A Quick History of Belgium Trivia Quiz

The Belgae, a confederation of four Celtic tribes, were called the "bravest of the Gauls" by Julius Caesar in his "Commentaries on the Gallic Wars". Caesar attributed this to the fact that the Belgae were far from the "civilizing" influence of Roman culture, and they waged continual warfare with the Germanic tribes along the Rhine River.

The Roman province of Gallia Belgica, like most of Roman Gaul, was overrun by the Frankish and Burgundian tribes in the late 4th and early 5th centuries CE. These conquerors set up their own kingdoms, which evolved into the modern countries of France, Belgium, and Luxembourg after the collapse of the Roman Empire.

The area now known as Belgium was part of the Carolingian lands, which were divided in 843 CE by the Treaty of Verdun into three separate states. Another treaty, that of Ribemont in 880 CE, made these lands part of the Holy Roman Empire. The Dutch provinces became independent in 1648 CE, while Belgium remained part of the Empire until annexed by France in 1794 CE.

The County of Flanders, which was not included in the lands that became part of the Holy Roman Empire, was instead attached to France in the early Middle Ages. The woolen cloth and dying industries throve in Flanders due to the province's location along the main European trading routes for wool and the patronage of the local rulers, which gave it enough wealth to hold off the demands of the French king, at least for a short time.

In the 1460s CE, the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, united Flanders, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium into a single political entity to create a power that rivaled that of the French kings. Charles was not successful in challenging the power of the French, and upon his death in 1477 CE the territories became the property of the Spanish branch of the Habsburg dynasty, and were then known as the Spanish Netherlands.

The Eighty Years War began in 1568 CE and lasted, with periods of truce, until 1648 CE. The Dutch provinces won their independence from Spain, but Belgium and Luxembourg continued to be ruled by the Spanish Habsburgs until 1706 CE and then the Austrian Habsburgs until the French took over in 1794 CE.

On June 18,1815, the French forces of Napoleon fought against a coalition of British, German, and Dutch troops near the Belgian town of Waterloo. After escaping from exile on the island of Elba in March 1815, Napoleon landed in France and raised a new army. A coalition of Britain, Prussia, Austria, Russia, and several smaller nations set out to invade France and stop him.

The coalition forces would take time to gather, and only the British, Dutch, and Prussian armies were ready by June of 1815. Napoleon headed north into Belgium to defeat these forces before the Russians and Austrians were ready. Napoleon was defeated and subsequently exiled to the island of St. Helena, ending almost twenty years of warfare.

After the Battle of Waterloo, the Congress of Vienna created the United Kingdom of The Netherlands, encompassing Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Dutch provinces under King William I of Orange. Tensions between Belgian Catholics and Dutch Protestants, among other issues, led to the Belgian Revolution of 1830.

The army, made up of recruits from both the Dutch and Belgian provinces, fragmented, and the Dutch withdrew from Belgium. Independence was declared on September 27, 1830. A German prince, Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, was chosen as King Leopold I, taking the throne on July 21, 1831. The Dutch tried to regain control of Belgium in August, 1831, but were stopped by French troops within ten days. Belgian independence was finally recognized in April, 1839.

In accordance with the German Schlieffen Plan, Belgium was invaded by Germany in the early stages of World War I to outflank French defenses. Most of the country was overrun, but the Belgians hung on to the area around Ypres until the end of the conflict.

The Ypres area was the scene of many fierce battles, but remained in Allied hands. Belgium gained the German speaking districts of Eupen and Malmedy at the end of the war.

Belgium was attacked by German forces on May 10, 1940. King Leopold III surrendered on May 28. Leopold remained head of the government until June 7, 1944, after the Allied landings in Normandy, when he was sent to Germany. The Western Allies began the liberation of Belgium in 1944, but German troops remained in some parts of the country until February, 1945.

The Battle of the Bulge and the Battle of the Scheldt were both fought in Belgium in 1944 as Allied forces fought to liberate the country. After the war, there was a question of whether Leopold III would return as King in light of his collaboration with the Germans during the war, but he was re-installed after a referendum in 1950, reinstating the parliamentary democracy. Belgium was a leader in the negotiations that led to the establishment of the European Union and NATO and remains a key member of both organizations.