VI.

History

Belgium derives its name from the Belgae, an ancient Celtic tribe. The Roman region of Gallia Belgica (Belgian Gaul) included modern Belgium, northern France, the Netherlands, and part of Switzerland. Rome’s successor in western Europe was the kingdom of the Franks, which originated in Belgian Gaul and expanded into Germany, eventually extending from the Pyrenees Mountains eastward across the Alps and southward as far as Rome itself. The Franks were led by Charlemagne, who united all of western Europe through conquest during his reign from 768 to 814. When the Frankish realm was partitioned in 843, Belgium was incorporated in the duchy of Lorraine, which was part of Francia Orientalis (the East Frankish Kingdom, or Germany). In the extreme west of this realm arose the county of Flanders, which was a fief of the kings of France. In 1384 Flanders was united with Burgundy, and by the mid-15th century the dukes of Burgundy ruled the greater part of the Belgian and Dutch Netherlands. While owing allegiance to the French Crown, Burgundy’s aim was to found a powerful state between France and Germany. This effort was disrupted by the death in 1477 of the last Burgundian ruler, Charles the Bold.

A.

Habsburg Rule

By the marriage in 1477 of Mary of Burgundy, daughter of Charles the Bold, to the German prince Maximilian (later Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I), all of the rich Burgundian realm except the duchy itself passed to the control of the Habsburg family. Maximilian’s grandson, Charles, inherited the Netherlands (which included present-day Belgium) in 1506. Charles ascended the throne of Spain in 1516 and later became Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. In 1549 he decreed that the Netherlands be formally joined to the possessions of Spain.

When Philip II of Spain, Charles’s successor, tried to suppress Protestantism and forbade all trade between his subjects and the outside world, he provoked a rebellion in the Netherlands that began in 1566. This upheaval was partly a religious and economic struggle and partly an attempt to preserve local traditions of self-government. Spanish armies were defeated, but the strife between the predominantly Catholic south and the Protestant north continued. In 1581 seven northern provinces (Gelderland, Friesland, Holland, Groningen, Overijssel, Utrecht, and Zeeland) declared their independence as the United Provinces of the Netherlands, while the southern provinces (Belgium) remained loyal to Spain.

Philip II continued to pursue reconquest of the north without success. In 1609, with neither side capable of a decisive victory, Philip III of Spain signed a 12-year truce with the rebels. By the time this accord expired, the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) was raging, and the Spanish Netherlands was once again a battleground. In 1635 the Dutch and French joined forces to divide the Spanish Netherlands, but could still not dislodge the Spaniards. A succession of Franco-Dutch victories finally forced the Spanish king, Philip IV, to accept a separate peace with the Dutch in 1648. The south, present-day Belgium and Luxembourg, remained a Spanish domain. By the Treaty of Münster, the Dutch gained some territory on their southern border, notably Maastricht, and Spain agreed to close off shipping from the River Schelde, which flowed through Dutch territory but which was Antwerp’s sole outlet to the sea. The great port city, a centre of commerce, thus entered a period of decline.

France, with a growing coalition of European powers, continued the war with Spain. Throughout his long reign the French king Louis XIV refused to abandon his quest for the Spanish Netherlands. By the Peace of the Pyrenees in 1659, France gained several frontier areas, and through subsequent conquests won possession of additional towns. The Spanish Netherlands became an important pawn in the next major European conflict, the War of the Spanish Succession. A settlement, known as the Peace of Utrecht (1713-1715), gave France part of Flanders, including Dunkerque and Lille. The bulk of the territory, however, became the Austrian Netherlands, with a stipulation that its fortresses on the French border be garrisoned by the Dutch.

During the War of the Austrian Succession in 1744, the country was occupied by the French, but it was restored to Austria by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748. Except for this invasion, Belgium’s Austrian era was initially peaceful. The tranquillity was disrupted in 1781 when the Austrian emperor, Joseph II, decided to raze the border fortresses and reopen the Schelde estuary. The Dutch mounted an effective blockade and again closed the river to trade. Then, in 1787, as part of his effort to centralize the administration of the far-flung Habsburg domains, Joseph abolished provincial autonomy in the Austrian Netherlands. The loss of local control led to a general uprising that coincided with the outbreak of the French Revolution. Most of the Austrian garrisons were forced to capitulate, and on January 11, 1790, a Belgian republic was proclaimed. Quarrels between social and religious factions shook the new state from the outset. Within a year of Joseph’s death in 1790, his successor, Leopold II, re-established control. A conciliatory and enlightened ruler, he revoked his predecessor’s decrees, but the new regime won little popular support. After Leopold was succeeded by Francis II in 1792, Austria became embroiled in war with the revolutionary government of France. Belgium was twice occupied by the French army, and the country was formally ceded to France by the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797.

