History of Belgium and User:DoSiDo: Difference between pages

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Revision as of 02:59, 23 April 2007

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The '''History of [[Belgium]]''' before the last 175 years is entwined into that of other [[History of Europe|European]] countries, notably that of [[History of the Netherlands|the Netherlands]] and of [[History of Luxembourg | Luxembourg]].

{{User:The Raven's Apprentice/Userboxes/User Chemistry}}

{{User VG-1}}

{{Userboxbottom}}

==TO DO==

'''See also:'''

*[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Chemical_images_that_should_use_vector_graphics Chemical images that should use vector graphics]

*[[Henri Pirenne]].

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Chemistry/Image_Request WikiProject Chemistry/Image Request]

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Chemistry_pages_needing_pictures Category:Chemistry pages needing pictures]

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Drugs/Structural_diagrams WikiProject Pharmacology/Structural diagrams]

==Chem==

==Before independence==

===Prehistory===

[[Image:Belgian flint knives.jpg|thumb|right|[[Flint]] [[knive]]s discovered in Belgian caves]]

===References / Links===

Around 400,000 BC [[Neandertal]]s lived on the edge of the Meuse river, near the village of [[Spy (Belgium)|Spy]]. From 30,000 BC on the inhabitants were ''[[Homo sapiens]]''. [[Neolithic]] vestiges exist at [[Spiennes]] where there was a [[flint|silex]] [[Mining|mine]].

*[http://www.cas.org/EO/regsys.html CAS REGISTRY Overview]

*[http://openbabel.sourceforge.net/ Open Babel: A Package to Decypher Computational Chemistry]

*[http://www.emolecules.com/ eMolecules Chemical Search]

*[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Molecules Molecules]

*[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Molecule Molecule]

===Software===

The first signs of the [[Bronze age]] date [[1750 BC]]. From [[500 BC]] [[Celt]]ic tribes settled and traded with the [[Mediterranean]] world. From [[150 BC]] the first coins were in use.

*[http://jmol.sourceforge.net/ Jmol]

*[http://www.acdlabs.com/download/ ChemSketch]

*[http://www.chemaxon.com/marvin/ CML MarvinView]

*[http://bkchem.zirael.org/download_en.html BK Chem]

*[http://www.inkscape.org/ Inkscape]

**from ChemSketch, export as TIFF or WMF, then import in Inkscape

===CML===

The earliest named inhabitants of Belgium were the [[Belgae]] (after whom the modern Belgium is named). They were (mostly) [[Celt|Celtic]] tribes, living in northern [[Gaul]].

*[http://wwmm.ch.cam.ac.uk/moin/ChemicalMarkupLanguage ChemicalMarkupLanguage]

*[http://www.ch.ic.ac.uk/rzepa/chimeral/resources/cml/chimeral/index.html Index of CML Molecule]

*[http://www.ch.ic.ac.uk/rzepa/talks/eth05/ Chemical Semantic Web: publishing & CMLRSS]

*[http://wwmm.ch.cam.ac.uk/moin/CmlRss CmlRss]

*[http://www.randomfactory.com/cml.html CML Reference Collection]

*[http://cml.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page CML Wiki]

===AntiquityImport Test===

[[Image:amlodipine.svg]]

:''see main article [[Gallia Belgica]]''

In [[54 BC]], the Belgae were overcome by [[Julius Caesar]], as described in his chronicle ''[[De Bello Gallico]]''.

[[Image:Belgica.png|left|thumb|200px|the [[Roman province]] [[Gallia Belgica]] (around [[120]] CE. For a map in [[58 BCE]], see [[Gallic Wars]])]]

In this same work Julius Caesar referred to the [[Belgae]] as "the bravest of all Gauls" (''"horum omnium fortissimi sunt belgae"'').

What is now Belgium flourished as a province of [[Rome]]. This province was much larger than the modern Belgium. Five cities: Nemetacum ([[Arras]]), Divodurum ([[Metz]]), Bagacum ([[Bavay]]), Aduatuca ([[Tongeren]]), Durocorturum ([[Reims]]).

