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Belgian Imperialism
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Belgian Revoltuion
The main cause of the revolution was the domination of the Dutch over the economic, poltical and social institutions of the Netherlands Kingdom. This conflict led to the succession of the southern privinces from Netherlands and established the independant country of Belgium. Almost all of the people were French speaking Catholics. On August 25, 1830, a revolt broke out in Brussels and spread quickly into Belgian provinces. In 1831, Belgium declared independance creating a democratic constitution -
King Leopold II
King Leopold II thought that estblhing colonies in Africa would inhance Belgium's economy. Henry Stanley, a man who went on the search for Dr. Livingstone, came across good land and tried to get Britain to colonize but Britian wasn't interested. Henry turned to King Leopold II, who made a colony of 900,000 square miles. Leopold's rule of what is later known as the Belgian Congo is one of the worst examples of imperialism. All he wanted was the wealth and used slave labor. -
Belgina relations with China
In 1902, Belgium and China estbalished the Belgian Tianjin Concessian. There was little investement and no settlement. This led to Belgium helping China out and it led to contract an electric light and trolley system. In 1906, Tianjin was the first city in China with a modern public transportation system. By 1914, the eletric light and trolley system reached Austria-Hungary, France, Italy, Japan and Russia. -
Germany invaded Belgium
At the beginning of World War I, Gemany invades neutral Belgium and Luzenburg, trying to capture Paris quickly and catch the French off guard. Great Britain, at the time, was still bound to their contract of protecting Belgium during war (originally got Great Britain into the war). The german government demanded that German armies be able to pass. Belgium refused, making Germany upset and invading anyway. Belgian army is remembered for their stubborness against the huge Germany army today. -
The Rape of Belgium (Aug-Nov)
Since Belgium refused to let the Germans pass through, and caused the Schlieffen Plan (capture Paris) to fall, Gemany was outraged.The German army believed that Belgian civilians had tourted and maltreated German soldiers, they attacked on a large scale. They distroyed historic buildings, cultural centers, and exectued over 5,000 French and Belgian civilians. The Germans believed that the Belgians had got what they deserved and deserved this harsh and uncruel punishment. -
The Battle of Yser
Belgian soilders fought a number of delyaing actions during the first part of the invasion. They held off invaders for over a week in the Battle of Liege, letting Allied forces have enough time to get there. DUring the Race to the Sea,Belgian forces completley stopped the Germans. This success created great propganda for the Belgian army. -
German Occupation
The Germans occupied over 95% of Belgium. Each providence (parish) was governed by a German and had a German police force. During the war, many civilians fled to the safer parts of Belgium. Others fled to the Netherlands, Frace and Britain. The Germans, finding that many of the Belgians were fleeing, created the electric fence along the Belgian-Dutch border preventing people from coming in or heading out. This invention led to the deaths of between 2,000 and 3,000 civilian deaths -
Belgian Military During WWI
Belgium, being a neutral nation, was not preapred to go into war. Belgium had a new inexperienced general staff and no coordination with any other country. The army has 102 machine guns and no heavy artillery. Many of the small army's soilders were captured early on. In late 1914 there were only 60,000 men left. Young men volunteered to serve and by 1918 there was 170,000. -
King Albert in the Paris Peace Conference
King Albert I went to the Paris Peace Conference representing Belgium. He had four main goals he wanted for Belgium to get out of the war. 1) to restore and expand the Belgian Economy using the reparations the Germany gives them. 2) creating a new buffer state to insure Belgium's security. 3) revise the treay of 1839 (Britain always protecting Belgium). 4) to resume their peace with Luxemburg. King Albert was against a harsh punishment for Germany, like Woodrow Wilson. -
What Belgium actually got
Belgium didn't get exactly what it wanted in the end. They only recieved about $500 million; this money wasn't enough to stimulate the Belgian economy for the 1920's. Belgian recieved a small portion of the territory in East Germany. Britian was willing to keep the same boundaries as long as Belgium committed to neutrality, but King Albert I rejected their offer. Belgium was also given a spot in the League of Nations.