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.

G.

Royal Controversy

On March 12, 1950, after more than a year of successive governmental crises brought on by the controversy over the king, the Belgian electorate went to the polls in an advisory plebiscite on the question of Leopold’s return. The return of the king from exile was favoured by 57.6 per cent of the voters. On July 20 the Belgian parliament ratified popular sentiment. During the following week strikes, demonstrations, and riots occurred in many urban areas, raising the possibility of a civil war. On August 1, after consultations with government and political leaders, Leopold agreed to assign his royal prerogatives to his son, Crown Prince Baudouin, and to abdicate the following year, when his son attained his majority. Leopold abdicated on July 16, 1951, and Baudouin was proclaimed King the next day.

H.

European Cooperation

The 1950s were marked by the concentrated effort of European leaders to effect a politico-economic union of the Western European nations. Taking an active role in this movement, Belgium—along with France, West Germany (now part of the United Federal Republic of Germany), Luxembourg, Italy, and the Netherlands—became a charter member of the European Coal and Steel Community in 1952. When France refused to ratify the treaty establishing the European Defence Community in 1954, Foreign Minister Paul Henri Spaak initiated the second “launching of Europe”. His efforts were instrumental in the founding, in 1957, of the European Economic Community. Brussels became the seat of its governing commission and much of its bureaucracy, reflecting the key role that Spaak played in shaping the new European order. That same year the nation became a member of the European Atomic Energy Community. Belgium has greatly benefited since from its membership and key role in these supranational organizations.

I.

Crises of Empire and Nation

In 1960 uprisings in the Belgian Congo forced Belgium to withdraw from its African empire. On June 30, 1960, King Baudouin proclaimed the independence of the colony (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). In 1962 the Belgian-administered UN trust territory of Ruanda-Urundi achieved independence as two states, Rwanda and Burundi.

Within Belgium, the long-standing rivalry between Flemings and Walloons frequently erupted into riots during the 1960s. A government settlement effected in September 1963 changed the official language boundaries, but the problem was not that easily solved. In January 1968 clashes between Walloons and Flemings led to the collapse of the government. The Christian Social leader, Gaston Eyskens, formed a coalition with the Socialists in June. The coalition retained its majority in 1971, but the Cabinet resigned in November 1972. A three-party coalition under Socialist leadership followed, but, weakened by linguistic and cultural tensions, it fell in January 1974. After elections in March, the Christian Social leader, Léo Tindemans, formed a coalition with the Liberals and the Rassemblement Wallon. He held office until February 1977 despite an economic recession. Elections followed in April, but the results made the formation of a new government impossible until an agreement was reached providing for greater regional autonomy. That agreement was rejected by parliament, and new elections in December 1978 proved inconclusive.

In the 1980s the Christian Social parties formed the Cabinets, usually under the leadership of Wilfried Martens. He formed his eighth government in 1988, and in January 1989 parliament passed a devolution bill designed to transfer power from the central government to the three ethnolinguistic regions (see Language above). Implementation of this law moved slowly, and the November 1991 elections resulted in a reduced plurality for the Christian Socialists. Martens resigned as party leader, and his successor, Jean-Luc Dehaene, formed a new centre-left government in March 1992. Belgium moved to support increased economic and political cooperation in Europe by ratifying the Maastricht Treaty on European union in the autumn of 1992. In May 1993 Belgium completed the devolution process, officially becoming a federal country with three regions, or states. King Baudouin died on July 31, 1993, and was succeeded by his brother Albert II.

In 1994 the death of the president of Rwanda in a plane crash sparked off a bloody civil war between the Tutsi and Hutu tribes in which possibly 1 million people died. Belgian troops figured prominently in initial UN attempts to end the fighting.

Following a general election in May 1995, Jean-Luc Dehaene’s coalition government was returned to office. In October 1995 the Chamber of Representatives voted to remove the parliamentary immunity of Willi Claes, the Belgian Secretary-General of NATO and former deputy prime minister, to allow his prosecution on corruption charges relating to bribes he allegedly received in the 1980s from the Italian helicopter company Agusta. In a contentious ruling, the supreme Belgian military court decided in March 1996 that Irma Laplasse, a wartime collaborator whose cause had been taken up by Flemish nationalists, had been wrongly executed for treason in 1948. Facing a worsening deficit crisis and strong trade union opposition, the government received in May 1996 powers to introduce economic austerity measures and social security reforms by decree.

