and the French counter-revolutions in the Vendée. Other historians, like E. H. Kossmann, have noted similarities between the uprising and the Dutch Revolt. It has also been argued that the Brabant Revolution might form part of the same Europe-wide "crisis of the ancien régime" which sparked the French Revolution. Pirenne, a nationalist himself, argued that the Brabant Revolution was a very important influence on the Belgian Revolution of 1830 and can be seen as an early expression of Belgian nationalism. Pirenne praised the revolution as a unification of Flemish and Walloons. He also argued that the Vonckists and Statists could be seen as the forerunners of the major political factions of Belgium post-independence, the Liberals and Catholics, and expressed sympathy with the Vonckists. Pirenne, as a liberal, could only explain the defeat of the Vonckists by playing up the economic and social backwardness of the Austrian Netherlands. He supported this viewpoint by emphasizing the disgust seen in traveler's tales written by "enlightened" German observers. This has been criticised by modern historians, like J. Craeybeckx, who argue that France was no more socially or economically advanced than the Austrian Netherlands at the time. Conceptually, the Brabant Revolution has generally been seen as a "revolution from above", based on the defense of existing privileges and the upper classes and clergy rather than the proletariat. Kossmann argued that, while it was Vonck who began the revolution, it was Van der Noot who was best able to shape it. In his belief, this was because Vonck was able to rally mass support against the Austrians, but not in support of his own policies unlike Van der Noot. It has also been argued that the revolution's ideology was framed in direct opposition to the democratic and liberal revolutions in France, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the German states. See also Patriottentijd (1780–87) – contemporary political unrest in the Dutch Republic Peasants' War (1798) Belgium in the long nineteenth century List of revolutions and rebellions Notes and references Footnotes References Bibliography Further reading Primary sources Lochée, Lewis, Observations sur la Révolution Belgique, et réflexions sur un certain imprimé adressé au Peuple Belgique, qui sert de justification au Baron de Schoenfeldt (1791, full text) Brabant Brabant Atlantic Revolutions 1789 in the Austrian Netherlands 1790 in the Austrian Netherlands