independence and was joined, in January 1790, by many other Belgian states leading to the creation of the

United Belgian States The United Belgian States ( or '; ; ), also known as the United States of Belgium, was a short-lived confederal republic in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium) established under the Brabant Revolution. It existed from January to Dece ...

Commemoration

Each year in the Turnhout battle is commemorated with a spectacle in the Gasthuisstraat, the location where the fighting was fiercest. A memorial by P. Brozius in the Market of Turnhout recalls this battle. The stone dates from 1889, on the occasion of the celebration of 100 years Battle of Turnhout.

References

{{coord, 51, 19, 0, N, 4, 57, 0, E, display=title Turnhout 1789

Turnhout Brabant Revolution 1789 in the Habsburg monarchy 1789 in the Holy Roman Empire

Battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...