Flag of Belgium. The colours are based on the flags of Flanders and Brabant, the two largest historic regions of Belgium.
Map of Belgium showing the linguistic regions. The German speaking part was ceded by the German Empire in 1918.
History
The area now known as Belgium was known as Gallia Belgica to the Romans, and was at that time inhabited by a mix of Celts (Gauls) and Germanic Franks. After the fall of the Romam Empire it became part of the Frankish Empire, and a language border between Germanic and Latin languages evolved exactly where Belgium and Northern France are today.
After a series of partitions of the Frankish Empire in the 9th and 10th centuries most of Belgium became part of the Holy Roman Empire, with the exception of Flanders which was part of the Kingdom of France. In reality the Low Countries were ruled by local counts and bishops in a feudal system where they rented the land from the emperor in return for taxes and protection.
Burgundian and Spanish Netherlands (1384-1714)
Through marriages, conquests and acquisitions the Low Countries were united under the Dukes of Burgundy from 1384, and the House of Habsburg inherited it in 1482. Because the Habsburgs also gained the title King of Spain in 1515 these became the Spanish Netherlands. The northern part broke away in 1581 with the Dutch Revolt starting in 1568, leaving the southern part as the remainder that eventually became the modern country of Belgium. The Dutch rebels initially attempted to regain the Flemish and Brabantian territories that joined the rebellion, but only conquered some northern parts and settled for peace in 1648.
The Spanish Netherlands were left with a northern Dutch speaking part and a southern Walloon and French speaking part, but in those days the concept of nation states was hardly known. Through multiple French invasions the Spanish ceded some territories, including parts of French Flanders where Flemish was spoken more than French.
Austrian Netherlands (1714-1794)
The Austrians took over this part of Europe following the War of Spanish Succession (1700-1714), but the French still claimed it. The Dutch Republic, supported by England, used the Austrian Netherlands as a buffer state. Even though France easily conquered it during the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748) it was returned to Austria by King Louis XV. Inspired by the French Revolution, the Belgians revolted against Habsburg rule establishing the short-lived United States of Belgium in 1790. But in 1794 a French Revolutionary ended the existence of the Austrian Netherlands, annexing the area to France.
Road to independence (1830)
Following the defeat of Napoleon in 1814, the Austrian Netherlands were made part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands at the Congress of Vienna (1815). Despite attempts to integrate the former Southern Netherlands economically, the Belgians revolted in 1830. The Dutch intervened to quell the rebellion but did not want to risk war with France (Prussia, though sympathetic to the Dutch cause, was at that time not willing to risk a war with France either), and thus accepted Belgian souvereignity in 1839.
Kingdom of Belgium (1830-date)
Belgium became a kingdom under Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, who accepted the title refusing to become King of Greece. The choice for Leopold was backed by the British who did not want France to become too influential. He was married to the daughter of King George IV of England.
Language dispute
The new state had to manage two languages within its borders which was a consequence of its history. In 1648 the Dutch settled for peace as Flanders had lost its economic importance in favour of Dutch cities. The Dutch also viewed the Southern Netherlands as a convenient buffer state against French invasions. The French did indeed annex parts of this Habsburg territory, but never totally or returned it in 1748. And the Congress of Vienna was not in favour of granting Wallonia to France in 1815, but awarded it to the new Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Ever since separatist forces have been active in Belgium, most notably in Flanders, but it never became a really serious option. A tiny minority favours a union of Flanders with the Netherlands. Wallonian sentiment has mostly been pro-union. With the European integration and disappearing of borders these issues only remain in some political decisions, but are also becoming for some an obsolete relic of the past.
French was made the official language in 1830, and it would take until the 20th century before Flemish, which in written form is equal to Dutch, would receive an equal status.
Belgian Congo (1885-1960)
At the Congress of Berlin (1885) King Leopold II was awarded Belgian Congo, whi he exploited as a personal company leading to the death and suffering of millions of Congolese. International outrage convinced the Belgian government to intervene in 1907, when it became known as Belgian Congo. During WW1 the German East African region of Rwanda-Urundi was annexed to Belgian Congo. In 1960 Congo, Rwanda and Burundi became independent countries.
World War 1
Belgium preferred neutrality during WW1 but was nevertheless invaded by the German Empire in 1914. The country suffered a lot from the fighting itself and also from the oppressive occupation authorities. It also led to the awakening of the Flemish movement who criticised the French-speaking officers who were often misunderstood by Flemish soldiers leading to many accidents. After WW1 Belgium was awarded a small strip of German land in the east, which is still home to the Belgium's tiny German-speaking community.
World War 2
Belgium was again invaded by Germany in 1940. King Leopold III surrendered after 18 days without consulting anyone, a highly controversial decision which would result in his younger brother Charles becoming regent in 1944 and Leopold abdicating in 1951. He remained in Belgium during the occupation, adding to the controversy. Leopold III is however also credited with saving Belgians from forced labour. Allied troops liberated most of Belgium in 1944.
After World War 2
Leopold III was declared unfit to rule after the liberation of Belgium. His younger brother Charles became regent in a period that is known as the Royal Question. Leopold was allowed to return after a plebiscite in 1950, but abdicated in favour of his son Baudouin in 1951.
Belgium became one on the founding members of the European Economic Community in 1957. Its capital Brussels also serves as the unofficial capital of the European Union. Besides a large number of EU institutions Brussels is also the location of NATO headquarters.