At the north-east was the neighbour province [[Germania Inferior]]. Its cities were : Traiectum ad Mosam ([[Maastricht]]), Ulpia Noviomagus ([[Nijmegen]]), Colonia Ulpia Trajana ([[Xanten]]) and Colonia Agrippina ([[Cologne]]). Both provinces include the Low Countries [http://www.antikefan.de/kulturen/rom/provinzen.html].

===Pre-romanesque period===

After the [[Roman Empire]] collapsed ([[5th century]]), [[Germanic tribe]]s invaded the Roman province of "Gallia". One of these peoples, the [[Franks]], finally installed a new kingdom under the rulers of the [[Merovingian Dynasty]]. [[Clovis I]] was the most famous of these kings. He converted to [[Christianity]] and ruled from northern France, but his empire included today's Belgium. Christian scholars, mostly [[Ireland|Irish]] [[monk]]s, preached Christianity and started [[Religious conversion|conversion]] work under the pagan invaders ([[Saint Servatius]], [[Saint Remacle]], [[Saint Hadelin]]).

The Merovingians were rather short-lived, as the [[Carolingian Dynasty]] soon took over. After [[Charles Martel]] countered the [[Moors|Moorish]] invasion from Spain ([[732]] - Poitiers), the famous king [[Charlemagne]] (born close to [[Liège (city)|Liège]] in [[Herstal]] or [[Jupille]]) brought a huge part of Europe under his rule and was [[Crown (headgear)|crowned]] as the "[[Emperor]] of the [[Holy Roman Empire]]" by the [[pope]] ([[800]]) in [[Aachen]].

The [[Vikings]] were defeated in [[891]] by [[Arnulf of Carinthia]] near [[Leuven]].

The Frankish lands were divided and reunified several times under the [[Merovingian]] and [[Carolingian]] dynasties, but eventually were firmly divided into [[France]] and the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. The [[County of Flanders]] became part of France during the Middle Ages, but the remainder of the [[Low Countries]] were part of the Holy Roman Empire. Through the early Middle Ages, the northern part of present-day Belgium (now commonly referred to as [[Flanders]]) had become an overwhelmingly Germanized and [[Germanic languages|Germanic language]]-speaking area, whereas in the southern part people had continued to be Roman and spoke derivatives of [[Vulgar Latin]].

===Romanesque period===

As the Holy Roman Emperors lost effective control of their domains in the 11th and 12th centuries, the territory more or less corresponding to the present Belgium was divided into mostly independent feudal states:

*[[county of Flanders]]

*[[Marquis of Namur]]

*[[Duchy of Brabant]] (see also [[Duke of Brabant]])

*[[County of Hainaut]]

*[[Duchy of Limburg]]

*[[Luxemburg]]

*[[Bishopric of Liège]].

During the [[11th century | 11th]] and [[12th century | 12th centuries]], the [[Rheno-Mosan art | Rheno-Mosan]] or [[Mosan art]] florished in the region going from [[Cologne]] and [[Trier]] to [[Liège (city)|Liège]], [[Maastricht]] and [[Aachen]]. Some masterpieces of this [[romanesque]] art are the [[shrine of the Three Kings at Cologne Cathedral]], the [[baptistry]] of [[Renier de Huy]] in [[Liège (city)|Liège]], the shrine of [[Saint Remacle]] in [[Stavelot]], the shrine of [[Saint Servatius]] in Maastricht or, [[Notger]]'s gospel in Liège.

===Gothic period===

{{section-stub}}

[[13th century | 13th]] and [[14th century | 14th centuries]]

*Many cities gained their independence from their heirs.

*Huge trade within the Hanseatic Leage.

*Building of huge [[Gothic architecture | gothic]] cathedrals and city halls.

====See also====

*[[Battle of the Golden Spurs]]

*[[Bruges]]

*[[Antwerp]]

*[[Hanseatic League]]

{{history Benelux states}}

===Burgundian Netherlands===

:''see main article [[Burgundian Netherlands]]''

[[Image:04philip.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Philip the Good, painted c. 1450 by Roger van der Weyden]]

By [[1433]] most of the Belgian and [[Luxembourg]]ian territory along with much of the rest of the [[Low Countries]] became part of [[Burgundy]] under [[Philip the Good]]. When [[Mary of Burgundy]], grand-daughter of Philip the Good married [[Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor|Maximilian I]], the Low Countries became [[Habsburg]] territory. Their son, [[Philip I of Castile]] (Philip the Handsome) was the father of the later [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]]. The Holy Roman Empire was unified with [[Spain]] under the [[Habsburg]] Dynasty after Charles V inherited several domains.

