Belgium History

The founding state with the same name in the 1830s is where Belgium's history begins. Belgium's history is closely related to that of its neighbors, the Netherlands, Germany, and France. Due to its strategic location and the countless wars that have taken place on its soil, particularly during the "thirty years war" (1618–1648), Belgium has been dubbed the "battlefield of Europe." A language barrier between German and French, both of which have Latin roots, also significantly divides the nation. The origins of Belgium may be traced back to seventeen provinces within the Burgundian Netherlands, like those of its neighbors, Benelux. These were brought together under the leadership of Charles V, the holy roman emperor in his 1549 pragmatic sanction. The 80 years' war between 1568 and 1648 led to the division of the Dutch Republic and the southern Netherlands from which Belgium as a state and Luxembourg were formed.

The French revolutionary wars led to the country becoming a part of France in 1795 and in so doing, ended the semi-independence areas that belonged to the Catholic Church. Following the defeat of the French in 1814, the new United Kingdom of Netherlands was created only to eventually get split into three to give rise to Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg as a result of the 1830-1839 Belgian revolution.

Politically, the country once held polarized on the basis of religion. However, in recent years, the country has experienced political divisions over differences in language and unequal economic developments. The ongoing antagonism has caused reforms dating back to the 1970s changing the Belgian state into a federal state. Today the state is divided into three; the Flanders, i.e., the Dutch speakers, Wallonia (French speakers) and the bilingual Brussels in the middle. There is also the German-speaking population in the borders who were added to Belgium following the treaty of the Versailles in 1919, German is the third official language in Belgium.

Early settlements

The Romans were the first people to attack and invaded Belgium. The name Belgium actually harks from the description given to tit by the then Roman emperor Julius Caesar. He mentioned the name “Belgae" during his conquest of Gaul, and when the country gained its independence, it changed from Belgae to Belgium. Caesar’s armies invaded the country in 57BC and held Gallia provinces for over 450 years.

In the century, when the Western Roman Empire was collapsing, the Germanic francs took regional control. The shift in power and control was as a result of Belgium’s current language divisions. It’s here that the north part became German speakers and the south remained Latin. One of these peoples, the Franks, decided to make a settlement in Toxandria in Germania Inferior in the 4th century. From this group, a Frankish kingdom developed in Northern France. Belgium and the German Rhineland was eventually dominated by the Merovingian Dynasty. Clovis I was the best-known king of this era where he from his headquarters in France until he eventually converted to Christianity which marked the start of the end to the Roman Catholic influence in the region.





Early Middle Ages: rise of Flanders

In the 9th and 10th centuries, Vikings raiding parties further intensified the feudal domains. It turned out that while kings of France and German emperors held overall control over the region, the real power lay with the local counts who ruled over fiefdoms. One particular display of fief power was count Singefroi when he built a castle on a high promontory in Luxembourg where he laid the Grand Duchy’s foundation stone that is there to this day’s capital.

The counts of Flanders were responsible for presiding over the most powerful courts during the feudal times. Baldwin the iron arm kicked off the feuds when he kidnapped and married the French king’s daughter and built a fortress in AD 867. Baldwin’s successors over the next three centuries took up his mantle and continued the expansion of the territory to continue the influence of the Flanders up to the south of the Sommer River.

As the feudalism started declining, towns started to rise. The Flanders who had been cloth producers took off with the growth of cities like Ypres, Bruges, and Ghent in the 13th century. Merchant ships from all over Europe would dock in Bruges to for trade purposes where they traded Flemish cloth for cheese, lead wool and tin; coal from England; wine from Spain; pigs from Denmark silks and oriental; and furs from as far away as Russia and Bulgaria and spices from Venice and Genoa. Cruise the canals in Bruges or Ghent to conjure up this bygone time.

The flurry of activities bred a class of rich merchants who desired an increase in political power. Meanwhile, artisans and traders joined arms to form groups like guilds, setting the standard for their craft and establishing themselves as the local traders. However, it wasn't long until the interests of the aspirational Burghers clashed with those the local counts. Since the weavers depended on the quality wool coming from England, they sided with the English during the conflict between the French and England. The local counts managed to quell the demands of the greater powers by asking for help from the French army. The climax of the conflict came in the form of a bloody confrontation in 1302 known as the "Brugse Metten” of the battle of the Golden Spurs.

The Burgundian Empire

By the 14th century Ghent, Ypres, Brussels, Ypres among other tows were all prosperous towns. Ghent had become the largest city in Europe following Paris by 1340. It is this time that the sinister castle Gravensteen, was raised and is still one of Ghent's main sights. The dukes of Burgundy exercised their power and control in the region for less than a century but profoundly influenced the cultural changes during the time.

Philip the Good was the first and best of the dukes (r 1419–67), who ruled over a vast empire including the Burgundian region of eastern France and the areas that covered the most of the kingdom that is modern-day Belgium and the Netherlands. While the court has a palace in Dijon France, Philip ruled Brussels thus earning the title Belgium’s founder “conditor Belgii."

