Belgium

B

French and Dutch Rule

The regime installed by the French was generally unpopular, but Belgium profited from French rule. It expanded in area after France conquered the prosperous city of Liège and annexed it to Belgian territory; it benefited economically after the French opened the River Schelde to shipping, leading to a revival of Antwerp as a centre of commerce. New markets were also opened for local industry.

In 1814 the country was occupied by armies of the nations ranged against Napoleon Bonaparte; the following year the Battle of Waterloo, the last great battle of the Napoleonic Wars, was fought on Belgian soil.

The peace settlement adopted at the Congress of Vienna in 1815 again united Belgium and the Netherlands, this time under a Dutch king, William I. Catholic Belgium, however, did not want a Protestant ruler, even though the country prospered under the Dutch. The outbreak of a revolution in France in July 1830 inspired a Belgian uprising in August. Dutch troops were driven from Brussels, and on October 4 a unique coalition of Catholics and Liberals proclaimed Belgian independence. The great powers—Austria, France, Britain, Prussia, and Russia—accepted Belgian independence, despite Dutch refusal to acquiesce.

C

Independence and Neutrality

The Belgians drew up a constitution providing for a bicameral legislature elected by male property-owners and a king whose executive acts had to be countersigned by a responsible minister. They chose as their monarch Leopold I of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. He was a model constitutional monarch whose political skills enabled him to wield considerable power at home, and to become an influential figure among Europe’s rulers. The Dutch finally agreed to recognize Belgium in 1839 and a peace treaty was signed. In the settlement, half of Luxembourg became a Belgian province, while the Dutch were awarded nominal control of the remainder of the Grand Duchy, as well as Limburg east of the Meuse. In its most important provision, the European powers confirmed Belgium as an “independent and perpetually neutral state”.

Even after the internal alliance of Catholics and anti-clerical Liberals disintegrated, Belgian constitutionalism survived. The economic decline that followed the separation from Dutch markets was halted by Europe’s first national programme of railway construction, which connected all major Belgian towns by 1840. Belgium had become politically and economically viable by 1865, when Leopold I died and was succeeded by his son.

Under Leopold II, Belgium faced many domestic problems. Liberals and Catholics fought over control of education, finally agreeing to let local governments decide whether or not to subsidize parochial schools. By the 1880s industrialization and population density—the greatest in Europe—had produced appalling living conditions in the cities. As the rural labour force shrank and the number of people engaged in industry tripled, the government enacted legislation to improve housing and working conditions. The workers, who still could not vote, began organizing to obtain political equality. An 1893 general strike forced parliament to institute universal adult male suffrage, modified to give more than one vote to university graduates, men over the age of 50, and property-owners.

Another domestic problem was the lack of a common language. The country’s inhabitants were divided between Dutch-speaking Flemings in Antwerp, East and West Flanders, and Limburg, and French-speaking Walloons in the remaining provinces. The province of Brabant, which includes Brussels, contained speakers of both languages. Flemings outnumbered Walloons, but French was the language of the upper classes, who controlled much of Belgium’s wealth. Thus, Walloon interests were disproportionately represented in the government. The expansion of suffrage began to redress this imbalance, forcing the government to accord equality to both languages when transacting official business.

Early in his reign Leopold II personally financed an expedition up the River Congo and at the Berlin Conference of 1885 he was recognized as sovereign of the Congo Free State. After 1900, however, reports of mistreatment of the native Africans outraged Belgian public opinion and led to legislation in 1908 transferring control of this royal enterprise to the State.

As the outbreak of war seemed imminent in Europe, Belgium’s neutral status caused a domestic controversy over the military budget. Advocates of preparedness opposed those who believed that the nation’s neutrality rendered most armaments unnecessary. In 1909, when Albert ascended the throne—his reign lasted until 1934—he warned that the army was not strong enough to defend the country. The Catholic-led government used an electoral victory in 1912 to increase draft quotas, over the opposition of Liberals and Socialists.

D

World War I

On August 4, 1914, one week after the war began, German troops crossed the frontier into Belgium, ignoring its neutral status. The government resisted invasion and appealed to France, Britain, and Russia for aid. The Belgian army put up a heroic defence against overpowering forces; for four years its troops held on to a sliver of Belgian territory between the River Yser and the French border. The Germans, meanwhile, carried on a ruthless occupation of Belgium, confiscating property and deporting civilians. Although they attempted to capitalize on language divisions by establishing separate Flemish and Walloon administrations, only a small minority of Flemings collaborated with the invaders. A million Belgians fled the country. As the war dragged on, more than 80,000 Belgian soldiers and civilians died.

The major Allied offensive that began on September 28, 1918, liberated the entire Belgian coast and led the Germans to agree to an armistice and to withdrawal on the Allies’ terms. The shooting war was finally over. Under the Treaty of Versailles, Germany ceded Eupen, Malmédy, and Moresnet to Belgium, adding 989.3 sq km (382 sq mi) and some 64,500 inhabitants to the kingdom.

Belgium was faced with the task of rebuilding the devastated areas. Although the damage was enormous, the country made a remarkable recovery. The introduction of unqualified adult male suffrage after the war increased the following of the Socialists, who now supplanted the Liberals as the major political rival of the Catholics. Meanwhile, Belgium abandoned neutrality and in 1920 signed a military alliance with France. In 1925 it became a party to the Locarno treaties, in which Britain, France, Germany, and Italy affirmed Belgium’s territorial inviolability.

E

World War II

In 1936, after France failed to oppose German remilitarization of the Rhineland, Belgium again returned to neutrality with the understanding that Britain and France would assist in its defence against foreign aggression. Nevertheless, Belgium was attacked for a second time by Germany on May 10, 1940. Without warning or ultimatum, Belgian airfields, railway stations, and communications centres were bombed by German planes, and German armoured units rolled across the border. The army and the French and British troops that came to Belgium’s aid were overwhelmed by the superiority of the invading forces. By May 26 the Allies were pushed into a narrow beachhead around Dunkerque, France, near the Belgian border. King Leopold III surrendered his remaining forces unconditionally on May 28 and was taken prisoner. The Belgian Cabinet, which had fled to Paris, refused to acknowledge defeat, declaring the King’s surrender “illegal and unconstitutional”. On May 30 the ministers voted to divest Leopold III of all powers and of the right to rule, a decision supported by the Belgian parliament. After the fall of France, the Belgian government moved to London; it returned to Brussels on September 8, 1944. Later that month parliament elected Leopold’s brother, Prince Charles, as regent.

F

Post-War Belgium

Although Belgium was in better economic condition after World War II than after World War I, it was politically disorganized because of a conflict between the Christian Social (CVP) Party and the coalition of Liberals, Socialists, and Communists. Intensifying the political struggle was the question concerning King Leopold III, who had remained in Austria awaiting determination of his future. Despite pressure from the CVP Party (now strengthened by the enfranchisement of women), which favoured the return of the king, the Belgian parliament in the summer of 1945 extended indefinitely the regency of Prince Charles, virtually exiling the king because of his alleged defeatism in 1940. While the struggle for political control continued, Belgium regained much of its former position as one of the world’s great trading nations.

Belgium joined the UN as a charter member on June 26, 1945, and gave consistent support to the other Western member nations during the so-called Cold War with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and the states within the Soviet sphere of influence. Belgium was similarly cooperative towards the efforts of the democratic countries to accomplish economic recovery and to erect safeguards against communist aggression. In April 1949 Belgium joined NATO.