Especially during the Burgund period (the [[15th century|15th]] and [[16th century | 16th centuries]]), [[Ypres]], [[Ghent]], [[Bruges]], [[Brussels]], and [[Antwerp]] took turns at being major [[European]] centers for commerce, industry (especially textiles) and art. The [[Flemish Primitives]] were a group of [[painting|painters]] active primarily in the Southern Netherlands in the [[15th century|15th]] and early [[16th century|16th]] centuries (for example, [[Jan van Eyck|Van Eyck]] and [[Roger van der Weyden | van der Weyden]]). Flemish [[Tapestry|tapestries]] hung on the walls of castles throughout Europe.

====See also====

*[[Early Renaissance painting]]

*[[Charles the Good]]

*[[Charles the Bold]]

[[Image:Map-1477_Low_Countries.png|300px|left|thumb|The [[Seventeen Provinces]] and the [[Bishopric of Liège]] ]]

=== The Spanish Netherlands ===

:''see main article [[Seventeen Provinces]]''

The [[Pragmatic Sanction of 1549]], issued by Charles V, established the Seventeen Provinces (or Spanish Netherlands in its broad sense) as an entity separate from the Empire and from France. This comprised all of the [[Netherlands]], [[Belgium]], and [[Luxembourg]] except for the lands of the [[Bishopric of Liège]].

====Eighty Years' War====

:''see main article [[Eighty Years' War]]''

However, the northern region now known as the Netherlands became increasingly [[Protestant]] (''i.c.'' [[Calvinistic]]), while the south remained primarily [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]]. The schism resulted in the [[Union of Atrecht]] and the [[Union of Utrecht]]. When [[Philip II of Spain|Philip II]], son of Charles ascended the Spanish throne, he tried to abolish all Protestantism. Portions of the Netherlands revolted, beginning the Eighty Years' War between the Netherlands and Spain. For the conquered [[Southern Netherlands]] the war ended in [[1581]] with the Fall of [[Antwerp]]. This can be seen as the start of Belgium as one region. That same year, the northern Low Countries (i.e. the Netherlands proper) seized [[independence]] in the [[Oath of Abjuration]] (''Plakkaat van Verlatinghe'') and started the [[Dutch Republic|United Provinces]] and the [[Dutch Golden Age]]. For them, the war lasted until [[1648]] (the [[Peace of Westphalia]]), when Spain recognized the independence of the Netherlands, but held onto the loyal and Catholic region of modern-day Belgium which was all that remained of the Spanish Netherlands.

====See also====

* [[Battle of Turnhout (1597)]]

* [[Battle of Nieuwpoort]]

* [[Battle of Gibraltar]]

* [[Battle of the Downs]]

* [[Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain]]

====Southern Netherlands====

[[Image:Rubens.adoration.650pix.jpg|150px|thumb|Rubens' Adoration of the Magii]]

:''see main article [[Southern Netherlands]]''

While the [[Dutch Republic|United Provinces]] gained independence, the Southern Netherlands remained under the rule of the Spanish Habsburgs ([[1519]]-[[1713]]).

Until 1581 the [[history]] of Belgium (except the [[Bishopric of Liège]]), the grand-duchy of [[Luxembourg]] and the country the Netherlands is the same: they formed the country/region of the Netherlands or the [[Low Countries]]. In [[Dutch language|Dutch]], a distinction still exists between on the one hand 'de Nederlanden' (plural, the Low Countries) and 'Nederland' (singular, the present-day state of the Netherlands) that is a consequence of this separation in the 17th century. Before 1581, the Netherlands refers to the Lowlands (De Nederlanden).

During the [[17th century]] Antwerp was still a major [[European]] center for commerce, industry and art. The [[Brueghel]]s, [[Peter Paul Rubens]] and [[Van Dyck]]'s [[baroque]] paintings were performed during this period.

