Emile Cammaerts argues that Belgium is not an artificial creation but a historically grounded entity shaped by geography, language, and religion. The deck covers his sources and method, the Merovingian and Carolingian origins, the language frontier, and early Christianization.
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Chapter 1 · Question
Why did Cammaerts write this volume on Belgian history?
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Chapter 1 · Answer
The author explains he wanted to place the conclusions of modern Belgian historians within reach of British readers. Though he does not claim special qualifications for Belgian history, his knowledge of England let him present the material in the way most interesting to the English-speaking public. He chiefly relied on Pirenne, Vanderlinden and Van Kalken.
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Introduction4 cards
Why did Cammaerts write this volume on Belgian history?
The author explains he wanted to place the conclusions of modern Belgian historians within reach of British readers. Though he does not claim special qualifications for Belgian history, his knowledge of England let him present the material in the way most interesting to the English-speaking public. He chiefly relied on Pirenne, Vanderlinden and Van Kalken.
Chapter 1
What form does the book take, and what does it emphasize?
The author states it is neither a series of essays nor a systematic text-book. Chronological sequence is preserved and practically all important events are recorded in their appointed time, but special stress is laid on characteristic features of Belgian civilization and national development that are of general interest and bear on the history of Europe as a whole.
Chapter 1
Which works did the author chiefly rely on for this volume?
The author says he was chiefly indebted to Henri Pirenne's four-volume Histoire de Belgique, which carries the narrative as far as the Peace of Muenster, to Vanderlinden's Belgium issued by the Oxford University Press, and to F. Van Kalken's treatise on Belgian history (1920), which supplies much information on the modern period.
Chapter 1
Who revised the work and helped with its illustrations?
The author thanks his friend Professor Van der Essen, who was good enough to revise the work. He is also indebted to Messrs. Van Oest & Co. for permission to reproduce pictures from l'Album Historique de la Belgique, and to the Phototypie Belge and other copyright holders for valuable illustrations.
Chapter 1
CHAPTER I3 cards
What does the Lex Salica say about the Coal Wood?
The Lex Salica, the oldest document mentioning the Coal Wood, describes it as the boundary of the territories occupied by the Frankish people. North of this boundary the country was entirely in the invaders' hands; to the south the Wala, as the Franks called the Belgo-Romans, maintained themselves and partly preserved Roman language and civilization.
Chapter 2
How does the language frontier of today relate to the ancient forest?
The author argues the language boundary still runs where it ran fourteen centuries ago, from south of Ypres to Brussels and Maestricht, dividing Belgium almost evenly. The Franks settled north, becoming ancestors of the Flemings; the romanized Celts or Walas occupied the south, becoming the Walloons. The forest has vanished, but its edge remains marked on the map.
Chapter 2
Why does the author reject the idea that Belgium is an artificial creation?
The author argues no period of Belgian history had a division following the linguistic frontier; medieval political and ecclesiastical units included both populations, which were welded into one through intercourse and common interests, and unity came under the Burgundian dukes. He insists scientists should explain the fact of Belgian nationality rather than distort it, noting Switzerland is even more divided.
Chapter 2
CHAPTER II4 cards
Why did rechristianizing Northern Belgium have to be undertaken from outside?
The Frankish invasions shattered the Church's organization before it could consolidate, and the conversion of Clovis in 496 barely affected the pagan Frankish tribes of the northern plain. Bishops were confined to their towns with limited and precarious influence, so the work fell to missionaries such as St. Amand, supported by English and Irish missionaries, rather than to the settled episcopate.
Chapter 3
What did St. Amand accomplish, and what mistake did he make?
On a vision of St. Peter, he preached to the northern pagans and founded two monasteries at the confluence of the Lys and Scheldt, the origin of Ghent (610). Supported by the king, he tried to make baptism compulsory, provoking a Frankish revolt. He later became Bishop of Tongres in 641, resigned to resume monastic life, and died at Elnone near Tournai around 661.
Chapter 3
How did the new bishoprics relate to the language frontier?
The author argues that none of the ecclesiastical boundaries ran east-west; instead they crossed the language frontier everywhere, uniting Walas and Dietschen in one religious community. Liege, Cambrai, Noyon and Terouanne revived old Celtic and Roman divisions. The exception was Utrecht, which remained purely Germanic and later shaped the northern districts' character at the Reformation.
Chapter 3
What was the 'Frisian cloth' and why did it matter?
It was a specialized cloth for which the northern plain, with its rich pastures and abundant wool, was already renowned. It developed from the ancient clothmaking of the Menapii and was exported by the Rhine to Central Europe and by sea to Britain and Scandinavia. Coins from Sluis and Duurstede found in both countries attest this trade, and it prefigured Flanders' later world-wide cloth reputation.
Chapter 3
CHAPTER III4 cards
What did the Treaty of Verdun (843) do with Charlemagne's empire?
The Treaty of Verdun divided Charlemagne's empire among his three grandsons: Charles received France, Louis received Germany, and Lotharius, the youngest, received the rich middle region from Holland to Italy, including most of Belgium, with the title of emperor. This middle kingdom, later called Lotharingia, proved too vulnerable and heterogeneous to survive as an independent central power.
Chapter 4
How did the Meersen and subsequent partitions divide present-day Belgium?
After Lotharius II died, Charles and Louis met at Meersen near Maestricht (870) and partitioned his lands, with Charles obtaining all of present Belgium as far as the Meuse. After Louis's death, Charles was defeated at Andernach by Louis III (876), fixing the France-Germany frontier on the Scheldt: Charles kept Flanders, Louis took Lotharingia (879). Both parts included Flemings and Walloons.
Chapter 4
What role did the Norman invasions play in Belgian feudalism?
The author argues feudalism, common to Europe, sprang from weakened central authority and the rise of great landowners, but its development was hastened in Belgium by Norman invasions. The Normans were severe in what had been Charlemagne's richest land, easily reached by navigable rivers. From 834 they held the river mouths, built camps at Louvain and Maestricht, and left ruins and entrenched strongholds behind after Arnulf's victory at Louvain (891).
Chapter 4
What does the author say about separatist feeling among Belgian nobles?
The author argues it would be an error to attribute the separatist leanings of nobles in Flanders and Lotharingia to national feeling, which scarcely existed in Western Europe then. Their resistance could be seen as an effect of feudalism and vassal pride toward suzerains, but the author notes that, given Belgium's mixed language and race and the position of these border lands, such tendencies were nowhere more evident.
Chapter 4
CHAPTER IV3 cards
What characterized the policy of the native Lotharingian aristocracy?
