United States of Belgium

The United States of Belgium, also known as the United Belgian States, was a short-lived confederal republic in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium) which was established after the Brabant Revolution. It existed from January to December 1790 as part of the unsuccessful revolt against the Habsburg Emperor, Joseph II.

Quotes

 * They informed Joseph II that his measures might be appropriate for "peoples in the infancy of civilization" such as the Austrians, but not for "a people traditionally civilized, a nation which for six hundred years has refused to submit to any system of blind, arbitrary and oppressive feudal authority".
 * Belgium: a history without a country.