 By 1847, Belgium was suffering from economic destabilization as Belgian exporters faced increasing competition from new British firms. Radical parties like the Association Démocratique, founded in 1847 at the instigation of Karl Marx, who had briefly lived in Brussels in exile, actively agitated against the unpopular Liberal government under Charles Rogier. However, the success of the Liberals' economic reforms partially mitigated the effects of the economic downturn, which meant that Belgium was not as badly affected as its neighbors by the Revolutions of 1848. Nevertheless, in early 1848, a large number of radical publications appeared.