The author argues two features defined the native aristocracy's policy: attachment to the Carolingian dynasty, whose prestige remained strong in districts that owed much to Carolingian rule, and preservation of freedom of action through alliances with France against Germany or Germany against France. The despoiling of Lotharius's descendants by Charles and Louis served as pretext for insurrections against the new masters imposed by the second treaty of Verdun.
Chapter 5
How did Bruno and Notger of Liege increase German influence?
Bruno and Notger of Liege (974-1005) reformed their clergy and encouraged intellectual culture, making Liege a great centre of learning taught in theology, grammar, rhetoric, poetry, music and mathematics—a 'Northern Athens.' The movement reached Cambrai and Utrecht; Sigebert's De Scriptoribus Ecclesiasticis was written at Gembloux. The author states this intellectual prestige helped increase German influence and drew foreign students from Germany, France, England and even Slav countries.
Chapter 5
Why is Baldwin V of Flanders's intervention in 1044 a turning point?
For two centuries Flanders and Lotharingia had been separated, dependent on France and Germany respectively. When Henry III tried to divide the duchy, he faced a confederacy including Godfrey the Bearded, the counts of Louvain, Hainault, Namur and Holland, and Baldwin V of Flanders (1044). By crossing the Verdun boundary and interfering in Lotharingia's internal affairs, Baldwin inaugurated a new policy and made possible alliances that ultimately led to Belgian nationality.
Chapter 5
CHAPTER V3 cards
How did Baldwin Iron Arm first gain a pretext to intervene in French affairs?
He abducted Judith, daughter of Charles the Bald and widow of the English king Ethelwulf, in 862. The chapter notes this alliance-by-abduction paralleled Regner's father, who had abducted a daughter of Lotharius, and that both houses owed their initial power to Carolingian alliances. His son Baldwin II used the pretext fully, extending domains to the Somme and annexing Walloon Flanders and Artois.
Chapter 6
What did Baldwin V the Bearded obtain from Emperor Henry II, and what was it called?
After crossing the Scheldt and pushing as far as the Dendre, Baldwin V obtained from Henry II the investiture of the country of Alost and Zeeland. This territory was called "Imperial Flanders," as opposed to French Flanders. Though nominally subject to both king and emperor, the count gained new prestige from his intermediate position; the chapter says he only lacked the title of a sovereign.
Chapter 6
What does the chapter say was the grave political mistake of Robert of Jerusalem and Baldwin VII?
The author argues they erred by encouraging and protecting the first Capetians. Too preoccupied by imminent danger from England, they did not realize England could never threaten Flanders's independence as France could, since France also had the right to interfere in its internal affairs. Yet even during the cordial French alliance, they signed separate agreements with Henry I and never closed the door to England.
Chapter 6
CHAPTER VI4 cards
Why was political centralization in Belgium delayed compared to France and England?
The author argues that centralization was delayed by the considerable influence the towns, or communes, exerted on social conditions. While central powers in France and England advanced against separatist feudal barons, in Belgium the spirit of separatism and local individualism passed from the castle to the town, and unification only became possible in the early fifteenth century once a balance between classes was re-established.
Chapter 7
What was the origin and character of the Cambrai rising of 1077?
A settlement of traders and artisans near the episcopal castle became a borough in 1070 under the bishop's officers, who applied peasant and serf laws to merchants. In 1077, while Bishop Gerard was away receiving investiture from Henry IV, the burgesses seized the gates and proclaimed the Commune. The author stresses it was not poor against rich, since the richest merchants led it, but the new bourgeoisie against feudalism.
Chapter 7
How did the counts of Flanders differ from imperial bishops toward the communes?
Generally, resistance to communes was greater among ecclesiastical than lay nobles. The imperial bishops opposed the movement, while the counts of Flanders encouraged it, having protected merchants since the eleventh century. After Thierry of Alsace's victory, he extended to all towns, Walloon or Flemish, the same freedom, choosing the charter of Arras rather than that of Bruges.
Chapter 7
What did a town's belfry and gallows signify?
The author states that a town's rights were shown by the gallows erected at its gates and by the belfry, whose bell called the burgesses to arms when the city was threatened by the enemy. Citizens were judged by their own sheriffs (echevins), the prince was represented by a bailli, and the town had its own seal, hall and archives, owing allegiance and military help to the prince.
Chapter 7
CHAPTER VII3 cards
What was the Battle of Courtrai (1302) and why is it called the Battle of the Golden Spurs?
At Courtrai in 1302 the Flemish militia defeated the French knights, and so many golden spurs were collected from the battlefield that it became known as the Battle of the Golden Spurs. The author notes contemporary chroniclers exaggerated the disproportion of forces, but the victory secured Flanders' independence and made later unification under the dukes of Burgundy possible.
Chapter 8
Why did Flanders depend on good relations with England?
Good relations with England were essential to the Flemish cloth industry because most wool was imported from England through Bruges. The author argues Flanders tried in vain to stay neutral between England and France, but neutrality was impossible: whenever it was broken, Flanders suffered either ruin of trade or loss of liberties. English kings also protected Flemish traders to preserve this revenue.
Chapter 8
What did the Peace of 1319 cost Flanders after Courtrai?
The author states Flanders did not reap full benefits of its victory: the peace concluded in 1319, after further military operations, took away from the county all the Walloon district. This considerably reduced the cattle grazing area and made Flemish industry more dependent than ever on England for raw material. From the early fourteenth century the counts also shifted to the French party.
Chapter 8
CHAPTER VIII4 cards
What does Notre Dame of Tournai illustrate about medieval Belgian architecture?
The cathedral combines a Romanesque nave built in the eleventh century, an early Gothic choir from the thirteenth century, and a later Gothic porch from the fourteenth century. The chapter presents it as the most typical and perhaps most beautiful Belgian church, illustrating the succession of styles used in the country and the influences it received from East and South.
Chapter 9
How did the Beguines differ from members of traditional religious orders?
The Beguines did not pronounce eternal vows and could return to the world if they wished. They lived actively in small houses around a tree-planted square and chapel, devoting time not spent in prayer to manual work, teaching, or visiting the poor. The movement spread from Nivelles across many towns and even into Northern France and Western Germany; Marie d'Oignies is cited as its accomplished type.
Chapter 9
Why does the chapter say French spread in Flanders without conquest or immigration?
The author argues French spread through intimate relations between Flemings and Walloons created by political conditions, diocesan boundaries, and social intercourse, not conquest as in England or immigration as in Bohemia. Monasteries mixed Walloon and Flemish monks, nobles intermarried and were educated in French abbeys, and commerce made French necessary for bills of exchange.
