Rebels or Bandits? The Representations of the ‘Peasants’ War’ in Belgian Departments under French Rule (1798)

Such is the case of the ‘Peasants’ War’ against the symbols of the French Revolution in the former Austrian Netherlands and the Principality of Liege, annexed three years previously by the French Republic, in October-November 1798 (the Brumaire-Frimaire months of the year VII of the French Revolution). The variety of qualifiers applied to these events denotes the rich political debate fuelled by two centuries of historiography: ‘rebel uprising,’ ‘Belgian Vendee,’ for supporters of the Revolution; ‘Peasants’ war’ for Belgian historiography; pre-nationalist ‘Boerenkrijg’ in the Flemish version; war of the cudgels, ‘Kleppelkrick’ for the German-speaking people of Luxembourg; there was no lack of expressions to evoke the violent incidents of the Fall of 1798.