Belgium
Country in western Europe, bounded to the north by the Netherlands,
to the northwest by the North Sea, to the south and west by France,
and to the east by Luxembourg and Germany.
Government
A parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarch, Belgium has
a constitution, revised in 1971 and 1993, that dates from 1831.
The prime minister and cabinet are drawn from and answerable to
the legislature, which exercises considerable control over the
executive. The legislature consists of a chamber of representatives
and a Senate with restricted powers. Under the constitutional
reforms of the 1990s, the Senate has become a ` chamber of reflection´
rather than a full legislative chamber. The chamber of representatives
has 212 members elected by universal suffrage, through a system
of proportional representation, for a four-year term. On the basis
of parliamentary support, the monarch appoints the prime minister,
who chooses the cabinet.
History
The kingdom of Belgium was founded after the 1830 revolution, but the
history of the area - the southern part of the Low Countries (also
sometimes referred to in their entirety as the Netherlands) -
dates back to pre-Roman times.
The land that is now Belgium was inhabited in the Palaeolithic
period (the Old Stone Age), but recorded history starts with the
conquest by Julius Caesar. At the time of the Roman conquest the
area was inhabited by the League of the Belgae , who were chiefly
Celtic tribes, although there were many traces of tribes of Germanic
origin. The Belgae fiercely resisted the Roman invasion, but were
eventually forced to submit in 57 BC. Under the Romans the area
formed part of Gaul, and from 15 BC was distinguished by the name
of Gallia Belgica.
The Middle Ages
The Germanic component of the population was increased from around
the 3rd century AD as the Salian Franks settled in the region
between the lower River Rhine and the North Sea. At the end of
the 5th century the Franks, under Clovis I, conquered the whole
of Gaul (France). At the beginning of the 9th century, under Charlemagne,
Belgium became the centre of the Carolingian dynasty, and the
peace and order during this period fostered the growth of such
towns as Ghent, Bruges, and Brussels. Following the division of
Charlemagne's empire by the Treaty of Verdun in 843 the area became
part of Lotharingia (ruled by Charlemagne's grandson Lothair I).
A further division of the empire was made at the Partition of
Meersen in 870, by which Flanders and the western provinces went
to France, and the eastern provinces, including Brabant, went
to Germany.
By the 11th century seven feudal states had emerged: the counties
of Flanders, Hainaut, and Namur, the duchies of Brabant, Limburg,
and Luxembourg, and the bishopric of Li ège, all nominally subject
to the French kings or the German emperor, but in practice independent.
From the 12th century the economy flourished: Bruges, Ghent, and
Ypres became centres of the textile industry, while the artisans
of Dinant and Liège exploited the copper and tin of the Meuse
valley.
Flanders with its cities became one of the most important counties,
and had to struggle constantly against France to maintain its
independence. Indeed French interference in Flanders, because
it threatened the English wool trade, was one of the reasons the
English embarked on the Hundred Years' War. Towards the end of
the 14th century the line of Flemish counts became extinct, and
through the 15th century, through various marriages and by inheritance
or purchase, all the provinces of the Low Countries (modern Belgium,
Luxembourg, and the Netherlands) came into the hands of the dukes
of Burgundy. The centre of Burgundian power shifted to the Low
Countries, and industry and culture flourished (see Burgundy (ancient)).
Habsburg rule
In 1477 Mary, the daughter of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, married
Maximilian, the archduke of Austria, who later became Holy Roman
emperor as Maximilian I. In this way the Low Countries came into
the possession of the Habsburgs. The Low Countries were passed
on by Mary of Burgundy to her son, Philip, who married the daughter
of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. Dying before his father, Philip
left the Low Countries to his son, the future Emperor Charles
V, who also became king of Spain, and so began the connection
of the region (now referred to as the Spanish Netherlands) with
Spain that was to last until the signing of the Treaty of Utrecht
in 1713.
In the 16th century Protestantism took a hold in the Spanish
Netherlands, and the religious and secular tyranny of the ardently
Catholic Philip II of Spain led to a revolt, starting in 1568.