The investigation in August of organized paedophile activity caused widespread concern that the judicial system was in need of reform and that the perpetrators of the crimes had received police protection. The scope of the investigations resulted in the arrest in October of the suspected assassins of André Cools, the former deputy prime minister, who had been shot dead in 1991. The paedophile investigation widened further in November when it was confirmed that the deputy prime minister, Elio di Rupo, was alleged to have had some involvement; the allegations were found to be without foundation in December. In late January and early February 1997 anti-government demonstrations took place in Brussels and Tubize, sparked by growing resentment of policies to cut public expenditure and by the closure of the steelworks at Tubize.

Former deputy prime minister and former leader of the Walloon Socialist Party (PS) Guy Spitaels was indicted on bribery charges in March 1997. The charges related to allegations that the PS had accepted illegal payments from the Dassault aviation group in return for favour in awarding government contracts. The parliamentary committee established in October 1996 to investigate the paedophile murders that had caused widespread shock and anger in the country presented its report in April. While it accused the police and judiciary of gross incompetence, it found no evidence of the “high level protection” that had been alleged to involve some of those in positions of authority, and which had provoked widespread public anger, culminating in the White March, a mass demonstration of 250,000 people in Brussels in October. Doubts were cast over the future of the investigation in June, when a former member of the commission revealed details of evidence given, and opinions within the commission. The justice minister and the interior minister both resigned in April 1998, in the wake of the government crisis following the brief escape from custody of Marc Dutroux, the chief suspect in the child murder scandal. Prime Minister Dehaene survived a subsequent vote of confidence by 81 votes to 64.

Belgium's centre-left coalition government suffered a major defeat in parliamentary elections in June 1999, which was widely attributed to rising public anger over a food contamination scandal. In late May the government revealed that a wide variety of Belgian foodstuffs might have been contaminated by the cancer-causing chemical, dioxin. Officials reportedly allowed more than a month to pass before warning the public about potential health hazards. A coalition government led by centre-right Liberal parties took office on July 12, 1999. The new government included the left-leaning Socialist parties and the environmentalist Green parties. Its formation marked the first time since 1958 that Christian Democrat parties were excluded from national government. Guy Verhofstadt, leader of the Flemish Liberals, was sworn in as Belgium's new prime minister.

In local elections held in October 2000 a far-right-wing party, Vlaams Blok, which wanted independence for the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders and an end to all immigration, achieved significant gains. In 2001 the government decriminalized the use of cannabis as in other Western nations, namely the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. As part of Belgium’s commitment to the single European currency, Euro notes and coins were adopted in January 2002.

In a highly significant move, in February 2002, the government formally apologized for its part in the death of Patrice Lumumba, president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Belgium’s former colony, in 1961. The government expressed its “sincere regrets” at the killing, and accepted “moral responsibility” for his death and issued an apology to his family and the Congolese people. The government also set up a fund in Lumumba’s name.

A suit brought by Palestinians, under Belgium’s “universal jurisdiction” law, to prosecute Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon for involvement in war crimes concerning the massacres of Palestinians by Lebanese Christians at the Shatila and Sabre refugee camps in 1982 was given a provisional go-ahead by the Belgian courts. Under the ruling, Sharon was liable to face prosecution once he left office. He was the most high profile of a number of world leaders who faced similar action under Belgium’s 1993 law. The legislation was dropped in August 2003.

Prime Minister Verhofstadt called a general election for May 18, 2003; his party secured 25 seats and with the support of the French and Flemish Socialists parties (with 25 and 23 seats respectively) seemed set to secure his second coalition government. In the following year’s European elections the 24 seats were won by a total of 10 different parties.

In what was termed the “trial of the century” Marc Dutroux was convicted in June 2004 of kidnapping and raping six girls and murdering four of them. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. In November 2004 the Vlaams Blok political party was declared racist and subsequently disbanded. In the general election held in June 2007 the ruling coalition suffered significant losses, with the Flemish Liberal Democrats gaining just 18 seats, one more than Vlaams Belang the successor party to Vlaams Blok and 12 fewer than the Flemish Christian Democrats, the biggest winners. Verhoftstadt tendered his resignation after the defeat. The Flemish Christian Democrat leader Yves Leterme, in favour of greater autonomy for the regions, was expected to form Belgium’s next ruling coalition as prime minister but inter-party wrangling over devolution issues led to a political impasse that lasted nine months. Verhofstadt was re-sworn in as caretaker prime minister while negotiations continued. Finally, in March 2008, Leterme was sworn in as prime minister. The government was backed in a confidence vote the same month. Proposals for constitutional reform to try to end the political deadlock surrounding devolution were set for July 2008.