Book details
Belgium: From the Roman Invasion to the Present Day
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Stored record
Metadata
- Gutenberg ID
- 27442
- Title
- Belgium: From the Roman Invasion to the Present Day
- Language
- en
- Book source
- Project Gutenberg
- Description max 80 words
-
Emile Cammaerts presents a comprehensive history of Belgium from Roman times to 1919, emphasizing the nation's unique development, cultural duality, and the critical role of guaranteed neutrality in preserving its sovereignty amidst European conflicts.
- Summary up to 500 words
-
Emile Cammaerts' *Belgium: From the Roman Invasion to the Present Day* offers a comprehensive narrative of the nation's evolution, challenging the notion that Belgian history began only with the 1830 revolution. The work traces the region's trajectory from the Roman conquest and subsequent Germanic invasions, which established enduring linguistic and racial divisions between Walloons and Flemings, through the fragmentation of Charlemagne's empire and the rise of feudal principalities like Flanders and Brabant. Cammaerts highlights the era of Burgundian unification, noting the flourishing of arts, trade, and industry under dukes such as Philip the Good, alongside the religious turbulence of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation. The narrative details the pivotal separation of the Netherlands and the loss of territory, culminating in the 1839 Treaty of London, which established Belgium's independent, guaranteed neutrality. The book explores the internal political struggles between Liberals and Catholics, the economic renaissance of the 19th century, and the nation's steadfast defense of its neutrality during the Great War. Cammaerts argues that despite territorial reductions and the constraints of imposed neutrality, Belgium maintained its essential character and sovereignty through diplomatic skill and a resilient national spirit. The text concludes by examining Belgium's emergence as a stable, modern European state, emphasizing how the country preserved its core identity and institutions despite centuries of foreign rule and significant geopolitical encroachments.
- LLM editorial rating
- 4.2/5
- Download URL
- https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/27442.epub.noimages
- Local file path
-
data/epubs/pg27442.epub - Downloaded at
- 2026-07-03 15:27 UTC
People
Authors
- Emile Cammaerts
Classification
Categories
- History
- Belgium