Chapter 9
What role did the mendicant orders play in thirteenth-century Belgian religious life?
The mendicant orders enjoyed enormous popularity in the thirteenth century because of the familiarity with which they mixed with the people. They followed armies in the field, and citizens found their favourite preachers among them in peacetime. The chapter also notes that Franciscans, Dominicans, and other ecclesiastics defeated heretic preachers by personal prestige rather than hasty forcible repression.
Chapter 9
VIII. Henry VII of England, who had alienated Maximilian's…4 cards
What did the Intercursus Magnus of 1496 accomplish between England and the Low Countries?
Signed in 1496 by Philip and Henry VII, it re-established commercial relations after Henry had moved the English cloth staple from Antwerp to Calais and banned trade with the Low Countries. The chapter calls it characteristic of the intimate economic connection between England and Belgium that they were the first to sign the most liberal commercial treaty of the time.
Chapter 10
Why did Philip the Handsome renounce his rights on Burgundy in the 1498 Treaty of Paris?
After Maximilian again sought his support against Louis XII, Philip appealed to the States General, which backed his pacific attitude. By the treaty he renounced his rights on Burgundy to keep friendly relations with France and preserve the advantages of the Treaty of Senlis. The chapter says he deliberately sacrificed dynastic interests to the welfare of the Northern provinces, going farther than the dukes themselves.
Chapter 10
How did Philip's marriage to Juana of Castile change his policy toward the Low Countries?
Married to Juana in 1495, Philip saw her become heiress to Spain in 1500 through a series of family deaths. From then his conduct changed: Low Country interests were sacrificed to dynastic ambitions, he reconciled with Maximilian, took the title King of Castile in 1504, and in 1506 signed the unpopular 'Intercursus Malus' with England. He died at Burgos the same year, having lost much popularity.
Chapter 10
What did Margaret of Austria achieve for the Netherlands through the 1529 Peace of Cambrai?
Margaret negotiated the peace so Charles renounced all pretensions to Burgundy while Francis gave up claims on the Netherlands and recognized Charles's sovereignty over Artois, Flanders, Cambrai and Tournaisis. She hoped to secure long peace for the Netherlands' benefit, and the chapter says France's final renunciation of her old fiefs consolidated Belgian unity, detaching the Western Netherlands from France after seven hundred years of struggle.
Chapter 10
CHAPTER IX4 cards
Why did the Communes decline as a national force by the late fourteenth century?
The author argues the Communes had largely ceased to serve national development: instead of using privileges to further economic relations, large towns oppressed smaller ones and sacrificed the countryside. Internal strife, war with France and the decadence of the cloth industry produced economic depression and social unrest, which the country could only escape through a strong centralized administration.
Chapter 11
How did Philip the Good acquire Namur, Brabant, Limburg and Hainault?
He extended his protectorate over Tournai, Cambrai and Utrecht and bought Namur. Brabant and Limburg reverted to the elder Burgundian branch after John IV of Brabant and his brother died without heir. Philip then dispossessed his cousin Jacqueline of Bavaria of her inheritance in Hainault, Holland and Zeeland, becoming practically sole master of the principalities founded on Belgian soil.
Chapter 11
Why does the author reject the idea that Burgundian unification created Belgium?
The author argues the reverse: because Belgium had already practically become a nation through gradual intercourse among the principalities, one prince favoured by circumstances could concentrate all their power. Marriages and deaths helped, but the dukes' power, political pressure and money mattered too, and local divisions had become obsolete, necessitating central administration.
Chapter 11
Why did Philip the Good abandon the English alliance, and how was it restored?
The author argues Philip feared an overwhelming English victory would upset the balance of Western power on which his confederation depended, especially after Gloucester championed Jacqueline of Bavaria. English contemporaries judged him harshly, as reflected in Shakespeare's Henry VI. His wife Isabella of Portugal helped reconcile the sides, and Charles's marriage to Margaret of York in 1463 sealed the union.
Chapter 11
CHAPTER X4 cards
How did fifteenth-century town halls differ from earlier belfries and cloth halls?
The author argues the Gothic town halls of Brussels, Louvain and Bruges were ornamental and undefended, unlike the fortified belfries and halles of Ypres, Bruges and Ghent, which served as citadels, archives and covered markets. The new buildings were too small for markets and kept only one function: housing the echevinage where magistrates met the duke's bailli.
Chapter 12
What did the defeat of Gavere in 1453 signify for communal militias?
The author states that the failure of the Ghent revolt marked the decline of communal militias, which could no longer resist the disciplined ducal mercenary army. Gavere sealed the fate of citizen armies, just as the Battle of the Golden Spurs in 1302 had revealed their strength.
Chapter 12
How did the dukes' policy toward the towns change in the Burgundian period?
Rather than oppressing the towns, the dukes protected and expanded their prosperity through peace, commercial liberty and emergency measures: Philip the Good tried to arrest Ypres's decline, and Charles the Bold dredged the Zwyn estuary. The author notes this solicitude was not disinterested, since ducal power rested on wealth drawn from the towns.
Chapter 12
What caused the decline of the Flemish cloth industry and how was it compensated?
English cloth production grew, reducing wool available to Flanders and raising its price; Spanish wool proved inferior and bans on English cloth failed. Ypres's population fell from 12,000 in 1412 to 10,000 in 1470. The country turned to linen, and tapestry was introduced in Northern Flanders and Brabant, with Verviers clothmaking dating from 1480.
Chapter 12
CHAPTER XI3 cards
What does the chapter say about bilingualism in fifteenth-century Belgium?
The author argues bilingualism was the solution to the language question in fifteenth-century Belgium. French declined in Flanders after the loss of Artois and French reverses in the Hundred Years' War, while Flemish replaced Latin in common administration. Judges sentenced in the parties' tongue, officials used French, Latin or Flemish as needed, and the dukes knew both languages. Charles the Bold's attempt to enforce French is read as political absolutism, not hostility to Flemish.
Chapter 13
Who founded the Brothers of the Common Life and what did they do?
Gerard de Groote (1340-84), a disciple of Ruysbroeck, founded the Brothers of the Common Life and the Sustershuysen. Like the Beggards, they took no binding vows and kept their lay character, refusing outside gifts and endowments so they supported themselves. Instead of weaving, they copied manuscripts, learned and taught, founding schools in Brussels (1422) and Ghent (1432). Their influence reached Germany, and printer Thierry Maertens was a pupil.
Chapter 13
How does the chapter contrast Flemish and Walloon literature of the period?
