46 INTRODUCING BELGIUM AND LUXEMBOURG
TIMELINE1840 1875 1910CONSOLIDATING THE NEW STATE
In Belgium’s early days as an
independent nation, Brussels was a
haven for free-thinkers such as the
libertarian poet Baudelaire, and a ref-
uge for exiles such as Karl Marx and
Victor Hugo. In 1799, steam power
was brought to the textile industry at
Verviers, in Eastern Wallonia, and
Belgium began following in the tracks
of Britain. It was now industrializing
fast. Continental Europe’s first railway
line opened in 1835 between Brussels
and Mechelen and by 1870, there
were four main railway stations in
Brussels that exported goods all over
Europe. By this time, the focus of
industrial development was Wallonia,
with its coal mines and iron industries.
This reinforced the age-old supremacy
of French-speaking Belgians. Dutch-
speaking Flanders remained largely
rural, impoverished and increasingly
resentful of the imposition of French
by the ruling elite – French was the
language of administration, educa-
tion, law and intellectual life.
The long reign of Belgium’s second
monarch, Léopold II (r.1865–1909),
spanned the rapid development of
Belgium. He was praised for his
vision, but was also associated withthe social deprivation that came with
industrialization. Equally controversial
was his acquisition of the Congo in
Africa and the abuses of colonial
power that were played out there.THE GERMAN OCCUPATIONS
Like much of Europe, Belgium was
enjoying a belle époque before the
calamities of the 20th century began
to unfold. In the summer of 1914, it
was invaded by the German army.
Although Belgium had been created
as a neutral country, some of the
bloodiest battles of World War I were
staged on its soil. The front line fol-
lowed a southward path through the
marginally higher land around Ieper.
The opposing armies dug in and suf-
fered years of brutal trench warfare in
a stalemate that cost nearly a million
lives. Today, the peaceful agricultural
land on either side of the salient is
spattered with military cemeteries filled
with the foreign soldiers who came
here to contest the Western Front.
While the Belgian army, led by King
Albert I (r.1909–34), put up a spirited
resistance from their last stronghold in
De Panne in the far northwest, most
of the rest of the country remained
under occupation – often brutal and
vindictive – until the
last day of the war,
11 November 1918.
The 1919 Treaty of
Versailles granted
Belgium control of
Eupen-Malmedy, the
German-speaking area
in the east.
In 1940, neutral
Belgium was invaded
again by the Germans
under Hitler. Many
Belgians took part in1884 Léopold II
is granted
sovereignty over
the Congo1914–18 World
War I; Germany
occupies Belgium1871 The River Senne
in Brussels is covered
over, and new suburbs
are built to cope with
the growing population1847 Opening of
continental Europe’s
first shopping mall,
the Galéries St-Hubert,
in Brussels1898 The Flemish
language is given
equal status to
French in law1893–5 Victor
Horta builds the first
Art Nouveau house
in Brussels1939–44 World War II;
Germany again
occupies Belgium
The Belgian CongoEngraving of the interior of a 19th-century forge near Huy in eastern Belgium