For a time it seemed as though the whole country would gain independence,
but the military and diplomatic successes of Alexander, Prince
of Parma (the Spanish governor), exacerbated the religious differences
of the rebels (many of whom remained Catholic). This enabled Parma
to regain the southern provinces, and the capture of Antwerp in
1585 ensured that the southern provinces (modern-day Belgium and
Luxembourg) remained under Spanish rule. The independence of the
northern part of the Netherlands as the Dutch Republic was recognized
by Spain in 1648.
In the later 17th century, during the wars of Louis XIV with
Spain, district after district was ceded to France. But the great
gains made by France in the Peace of Nijmegen (1678) were largely
restored by the Treaty of Ryswick (1697) (for more details of
this period, see France: history 1515-1815). By the Treaty of
Utrecht in 1713, which concluded the War of the Spanish Succession,
the Spanish Netherlands were ceded to Austria, where the Habsburgs
continued to rule.
During the century that followed, the fortunes of the Austrian
Netherlands underwent many vicissitudes. In the War of the Austrian
Succession (1740-48) they were overrun by France, but were restored
to Austria by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748. The Seven
Years' War (1756- 63) left them unmolested, and under Maria Theresa
they prospered. But when her son, Joseph II, the ` enlightened
despot´, began to rule alone after her death in 1780, he roused
anger by his reforms, which threatened the church and traditional
local privileges. In 1789 a middle- class-led revolt broke out
in the Austrian Netherlands that had to be subdued by an Austrian
army.
The Revolutionary and Napoleonic period
The revolt coincided with the outbreak of the French Revolution. The
young Austrian emperor, Francis II, declared war on France in
1792, hoping to reinstate the monarchy, but his armies were defeated
at Jemappes and Fleurus. France annexed the Austrian Netherlands,
and throughout the rest of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic period
they were an integral part of France, governed by the Code Napoléon.
Austria formally ceded the territories to France by the Treaty
of Campo- Formio (1797), dictated by Napoleon.
After Napoleon's abdication in 1814, the provinces again passed
to Austria, and were administered by an Austrian governor general.
But in 1815 at the Congress of Vienna they were united with Holland,
and William Frederick of Orange-Nassau (see Orange, House of)
became king of the Netherlands (that is, the modern Netherlands
and the modern Belgium) as William I in September 1815.
The creation of Belgium
The two communities had been separated for nearly two hundred years.
Religious differences had developed during the Eighty Years' War
(the wars of independence against the Spanish, 1568-1648), and
there were also linguistic differences between the Dutch and Flemish,
and the southern, French-speaking Walloons. Though the Belgians
prospered, discontent increased, engendered by suspicion that
the interests of the northern Protestant Dutch were being advanced.
This was particularly resented by the wealthy and powerful French-
speakers in the south.
When the revolution of 1830 was successful in Paris, there was
an uprising in the French-speaking south, focused especially on
Brussels and Li ège, and continuing disturbances and demands for
independence. At a congress of the five great powers held in London
it was agreed that the country of Belgium should be independent,
that it should be a constitutional monarchy, not a republic, and
that the Orange-Nassau family should be permanently excluded.
The election of Leopold of Saxe-Coburg (widower of Charlotte,
daughter of George IV of England) as King Leopold I was the signal
for a fresh Dutch invasion. The crisis was terminated in 1839
by the action of the great powers, who forced a settlement that
was in effect the Treaty of Twenty-four Articles, drawn up eight
years before. By its terms the neutrality of Belgium was guaranteed.
It was this treaty that became known as `the scrap of paper´ in
1914.
Belgium in the later 19th century
From 1839 to 1914 Belgium maintained its independent neutrality. From
about 1850 the Liberal Party began a series of reforms to reduce
the social power of the church, reforms that met with considerable
Catholic opposition. In 1878 the election of an anticlerical Liberal
government provoked a Catholic mobilization which culminated in
a decisive Catholic electoral victory in 1884. From then until
World War I Catholic governments ruled Belgium despite Liberal
and subsequently socialist opposition.
In the later 19th century the Belgian king Leopold II acquired
the Congo Free State (now the Democratic Republic of Congo; formerly
Zaire) as his personal fiefdom, and this was recognized by the
other European powers in 1885. Following an international outcry
over the appalling treatment of native labour, it came under the
administration of the Belgian government in 1908. Leopold II died
in 1909, and was succeeded by his nephew, Albert I.
Belgium in World War I
Although the majority of the Belgians relied on the 1839 treaty guaranteeing
Belgian neutrality, especially as it had been respected during
the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, it had been the policy of Leopold
II to make Belgium secure from invasion, and this policy was also
adopted by Albert. Their foresight proved justified when Belgium
was invaded by Germany on 3 August 1914, a violation of Belgian
neutrality that brought Britain into the war. The strategic aim
of the Germans was to outflank the main French defences in the
east by attacking France from the north. (For further details
of the causes of the war, and the course of events on the Western
Front, see World War I).
Liège was taken by the Germans after a 12-day siege, and the
Belgian army was driven back to Louvain, and then further back
to Antwerp. Louvain was looted. On 20 August a German army under
Gen Alexander von Kluck entered Brussels, while another army under
Gen Karl von Bü low subdued the fortress of Namur. The way to
France lay open, but the German army was harassed by the Belgians,
who were entrenched at Malines and Antwerp. On 10 October Antwerp
surrendered after a successful withdrawal of the army to the west,
and the whole of Belgium was occupied by the Germans save for
the small southwestern corner from Nieuport to Ypres. Gen Maurice
von Bissing was made governor.
After an initial reign of terror aimed at reducing the local
population into submission, the Germans attempted to restart industrial
production. Men who would not work for the benefit of the enemy
were deported, and from 1916 to 1917 nearly 150,000 men were sent
to work in Germany. When it was found in 1917 that the passive
resistance of the workers could not be broken, much of Belgian
industry was dismantled and many of the machines were transported
to Germany. One aim of von Bissing's policy was to divide Belgium
against itself by supporting the Flemish movement and to corrupt
the loyalty of the Dutch-speaking Flemings by setting them against
the dominant middle-class francophone Walloons. The German assumption
was that Belgium was an artificially created state without any
real national unity.
Meanwhile the remains of the Belgian army were stationed on
the extreme left of the Allied front, having withstood severe
fighting at the Battle of the Yser. They continued to fight independently
of France and Britain for the remainder of the war under the military
command of King Albert. A coalition government in exile operated
from the French port of Le Havre. After the fall of Antwerp the
coast towns of Zeebrugge and Ostend had fallen into German hands,
but in 1917 they were rendered ineffective as submarine bases
by some ships being sunk by a British squadron at the entrance
of the harbours, thus partially closing them.
Some of the bitterest fighting of World War I took place on
Belgian soil, particularly in the three battles of Ypres (1914,
1915, and 1917; see Ypres, Battles of). In the series of engagements
known as the Battle of Flanders (see Flanders, Battle of), fought
in September-November 1918, British, French and Belgian armies
under King Albert drove the Germans out of Belgian territory and
back into Germany.
The interwar period
The Treaty of Versailles after World War I gave Belgium the status
of a sovereign state, free to make what alliances it wished, and
the 1839 treaty guaranteeing Belgian neutrality was set aside.
The outcome of this was that Belgium contracted a defensive alliance
with France and Britain. Belgium also gained the district of Eupen-and-Malmédy
and the commune of Moresnet from Germany, thus adding 984 sq km/
380 sq mi of territory, which in 1925 were made part of the province
of Li ège. Belgium was also awarded League of Nations mandates
to govern the former German colonies of Rwanda and Burundi.
At the end of the German occupation Belgium was faced with an
enormous task of reconstruction. Parts of the country had been
badly damaged in the fighting, and much of Belgian industry had
been dismantled by the Germans. Inflation was a serious problem,
and there was a severe financial crisis in 1925-26, which the
country nevertheless weathered.
A conspicuous feature of Belgian politics after World War I
was the emerging power of the Socialist Party, which soon won
a large proportion of the working-class vote. This established
a tripartite system (Catholic, Socialist and Liberal) which remained
the dominant characteristic of Belgian politics for much of the
20th century. Universal manhood suffrage had been introduced in
1921 (although women did not get the vote until 1948). In 1925
the Socialists forced a general election, and gained such success
that in July 1925 a Socialist-Catholic coalition government was
formed. However, it was not until May 1938 that Paul-Henri Spaak
became Belgium's first Socialist premier.