====See also====

* [[Gerardus Mercator]]

* [[Jodocus Hondius]]

* [[War of Devolution]], [[Franco-Dutch War]], [[War of the Reunions]], [[Nine Years War]], [[War of the Spanish Succession]]

===Austrian Netherlands===

{{section-stub}}

:''see main article [[Southern Netherlands#Austrian Netherlands | Austrian Netherlands]]''

The Belgian and Luxemburgian territories except the [[Bishopric of Liège]] were transferred to the [[Austria|Austrian]] Habsburgs ([[1713]]-[[1794]]) after the [[War of the Spanish Succession]] when the French [[Bourbon Dynasty]] inherited Spain at the price of abandoning many Spanish possessions.

====See also====

* [[War of the Austrian Succession]]

* [[Barrier Treaty]] which excluded the Flemings to use the Scheldt

* [[Ostend Company]]

* [[Battle of Turnhout (1789)]]

* [[United States of Belgium]] of [[1790]]

===French period===

{{section-stub}}

Following the [[French Revolutionary Wars: Campaigns of 1794 | Campaigns of 1794 of the French Revolutionary Wars]] the [[Southern Netherlands]] were invaded and annexed by the [[First French Republic]] in [[1795]].

The [[bishopric of Liège]] was dissolved. Its territory was divided over the [[département]]s [[Meuse-Inférieure]] and [[Ourte]].

===United Kingdom of the Netherlands===

:''see main article [[United Kingdom of the Netherlands]]

After [[Napoleon]]'s defeat at Waterloo in [[1815]], the major victorious powers ([[England]], [[Austria]], [[Prussia]], [[Russia]]) agreed at [[Congress of Vienna]] on reuniting the southern Netherlands with the northern, creating the [[United Kingdom of the Netherlands]], which was to serve as a bufferstate against any future French invasions. This was under the rule of a protestant king, namely [[William I of the Netherlands|William I of Orange]]. Most of the small and [[ecclesiastical]] states in the Holy Roman Empire were given to larger states at this time, and this included the [[Bishopric of Liège]] which became now formally part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands.

[[Image:Wappers belgian revolution.jpg|right|thumb|250px|''Episode of the Belgian Revolution of [[1830]]'', [[Egide Charles Gustave Wappers]] ([[1834]]), in the Musée d'Art Ancien, [[Brussels]]]]

==Independence==

:''see main article [[Belgian revolution]]''

In August 1830, stirred by a performance of [[Daniel Auber|Auber's]] ''[[La Muette de Portici]]'' at the Brussels opera house ''[[La Monnaie]]'' (Dutch: ''De Munt''), the [[Belgian Revolution]] broke out, and the country wrested its independence from the Dutch, aided by French intellectuals and French armed forces. The real political forces behind this were the Catholic clergy, which was against the protestant Dutch king, William I, and the equally strong [[Liberalism|liberal]]s, who opposed the royal authoritarianism, and the fact that the Belgians were not represented proportionally in the national assemblies at all. At first, the Revolution was merely a call for greater autonomy, but due to the clumsy responses of the Dutch king to the problem, and his unwillingness to meet the demands of the revolutionaries, the Revolution quickly escalated into a fight for full independence.

Among the revolutionaries, there was an idea to join France, but after international pressure, Belgium became an independent state. A [[constitutional monarchy]] was established in [[1831]], with a monarch invited in from the House of [[Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]] in [[Germany]] by the British. The major powers in Europe agreed, and on [[July 21]] 1831, the first king of Belgium, [[Leopold of Saxe-Coburg]] was inaugurated. This day is still the Belgian national holiday. The reason why the Belgian Revolution succeeded, even though it violated the accords made in 1815, is mainly that France was sympathetic to it, after it had had a new liberal government installed in the same year as the Belgian Revolution (see [[July monarchy]] or [[Louis-Philippe]]). In particular, the French troops "helped" the Belgians to maintain [[Antwerp]] inside their new country. One easily understands how important is was for both Britain and France to keep [[Antwerp]] and [[Rotterdam]] harbours located in two distinct enemy countries. The other major powers were, at that time, too much occupied with their own wars and problems.

The Netherlands still fought on for 8 years, but in [[1839]] a treaty was signed between the two countries. Belgium thus started life as an independent state, equipped with a very liberal [[constitution]] ([[constitutional monarchy]]), but with [[suffrage]] restricted to the haute-[[bourgeoisie]] and the [[clergy]], all together less than 1% of the adult population, and fully French-speaking in a country where French was not the majority language.

