BELGIUM

kingdom, Burope (49° 30’-51° 30’ N.., 2° 33’-6° 7’ B.), bounded N. by Netherlands, E. by N etherlan ds, Pru ia, and Luxembourg, 8. and S.W. by France, N.W. by North Sea; length, c. 170 m.; width, c. 108 m.; area, 11,373 sq.m. Surface is flat and low-lying except in S.E., where Ardennes rise to 2,000 ft.; coast districts, in some places below sea-level, protected by sand dunes and dykes; along Dutch border is marshy tract called Campine, with woodland and good agricultural round; drained by Scheldt and Meuse Maas), with tribs.—of former, Lys, Dender, Durme, Rupel; of latter, Sambre and Our the.. Climate resembles that of 8. rs Eugtand; rainfall varies 28 to Hist. — Originally Belgium was fnhabited ee of Celtic race, who were exoals by Germans; latter were hay aa oo TN IRS in turn conquered by Romans, who remained here for several centuries, but were ultimately expelled by Franks; Belgium formed part of Charlemagne’s empire; by Treaty of Verdun in 843 eastern provinces became duchy of Alsace-Lorraine, and western (see FLANDERs) fell to France; subsequently various principalities arose, and history was one of factions and rivalries between different families, towns, and provinces. Most of states were ultimately united under dukes of Burgundy, and in 1477 they pa ed to Habsburgs by marriage of Mary, daughter of Charles of Bergundy, to Maximilian, who later became emperor. Their son, Philip, governed Netherlands for a time, and was succeeded by his sister, Margaret of Austria, who was regent from 1507-30; under her nephew, Charles V., Emperor and King of Spain, those adopting Reformed religion were persecuted, and country was formally united to Spain; he abdicated in 1555, whereupon his son, Philip II. of Spain, succeeded; he continued persecution of heretics, and during regency of his half-sister, Margaret of Parma, various outbreaks occurred against Spanish rule; Alva, sent to reduce rebels, accomplished his task with such cruelty that result was revolt of all Netherlands in 1568; this ended in establishment of northern provinces as kingdom of Holland, while southern region (Flanders) remained under Span. control. Belgium was given to Clara Isabella Eugenia in 1598 by her father, Philip II., on her marriage with Archduke Albert of Austria,\at whose death in 1621 it returned to Spain. In later 17th cent. some provinces were lost to France, but by Treaty of Rastadt in 1714 they pa ed to Austria. Under the Archduche Marie Elizabeth (1725— 41), Charles of Lorraine (1741-80), and country enjoyed considerable prosperity; though in 1789 there was revolt, which ‘was suppre ed. During Fr. revolutionary wars Austria suffered many defeats, and in 1814 Belgium was ceded to France. On fall of Napoleon it was, by Treaty of London and Congre of Vienna, united with Holland as king- ‘dom of Netherlands under William of Orange. Result was not satisfactory, and in 1830 an insurrection broke out at Bru els and spread over whole of Belgium, resulting in revolution and sep a at i on of Belgium from Holland once again. Ultimately Leopold of _ Saxe Coburg-Gotha was chosen as King of Belgium. and a umed crown in 1831. For some time after this Holland refused to recognize Belgium as separate kingdom, and sent an army to occupy Antwerp; but, owing to Fr, intervention it had to withdraw in 1832. Leopold I. died in 1865, and was succeeded by his son, Leopold II., who founded the Congo Independent State (1885). The annexation of the state to Belgium was provided for by treaty in 1907. Leopold jdied in 1909, and was succeeded by his nephew, the present king, Albert I. The neutrality of Belgium was placed under the guarantee of Austria, Ru ia, Britain, and Pru ia by the Treaty of London (1839). For the tragedy of Belgium during 1914 and subsequently, see below. Belgium is limited monarchy; Parlia~ ment consists of senate of 120 members and House of Representatives of 186 members. See Map BreLGium. Resources and Productions.—Belgium has over 5,400 m. of railways, chiefly under state control. Principal railway centers are Malines, Bru els. Scheldt and Maas are navigable; many canals. Forests cover about one-sixth of surface, and about two-thirds are cultivated; ‘chief crops, wheat, rye, oats, barley, otatoes, beet, hemp, flax, tobacco, ops, chicory, madder. Horses are bred; honey is produced, silkworms reared. Minerals include coal, iron, lead, zinc, copper, manganese, calamine, E. and S.E. districts being rich in ores. The coalfield, practically conterminous with industrial region, cro es country from Fr. frontier near Condé to further extremity at Herve, near Aix-la-Chapelle. Deposits also exist in Campine. Belgium is preeminently a manufacturing country, and has many important industrial towns, while Antwerp is one of the greatest shipping and manufacturing centers in N. Europe. The country’s commercial prosperity is largely due to Leopold I, and Leopold II., the former having had a great struggle with commercial conservatism of country. Metal manufactures are valuable and numerous, including machinery, firearms, cannon, wire, gold, silver, tin, bra , and copper goods. Other industries are linens, velvet, hosiery, gla , paper, leather, gloves, sugar, brewing, distilling, fisheries. Chief manufacturing towns besides Antwerp are Liége, Bru els, Ghent. Exports include sugar, gla , oils, coal, coke, grain, chemicals, fron. steel, machinery, diamonds, caoutchouc; imports, raw materials for textile trade, hides, rubber, dyes, wine, soap, hops, meat, grain, wheat, coffee. Population—The Belgian population consists of two distinct types, differing from each other both in physical and ~ moral characteristics and in geographical situation. In agricultural N. are the Flemish; in industrial 8. are Walloons. Belgium is one of most densely populated countries of the world (652.9 per sq. m.); hence importance of Belgian Congo. Chief religion is Roman Catholicism; there are a few Protestants and Jews. Women received the parliamentary vote in Mar. 1920. Primary education is free; Bru els and Louvain have free universities, Ghent and Liége state universities. French and Flemish are equally spoken. Pop. 7,500,000 (2,833,- speaking; and 871,000 speaking both languages), German Invasion of Belgium.