In 1929 there was a crisis over the language problem - differences
between the Flemish-speaking and French-speaking populations rapidly
became a major cause of tension within Belgium. In 1930 the University
of Ghent was made Flemish, and provision was made for teaching
in schools to be given in the language prevalent in the district
concerned.
On 17 February 1934 King Albert was killed while rock-climbing
in the Ardennes and was succeeded by his son, Leopold III. The
latter's first wife, Queen Astrid, was killed in a motor accident
at Lake Lucerne on 29 August 1935.
The road to war
Since 1925 Belgium had placed its faith in the Locarno treaty (see
Locarno, Pact of) guaranteeing Germany's existing frontiers with
France and Belgium, and supported the policy of collective security.
In 1936, however, Germany's repudiation of the Locarno treaty
increased Belgian fears of another European war, fears increased
by the failure of the League of Nations to impose effective sanctions
against Italy after its invasion of Ethiopia.
As a consequence Belgium moved away from a faith in collective
security and towards a policy of isolationism, self-dependence,
and rigid neutrality. At the end of 1936, with the agreement of
Great Britain and France, Belgium was released from its Locarno
obligations, and at the same time received from the two powers
a unilateral promise of support in the event of aggression.
Some months later, on 13 October 1937, Germany also confirmed
the inviolability of Belgium, and undertook to respect Belgian
territory except in the event of Belgian participation in military
action directed against Germany. On 26 August 1939, five days
before the German invasion of Poland, the German ambassador to
Belgium repeated his country's assurances of respect for the integrity
of Belgium, and on the outbreak of war on 3 September Belgium
reaffirmed its strict neutrality.
Belgium in World War II
On 10 May 1940, before dawn, the German air force launched an attack
on selected airfields and centres of communication in Belgium.
Strategically, as in World War I, the German aim in invading Belgium
was to attack France from the north, where its defences were weaker
- particularly since the building of the Maginot Line.
King Leopold took over command of the army, and the Belgian
government ordered general mobilization and declared martial law.
On 28 May the Belgian army capitulated on King Leopold's orders,
but the Belgian premier, Hubert Pierlot, who had moved to France,
declared that Leopold's capitulation had no legal validity, and
that Belgium would continue the struggle on the side of the Allies.
This choice was ratified by an improvised meeting of the Belgian
parliament at the French town of Limoges on 31 May 1940. The Belgian
government decided after the defeat of France in June 1940 to
return to Belgium but was prevented from doing so by the king
and the Germans. After some months of indecision Pierlot and two
senior ministers moved to London where they established the government
in exile in December 1940. It was regarded as the legal government
of Belgium, not only by all the Allies, but also by neutral states.
Meanwhile the Germans confined King Leopold in Laeken Palace.
Some Belgians managed to escape to Britain to serve in the forces
there, or to find civilian employment, and throughout the war
there were a number of resistance movements within Belgium. Conversely
Flemish nationalists and some Fascist groups (notably the Rexists
led by Léon Degrelle) supported the Germans and formed collaborationist
military units. For more details on the fighting in Belgium during
the war, see World War II.
On 2 September 1944, following the Allied landings in Normandy
in June, British armoured units reached Tournai, the first Belgian
town to be liberated, and Brussels was freed on the following
day. Belgian forces cooperated with the British and US armies,
and by 3 November the whole of Belgium was liberated, following
the end of the final German resistance at Zeebrugge and south
of the River Scheldt. In April 1949 some minor frontier modifications
in Belgium's favour were made on the Belgian-German frontier.
The King Leopold affair
After the end of the war in May 1945, the issue of the return of King
Leopold III soon threatened to divide the country. In the final
stages of the war the Germans had removed the king and his family
to Germany, but once freed by the Allies he wished to resume his
functions. The resistance movement, which naturally was a strong
influence in the country, had become predominantly associated
with the left, and was opposed to the return of the king, who,
in the opinion of many, was associated with seeking an understanding
with the Germans. His second marriage in 1941 was also highly
unpopular.
In view of this hostility, therefore, the Belgian government
led by the Flemish socialist Achid Van Acker refused to take responsibility
for the return of the king. The country thus remained under the
regency of Prince Charles, the king's brother, who had been appointed
regent after the liberation of Belgium, when Leopold was still
in Germany.