The author argues Flemish writers mostly addressed the bourgeoisie and people and stayed close to the era's religious aspirations, while Walloon authors were nearly all attached to a court and wrote chronicles and memoirs for the aristocracy. Flemish poetry declined after van Maerlant, though Boendaele's rhymed chronicle is typical; Ruysbroeck's mystic treatises founded Flemish prose. Walloon chroniclers like Le Bel and Froissart wrote in French but remained independent of French influence.
Chapter 13
CHAPTER XII4 cards
What did Mary of Burgundy grant to satisfy particularist demands in 1477?
Mary granted the "Great Privilege," which practically restored all provincial and urban liberties and undid the dukes' patient work of centralization. Facing Louis XI's confiscation of the duke's French dominions and his designs on the Northern provinces, she conceded to the towns and States. The people then rallied around her with the cry "Vive Bourgogne!" against foreign invasion.
Chapter 14
Why does the author say Mary's marriage to Maximilian proved fatal to the Low Countries?
The author argues it brought the provinces increasingly under the Hapsburg dynasty. The Burgundian princes had kept a national policy, staying neutral among surrounding Powers and residing in the country. Under the Hapsburgs, the Netherlands were sacrificed to Austrian or Spanish interests, ruled by regents, made an outpost exposed to enemies, and this is cited as a main cause of the sixteenth-century revolution and later decline.
Chapter 14
How did the towns resist Maximilian, and how did the struggle end?
Ghent rose against him and negotiated with France to guard municipal liberties; Bruges citizens even took Maximilian prisoner, forcing him to abolish his monarchical reforms before release. Maximilian defeated the Ghent militias, moved Philip to Malines, and beat Bruges in 1490 and Ghent in 1492. The 1493 Peace of Senlis marked the triumph of the modern State over local privilege.
Chapter 14
Why did Philip the Handsome's accession restore the Burgundian policy and let restrictions lapse?
Philip had never left the Belgian provinces and was educated by Belgian tutors, becoming a symbol of national independence. The Great Privilege and Maximilian's promises were allowed to lapse in his favour; his Joyous Entry resembled those of Philip the Good and Charles the Bold. Centralization was rapidly reconquered without opposition, explained by foreigners' exclusion from his Council—only two of fourteen councillors were German—earning him the nickname "Croit-conseil."
Chapter 14
CHAPTER XIII4 cards
What did the Transaction of Augsburg (1548) establish for the Netherlands?
It made the Netherlands the "circle of Burgundy," under the Empire's protection, with its sovereign represented on the Reichstag. The circle paid a small subsidy but was entirely independent of imperial jurisdiction and laws. The author argues it was effectively an independent sovereign State that gained the Empire's military protection without real obligation, since the emperor could not enforce the tax if refused.
Chapter 15
How did Charles V punish Ghent after its revolt, and what did the bell Roland symbolize?
Charles condemned most of the movement's leaders to torture, suppressed all the town's privileges by the "Caroline concession" (1540), and ordered the bell "Roland" to be unhung. The author states this last punishment remained in popular memory as a symbol of the deepest humiliation that could be inflicted on any town. The revolt is presented as the last attempt by the towns to save their old privileges.
Chapter 15
What did the Pragmatic Sanction of 1549 accomplish?
It unified the successorial rights of all the provinces, securing the inheritance of all of them to the same prince. The author calls this a new stage in centralization: of the two essential characteristics of modern States, unity and independence, unity was practically achieved while independence was not yet in sight. The author argues this period also marked the final defeat of the Burgundian nationality principle.
Chapter 15
According to the chapter, why did the Belgian representatives feel they were parting from their last national prince at Charles V's abdication?
At the abdication in Brussels on October 25, 1555, Charles wept, saying he regretted leaving the land of his birth and such vassals, not the power he abandoned. The representatives realized that, despite harm he had inflicted, Belgium had found in him some sympathy and understanding. The author notes this feeling increased when Charles addressed Philip in Spanish and Philip excused himself for not speaking French.
Chapter 15
CHAPTER XIV4 cards
Why did Antwerp rise as Bruges declined in the sixteenth century?
The author argues Bruges fell mainly because its Guilds and Corporations clung to old privileges and ignored modern tendencies, not only because the Zwyn silted up. Antwerp, unhampered by medieval traditions and with a deeper, more accessible harbour, took over Bruges's trade and added prosperity from new Atlantic markets and Renaissance trade expansion.
Chapter 16
How did Antwerp's economy differ from Bruges's medieval model?
Antwerp characterizes modern capitalist tendencies resting on freedom of trade and individual initiative. Foreign companies of Spanish, English and German merchants were drawn there, essential in a market where most imported goods were re-exported. Guicciardini reports 30,000,000 florins of merchandise yearly, Exchange transactions of 40,000,000 ducats, and 10,000 to 15,000 foreigners among 100,000 inhabitants.
Chapter 16
How did rural industry change employment in the Low Countries?
Urban industry in Flanders and Brabant was largely replaced by rural industry, since employers found cheap labour in country districts amid foreign competition. For a hundred workers losing town jobs, thousands of weavers were ready to work raw material supplied by merchants. Linen and tapestry recruited village labour similarly; around Oudenarde in 1539 about fourteen thousand men, women and children worked at tapestry.
Chapter 16
Why did Charles V's policy toward Protestants shift as doctrines spread?
The author argues princely tolerance lasted only while doctrines stayed among aristocrats and intellectuals, as with Erasmus, whose attacks were tolerated because they did not influence social life at large. Once the common people adopted the doctrines and Church and State privileges were questioned, attitudes changed. In 1523 Charles transferred prosecution from bishops to three special inquisitors with full powers.
Chapter 16
CHAPTER XV3 cards
What was the Consulta, and why did the Council of State resent it?
Marguerite of Parma's initiative was paralysed by secret instructions. She was told to decide nothing important without a secret council called the Consulta, made of three royal creatures: Granvelle, Viglius d'Ayetta and Berlaymont. Its existence could not stay secret, and the Council of State, whose functions it unconstitutionally superseded, resented the interference. Orange, Egmont and Horn led the opposition.
Chapter 17
What did the Compromise pledge, and who presented the petition to Marguerite?
Calvinist notables including Jean de Marnix and Louis of Nassau drew up a compromise by which signatories swore to defend the country's privileges and prevent maintenance of the Inquisition, without dishonouring God and the king. Over two thousand nobles, bourgeois and ecclesiastics signed. On April 5, 1566, three hundred nobles presented the petition to Marguerite.
Chapter 17
How did the 'Beggars' name arise, and what did the medals show?