Being at ruler at the height of culture and fashion, Phillip was the richest man in Europe at the time. His wealth was characterized by his grand palace constructed and flanked by elaborately decorated hallways at his headquarters. It’s in Leuven that Belgium’s first ever university was founded. The university majorly handled arts, particularly painting and tapestry making and it was a key factor that made the city flourish. So legendary was the court’s wealth that it is still seen today in the works of renowned artists of the old known as the Flemish Primitives.

The religious revolt

The Roman Empire rule had led to widespread catholic religion in the region especially since the power exercised their control over Belgium for 500 years. However, during the reign of Charles, protestant religion swept across a majority of Europe including Belgium. The religion and political ways of the Roman Empire started being called the Reformation. Protestantism was seen as a better religion mainly because the printing and ownership of the bible stopped being a preserve of the church and the ruling classes alone. Theologians and humanists such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, the German leader of reformation and his French counterpart all offered different interpretations of the scripture and had divergent religious thinking.

Although widespread, the reformation was met with widespread harsh persecutions of the perpetrators in the Low Countries. In the early 1550, Charles ordered the proclamation of blood that saw him decree a death penalty of those convicted of active or hearsay concerning reformations. Later when his son Philip the second came to power, he took a more zealous approach to the defense of Catholicism. Born in Spain and hence exposed to Catholicism from a young age, he had little to no interest in Christianity, and so he took a tough stance at eradication of reformist's attitudes. He actively quashed any arising resistance through the implementation of a string of anti-Protestant edicts characterized by garrisoning towns in the Low Countries with Spanish mercenaries.

In the later 1566, the Protestants revolted. The revolt was characterized by running riots and ransacking of churches in a wave of violence that came to be known as the “Iconoclastic Fury." Phillip did not take it lying low and in a show of fury took with him ten thousand troops under the command of the Duke of Alva who set the council of the blood that presided over the killing of eight thousand people convicted of taking part in the riots. In the turbulent years following the revolt, a period known as the Revolt of the Netherlands came to be. To this day the borders of Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands were roughly drawn. While Belgium and Luxembourg, stayed under southern rule the Netherlands expelled the Spaniards,

The Spanish Netherlands (the Dutch revolt)

Brussels was proclaimed the capital of the Spanish Netherlands, and so Protestants were chased away from the capital. Being the center of trade, the city enjoyed significant economic prosperity. When Phillip the second left the city to his daughter and her husband the Archduke of Austria the city enjoyed 40 years of economic prosperity that gave rise to industries and diamond processing plants. However, trouble started brewing when a treaty was signed to block Dutch traders from the city by blocking their ships. This act. This act guaranteed the collapse the golden age of Amsterdam. With many of the skilled workers gone, much of the region plunged into poverty and life turned into an exercise in religious piety. The situation of the Spanish Netherlands worsened in the second half of the 17th century which prompted the French to plan how to dominate Europe. The war for Spanish Netherlands succession ended with the Spanish Netherlands being handled to the Austrians.





Austrian & French occupation

After the archduke fell, the mighty Austrian Hapsburgs ruled from 1713 to 1794. His rule was peaceful compared to before. While Brussels was the base for central control, the Austrians gave the city dwellers a lot of control or independence to do what they wanted just like the Spanish had done, and this played a key role in ensuring peaceful rule. The way of the leadership of Austria was a philosophical movement concerned with enlightenment, so it encouraged reason as posed to letting people follow blindly.

However, in 1794, French reclaimed the region and the following years it was absorbed into France. French took over full control of the region and instilled protestant laws over the people. The power of the Catholic Church was largely suppressed with many churches being ransacked, and monasteries closed. This led to a revolt by the peasants which was cruelly put down. However, in 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated in the battle of Waterloo which led to the formation of the United Kingdom of Netherlands that incorporated Netherlands and Belgium.

The United Kingdom of the Netherlands

This was created to strike a balance of power in Europe and to create a buffer to stop furnace from making any northwards advances. William of Orange-Nassau was crowned King William I in Brussels. However, William quickly made adversaries after refusing to give southern Belgium fair political representation and also trying to impose Dutch as the national language. The latter made the remaining faction angry especially the French speakers who regarded their language unique. This led to an inevitable Belgian revolution that began the path for Belgium independence on 25 August 1830.

Belgium independence

For the first time in 1831, the European powers at the London conference recognized Belgium as an independent state. The state was declared as neutral for several years when it later ceded some of its parts to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. On 21 July 1831 Léopold of Saxe-Coburg Gotha, became King Léopold I of Belgium. His crowning is celebrated every 21st of July. Leopold oversaw the industrial revolution in Belgium characterized by coal mines and iron making. Leopold the second came to the throne and determined to make the tiny country great by advocating for colonial powers and conquests. Through a series of dubious treaties, Leopold 2 was able to acquire a big slice of central Africa that was its primary colony. This portion was almost five time the size of Belgium and played a significant role in the economic prosperity of the nation.