In 1949 the Socialists lost control of the government, and in
1950 the Catholic-dominated Christian Social Party, committed
to support the king's return, held a referendum on the subject,
which produced a majority in favour of Leopold's restoration.
But it was not a large majority, and in the Walloon districts
more votes were cast against the return than for it. The regency
was ended, and Leopold returned to Belgium. Rioting and strikes
broke out and civil war and a possible division of the country
seemed imminent. In August 1950 Leopold finally and very reluctantly
agreed to delegate his powers to his eldest son, Baudouin. He
abdicated in July 1951, and Baudouin became king.
International affairs
Since 1945 Belgium has been a major force for international cooperation
in Europe, being a founding member of the Benelux Economic Union
in 1948, the Council of Europe, and the European Economic Community
(now the European Union), whose administrative headquarters are
in Brussels.
Belgium is also a member of NATO, whose international secretariat
and military headquarters (SHAEF) are based in the country. NATO
membership has sometimes brought about problems; between 1983
and 1985, for example, there was much debate about the siting
of US cruise missiles in Belgium before a majority vote in parliament
allowed their installation.
Belgium's handling of the independence process in its African
colonies in the early 1960s was poorly thought out. The Belgians
had resisted decolonization through the 1950s, but as nationalism
swept the continent they made hurried arrangements for granting
independence. The colonial administrations had done little to
prepare the Africans for self- government, had suppressed political
activity, and had done little to try to resolve the differences
between varied ethnic groupings. The result in the Congo was a
bloody civil war following independence, while the continuing
conflict between the Hutu and Tutsi peoples of Rwanda and Burundi
has led to many large-scale massacres.
Language divisions
Belgium has prospered greatly since the end of World War II. Cities
such as Antwerp and Ghent have been developed as industrial and
commercial centres, but increasing industrialization in Flanders
has led to population movements that have accentuated the latent
friction between Flemings and Walloons, and this has flared up
from time to time into intercommunal riots. The language division
has been aggravated by the political polarization between the
predominantly Catholic Flanders in the north and the mainly socialist
French-speaking Wallonia in the south.
About 55% of the population speak Flemish, 44% French, and a
small proportion German. Since the 1960s significant new immigrant
populations have also developed in the major cities. During 1971-73
attempts to close the linguistic and social divisions included
the transfer of greater power to the regions and linguistic parity
in the government. Separate regional councils and ministerial
committees were established in 1974. Nevertheless complicated
conflicts between Dutch and French speakers continued to dominate
Belgian politics in the 1970s and 1980s and it was eventually
agreed that Flanders and Wallonia should be administered by separate
regional assemblies, with powers to spend up to 10% of the national
budget on cultural facilities, health, roads, and urban projects.
Brussels was to be governed by a three-member executive. Throughout
much of the 1980s Belgian politics was dominated by the linguistic
issue. The government was led 1979-92 by a Flemish Catholic, Wilfried
Martens, who - working closely with King Baudouin - led a predominantly
centre-right government with the Liberals. Martens resigned after
the November 1991 elections, but was persuaded to carry on as
caretaker prime minister until March 1992 when, on the request
of the king, the deputy prime minister Jean-Luc Dehaene, also
a Flemish Catholic, formed a new coalition in alliance with the
Socialists.
A federal system
In September 1992 the government agreed, in principle, to introduce
a federal system of government, based on Flemish-speaking Flanders,
French-speaking Wallonia, and the national capital, Brussels.
In February 1993 the constitution was amended to allow for the
creation of a fully federal state. King Baudouin died suddenly
in July 1993 and was succeeded by his brother, Prince Albert of
Liège. Dehaene's centre- left coalition was reelected in 1995.
A series of scandals have beset Belgian politics in the 1990s.
The unexplained assassination of the prominent Socialist politician
André Cools in Liège and the enforced resignation of Willy Claes,
the Belgian secretary-general of NATO, after allegations of corruption,
rocked the credibility of Belgian politics. In 1996 the revelation
of a paedophile scandal surrounding a criminal named Marc Dutroux
led many Belgians to denounce what they perceived as the corruption
and incompetence of politicians and the police. Nevertheless Dehaene's
Catholic- Socialist coalition remained in office, concentrating
its efforts on the issues of European integration and regional
devolution.
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