After a banquet given by the Calvinist Count of Keulenburg, delegates appeared dressed as beggars with wallets and bowls, and Brederode's toast 'Long live the Beggars!' was taken up enthusiastically. Tradition blames a disparaging remark by Berlaymont, but the author argues the medals struck at the time suffice to explain it: the king's effigy on one side, joined hands over a wallet on the other, inscribed 'Faithful to the king even to beggary.'
Chapter 17
CHAPTER XVI2 cards
Why did the author argue the North and South separated in 1567?
The author argues the split was not simply Southern blindness or weak patriotism. He cites the intransigent, selfish attitude of the Northern provinces, political mistakes by their leader, and differing strategic positions and economic interests. The North adopted Calvinism and severed ties with Spain; the South stayed attached to the Roman Church and its national dynasty, and was easily conciliated by moderate government.
Chapter 18
How did the fall of La Brielle in 1572 change the revolt?
The Sea Beggars had sheltered in English ports until Elizabeth closed them in 1572, making a naval base in the Low Countries imperative. Their seizure of La Brielle in Zeeland, coming at the worst time of Spanish oppression, provoked unbounded enthusiasm. Flushing, Rotterdam, Schiedam, and soon all Zeeland and Holland except a few towns revolted against Alba.
Chapter 18
CHAPTER XVII4 cards
What secret clauses undermined Albert and Isabella's sovereignty over the Low Countries?
The act of cession contained secret clauses requiring the new sovereigns to obey all orders from Madrid and to maintain Spanish garrisons in the principal towns. Philip II also reserved the right to re-annex the Low Countries under certain circumstances, and forbade trade with the Indies. Because of these terms, the author argues Albert enjoyed less independence than earlier governors like Margaret of Austria, despite his sincere attempts to shake off Spanish influence.
Chapter 19
How did Protestantism decline in the Southern provinces by the time Albert and Isabella arrived?
The author argues Protestantism was not uprooted by Inquisition violence; Alba's persecutions actually extended its influence. Rather, Calvinist excesses of 1577-79 and Farnese's leniency counteracted Calvinist propaganda, and breaking with the North ended Calvinism's influence. Sincere Protestants had emigrated north, taking intellectuals, traders and artisans. By 1599 Protestantism had practically vanished from towns, surviving only in a few remote villages such as Dour and Hoorebeke.
Chapter 19
What did the Twelve Years' Truce of 1609 cost the Southern provinces?
Signed April 9, 1609, between the United Provinces and Spain, the truce saw Philip III virtually recognize the Republic's independence and allow Dutch merchants to trade with the West Indies — a privilege refused to his own Belgian subjects. The Southern provinces were further sacrificed by recognition of the blockade of the Scheldt, which stayed closed to ships entering Antwerp, benefiting Dutch ports instead.
Chapter 19
What happened to the States General after Isabella's death in 1633?
Isabella had reassembled the States General in 1632 after thirty-two years' silence, and under public pressure allowed them to send a deputation to The Hague to negotiate peace. The Dutch demanded a Catholic Federative Republic at the price of heavy territorial concessions to Holland and France. After Isabella died in 1633, Philip IV recalled the Belgian delegates and dissolved the States General in 1634; the author notes they were not consulted again until the Brabanconne revolution at the end of the eighteenth century.
Chapter 19
CHAPTER XVIII4 cards
What common mistake about the Southern provinces does the chapter challenge?
The author argues it is a common mistake to presume that from the early seventeenth century all economic and intellectual life left the Southern provinces for the Northern. He contends that the people's stubborn energy did not desert Belgium, and that in a remarkably short time the country rebuilt much of what it was allowed to repair, despite blockade and emigration.
Chapter 20
How did the Dutch blockade affect Antwerp's trade during the truce?
Although the truce declared commercial liberty, the coastal blockade remained stringent. Flushing, Middleburg and Amsterdam inherited Antwerp's transit trade; by 1609 only two Genoese and one Lucca merchant remained. The Exchange was so deserted it became a library in 1648, and foreign boats bound for Antwerp had to discharge cargo in Zeeland, the Dutch fleet monopolizing the Scheldt.
Chapter 20
On what did industry and agriculture focus after trade was thwarted?
Dikes were rebuilt, marshes drained and cattle brought in. Valenciennes, Tournai and Lille recovered first; wool came via Rouen with a staple at St. Omer. Coal and foundries revived in the Meuse valley, and tapestry, copper-working, dyeing and linen-weaving resumed. Rural industry and capitalist organization superseded the paralyzed medieval town corporations, ruining the Dinant and Namur coppersmiths.
Chapter 20
What does the chapter say about political liberties under Albert and Isabella?
Despite flattering portraits by some Belgian historians, the author argues the promises of the peace of Arras were not kept: the States General met only twice, political guarantees were disregarded, Spanish garrisons remained, and the people had no control over expenditure. Belgium was nearer an absolutist monarchy than ever, with nobles and new titles ensuring loyalty.
Chapter 20
CHAPTER XIX4 cards
What two influences does Cammaerts say transformed Flemish art into Rubens's style?
The author argues two predominant influences produced the transformation from the mystic primitives to Rubens: the influence of Italy (the Italian Renaissance, Raphael and Michael Angelo) and that of the Catholic Restoration, especially as expressed by the Jesuits. Rubens, he says, is the spiritual descendant of the Italianizants, adopting Michael Angelo's pagan vision of Christianity.
Chapter 21
Why did the Jesuits tolerate Rubens's exuberant, even profane, style?
The author argues the Jesuits' policy was positive rather than negative: they sought to attract people by pleasant surroundings rather than rebuke them with morose asceticism. Rubens's paintings rendered religion attractive to the masses and, with music and incense, filled congregations with awe conducive to faith. Their leniency toward pagan subjects was aided by noble and royal patronage of such themes.
Chapter 21
What rules did Molanus's 1570 pamphlet impose on Christian art?
Jean Molanus's De Picturis et Imaginibus sacris strictly set forth the Tridentine rules: all subjects inspired by apocryphal books and popular legends were proscribed, and even details like representing St. Joseph as an old man or moving the lily from the Angel's hand to a vase were severely criticized. Censors would have rejected Memling's St. Ursula story and similar legends not upheld by the Acta Sanctorum.
Chapter 21
How did clericalization of art and letters affect the vulgar tongue?
The author states the direct result was to thwart the progress the vulgar tongue had made in the previous century. Latin replaced French in philosophy, history and science, and even literature's elite preferred the classic tongue. Flemish was completely disdained; Geulinx said it ought not to be heard outside the kitchen or the inn, though Latin was not read by the people.
Chapter 21
CHAPTER XX4 cards
What territories did the Spanish Netherlands still include at the start of the seventeenth century?