By the treaty of 1839, Luxemburg did not fully join Belgium, and remained a possession of the Netherlands until different inheritance laws caused it to separate as an independent [[Grand Duchy]]. Belgium also lost Eastern [[Limburg]], [[Zeeuws Vlaanderen]] and [[French Flanders]] (Dutch: ''Frans Vlaanderen'') and [[Eupen]], four territories which it had all claimed on historical grounds. The Netherlands retained the former two while French Flanders, which had been annexed at the time of [[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]] remained in French possession, and Eupen remained within the [[German Confederation]], although it would pass to Belgium after [[World War I]] as compensation for the war.

The Belgian Revolution had many causes:

* At the political level:

** The Belgians felt significantly under-represented in the Netherlands' elected Lower Assembly.

** The low popularity of Prince William, later King [[William II of the Netherlands|William II]], representative of the King [[William I of the Netherlands|William I]] in Brussels.

** The treatment of the French-speaking Catholic [[Walloon]]s in the Dutch-dominated United Kingdom of the Netherlands.

* At the religious level:

** The difference of religion between the Belgians and their Dutch king.

* At the economic level:

** The Belgians had little influence over the traditional economy of trade centred in Amsterdam.

** The Dutch were for [[free trade]], while industries in Belgium called for the protection of [[tariff]]s.

** Low-taxed imports from the Baltic depressed agriculture in Belgian grain-growing regions.

* At the international level:

** French [[July Monarchy]]'s support.

** The passive agreement of the British.

==From the independence to WWI==

==== See also ====

*[[List of Prime Ministers of Belgium]]

*[[List of Belgian monarchs]]

===Laicity and catholicism===

{{section-stub}}

In the 19th century, the Belgian politics is a bipartisan system very deep influenced by the conflict between the catholics and the laics.

====See also====

*[[Liberalism in Belgium]]

*[[Universite Libre de Bruxelles]]

*[[Katholieke Universiteit Leuven]]

===Industrial revolution===

{{section-stub}}

Léopold I went on to build the first [[Rail transport in Belgium|railway]] in continental Europe in [[1835]], between [[Brussels]] and [[Mechelen]]. The first trains were [[George Stephenson|Stephenson]] engines imported from Great Britain.

====See also====

*[[John Cockerill]]

*[[Cockerill-Sambre]]

*[[Val Saint Lambert]]

*[[Ernest Solvay]]

*[[Fabrique Nationale de Herstal]]

*[[Rail transport in Belgium]]

*[[Industrial revolution]]

===The first school war ([[1879]]-[[1884]]) ===

{{section-stub}}

===The rise of the socialist party and of the trade unions===

{{section-stub}}

====See also====

*[[Emile Vandervelde]]

*[[Henri de Man]]

*[[Adolf Daens]]

[[Image:Statue_LeopoldII_Ostende.jpg|200px|thumb|Statue of [[Léopold II of Belgium]] in [[Ostende]] ]]

<!-- Image with unknown copyright status removed: [[Image:Statue_LeopoldII_Ostende_detail.jpg|200px|thumb|left|A detail from the plinth of the statue of [[Léopold II of Belgium]] in [[Ostende]]. Observe the mutilated hand. Mutilating hands was one of the most common punishments in the [[Congo Free State]]. Mutilated hands were even used as some kind of money or trophy.]] -->

===The Congolese colony===

:''see main articles [[Congo Free State]] and [[Belgian Congo]]''

At the [[Berlin conference]] of [[1884]]-[[1885]] [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congo]] was attributed solely to [[Léopold II of Belgium]], who named this land the [[Congo Free State]]. Power was finally transferred to [[Belgium]] in [[1908]] under considerable international pressure following numerous reports of gross misconduct and abuse to native labourers (read: slaves). Its territory was more than 80 times as large as the motherland.

The integration of traditional economies in the Congo within the framework of the modern, capitalist economy was brilliantly executed; for example, several railroads were built through dense regions of jungle. Léopold's fortune was greatly added to through the proceeds of Congolese [[rubber]], which had never been mass-produced in such surplus quantities.

