'Wat er hollandsch is moet stil zijn, zoet en stil gelijk een muis': literatuuronderwijs in de Zuidelijke provincies onder koning Willem I (1814-1830)

When King William I decreed that Dutch would be the only ‘national language’ of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands (1814-1830), he expected teachers in the Southern provinces of the realm to promote Dutch among the French-speaking population. This led to the production of an enormous number of Dutch grammars, pronunciation guides, phrase books, and dictionaries. Since reading Dutch authors was part of the curriculum, this vast body of textbooks also included literary histories and (bilingual) anthologies. An analysis of the literary textbooks aimed at Francophone learners of Dutch and published from the first few years of William I’s reign up to Belgium’s independence in 1830 reveals that they served a dual purpose, functioning to demonstrate the existence of a well-established Dutch literary tradition rivalling that of the major European languages, while providing practical tools in the language acquisition process. The authors of these materials varied in their methodological approach and selection criteria, but they were all working towards a common goal: to transform the French-speaking inhabitants of the country into proper, patriotic Dutchmen, often in the face of local opposition and hostility.