The Spanish Netherlands still included the three duchies of Brabant, Limburg (with Daelhem, Fauquemont and Rolduc), Luxemburg and part of Gelder with Ruremonde; four counties, Flanders, Artois, Hainault and Namur; and the two seigneuries of Malines and Tournai. By 1715, under Austrian sovereignty, they had lost Maestricht, parts of Limburg and Brabant, Zeeland Flanders, Walloon Flanders, Artois and small enclaves.
Chapter 22
Why did the United Provinces prefer a weak buffer state to unifying the Low Countries?
The author argues the United Provinces pursued a narrowly self-centred policy of safety first. Unification would have meant reopening the Scheldt and reviving Antwerp's rivalry, admitting a larger population with religious freedom, and defending weak extended frontiers. A weak buffer state garrisoned by Dutch forces gave the same strategic advantages without the risks, as a Grand Pensioner said: better to defend oneself in Brussels or Antwerp than in Breda or Dordrecht.
Chapter 22
What did the treaty of Muenster (1648) give the Dutch, and on what basis?
The Dutch plenipotentiaries had a practically free hand. They gained official recognition of full independence, maintenance of the closing of the Scheldt, Zeeland Flanders (Flanders of the States), North Brabant with Bergen-op-Zoom, Breda and Bois-le-Duc, and Maestricht with Fauquemont, Daelhem and Rolduc. The author describes these as purely strategic annexations, chosen to hold key positions against attack from Spain or France.
Chapter 22
How did Louis XIV justify his claim to the Spanish Netherlands after Philip IV's death?
Louis had married Maria Theresa, eldest daughter of Philip IV. His legal advisers invoked the non-payment of her dowry and a custom in parts of Brabant called devolution, favouring children of a first marriage, to claim that part of the Spanish succession. His troops entered the Netherlands in 1667, and the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1668) nonetheless gave France fortified towns including Lille, Tournai, Courtrai and Charleroi.
Chapter 22
CHAPTER XXI4 cards
What was the Ostend Company, and why was it suppressed?
Founded in 1723 as the General Company of the Indies to trade in Bengal and the extreme East, it raised 6,000,000 florins within seven hours and ran eleven ships. Maritime Powers demanded its suppression as a condition for accepting the Pragmatic Sanction, so Charles VI suspended it in 1727 and finally suppressed it in 1731.
Chapter 23
What economic and demographic recovery did the Southern provinces see under Austrian rule?
Population rose from two to three millions in the first half of the eighteenth century; Brussels reached 70,000 and Ghent and Antwerp 50,000 each. Linen employed over 200,000 weavers and spinners by 1765, Brussels had 15,000 lace-makers, Tournai became a china centre in 1750, and Verviers produced 70,000 woollen pieces a year by 1757.
Chapter 23
How did Maria Theresa try to improve intellectual and judicial life in Belgium?
She replaced ecclesiastical with civil censorship, had Count de Neny reform the University of Louvain, and after the Jesuits' suppression in 1773 founded fifteen lay Colleges Theresiens, overseeing their curriculum personally. She put Flemish and French on equal footing in secondary schools, abolished torture as a means of inquiry, and founded orphanages and almshouses against pauperism.
Chapter 23
Why did popular riots occur under Spanish and Austrian rule, and what did Anneessens's fate show?
Riots in Brussels, Antwerp and Louvain sprang from perceived infringements of old corporate privileges, not from demands for political power. After the Luyster van Brabant dispute and the reglements additionnels, Brussels artisans refused to pay taxes under chair-maker Francois Anneessens; troops occupied Brussels in 1719, Anneessens was executed, and Prie was recalled in 1724.
Chapter 23
CHAPTER XXII4 cards
How does the chapter contrast Philip II and Joseph II as rulers?
The chapter contrasts Philip II, a monarchic tyrant ruling by Divine Right who persecuted heresy to save souls, with Joseph II, an enlightened eighteenth-century monarch who saw the sovereign as the State's first servant. Despite differing philosophies, both were conscientious, intolerant autocrats who scorned their people's feelings and enforced reforms mechanically, differing mainly in whether happiness was sought in this life or the next.
Chapter 24
Why did Joseph II's reforms provoke such strong Belgian resistance?
The chapter argues the Belgians objected less to specific reforms than to State worship, which broke the Burgundian traditions and local privileges they cherished. Joseph II's sweeping, frequent edicts and petty tyranny, including regulating kermesses and suppressing convents, alienated Catholics and reformers alike. His dismissal of protests as 'delirium' united Van der Noot's Catholics and Vonck's revolutionary minority against him.
Chapter 24
What was the War of the Cauldron and how did it end?
Joseph II demolished the Dutch Barrier fortresses and, encouraged by England, declared the Scheldt free, sending the brig Louis from Antwerp to sea. A Dutch cutter fired a shot that hit a cauldron on deck, threatening war. Louis XVI mediated, and the Treaty of Fontainebleau (1785) recognized suppression of the Barrier but kept the Scheldt closed, increasing Joseph's unpopularity in Belgium.
Chapter 24
How did Maria Theresa's approach to governing Belgium differ from her son's?
The chapter states Maria Theresa, though strictly dynastic, knew the people and indulged their prejudices, urging Joseph to be patient with customs 'of which too many had already been scraped away.' She worked gradually toward secularizing education and limiting clergy privileges rather than attempting wholesale reforms. Joseph, by contrast, worked by plan, destroying whatever seemed absurd, and undid Charles de Lorraine's good work within five years.
Chapter 24
CHAPTER XXIII4 cards
Why did Joseph II's reforms fail where the French Revolution succeeded in Belgium?
The author argues Joseph II's monarchical power rested mainly on the nobility, clergy and peasants, who resented sacrificing their privileges and traditions. The French Republic and Napoleon succeeded not through diplomacy or moderation but because they brought a new idea into the country and based power on a new conception of society. The bourgeois Vonckists and town populations had adopted the Rights of Man and equal citizenship, and were prepared to make allowances for those ideals.
Chapter 25
What did Dumouriez do when offered the keys of Brussels in November 1792?
On November 14th, when the magistrates offered him the keys of Brussels, Dumouriez refused them, saying: "Keep the keys yourselves and keep them carefully; let no foreigner rule you any more, for you are not made for such a fate." He issued a proclamation, approved by the Convention, declaring his soldiers came as allies and brothers. Impressed by his reception in Mons and Brussels, he did not realize the country was far from unanimous.
Chapter 25
How did the French Republic exploit the Belgian provinces financially after annexation?