Many atrocities were committed in the colony, especially when it still was Léopold II's personal possession, one of the most famous reports being [[Joseph Conrad]]'s novel ''Heart of Darkness''. The behaviour of the Belgian colonists in Congo is still a conflict-laden topic in present-day Belgium.

====See also====

*[[Lado Enclave]]

[[Image:CinquantenaireArchInSnow.jpg|thumb|right|The Cinquantenaire Arch in winter]]

===Historicism and Art Nouveau===

{{section-stub}}

At the end of the [[19th century]] and at the beginning of the [[20th century]], the [[Historicism (architecture) | historicism]] style dominates the urban Belgian landscape (e.g. Justice Palace of [[Brussels]], [[cinquantenaire | 50th-Anniversary Park]] in [[Brussels]]). Nevertheless Brussels became one of the major European city for the development of the [[Art Nouveau]] ([[Victor Horta]], [[Henry van de Velde]]).

==From WWI to WWII==

===World War I===

===Between the wars===

====Politics====

{{section-stub}}

After the defeat of Germany, the two former German colonies, [[Rwanda]] and [[Burundi]], were mandated to Belgium by the [[League of Nations]].

After a period of alliance with France, Belgium tried to return to neutrality in the [[1930s]].

[[Image:James Ensor kopie.jpg|thumb|left|150px|[[James Ensor]], Self-portrait on a Belgian poststamp]]

====Development of fine arts====

;Flemish expressionism: The [[expressionism]] painting movement had a lot of influence in Flanders ([[James Ensor]],[[Constant Permeke]], [[Léon Spiliaert]]).

;Belgian surrealism: The [[surrealism]] movement has major representant in Belgium: [[Paul Delvaux]], [[René Magritte]].

;The [[Franco-Belgian comics]]: The comic-strip character [[Tintin]] was created in [[1929]] by [[Hergé]]. [[The Adventures of Tintin]] is one of the most popular 20th century [[European comics]]. Major representants of this popular art movement are [[Edgar P. Jacobs]], [[Jijé]], [[Albert Uderzo]] and [[André Franquin]]. '''See also:''' [[Franco-Belgian comics magazines]], [[Franco-Belgian publishing houses]].

====See also====

*[[Sabena]]

===World War II===

{{section-stub}}

Belgium was invaded by [[Nazi Germany]] in [[1940]] (Belgium surrendered on [[May 28]]). Belgium was liberated in [[1944]] by [[United Kingdom|British]], [[Canada|Canadian]], Australian, and [[United States|American]] armies.

During the war, the largest known reserves of [[uranium]] were in the [[Katanga]] (a province of the [[Belgian Congo]]). The Belgian company [[Union Minière du Haut Katanga]] provided the [[United States]] the uranium required by the [[Manhattan Project]] and the early [[cold war]] (see: [[history of nuclear weapons]]).

====See also====

*[[Rexism]]

*[[Lions of Flanders]]

*[[Fort Eben-Emael]]

*[[Battle of the Scheldt]]

*[[Battle of the Bulge]]

*[[Malmédy massacre]]

==After WWII==

===The royal question===

:''See main article [[Léopold III of Belgium]]

A dispute over King Léopold III's conduct during World War II caused civil uprisings, and eventually led to his abdication in [[1951]] following a state-wide [[referendum]]. In [[Flanders]] they voted in favor of his return, in [[Wallonia]] against (especially the provinces of [[Liège (province)|Liège]] and [[Hainaut]]; [[Namur (province)|Namur]] and [[Luxembourg (province of Belgium)|Luxembourg]] being split 50/50). Although he narrowly won the referendum, the militant socialist movement in Liège, Hainaut and other urban centres incited major protests and strikes. Because of the probability of the escalation of the conflict, Léopold III abdicated on July 16, 1951 in favour of his 20-year-old son [[Baudouin I of Belgium|Baudouin]].

During Leopold's exile in Switzerland ([[1945]]-[[1950]]), [[Prince Charles of Belgium]] acted as the regent.

