 The period of Dutch rule saw growing hostility between the Catholic Belgian provinces and the predominantly Protestant Dutch. The Belgian provinces also complained that they were underrepresented by the Kingdom's system of government, where 55 Belgian deputies were allocated to represent 3.5 million people, while an equal number of Dutch deputies represented just two million. When the States-General voted against adopting the new unrepresentative constitution, William declared that the minority favorable vote outweighed the negative vote. Liberals in Belgium also accused William of attacking personal and religious freedoms.