The provinces were obliged to pay a contribution of 80,000,000 francs, six times the previous yearly budget, with hostages taken from towns that could not pay. Requisitions of raw material were systematically organized. Under the "Agence de Commerce et d'Extraction de la Belgique," church, convent, corporation and municipal treasuries were carted away with pictures, art and industrial machines. Agents nicknamed "French sponges" even plundered private property, while assignats fell to a ridiculously low level.
Chapter 25
What provoked the peasant rising against French conscription, and how was it repressed?
The Directoire applied the new conscription law to the Belgian departments, and many young men preferred to die fighting for liberty than for France. The rising began in the Pays de Waes, spread to Brabant and especially the Campine. Peasants assembled at the tocsin in working clothes, often armed only with clubs or forks, cut down trees of liberty and destroyed conscription registers. Repression under General Jardon was merciless: most leaders were shot and followers dispersed after heavy losses.
Chapter 25
CHAPTER XXIV4 cards
Why did the Vienna settlement's joint kingdom of the Netherlands suit the Powers but not the Belgians?
The author argues it suited England (keeping Antwerp from France), Prussia (foothold on the Meuse and influence in Luxemburg), Holland (rich populous provinces), and Austria and Russia (a buffer against French annexationism). It suited everybody but the Belgians, who were never consulted despite showing a desire for independence in the Brabançonne Revolution and under French rule. Diplomacy dismissed Belgian independence as meaning eventual reabsorption by France.
Chapter 26
How was the new Constitution of 1814 adopted, and what was 'Dutch arithmetic'?
The Constitution was the Dutch Constitution of 1814, revised by a commission with equal Belgian and Dutch delegates. It provided equal toleration for all creeds and a two-Chamber Parliament with equal deputies from both countries, despite Belgium having 50 per cent more inhabitants than Holland. The Dutch adopted it; the Belgian States General rejected it. The king counted abstentions as favourable votes and ignored opposition, passing it despite an adverse majority—called 'Dutch arithmetic.'
Chapter 26
What economic and financial grievances did Belgians have under William I?
The author notes William I wisely promoted economic revival: Antwerp's tonnage doubled between 1818 and 1829, new canals were built, banks like the Société générale provided credit, and factories such as Phoenix at Ghent and Cockerill at Seraing were supported. But Holland's debt of nearly 2,000,000,000 florins dwarfed Belgium's 30,000,000, yet Belgium had to bear half the total liabilities and heavy taxes, with agricultural Belgium's interests sacrificed to commercial Holland's.
Chapter 26
What caused the 1830 Brussels uprising, and was it French-inspired?
The author argues the final outburst was hastened by the 1830 French Revolution, but calls it misleading to attribute the Brussels demonstration of August 25th to French influence. After a performance of Auber's Muette de Portici at the Monnaie Theatre, the crowd sacked Van Maenen's house and the offices of Le National. The French flag briefly flew at the Hôtel de Ville but was soon replaced by Brabant's three colours; the French party remained a small minority.
Chapter 26
CHAPTER XXV4 cards
What did the 1830 armistice initially arrange regarding the Scheldt, and how was it altered?
The armistice of November 14, 1830, would have restored to Belgium the left bank of the Scheldt, lost since the Muenster treaty. The Dutch king protested, and the line was altered from the frontier of 1814 to that of 1790, five years before French annexation of the contested territory.
Chapter 27
What were the three treaties prepared by the London Conference, and when was the final one sanctioned?
The first was the 'Bases of Separation' (January 1831); the second the 'Treaty of XVIII Articles' (July 1831); the third the 'Treaty of XXIV Articles' (November 1831). Accepted by the Belgians, it was rejected by William I and finally sanctioned by him in 1839 — the settlement popular history calls the 'scrap of paper.'
Chapter 27
How did the Treaty of XXIV Articles affect Belgium's territory and the Scheldt?
It preserved Belgian independence and neutrality but deprived her of natural frontiers. The Scheldt became an international river under a Dutch-Belgian commission for pilotage, buoying and dredging. Belgium kept half of Luxemburg; in exchange she relinquished Eastern Limburg and Maestricht, which became Dutch provinces.
Chapter 27
Why did the Belgian Chamber accept the treaty in 1839 despite protests?
Limburg and Luxemburg had remained Belgian and protests were emphatic; three ministers resigned and Austrian and Prussian charges d'affaires left Brussels. With Prussian army corps massed on the eastern frontier and without support from England and France, the Chamber faced sanctioning partial annexation or risking foreign invasion.
Chapter 27
CHAPTER XXVI4 cards
What territorial losses had Belgium suffered by the 1839 settlements?
Belgium's territory was gradually reduced in modern times: in the seventeenth century she lost Walloon Flanders and Artois to France and Northern Brabant to Holland, while Holland's conquest of Zeeland Flanders and districts in Eastern Limburg was confirmed and enlarged by the 1839 settlements. Prussia had seized Eupen, Malmedy, St. Vith and Bitsburg in 1816, and the XXIV Articles gave half of Luxemburg to the German Confederation.
Chapter 28
How did guaranteed neutrality differ from self-imposed neutrality, per the author?
The author argues that self-imposed neutrality, like Switzerland's, does not restrict a state's sovereign rights over foreign policy, whereas guaranteed neutrality imposed by the Powers takes away practically all initiative in foreign matters. Belgium undertook to observe strict neutrality and defend her frontiers, while the Powers pledged not to violate her integrity and to defend her if attacked. In practice, the author says, neutrality meant paralysis.
Chapter 28
What two currents of Belgian opinion existed on military responsibility?
One current minimized Belgium's military responsibility, trusting the Powers' promise and reducing military charges in men and money; the other saw that without an adequate army Belgium could not fulfil her obligations if her integrity were violated, and that weakness increased the temptation of some Powers to break their pledge. The first was more popular, rallying idealists and unscrupulous politicians using slogans like 'Not a penny, not a soldier.'
Chapter 28
Why did Germany respect Belgian neutrality in 1870 but not in 1914?
The author argues that, apart from the change in German mentality after her victory, military conditions differed totally: the strong chain of fortifications on France's eastern frontier had not yet been erected, and the Belgian army's strength seemed by no means negligible. Before the vast growth of modern armies during the 'armed peace,' 80,000 men might have made all the difference—roughly the strength of the French army that surrendered at Sedan.
Chapter 28
CHAPTER XXVII4 cards
What influences shaped the Belgian Constitution drafted after the 1830 Revolution?
The Congress drafted the Constitution within two months. Its groundwork of individual liberty, equality, press, worship, meeting, association and teaching freedoms was inspired by the French. The preponderance of legislative power over the executive and ministerial responsibility came from English influence. Provincial and communal rights were safeguarded, with communes keeping local autonomy except that the king nominated the burgomaster.
