 The political , economic and social reforms that were brought about during the relatively short duration of the Batavian Republic have had a lasting impact . The confederal structure of the old Dutch Republic was permanently replaced by a unitary state . For the first time in Dutch history , the constitution that was adopted in 1798 had a genuinely democratic character . For a while the Republic was governed democratically , although the coup d 'état of 1801 put an authoritarian regime in power , after another change in constitution . Nevertheless , the memory of this brief experiment with democracy helped smooth the transition to a more democratic government in 1848 ( the constitutional revision by Johan Rudolph Thorbecke , limiting the power of the king ) . A type of ministerial government was introduced for the first time in Dutch history and many of the current government departments date their history back to this period . 
