Belgium's History

Belgium is a relatively new country on the European stage, but before the Romans arrived on the scene the area was home to the Belgae a German/Celtic race. The Romans called their province Gallia Belgica which was overrun by Germanic tribes in the 5th Century and fell into the Dark Ages. Franks held sway over Belgium which was a tapestry of fiefdoms. Following the Eighty Years War of 1568-1648, Belgium remained a Hapsburg domain until the Revolutionary French Republic incorporated them in 1794. Following Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo, the Low Countries were joined under Dutch stewardship as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Belgians revolted in 1830, winning independence and invited a German Prince to become their King, Leopold I. Neutral Belgium was invaded by Germany in WWI and WWII so following the war the country abandoned neutrality and joined NATO and the European Union, both organisations headquartered in Brussels.

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Belgium is split linguistically between the Dutch Flemish north, French Walloon south, bilingual Brussels and a tiny German-speaking community in the east. Each has a measure of self government but political tensions remain. The capital, Brussels is also a capital of the European Union and NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, both making a valuable contribution to the Kingdoms prosperity. The economy is well developed and diversified with tourism making an important contribution too. Visitors come to enjoy thriving Medieval towns which once made Belgium a cultural powerhouse. Others come to see former battle sites and yet others come to sample Belgium’s famous chocolates and excellent beers.

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