London Conference of 1830-31

a conference of the representatives of Great Britain, Prussia, Russia, and France.

The London Conference was convened to discuss the Belgian-Dutch conflict, caused by the separation of Belgium from the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which occurred as a result of the Belgian Revolution of 1830. It was held (with interruptions) from October 1830 to November 1831. France, dissatisfied with the decision of the Congress of Vienna (1814-15) that created a powerful state—the Kingdom of the Netherlands—on its northeast border, pressed at the London Conference for Belgium’s separation from the Netherlands. Austria, Prussia, and Russia, viewing the separation of Belgium as a blow to the system established by the Congress of Vienna and defended by the Holy Alliance, insisted on the return of Belgium to the Netherlands. Great Britain, striving for the deterioration of Franco-Russian relations and the consolidation of its own influence in the Belgian provinces, supported France. During the London Conference, France and Great Britain succeeded in winning recognition of the independence of Belgium by the conference participants. The agreement was formalized by a treaty.