====See also====

* [[Prince Charles of Belgium]]

* [[Baudouin I of Belgium]]

[[Image:Atomium-sm.jpg |150px|thumb|The [[Atomium]] monument]]

==Post-war economic growth==

During the period [[1945]]-[[1975]], [[Keynesian]] economic theory guided politicians throughout Western Europe and this was particularly influential in Belgium. After the war, the government cancelled Belgium's debts. It was during this period that the well-known Belgian highways were built. At night, their street lights make them easily seen from space.

In this sphere of economics, World War II marks a turning point. Because Flanders had been widely devastated during the war and had been largely agricultural since the Belgian uprising, it benefited most from the [[Marshall Plan]]. Its standing as an economicaly backward agricultural region meant that it obtained support from Belgium's membership of the [[History of the European Union#The three communities|European Union]] and its predecessors. At the same time, Wallonia experienced a slow relative decline as the products of its mines came to be less in demand. The economic, hence the political, balance between the two parts of the country has remained less in favour of Wallonia than it was before [[1939]].

===European and international integration===

{{section-stub}}

*Belgium has been one of the foremost advocates of collective security within the framework the Atlantic partnership ([[NATO]]). Belgium has been member of the NATO since April 4, 1949

*Belgium is part of the [[Benelux]] since [[1944]].

*Belgium is one of the founding members of the [[European Coal and Steel Community]] in July, [[1952]] and of the [[European Economic Community]] founded on March 25, 1957 by the signing of the [[Treaty of Rome]].

====See also====

*[[Paul-Henry Spaak]]

===The second school war ([[1950]]-[[1959]])===

{{section-stub}}

===The Congo crisis ([[1960]]-[[1965]])===

:''see main article [[Congo Crisis]]''

The Congo became independent in [[1960]]. Belgium played in this crisis an ambiguous role which lead to the murder of [[Patrice Lumumba]] and to the establisment of the [[Zaire]].

[[Image:Taal Aktie Komitee.jpg|thumb|150px|Logo of the [[Taal Aktie Komitee]]]]

===The linguistic wars===

{{section-stub}}

This Flemish resurgence has been accompanied by a corresponding shift of political power to the Flemish, who always constituted an absolute majority of the population (now around 60%).

The linguistic wars attained their climax around [[1968]] with the splitting of the Catholic University of Louvain into the [[Katholieke Universiteit Leuven]] and the [[Universite Catholique de Louvain]].

Well-known "battles" (quite harmless ones indeed) found place in [[Voeren]] between the [[Taal Aktie Komitee]] and the Walloon leader [[Jose Happart]].

====See also====

*[[Flemish movement]]

*[[Flemish emancipation movement]]

*[[Flemish independence]]

*[[Ijzerbedevaart|Yser pilgrimage]], [[Ijzerwake|Wake of the Yser]], [[Ijzertoren|The Yser tower]]

*[[Volksunie]]

*[[Vlaams Belang]] or [[Vlaams Blok]]

*[[Front Démocratique des Francophones]]

*[[Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde]]

*[[Municipalities with linguistic facilities]]

===The rise of the federal state===

{{section-stub}}

The successive linguistic wars have made the successive Belgian governments very unstable. The three major parties (Liberal -right wing-, Catholic -center- and, Socialist -left wing-) splitted in two according to their French- or Dutch-speaking electorate. A fixed linguistitic border was established within Belgian between [[Wallonia]], [[Flanders]] and, [[Brussels]] which gained progressively a lot of political autonomy.

====See also====

*[[Politics of Belgium]]

*[[Politics of Flanders]]

*[[Politics of Wallonia]]

*[[List of Governments in Belgium]]

===The fall of the Belgian economic miracle===

{{section-stub}}

Belgium made huge debts during the time the rates were low and made new debts when it had to reimburse. Its debts were amounting to about 130% of the [[Gross Domestic Product | GDP]] in [[1992]] and have been reduced to about 99% in [[2001]] when Belgium entered the [[euro]] zone. This very drastic politics has caused a rigorous cutting of all unnecessary budget spending like scientific research and alike.

