BELGIUM 



671 



BELGIUM 



BELGIUM UNDER THE ROMANS 



First conquered by Julius Caesar, 57-52 B. C., 

 about five hundred years. 



under Spanish rule. This Spanish domination 

 was far from favorable to the progress of the 

 country, for industry was stifled and many of 

 the most enterprising citizens left for other 

 countries. In 1598 Philip II of Spain made 

 Belgium a separate state under the rule of his 

 daughter Isabel and her husband, the Archduke 

 Alfred, and during its brief period of inde- 

 pendence the country prospered. On the death 

 of Albert without heirs in 1621, Belgium re- 

 verted to Spain, and from that time on was 

 known as the Spanish Netherlands. 



For many years Belgium was in a most un- 

 fortunate position. Spain, which was steadily 

 declining in power, was continually at war 

 with France, and of many of these struggles 

 Belgium was the battle ground. Belgian terri- 

 tory, too, was constantly changing hands, as 

 one or another of the countries was victorious. 

 Naturally, this troubled condition made in- 

 ternal prosperity and progress impossible. In 

 1713 the War of the Spanish Succession was 

 closed by the Treaty of Utrecht, by the terms 

 of which Belgium passed to Austria (see SUC- 

 CESSION WARS). The exhausted country did 

 not immediately recover from the effects of 

 Spanish misrule, but during the governorship 

 of Charles of Lorraine, brother-in-law of Maria 

 Theresa, which lasted from 1741 to 1780, it 



it remained a part of the Roman Empire for 



became really prosperous. For a few years 

 during this period France gained control of 

 almost all Belgium, which was, however, re- 

 stored to Austria in 1748 by the Treaty of Aix- 

 la-Chapelle. 



Independence Achieved. During the French 

 Revolution and the Napoleonic era the Nether- 

 lands fell into French hands, and in the re- 

 adjustment of European affairs which took 

 place at the Congress of Vienna (1815) Bel- 

 gium and Holland were united as a single 

 state. The old differences seemed to have 

 increased rather than diminished, and the Bel- 

 gians particularly objected to the union because 

 more concessions were made to the Dutch than 

 to them. In 1830, therefore, when the spirit 

 of revolution was strong in Europe, Belgium 

 revolted and set up an independent govern- 

 ment, choosing as king a son of Louis Philippe, 

 the King of France. He declined, and Prince 

 Leopold of Saxe-Coburg was elected king in 

 1831 as Leopold I. His policies were wise, and 

 the new state prospered, passing without up- 

 heaval through the revolutionary period of 

 1848. Leopold II came to the throne in 1865, 

 and won for himself a place in history by his 

 part in founding the Congo Free State. At his 

 death in 1909 he was succeeded by his nephew, 

 Albert, a man of serious purpose and progress- 



