Belgium Timeline

Belgium 36

57 BC Caesar and the Belgae The bravest of the Gauls Julius Caesar conquers the Belgic tribes, writing that "of all the Gauls, the Belgae are the bravest." The Roman province of Gallia Belgica gives the country its name.
843 Treaty of Verdun Divided down the Scheldt The partition of Charlemagne's empire splits the Low Countries along the Scheldt — a fault line between French and German spheres that shapes Belgian history for a millennium.
1134 Rise of the Flemish cloth towns Bruges, Ghent, Ypres Flanders' cloth industry makes Bruges, Ghent and Ypres among the richest cities north of the Alps, with powerful guilds and far-reaching trade.
1302 Battle of the Golden Spurs Flemish militia defeat France At Kortrijk, a Flemish militia of townsmen defeats the French royal army — a celebrated moment of Flemish civic pride, still commemorated on 11 July, the holiday of the Flemish Community.
1384 Burgundian inheritance Philip the Bold Flanders passes to the Dukes of Burgundy, beginning the unification of the Low Countries under a single brilliant court.
1430 Burgundian Low Countries Wealth of Flanders & Brabant Under the Dukes of Burgundy the Low Countries flourish, with Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp becoming among the richest and most cultured cities in Europe.
1432 The Ghent Altarpiece Flemish Primitives Jan van Eyck completes the Ghent Altarpiece, a masterpiece of the Flemish Primitives whose oil technique revolutionises European painting.
1500 Birth of Charles V in Ghent A Habsburg emperor The future Holy Roman Emperor Charles V is born in Ghent; under him the seventeen provinces of the Low Countries are united in a single realm.
1568 – 1648 Eighty Years' War in the south Staying Catholic & Spanish While the north rebels successfully, the southern provinces are reconquered for Catholic Spain — the lasting division between the future Belgium and the Netherlands.
1585 Fall of Antwerp The Low Countries divide The Spanish recapture of Antwerp splits the Low Countries: the Protestant north becomes the Dutch Republic, while the Catholic south — the future Belgium — remains under Spanish Habsburg rule.
1695 Bombardment of Brussels The Grand Place destroyed French artillery devastates Brussels, destroying the Grand Place — soon rebuilt in the ornate Baroque guildhalls that still define the city.
1714 Austrian Netherlands From Spanish to Austrian rule After the War of the Spanish Succession, the southern Netherlands pass from Spanish to Austrian Habsburg control under the Treaty of Rastatt.
1789 – 1790 Brabant Revolution A short-lived republic A revolt against Austrian rule briefly creates the United Belgian States — an early, fleeting assertion of Belgian self-rule before Austria restores control.
1795 Annexed by France Revolutionary France Revolutionary France annexes the southern Netherlands, ending Austrian rule and bringing two decades of French administration and reform.
1815 Battle of Waterloo Napoleon's final defeat On Belgian soil south of Brussels, Wellington and Blücher defeat Napoleon for the last time — one of history's most consequential battles.
1830 La Muette de Portici An opera sparks revolt A performance of the opera La Muette de Portici in Brussels stirs the crowd into the uprising that becomes the Belgian Revolution.
1830 Belgian Revolution Independence proclaimed Sparked by unrest in Brussels, the Belgian Revolution forces out Dutch troops, and a provisional government proclaims independence on 4 October 1830.
1831 Leopold I crowned A constitutional monarchy Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha is installed as the first King of the Belgians on 21 July 1831, and a liberal constitution establishes a popular constitutional monarchy.
1835 First railway on the Continent Brussels–Mechelen Belgium opens continental Europe's first passenger railway between Brussels and Mechelen, becoming an early industrial powerhouse in coal and steel.
1839 Treaty of London Independence & neutrality recognised The Treaty of London formally recognises Belgian independence and guarantees its neutrality — the "scrap of paper" Germany would violate in 1914.
1865 Leopold II takes the throne The Congo to come Leopold II becomes king and soon pursues a personal colonial empire in central Africa — a reign of industrial growth at home and brutal exploitation abroad.
1885 Congo Free State A king's private colony Leopold II establishes the Congo Free State as personal property; its rubber regime causes millions of deaths before international outcry forces its transfer to the Belgian state in 1908.
1914 The Rape of Belgium Invasion and atrocity Germany's invasion and the destruction of Leuven's library and other atrocities shock the world and become a rallying cry for the Allied cause.
1914 – 1918 German invasion & WWI Neutrality violated Germany invades neutral Belgium in August 1914, triggering British entry into the First World War. Much of the war on the Western Front is fought on Belgian soil, including Ypres.
1917 Passchendaele The mud of Flanders Fields The Third Battle of Ypres becomes a byword for the futility of trench warfare; the poppies of Flanders Fields become the enduring symbol of remembrance.
1940 – 1944 Occupation in WWII Invaded again Germany overruns Belgium once more in 1940; the country endures four years of occupation, resistance and the deportation of its Jews before liberation in 1944.
1944 The Benelux Union Small nations together Exiled governments sign the customs union that becomes Benelux — a model and forerunner for wider European integration.
1958 Founding member of the EEC & Expo 58 Heart of Europe Belgium is a founding member of the European Economic Community, and Brussels hosts Expo 58 under the new Atomium — symbolising its post-war role at the centre of European integration.
1958 Expo 58 & the Atomium Brussels looks to the future The first major post-war World's Fair opens in Brussels beneath the gleaming Atomium, symbolising a confident, modern, Europe-facing Belgium.
1960 Congo independence End of empire The Belgian Congo becomes independent amid turmoil, abruptly ending Belgium's African empire.
1962 The Language Border fixed Dutch, French & German Belgium fixes the official linguistic boundary between Dutch-speaking Flanders and French-speaking Wallonia — institutionalising the divide that drives later federalisation.
1967 NATO moves to Brussels Capital of the alliance NATO relocates its headquarters to Brussels, reinforcing the city's emerging role as a hub of Western institutions.
1993 A federal kingdom Regions and communities Constitutional reform makes Belgium a federal state; the same year King Baudouin dies and is succeeded by his brother Albert II.
1993 Federal Belgium Flanders, Wallonia & Brussels A constitutional reform turns Belgium into a federal state of language-based regions and communities, formalising the balance between Dutch-speaking Flanders, French-speaking Wallonia and bilingual Brussels.
2010 – 2011 589 days without a government A world record Deadlock between Flemish and Walloon parties leaves Belgium without an elected federal government for a record 589 days — a striking symbol of its linguistic tensions.
2013 King Philippe A new reign Albert II abdicates in favour of his son Philippe, the seventh King of the Belgians, who reigns over the modern federal kingdom.