Chapter 29
How did Belgium's neutral status affect its internal politics?
The author argues neutrality crippled home defence but abnormally developed party warfare. It shut out international problems and national issues before which party strife should cease. Lacking international consciousness to balance social, philosophic and religious differences, party politics absorbed the whole public life, so Belgians stood at Europe's forefront yet were among the worst informed on foreign affairs.
Chapter 29
What was the 'school war' between Liberals and Catholics?
The 1830 Constitution was vague on education. After 1878 the Liberals compelled every commune to maintain its own schools with religious instruction only outside school hours, and founded secondary schools and training colleges to shift education to secular teachers. Heavy expenditure and unpopular taxation brought their downfall in 1884; the Catholics then gave State grants to free Catholic schools and suppressed many of the new institutions.
Chapter 29
How did Belgium's workmen contribute to its industrial prosperity?
The author attributes prosperity not so much to the number as to the quality of workmen. Many industrial workers never lost touch with the land: most belonged to agricultural districts, did not settle permanently around factories, and cheap railway fares let them live outside the towns where they worked by day. Their hard-working qualities were inherited from the peasants, with reluctance to crowd into big cities.
Chapter 29
CHAPTER XXVIII4 cards
What did the 1830 Revolution trigger in Belgian arts and letters, according to the chapter?
The chapter describes a remarkable revival of Belgian arts and letters shortly after the 1830 Revolution, calling it a striking example of political events influencing intellectual activity. After over a century without self-expression and fifteen years of union with Holland producing few notable works, independence brought what the author presents as an outburst of national pride and energy, as if strength subdued under foreign domination finally found an outlet.
Chapter 30
Which building does the chapter call Belgium's only strikingly original modern monument, and who built it?
The Palace of Justice in Brussels, built by Poelaert between 1870 and 1879, is called the only strikingly original monument. The chapter describes it as an extraordinary medley of styles from the Assyrian onwards and a gigantic effort to create beauty under modern conditions. It was intended as an apotheosis of Right—not only everyday court justice but international justice and the people's right to dispose of themselves.
Chapter 30
What does the chapter say about the language barrier in nineteenth-century Belgian literature?
The chapter argues that the main feature of the nineteenth-century Belgian literary school is the break-up of the language barrier. Despite separate work, Flemish and French writers expressed the same feelings and aspirations, with striking similarities between them. The author attributes this largely to leaders in French, from De Coster and Lemonnier to Verhaeren and Maeterlinck, being of Flemish extraction, making them closer to their northern brethren than to the French whose language they used.
Chapter 30
Who initiated the Flemish literary Renaissance, and what did this group do?
The chapter states the Flemish literary Renaissance was initiated by a small group of intellectuals headed by Jan Frans Willems (1793-1846). They exerted all their energy to revive Flemish customs, collect folk songs and traditions, and obtain a liberal interpretation of the language's status. The chapter notes the movement started in Flanders before influencing the French-speaking part of the country, with Henri Conscience writing on Belgian history before De Coster's Ulenspiegel.
Chapter 30
CHAPTER XXIX4 cards
According to the introduction, what did old-school Belgian historians wrongly claim about Belgium?
The author argues that patriotic old-school Belgian historians pictured Belgium as struggling valiantly against foreign oppression throughout history, treating Caesar's remark that the Belgians were the bravest of the Gauls and medieval popular risings as evidence of national consciousness. They treated national princes like the Burgundian Dukes the same as Philip II or the Austrian Emperors, adding to confusion rather than clarifying it.
Chapter 31
What did Professor Pirenne and his school argue was the basis of Belgian unity?
The author credits Professor Pirenne of Ghent with showing that despite diversity of race and language, lack of natural boundaries, and centuries of foreign domination, Belgian unity rested on deep-rooted traditions. By studying economic and intellectual life and institutions, Pirenne's school argued the language barrier never impaired unity, and both parts of the country shared customs and institutions no foreign rule could eradicate.
Chapter 31
Why does the author call Belgium the 'cross-roads of Europe'?
The author explains that a narrow plain only 90 miles wide from Ostend to Namur links the French and German plains, carrying the main Paris-Berlin route through the Sambre and Meuse valleys. Because the sea straits sit close to these continental narrows, the Britain-to-central-Europe route crosses the France-to-Germany route in Belgium, making it a meeting-ground for British, French and German culture and trade.
Chapter 31
How does the author describe the pattern of Belgian history compared with England or France?
The author argues the familiar image of a steadily growing tree is misleading for Belgium. Belgian history has remarkable landmarks under Charlemagne, the Communes, the Burgundian Dukes, Charles V, and recent independence, but between these periods of splendour come stagnation from internal strife or complete decadence under foreign invasion. Few peoples faced such trials, yet few showed such power of recovery.
Chapter 31
CHAPTER XXIX4 cards
Why did Belgium resist the German ultimatum in August 1914, according to the author?
The author argues that no other answer was possible to an ultimatum directly challenging Belgium's rights. An old nation that had struggled toward independence through long periods of warfare and foreign domination was bound to resist. The reply was stiffened by an age-long tradition of stubborn resistance and the people's instinct that it had to be done because there was nothing else to do.
Chapter 32
How did Governor von Bissing try to use the Flemish Movement against Belgium?
Von Bissing assumed Belgium was an artificial creation of the Vienna Congress and that no real Belgian nationality existed. He created a Flemish University in Ghent in 1916 and issued decrees establishing Administrative Separation with capitals at Namur and Brussels. Both failed: Flemish organizations protested that the occupier had no right to interfere, and Belgian officials resisted.
Chapter 32
What happened to the Belgian army and civil population during the war?
On the Yser in October 1914 the Belgian forces fell from 95,000 to 38,000 bayonets, holding about twenty square miles for four years while refilling ranks. Under occupation, the civil population faced terrorism at Aerschot, Louvain, Tamines, Andenne and Dinant, huge fines, requisitions, and the winter 1916-17 deportations that enslaved about 150,000 men.
Chapter 32
What does the author say Belgium gained from the Treaty of Versailles?
The author argues that beyond small territories like Eupen and Malmedy and possible economic indemnities, Belgium won something more valuable: full recognition for the first time in modern history. She could finally make friends with her friends and beware of her enemies—the right to be herself, master of her fate. The author adds her future is bound up with Europe's.
Chapter 32
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Text used: Project Gutenberg eBook #27442 (Public domain in the United States). Generated from the full text; cards paraphrase the source.
Version: Public domain edition. Retrieved 2026-10-30. Cards reviewed 2026-10-30.
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