Economic and Social Development
Economically the new state prospered, although many people in the north were unemployed and lived in poverty because a lot of British goods had destabilised the Dutch trade market.
Although financially stable, the south also had the burden of the nation's debt, but gained new trade markets in the Dutch colonies. Many people's welfare improved in the south lived in poverty because the profits of trade were used for big projects.
William tried to divide the nation's wealth more equally through, among others, the following actions:
- Constructing new roads
- Digging new canals and widening/deepening existing canals:(North-Holland canal, Canal from Gent to Terneuzen, Brussels-Charleroi Canal, Moselle canal, canal of Liege)
- Extending the steel industry to the south
- Instating the Metric System
- Levying new import and export taxes
- Opening the harbour of Antwerp
Through these actions export of cotton, sheets, weapons and steel products increased. The fleet of Antwerp grew to 117 ships. Many of these projects were funded by King William himself.
The educational system was extended. Under William's rule the number of school-going children doubled from 150,000 to 300,000 by opening 1,500 new public schools. The south especially needed schools because many people could not read or write.
In 1825 William founded the Dutch Trading Company (Dutch: Nederlandse Handels Maatschappij), to boost trade with the colonies.
Read more about this topic: United Kingdom Of The Netherlands
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