The union, too, was a natural one, not only geographically, but intrinsically. Belgium had been compelled to become a manufacturing country by the closing of the Scheldt, at the treaty of Munster which ended the Thirty years’ war in 1648, one of those unnatural acts of state policy, that seems almost an impious interference with the benevolence of providence; and which by annihilating this noble river for all purposes of trade, had the contemplated effect of driving commerce to Amsterdam and Rotterdam, thus constraining the Belgians to betake themselves to industry and handicrafts at home. With such elasticity did they conform to this necessity, that when the unnatural embargo was taken off by the progress of the French in 1794, the energies and genius of the population had made such a decided development, that they were not to be seduced back into their old pursuits of traffic, and the _manufactures_ of Belgium continued to prosper under “the continental system” of Napoleon, down to the period of the general peace. Holland, on the contrary, with her hands fully employed by her shipping and her trade, and possessing no mines of iron or coal, had never either the inducement or the temptation to become a manufacturing country, so that nothing could apparently be more happy, than the union of one producing nation all alive with machinery, with its neighbour proportionably rich in shipping; and to open to both an extensive colonial territory, whose population the merchantmen of the one could supply with the produce of the other. But even here lay the seeds of unforeseen dissentions. Belgium, all whose notions of commercial policy were formed upon the false and narrow basis of France, was perpetually calling for protective duties, bounties and prohibitions, without which her artisans were sinking under the effects of foreign competition; whilst to the Dutch, with their spirit of traffic and fleets of shipping, every restriction upon absolute free trade was a positive interception of gain. This antagonism of interests led to perpetual animosity in the states-general upon all questions of customs and imposts, and to such an extent did Holland give way upon these points, in order to protect the interests of Belgium at the sacrifice of her own, that a well informed author observes that, “_even supposing the desire for separation had not arisen in Belgium, the Dutch, ere long, would have been forced to call for this divorce in order to save Amsterdam and Rotterdam from ruin_.” It is more likely, however, that the march of manufacturing prosperity in Belgium, and the increased demand and consumption of her produce would have ultimately compensated her commercial colleague for all intermediate loss.[30]