Belgium »

Belgium »
Belgium

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Belgium occupies part of the Roman province of Belgica, named after the Belgae, a people of ancient Gaul. During the wars that followed the French Revolution, Belgium was occupied and later annexed to France. But with the downfall of Napoléon, the Congress of Vienna in 1815 reunited the Low Countries under the rule of the king of Holland. In 1830, Belgium rebelled against Dutch rule and declared independence.

Germany’s invasion of Belgium in 1914 set off World War I.  In World War II, Belgium was overwhelmed by Nazi Germany, and King Leopold III was held prisoner. When he returned at the government’s invitation in 1950 after a narrowly favorable referendum, riots broke out in several cities. He abdicated on July 16, 1951, and his son, Baudouin, became king. Because of growing opposition to Belgian rule in its African colonies, Belgium granted independence to the Congo (now Democratic Republic of the Congo) in 1960 and to Ruanda-Urundi (now the nations of Rwanda and Burundi) in 1962.

Since 1958, when the European Economic Community was born, Brussels, the country’s capital, has gradually established itself as the de facto capital of what has now become the European Union (EU), a role that became official in Dec. 2000 when the European Council of heads of government decided to hold all its regular meetings in Brussels. Growing divisions between Flemings and Walloons, and devolution along linguistic lines, culminated in the revised constitution of 1994, which turned Belgium into a federal state with significant autonomy for its three regions and its three language “communities.

Capital City: Brussels (Bruxelles)

Population: 10.4 million (est. 2012)

Currency: Euro (€)

Official Languages: French and Flemish

Ethnicity/ race: Fleming 58%, Walloon 31%, mixed or other 11%

Religion: 75% – Roman Catholic; 25% – other (includes Protestant)

3 Interesting facts:

  1. Belgium makes over 1000 types of beer; it shouldn’t come as a surprise then that Belgians consume over 150 litres of beer per person, per year.
  2. Both euthanasia and gay marriages have both have been legalized in Belgium in 2002 and 2003 respectively.
  3. The comic strip Tintin originated in Belgium and has been in existence for over 85 years with 200 million books sold worldwide.

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