Why does Belgium exist? A question which is often asked given its location between two historically annex-happy states and its linguistically-divided population. If you want to find out why happy little Belgium became and managed to stay a thing then watch this short and simple animated history documentary to find out why.

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Sources:
A Concise History of the Netherlands by James Kennedy.
Belgium, Luxemburg, and the Defence of Western Europe, 1914-1920 by D. Stevenson.

It's a country which often has to justify its own existence.

Sandwiched between France, Germany and the Netherlands, its population is divided amongst those who speak, well, French, German and Dutch.

Since about 6 seconds after its foundation, other nations have often spoke of dividing Belgium up.

So, given how often its existence has both been questioned and threatened, there's an obvious question to answer.

The first thing to answer is how Belgium came into existence in the first place.

After the Napoleonic Wars, Europe was a drastically changed continent, and 1 of the major changes that occurred was that the Austrian Netherlands was incorporated into the brand new United Kingdom of the Netherlands.

King William I of the Netherlands was a Protestant who had little interest in preserving the rights of the South's Catholic residents.

He used much of the South's industrialised economy to fund the North and he was also a bit of a despot.

This was obviously a problem and in 1830 when riots broke out, talk soon turned to secession.

William tried to crush the revolt but many troops in the South quickly defected.

William needed help and so he asked the great powers for assistance.

And the great powers did help, but they helped the South and recognised the new country's independence and that new country was called Belgium.

Recognition of independence was done on 1 condition.

It had to be a monarchy because none of that republicanism stuff, absolutely not.

The Belgians would finally have a king that would represent them, a local, a catholic, and a man who wouldn't try to expand the power of the monarchy and become a despot.

Instead, they got Leopold I, a German-speaking Protestant who quickly expanded the power of the monarchy, but you know, 0 out of 3 isn't bad.

Even with Leopold, Belgium had come out ahead, given that at the London Conference, France had proposed that Belgium be divided between its neighbours.

This was the Talleyrand Plan and was rejected by the British because France can't have nice things had been British foreign policy for over 400 years at this point and that wasn't going to change any time soon.

Also to Britain, Belgium was seen as an important buffer state that would limit the scale of any future Franco-Prussian war, in theory.

William I didn't accept Belgian independence and so invaded in 1831 but the French came to the Belgians' aid and sent the Dutch packing.

In 1839, William accepted Belgian independence and the Netherlands would never again try to reclaim the South, which now included this land from Luxembourg.

And it was also in this year that Britain guaranteed Belgian neutrality.

Immediately after Belgium's formation, tensions arose between the Dutch-speaking population in the north, the Flemish, and the French-speaking southerners, the Walloons, whose language was the official language of the state.

The initial hope was to get northerners, over time, to speak French, but fun fact, No.

Tensions between the 2 groups would rise, but the threat to dissolve Belgium never went anywhere since both peoples largely saw unity within Belgium as better than the alternatives.

Finding out why Belgium exists in the first place isn't the same as asking why it still exists.

And the fledgling nation wasn't without its concerns.

French and German leaders coveted parts of Belgium in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but the British guarantee in the fear of upsetting the balance of power stopped any action.

It wasn't until World War I that the second tangible threat to Belgium's existence occurred when German troops crossed into the country in order to get to France.

Germany occupied most of the country and after the war the plan was for these areas to be annexed into Germany and these areas would become a rump state under a new monarchy.

Towards the end of the war, Germany made a concession on these demands and would respect Belgian independence so long as it was split into 2 nations, the northern Flemish 1 being aligned with Germany who would gain Antwerp.

This never happened because, obviously, and Germany eventually lost the war.

Belgium then got to sit at the winner's table and was even given this territory from Germany.

Although at first Belgium had made much larger demands, because it wanted to annex Luxembourg and to take territory from the neutral Dutch, since apparently Belgium holds a grudge.

The last threat to Belgian existence came during World War II, when it was conquered.

It was originally administered as a single unit along with a chunk of northern France, but Hitler had very little in the way of concrete plans.

The Belgian collaborators had hoped for Belgium to be split like this, with Flanders being merged with the Netherlands.

Yet Germany was unwilling and unable to do this since it was busy losing the war.

In late 1944, Germany then formally annexed Belgium, a plan which had 1 snag, it had already been liberated and so that's not how that works.

No other nation would threaten Belgian existence thereafter and all attempts to split the state would from then on be internal in nature.

Belgium's existence is actually quite remarkable given that it spent 1 of the most dangerous periods in European history sandwiched between 2 nations that really liked annexing things.

In the end, the Belgian people would find union together, despite their differences much more compelling than any of the alternatives, and that is why Belgium exists.

I hope you enjoyed this episode and a special thanks to my Patreon supporters...

Yoda oink oink, Izzy, Spinning 3 Plates, David Silverman, Maggie Pakskowski, Spencer Lightfoot, Winston K.

