The national borders of Belgium

[timbaly]

When and why was Belgium made a nation of its own. Why aren't the Flemish and Dutch living under one country? Why aren't the French and Waloons living under one country? I can understand why they wouldn't want to join the French or Dutch country now. Ever since WWI when Germany invaded Belgium and can image that national unity was formed since both Walloons and Flemish opposed the Germans. But how unified was the country before that war?

[canikickit]

Interesting question, but you could say it about a great many nation-states, so I don't really know where it is coming from.

Belguim became a country in it's own right in the 1830s when it gained independance from the Netherlands.

http://www.worldrover.com/history/belgium_history.html

This should be a better link:

http://www.google.ie/search?q=cache:fbOPXK...ang_en&ie=UTF-8 (http://www.google.ie/search?q=cache:fbOPXKRXEeUJ:www.unc.edu/~hooghe/downloads/princeton_final%2520draft.doc+%22belgian+unity%22+ prior+to+world+war+one&hl=en&lr=lang_en&ie=UTF-8)

[Finality]

It was roughly the area known as the Austrian Netherlands before the Napoleonic Wars. After peace was signed, the territory was given to the United Provinces in order to strengthen it in case of another French invasion. However, IIRC, there was an uprising and the former Austrian Netherlands was divided up into Luxembourg and Belgium.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

[Severian]

To some extent it goes back further, to the Dutch war of independence against Spain...Belgium is more or less the areas that did not become independent in that war, I think. To some extent the areas that were majority-Catholic at the time. (Dutch independence was related to the Protestant Reformation.)

[Finality]

Originally posted by [email protected] 27 2003, 04:03 AM
To some extent it goes back further, to the Dutch war of independence against Spain...Belgium is more or less the areas that did not become independent in that war, I think. To some extent the areas that were majority-Catholic at the time. (Dutch independence was related to the Protestant Reformation.)
Well yes, but those areas also eventually became Austrian after the War of Spanish Succession IIRC.

[timbaly]

Interesting question, but you could say it about a great many nation-states, so I don't really know where it is coming from. - canikickit

Your absolutely right, Canada has dual languages and cultures and many African nations have a great many more than 2 different cultural groups but I just knew very little of Belgium's situation. So that is why this thread focuses on Beligium in general.