The bilingual situation in Belgium resulted in the federalisation of its political institutions. The country has a national government and 3 regional governments, representing Dutch-speaking Flanders, French-speaking Wallonia and the capital Brussels, which is effectively a French-speaking enclave (although very international) surrounded by Flemish suburbs.
The economic differences between Flanders and Wallonia have inverted since the 19th century. Where previously the Wallonian coal and steel industry dominated, it was the development of modern industries and the port of Antwerp that caused Flanders to become the economic powerhouse of Belgium. These economic differences have fed separatism between the two regions but the country is still together. Ongoing globalisation and European integration has reduced the need for splitting up the country. Instead, it looks like Flanders is becoming more and more culturally integrated with adjacent Dutch regions and Wallonia with Northern France.
Currency
After independence in 1830 Belgium replaced the Dutch Guilder with the Belgian Franc, which was modeled after and equal in value to the French Franc. Belgium was part of the Latin Monetary Union, which means there were 25.22 Francs in a British Pound and 5.18 Francs in a US Dollar.
Belgium suspended the gold standard as a result of World War 1. The German occupiers pegged the Franc to the German Mark at a rate of 1.25 Francs per Mark, which was also the pre-war exchange rate. After the war the Belgian Franc lost a lot of its value. In 1926 a new unit named Belga was introduced, which was equal to 5 Francs and pegged to the British Pound at a rate of £1 = 35 Belgas. The reform proved unpopular and people continued to use the Franc as the main unit and references to the Belga disappeared in the 1930's. In 1935 the Franc was devalued to 243 Fr/£.
During the German occupation of World War 2 a Belgian Franc was made equal to 10 Reichspfennig. After WW2 the Belgian Franc was reformed by demonetising all circulating banknotes and seizing bank accounts with more than 2000 Francs. (Operation Gutt). The new currency entered the Bretton Woods system, first at a rate of 43.71/$ and from 1949 at 50 Francs per US Dollar. The demise of Bretton Woods and the introduction of floating exchange rates caused the Belgian Franc to devalue versus the Deutschmark from 12.50/DM in 1971 to 20/DM in 1990. In 1999 the Franc was replaced by the Euro at a rate of 40.3399/€.
Coins
Early Belgian coinage resembles contemporary French coinage. Both countries were founding members of the Latin Monetary Union (LMU) in 1865. All Belgian silver and gold coinage remained in line with LMU standards until the start of World War 1, but Belgium did introduce a novelty with cupro-nickel 5, 10 and 20 Centimes in the 1860's. From 1886 Belgium started producing the same types in French and Dutch languages, reflecting the growing acceptance of the Flemish language. This practice caused the number of types to double. Holed 5, 10 and 25 Centimes were introduced in 1903.
Zinc coinage of 5, 10, 25 and 50 Centimes replaced all coinage during the German occupation of Belgium in World War 1. As all silver and gold disappeared from circulation a lot of emergency coins and banknotes were issued, mostly in the years just after the war. In 1923 new cupro-nickel 50 Centimes, 1 and 2 Francs were added with 'Good For' on the legends to reflect that it was fiat money not backed by silver. Older base metal coins remained in circulation, except for 1 and 2 Centimes which had too little purchasing power.
In 1927 the Belga was introduced at a rate of 5 Francs. Cupro-nickel coins of 5, 10, and 20 Francs also denominated in Belga were introduced from 1930. The large 10 and 20 Francs were soon withdrawn and are now worth more than the silver 20 Francs that succeeded them in 1934. In 1939, following a devaluation, silver 50 Francs were added.
During the Second World War zinc versions replaced the holed 5, 10 and 25 Centimes, and 1 and 5 Francs received new designs, with King Leopold's monogram or portrait remaining on the coins. After the liberation in 1944 the Allies produced zinc 2 Francs coins without a royal emblem, as the king was not expected to return.
During the Royal Question new coins of 20, 50 Centimes and 1, 5, 20, 50 and 100 Francs were introduced, with only the 100 Franvs coin showing the portraits of Belgium's 4 kings. The other denominations featured Mercurius, the Roman god of commerce. Despite the accession of King Beaudouin in 1951, the 1 and 5 Francs designs remained in place umtil 1986 anf the 50 Centimes even until 2001. Royal emblems did appear on the new coins of 25 Centimes from 1964, 10 Francs from 1968 and 20 Francs in 1980. In 1987 coins of 50 Francs were added to the coinage, along with new designs for the 1 and 5 Francs, phasing out the Mercurius designs.
With the accession of Beaudouin's brother King Albert II in 1994 new designs were introduced for the 1, 5, 20 and 50 Francs, and the old 50 Centimes was continued, despite not seeing much use anymore.
Belgium replaced its Franc coinage with the Euro in 2002. Because of splendid timing of the design updates (maps, portraits and monograms) there are more types than usual. The practice of producing a type per language was ceased. In 2014 a new series with King Philip was introduced, but not all denominations have been produced in circulation quantities. Belgium also stopped using 1 and 2 Cents coins.
Low Countries - Feudal (949-1384):
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/belgium-feudal-1.html
Burgundian Netherlands (1384-1482):
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pays-bas-bourguignons-1.html
Spanish Netherlands (1482-1714):
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/spanish-netherlands-1.html
Austrian Netherlands (1714-1794):
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/austrian-netherlands-1.html
Belgium (1830-date):
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/belgique-1.html
Congo Free State (1885-1908):
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/congo_independant-1.html
Belgian Congo (1908-1960):
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/congo_belge-1.html
Belgian Congo & Ruanda-Urundi (1954-1960):
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/ruanda-urundi-1.html