====See also====

*[[Jean-Luc Dehaene]]

*[[Philippe Maystadt]]

===The Marc Dutroux Scandal===

:''see main article [[Marc Dutroux]]''

In [[1996]], Belgium's political and criminal justice systems were shaken when [[Marc Dutroux]] was arrested and charged with several counts of murder and kidnapping. Many charged that local law enforcement had not acted competently enough to observe and eventually arrest Dutroux and his accomplices before they kidnapped at least six girls (Julie & Melissa, An & Eefje, Sabine & Laetitia) of which they murdered four (Sabine & Laetitia being rescued just in time) and most probably some gang members. Dutroux went on trial in March 2004 and got a life sentence in prison.

Subsequent parliamentary inquiries indeed proved that the three main police forces were horribly incompetent, bureaucratic, and fighting more with each other than the criminals. On top, the judicial system appeared to suffer from similar problems: bureaucracy, very poor communication with, and support for, the victims, slow procedures and many loopholes for criminals.

As a consequence of this scandal, on [[October 26]], 1996, about 300,000 Belgians marched in Brussels to protest at the failures of the police force and judicial system in this affair. It was one of the largest [[demonstration]] in Belgium ever and was called the "[[White March]]" (French: "''Marche Blanche''", Dutch: "''Witte Mars''").

===The rise of the Green parties===

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The three-party (i.e. six plus some purely Flemish and Walloon parties) political systems got disturbed by the Green parties (the Dutch-speaking [[Agalev]], now [[Groen!]], and the French-speaking [[Ecolo]]) in the [[1980s]] which took a lot of influence after the Marc Dutroux Scandal and the "[[dioxin]] affair", a food scandal (chickens containing dioxin levels far above the maximum allowed) which would not have had any major repercussions, had it not erupted just days before the elections.

====See also====

*[[Political parties in Belgium]]

===The rainbow government ([[1999]]-[[2003]])===

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First government since [[1958]] without the Catholics but with the Greens.

Renewal of the Belgian foreign politics. Strong anti-Iraq-war diplomacy during the [[Iraq crisis of 2003]].

In July [[1999]], Belgium's [[nuclear power phase-out|nuclear phase-out]] legislation was decided by the [[Flemish Liberals and Democrats]]-led Government including the Belgian [[Greens party]], [[Groen!]]. The phase-out law calls for each of [[List of nuclear reactors#Belgium|Belgium's seven reactors]] to close after 40 years of operation with no new [[nuclear reactor|reactors]] built subsequently. When the law was being passed, it was speculated it would be overturned again as soon as an administration without the Greens was in power [http://www.scientific-alliance.org/pdf/essential_programme_to_underpin_government_policy_on_nuclear_power.pdf], pdf). After a new government was elected in [[2003]] without the Greens, there is still no indication the current Government will revoke the phase-out law [http://www10.antenna.nl/wise/index.html?http://www10.antenna.nl/wise/596-8/h3.php] after the incident at Tihange in [[November 22]], [[2002]] turned public opinion against nuclear power [http://www10.antenna.nl/wise/index.html?http://www10.antenna.nl/wise/582/5485.html].

====See also====

*[[Guy Verhofstadt]]

*[[Louis Michel]]

*[[Same-sex marriage in Belgium]]

*[[War Crimes Law (Belgium)]]

==References==

*{{factbook}} 2000

*{{StateDept}} 2003

==External links==

*[http://www.zum.de/whkmla/histatlas/lowcountries/haxbelgium.html Historical maps of Belgium from 1340 to 1990 on WHKMLA]

*[http://vlib.iue.it/hist-belgium/Index.html World Wide Web Virtual Library - Belgian History Index]

*[http://www.sacred-destinations.com/belgium/sacred-sites.htm Sacred Destinations: Belgium] - Cathedrals, Catholic shrines, churches, Jewish sites

*[http://www.rulers.org/rulb1.html#belgium Rulers.org — Belgium] List of rulers for Belgium

[[Category:History of the Germanic peoples]]

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[[Category:History of Europe|Belgium]]

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[[de:Geschichte Belgiens]]

[[es:Historia de Bélgica]]

[[fr:Histoire de Belgique]]

[[it:Storia del Belgio]]

[[he:היסטוריה של בלגיה]]

[[nl:Geschiedenis van België]]

[[oc:Istòria de la Belgica]]

[[pt:História da Bélgica]]

[[sq:Historia e Belgjikës]]

i went to walmart and bought a shirt

i sewed a seagull on it and said it was from hollister!