Duchy of Limburg

The Duchy of Limburg was a European polity created in 1839 from parts of the Dutch Province of Limburg as a result of the Treaty of London. Its territory was the part of Limburg that remained Dutch , with the exception of the cities of Maastricht and Venlo. The duchy was a province of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and at the same time was a member of the German Confederation.

The German Confederation, as established by the Congress of Vienna in 1815, was a loose association of 39 German states to coordinate the economies of the member countries. Its main achievement was the creation of the customs union as developed during 1818 and 1834, which provided a common economic market for its member states. Though not a part of the German Confederation at its founding, Limburg would join it in 1839 as a consequence of the Belgian Revolution. In 1830 several francophone, Catholic and liberal groups joined forces and proclaimed the independence of Belgium, whose territory prior to that had been part of the Netherlands.

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