Wood, Robert Wetzel, Anthony Beckett, Lexie Schwinn, Skye Chappell and Kelly Moneymaker.


Speaker 0: Belgium. It's a country which often has to justify its own existence. Sandwiched between France, Germany and the Netherlands, its population is divided amongst those who speak, well, French, German and Dutch. Since about 6 seconds after its foundation, other nations have often spoke of dividing Belgium up. So, given how often its existence has both been questioned and threatened, there's an obvious question to answer.

Why does Belgium exist? The first thing to answer is how Belgium came into existence in the first place. After the Napoleonic Wars, Europe was a drastically changed continent, and 1 of the major changes that occurred was that the Austrian Netherlands was incorporated into the brand new United Kingdom of the Netherlands. King William I of the Netherlands was a Protestant who had little interest in preserving the rights of the South's Catholic residents. He used much of the South's industrialised economy to fund the North and he was also a bit of a despot.

This was obviously a problem and in 1830 when riots broke out, talk soon turned to secession. William tried to crush the revolt but many troops in the South quickly defected. William needed help and so he asked the great powers for assistance. And the great powers did help, but they helped the South and recognised the new country's independence and that new country was called Belgium. Recognition of independence was done on 1 condition.

It had to be a monarchy because none of that republicanism stuff, absolutely not. The Belgians would finally have a king that would represent them, a local, a catholic, and a man who wouldn't try to expand the power of the monarchy and become a despot. Instead, they got Leopold I, a German-speaking Protestant who quickly expanded the power of the monarchy, but you know, 0 out of 3 isn't bad. Even with Leopold, Belgium had come out ahead, given that at the London Conference, France had proposed that Belgium be divided between its neighbours. This was the Talleyrand Plan and was rejected by the British because France can't have nice things had been British foreign policy for over 400 years at this point and that wasn't going to change any time soon.

Also to Britain, Belgium was seen as an important buffer state that would limit the scale of any future Franco-Prussian war, in theory. William I didn't accept Belgian independence and so invaded in 1831 but the French came to the Belgians' aid and sent the Dutch packing. In 1839, William accepted Belgian independence and the Netherlands would never again try to reclaim the South, which now included this land from Luxembourg. And it was also in this year that Britain guaranteed Belgian neutrality. Immediately after Belgium's formation, tensions arose between the Dutch-speaking population in the north, the Flemish, and the French-speaking southerners, the Walloons, whose language was the official language of the state.

The initial hope was to get northerners, over time, to speak French, but fun fact, No. Tensions between the 2 groups would rise, but the threat to dissolve Belgium never went anywhere since both peoples largely saw unity within Belgium as better than the alternatives. So what about any future threats? Finding out why Belgium exists in the first place isn't the same as asking why it still exists. And the fledgling nation wasn't without its concerns.

French and German leaders coveted parts of Belgium in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but the British guarantee in the fear of upsetting the balance of power stopped any action. It wasn't until World War I that the second tangible threat to Belgium's existence occurred when German troops crossed into the country in order to get to France. Germany occupied most of the country and after the war the plan was for these areas to be annexed into Germany and these areas would become a rump state under a new monarchy. Towards the end of the war, Germany made a concession on these demands and would respect Belgian independence so long as it was split into 2 nations, the northern Flemish 1 being aligned with Germany who would gain Antwerp. This never happened because, obviously, and Germany eventually lost the war.

Belgium then got to sit at the winner's table and was even given this territory from Germany. Although at first Belgium had made much larger demands, because it wanted to annex Luxembourg and to take territory from the neutral Dutch, since apparently Belgium holds a grudge. The last threat to Belgian existence came during World War II, when it was conquered. It was originally administered as a single unit along with a chunk of northern France, but Hitler had very little in the way of concrete plans. The Belgian collaborators had hoped for Belgium to be split like this, with Flanders being merged with the Netherlands.

Yet Germany was unwilling and unable to do this since it was busy losing the war. In late 1944, Germany then formally annexed Belgium, a plan which had 1 snag, it had already been liberated and so that's not how that works. No other nation would threaten Belgian existence thereafter and all attempts to split the state would from then on be internal in nature. Belgium's existence is actually quite remarkable given that it spent 1 of the most dangerous periods in European history sandwiched between 2 nations that really liked annexing things. In the end, the Belgian people would find union together, despite their differences much more compelling than any of the alternatives, and that is why Belgium exists.

I hope you enjoyed this episode and a special thanks to my Patreon supporters... Yoda oink oink, Izzy, Spinning 3 Plates, David Silverman, Maggie Pakskowski, Spencer Lightfoot, Winston K. Wood, Robert Wetzel, Anthony Beckett, Lexie Schwinn, Skye Chappell and Kelly Moneymaker. I mean, it wasn't a bad plan exactly.

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Why does Belgium Exist? (Short Animated Documentary)