Belgium History

Some Celtic tribes had already settled in present-day Belgium when the Roman army arrived and put the region under Roman rule in 57 BC.  By the 6th century AD, after the decline of the Roman Empire, a German tribe, the Franks, gained control of a large part of western Europe, including Belgium.

The land changed hands a few times until the Frankish king Charlemagne came to the throne in 768 AD, who expanded his empire across most of Europe and was crowned emperor of the Holy Roman Empire by the pope in 800 AD.  Upon his death about 50 years later, his empire was split among his three grandsons, one of whom, Lothair, took the territory which included most of present-day Belgium. 

The northern part of the territory became the Flanders region which was Germanic-Frankish-speaking, whereas in the south near France the people continued to speak some form of Latin.  In the next few hundred years, a number of cities were establishedin Flanders by the independent-minded local aristocrats, including the cities of Ghent, Ypres, Bruges and Brussels.  In 1384, Burgundy took control of Flanders and much of the rest of Belgium later.  Trade flourished under Burgundy rule. 

When the Protestant movement arose in the mid 16th century in Europe, there was a struggle between the Flanders which were largely Protestants by then and the Catholics, championed by the Spanish king Philip II, who sent an army to suppress the Flanders.  The Spanish had difficulty maintaining control for long and in time, Flanders then became more Protestant and Germanic, whereas the southern region of Belgium remained Catholic and controlled by the Spanish.

By 1650s, Spain was in decline which coincided with the rising power of France’s Louis XIV, who had ambition on Belgium and beyond.  This was resisted by the other European powers.  Eventually through wars and marriage, Belgium came to be ruled by the Hapsburgs in1713, then the French in 1795 until the end of the Napoleonic period, and in 1815 Belgium was given by the Congress of Vienna  to the Dutch.  In 1830, the Belgium population revolted against Dutch rule and the next year, it was recognised as an independent country ruled by a constitutional monarch.

Because of its historical development, Belgium has three regions: the Dutch-speaking Flanders in the north, and the French-speaking Wallonia in the south, and Brussels (which is also bilingually split into Flemish and Wallons).  In 1994, the Belgian constitution was changed to form a federation, giving more autonomy to the regions.