World War 1 and WW2

Léopold II successor was his nephew Albert I (r 1909–34), who was nicknamed the ‘Soldier King’ due to his popular actions during WWI. When war broke out, Germany defied the neutrality treaty that the Belgians had signed and invaded the country. Albert in a show of resistance moved his troops to the seaside towns in a small triangle that remained unoccupied for a long time. From this point, the soldier king led the Belgian army's efforts to defend the northern frontline, which separated the Allies and the strategic French coastal towns from the advancing German army. The town of Ypres was reduced to rubble during the war but was rebuilt.

As a result of the war the Treaty of Versailles abolished Belgium’s neutrality, and the country was given reparations from Germany that included chunks of land as compensation. In 1934 Albert I died in a rock-climbing accident and was succeeded by his son, Léopold III (r 1934–51).

In the late 1940, Germany made surprise attacks at the country. However, unlike his father, Léopold III did not put up much resistance and easily surrendered to their forces and thus leaving the Allies in a precarious state. The government officials did not like the king’s decision to surrender and started a strong resistance during the Nazi occupation. Belgium and Luxembourg got liberated in September 1944, though many lost their lives.

Postwar Belgium

After the Second World War ended, the king’s actions during the war were revisited. He was accused of collaborating with the enemy while other supported his actions citing that he surrendered to save his people. In 1951, in surrender to pressure from Walloon socialists, he left his throne in favor of his 21-year-old son Baudouin I (r 1951–93).

Although he began his reign at a young age, the youth king was able to unite the nation through his fair treatment of everyone including the Flemish and the Walloons which earned him widespread respect. When he suddenly died in 1993, the whole country mourned for him. He was succeeded by his younger brother the present King Albert II. The latter though hesitant to take the throne has led Belgium to immense success.

Belgians success was one of grass to glory. The country has risen to the heights of being a major international player in politics after the world war. Politically the country was a major player in the forming the EU in 1958. Also, in 1967, NATO moved its HQ from France to Brussels after the French withdrew from NATOs military wing. The new NATO headquarters stands at Brussels to this day.

While the rebirth of Brussels as the capital has been a key player in European affairs, the rest of the country remains divided not just politically, but economically. Overall, the economy struggles with a huge debt and increased unemployment. Wallonia’s economy depended heavily on the steel and iron-ore industries until its decrease and eventual stop in the 1970s that left the region floundering.

Into the 21st century

Until the end of the 20th century, not alt was heard about this small country. It had successfully managed to keep a low profile from the international arena until it came to the limelight for all the negative reasons. It was known for poisoned chicken and pedophiles and characterized by sick mismanagement and neglect. The nation had shifted to radical movements, and reforms and in the year 1999 the Christian Democrat party was ousted after 40 years of rule.

In came a Liberal Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, who sought to raise the public morale of the country and to reinvent the country. He aimed at using foreign policies to restore Belgium to its former glory in the international arena. When it came to the war on Iraq in 2003, the country vocally sided with France and Germany against the US. Also, there was a flood of lawsuits around the same time for leaders like Israel’s Ariel Sharon and George W Bush for crimes against humanity, and they were all conducted under Belgium’s controversial universal competence laws. These laws allowed judges to judge people for crimes against humanity no matter where they were. Due to embarrassing situations where they could not judge anyone mentioned, the laws were changed to only apply to Belgians only.

Relations with the United States

The relationship between these two countries has always been bilateral. In celebration of continued cooperation between the two countries, 2007 marked the 175th anniversary of the two nations’ relationship. According to a 2012 survey on global leadership report, 26% of Belgians approve of U.S. leadership, 58% uncertain with 16% disapproving 1)

The relationship of the two states dates back to world war 1 when the U.S helped set up a committee for relief for Belgium to help the country recover from the effects of war. The amassed a net surplus of $30 million in funds, which was used to improve Belgium's educational system. In World War 2, the US played an active role in liberating Belgium from the German invaders in conjunction with Canadian and British forces.

During the cold war, Belgium received US aid through the Marshall plan aimed at the reconstruction of the country. Both countries were among the founding members of NATO (North Atlantic collective defense alliance). Also, Belgium participated in the US-led UN mission aimed at repelling the North Korean invasion of South Korea. Today, the U.S continues its relationship with Belgium and continues to believe that Belgium has more potential to play an even more active role in international politics and other matters including security concerns

References

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Bogdan Hristov. Belgium; a brief history of how it all began. (2016).

Bart de Groof, "Alexander Farnese and the Origins of Modern Belgium", Bulletin de l'Institut Historique Belge de Rome (1993) Vol. 63, pp 195–219.

Violet Soen, "Reconquista and Reconciliation in the Dutch Revolt: The Campaign of Governor-General Alexander Farnese (1578–1592)", Journal of Early Modern History (2012) 16#1 pp 1–22.

Geert H. Janssen, "The Counter-Reformation of the Refugee: Exile and the Shaping of Catholic Militancy in the Dutch Revolt", Journal of Ecclesiastical History (2012) 63#4 pp 671–692

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Spiegel Online "The Fries Revolution: Belgium's Political Crisis Foretells EU's Future".. Retrieved 18 November 2012.

Piette, Alain (2007). David Leninson, Karen Christensen, eds. Global Perspectives on the United States: A Nation by Nation Survey. 1. Great Barrington, MA: Berkshire frfrbeb5t Group. pp. 43–50