Belgium

*"Who is the Belgian in the slack"*

*--Lexy Lee*

## Eulogy 1

*By Cam Cain*

Belgium is a densely populated country in western Europe

It is divided between the Dutch speaking Flemish of the north and the French speaking Walloons of the south

Following World War II, the Flemish economy boomed while Wallonia’s stagnated, leading to tensions

Belgium is home to the administrative headquarters of the European Union

Belgium hosted the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, the final to include tug of war as an event

## Eulogy 2

*By Gregory Severin*

The Kingdom of Belgium is a small, flat country in between Germany, the Netherlands, and France

It is split into three regions: the Dutch-speaking Flanders in the north, the French-speaking Wallonia in the south, and the bilingual capital of Brussels in the middle

Belgium split off from the House of Burgundy alongside the Netherlands after a little war in the late Middle Ages, even though the war was ostensibly over religion and the Belgians (or at least the Flemish) were much more Catholic than the reformist Dutch. This cultural divide would persist through the Napoleonic Era, at which point they decided they wanted to do their own thing, revolted, and with a little help from France became an independent kingdom of their own

Because Belgium is right between Germany and France, it has a long and storied history of being used as a speed bump by the German army on their way to invade France. This has happened several times, most notably in both World Wars. Belgian officials in the fifties decided they were sick of this happening, and so they decided to try and make the two countries (along with the other Benelux countries and Italy) best friends by having them share coal, steel, a customs union, a freedom of migration treaty, and eventually one common currency. For their efforts, the "Super Cool Best Friends Club" that they helped create is headquartered in part in Brussels, and that's where they make new club rules

Domestically, Belgium has a lot of internal strife due to its various linguistic and cultural minorities (there's also a substantial German-speaking presence in eastern Belgium). Each region and linguistic community has its own Parliament, and the federal Parliament makes seven total (not counting the European Parliament headquartered there). None of them really get along, and the Belgian Parliament often fails to form a federal government with any sense of regularity. Government shutdowns last for hundreds of days at a time, and happen relatively frequently

Not content to just be a bundle of bureaucratic headquarters masquerading as a country, Belgium has made several contributions to global culture. Belgians have been pioneers in the neato Art Nouveau architecture movement in the late 19th century, massively influential in the world of pop art and cartoonists thanks to adorable and somewhat racist Belgian cartoons like Tintin and the Smurfs, and legends in the world of electronic music. Both French fries and the saxophone were invented in Belgium, as well as a bunch of different beers

Notable Belgians include musicians Soulwax and Hooverphonic, kick-puncher Jean-Claude Van Damme, fictitious detective Hercule Poirot, a fountain statue of a urinating cherub, me, surrealist painter René Magritte, and the guy who wrote the Hartford Whalers fight song!

## Tournament

Belgium was defeated by Israel in Round 1 Matchup 117 of FlagVote. As the 120 seed, it was defeated by St. Lucia in Round 2 Matchup 18 of FlagVote 2 after previously defeating Sverdlovsk Oblast. As the 108 seed, it was defeated by Argentina in Round 4 Matchup 23 of FlagVote 3.

## Results

### FlagVote 2

**Round 1:** Win over (393) Sverdlovsk Oblast 6-1

**Round 2:** Loss to (137) St. Lucia 5-2

### FlagVote 3

**Round 1:** BYE

**Round 2:** Win over (404) Chiriqui 8-0

**Round 3:** Win over (148) Sami 6-3

**Round 4:** Loss to (20) Argentina 7-2