Belgium Timeline
100s BC Celtic tribes, called Belgae, settled in the area of Belgium.
50s BC Julius Caesar led forces that defeated the Belgae.
200s-400s AD The Franks, a Germanic tribe, settled in the region of Belgium
496 AD Clovis, king of the Franks, founded a kingdom which included Belgium. He also established Christianity as the state religion.
768 The Carolingian family began to rule the Frankish kingdom
800 Charlemagne helped to make Belgium the center of the Frankish kingdom, after he was made king.
843 Charlemagne's three grandsons divided the empire between themselves.
900s The Carolingians lost most of their power. Feudal states became important in the area.
1000s Several families emerged as strong rulers of their provinces. These families included Flanders, Brabant, Hainaut, Limburg, and Namur.
1302 A French army tried to take control of the Flanders are. The local peasants and workers defeated the French army.
1354 The Duke of Brabant helped to form the Joyeuse Entree. The document granted powers to the church, the towns, and some nobles, so that the Duke could collect taxes.
1400s By this time period around one-third of the people lived in towns and cities.
1477 Belgium was brought under the rule of Austria when Maximilian of Austria was married to Mary of Burgundy.
1506 Charles inherited Belgium.
1516 Charles inherited Spain.
1519 Charles became the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V. Because he was born in Ghent, many of his advisors were from the region.
1555 Charles gave up Belgium to his son, Phillip II.
1566 The Protestants in the country rebelled against Phillip because of his persecution toward them. Phillip sent thousands of Spanish soldiers to put down the rebellion. He also sent the Duke of Alba, who imposed harsh taxes and governed cruelly. William I, Prince of Orange, led the local forces against the Spaniards.
1648 The conflict between Belgium and Spain finally came to an end when Spain recognized the independence of the Netherlands, which included Belgium at that time.
Late 1600s The economic strength of the region decreased because of the restrictions placed upon them by their the surrounding countries.
1713 Belgium came under the rule of Austria.
1781-1787 Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II tired to change the administrative, legal, educational, and judicial systems in Belgium. As a result Henri Van der Noot and Jan Vonck led local leaders to write a Declaration of Independence.
1789 The Brabant Revolution occurred. It lasted for three months while the Belgium forces defeated the armies from Austria.
January 1790 Belgians formed the independent state called the Etats Belgiques Unis.
End of 1790 Austria regained control of the region.
Early 1790s France drove the Austrians out of the region.
1795 Belgium became a part of France.
1815 After Napoleon was defeated the Congress of Vienna decided that Belgium, Holland, and Luxembourg should be united
1830 Belgium won its independence from the Netherlands.
1831 A constitution was adopted. It made a monarch the head of state.
1830s Belgium became one of the first countries to build a railroad and soon developed a national railroad.
1834 The Freemasons established the Free University of Brussels.
1865 King Leopold II sent explorers to Africa to establish a colony there.
1885 Leopold established the Congo Free State as his private colony. The Congo supplied rubber, ivory, and other valuable resources to Belgium. The agents of the king treated the Africans brutally and refused to recognize African property rights.
1908 The United States forced the king to give control of the Congo to the Belgium Parliament. It then became called Belgian Congo.
1909 King Albert I became the new monarch.
4 August 1914 Germany invaded Belgium and swept through the country to France.
November 1914 Germany occupied all of Belgium.
1914-1918 Belgium became the battle ground of many bloody struggles throughout World War I.
September 1918 Allied forces began the liberation of Belgium.
November 1918 Germany surrendered. The Treaty of Versailles gave the German territories of Eupen, Malmedy, St. Vith, and Moresnet to Belgium. Belgium also received the German East Africa region of Ruand-Urundi. Germans were also required to make payments of reparations which helped the Belgium economy to recover after the war.
1930s The government passed a series of laws giving equality the Dutch and French languages
10 May 1940 Germany invaded Belgium drawing them into World War II.
1940-1945 Belgium again became the scene of many battles of World War II, but there were less physical damages than World War I.
September 1944 Allied forces liberated Belgium
1945 Belgium became a founding member of the United Nations.
Late 1940s Belgium was the first country to recover after the war.
1949 Belgium joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
1950 The country almost had a civil war. Many of the people were mad that King Leopold III had remained in Belgium during the war. Many criticized him for cooperating with the Germans.
1951 Leopold gave his crown to his son, Baudouin, who became a popular king.
1956 The Belgian Congo issued a declaration demanding political change. The Belgium government granted only limited changes.
Late 1950s A series of conflicts occurred in the Congo.
1960 Belgium gave up the Congo.
1962 Belgium ended its supervision of Ruanda-Urundi.
1971 Parliament revised the constitution recognizing three cultural groups, a Flemish community, a French community, and a German one.
Late 1900s The once productive coal mines in Belgium closed because of high production costs and exhausted deposits.
1993 The government passed a law that made the country a federal state
1990s Belgium experienced high unemployment and a low rate of economic growth.
2000s Belgium began to experience economic growth.
Works Cited
Polasky, Janet L. "Belgium." Worldbookonline.com.