—At the outbreak of the Great War Germany violated the neutrality of Belgium, which was guaranteed by the treaties of 1839, after making a vain demand that no obstacle be offered to the pa age of her troops through that country. On the morning of Aug. 4, 1914, the first Ger. troops cro ed the Belgian frontier; the same evening the Belgian Government appealed for aid to Britain, France, and Ru ia. It was this wrong committed against Belgium, which the Ger. chancellor sought to excuse on the score of ‘nece ity,’ that decided the Brit. Government to declare war on Germany. On Aug. 5 the Germans began the attack on the fortre of Liége, and on the following day the 3rd Division of the Belgian army, after fighting forty eight hours against an enemy four times its superior in numbers, was obliged to retire in order to escape being surrounded. General Leman, governor of the town, took up his quarters in Fort Loncin, and speedily organized a defence. By Aug. 10 the Germans had moved their siege guns into position. The forts held out till the 16th and 17th. General Leman was taken prisoner, being removed in an unconscious condition from the ruins of Fort Loncin, The defence had arrested the first push of the enemy for several days, and cost him about 48,000 men. A second appeal to the Belgian Government to cease resistance was refused. From Aug. 6 to 20 the Belgian army was concentrated on the Geete, covering Bru els and Antwerp. It fought many gallant delaying actions, notably at Haelen, but by Aug. 18 hope of a junction with the Franco-Brit. armies on the line Geete-Namur-Meuse was lost, and the bulk of the army withdrew to the entrenched camp of Antwerp (Aug. 20). On Aug. 21 the Germans began the attack on Namur; two days later the forts had been put out of action; the Belgian 4th Division was in retreat, threatened in flank and rear, and only half of it managed to reach France, when it was taken to Antwerp. The function of the Belgian forces was now to threaten the Ger. communications through their country, and from Aug. 2 onwards they engaged in a series of offensive sorties, particularly during the battle of the Marne (Sept. 9-13). Finally, at end of month, the Germans decided that the menace must be removed, and the siege of Antwerp began. It lasted till Oct. 10, being prolonged by the a istance rendered by the Brit. Naval Division, but at the expense of considerable lo es in the retreat acro the Scheldt to Ostend. On Oct. 15 the Belgian army, now reduced from 120,000 to 80,000, took up a front along the Yser on the extreme left of the Allied line. From Oct. 18 to 30 it fought a desperate action to prevent the Germans from gaining the pa age of the Yser and so turning the Allied flank, finally prevailing by inundating the country. This long and heroic resistance cost 14,000 casualties, but it gave time to the Allies to constitute a front against which all the a aults of the enemy were destined to be broken. The Belgian troops continued to hold that little corner of their native soil till, in the autumn of 1918, the hour of deliverance came. On Sept. 28 they joined in the general Allied offensive; on Oct. 17 occupied Ostend; on Oct. 19 Bruges; and by Oct. 20 the whole of the Belgian coast was free of Germans. The armistice of Nov. 11 saw the end of Ger. domination, and on Novy. 25 King Albert re-entered his capital in triumph. The invasion and occupation of Belgium was accompanied by numerous atrocities and illegalities. The crimes of Termonde, Aerschot, Dinant, Louvain have besmirched the Ger. name for all time. More than 5,000 civilians, among them priests, women, and infants were, killed; besides provisions and manufactures, industrial equipment of all kinds was seized; illegal war contributions were exacted; a policy of dividing the Flemings and the Walloons was carried out; and, as a final outrage, the male population, by an order i ued on Oct. 3, 1916, was deported en ma e and subjected to industrial servitude in Germany or compelled to do military work behind the front, exposed to the fire of the Allied artillery. But the fortitude of the Belgian nation remained unshaken through all their misfortunes. The names of General Leman; M. Max, burgomaster of Bru els; Cardinal Mercier, Archbishop of Malines; Théodor, president of the advocates of Bru els; and, above all, King Albert I., live as noble embodiments of the finest qualities of the Belgian people. Belgium recovered rapidly from the effects of the war in the years immediately following. Germany was required to return the machinery and live stock which had been taken away during the war. About 10,000 persons were added to the population in 1919 by the ce ion [of Moresnet and a part of Malmady by Germany, and the district of Uepen, with the remainder of the district of Malmady was_ ceded by Germany and annexed by Belgium on September 20, 1920 following a plebiscite. This added a further 50,000 to the inhabitants. In 1919, 1920 and 1921 King Albert and Queen Elizabeth made visits to several of the Allied countries including the United States. They were received with the greatest enthusiasm. In 1922-3 Belgium took the part of France in negotiations regarding the forceful collection of German reparation, and in Jan. and Feb. 1923, Belgian troops occupied a part of the Ruhr district. Belgium took an important part in the Conference on the Limitation of Armaments (g.v.) in 1921-2. IMG:map341.jpg: