Belgium in the long nineteenth century

The History of Belgium from 1789 to 1914, the period dubbed the "Long Nineteenth Century" by the historian Eric Hobsbawm, includes the end of Austrian rule and periods of French and Dutch occupation of the region, leading to the creation of the first independent Belgian state in 1830.

In the years leading up to 1789, the territory today known as Belgium was divided into two states, called the Austrian Netherlands and Prince-Bishopric of Liège, both of which were part of the Holy Roman Empire. In the aftermath of the French Revolution, both states experienced revolutions in 1789 in which the old order was overthrown and new states created. These revolutions were condemned by the Holy Roman Empire and were crushed by 1792. The territory was only briefly regained, however, as the area was captured by the French during the French Revolutionary Wars and incorporated into the French First Republic. This French period lasted roughly from 1794 to 1815. In the aftermath of Napoleon's final defeat in 1815, the Congress of Vienna added the territory of Belgium to the Netherlands, and until 1830, Belgium was part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands.

In 1830, the Belgian provinces of the Netherlands revolted in the Belgian Revolution and declared their independence. Despite widespread international support for Belgian independence, fighting between Belgium and the Netherlands continued under the rule of King Leopold I. Belgian independence was finally recognized by the Dutch in 1839. Under Leopold I's reign, Belgium remained relatively stable and was only lightly affected by the Revolutions of 1848. On his death in 1865, his son Leopold II was inaugurated as King. Leopold II's reign was dominated by the rise of the Socialist party and calls for reform to the voting system and military as well as the Schools' War between Liberal and Catholic political factions. Although Belgian independence was briefly threatened during the Franco-Prussian War, under Leopold II's reign the country reached an unprecedented level of industrialization and prosperity, becoming the second most industrialized state in the world after Great Britain. The period was also marked by the creation of a personal colony by Leopold II, the Congo Free State. The subsequent international outcry over human rights abuses forced the Belgian state to annex the region in 1908, forming the Belgian Congo. In 1909, after his uncle's death, Albert I began his reign, which lasted until 1934. In the years leading up to the First World War, the process of military and voting reform begun in the 1880s was finally completed. Despite declaring neutrality, Belgium was invaded by the German Empire in August 1914, beginning the country's involvement in World War I.

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