Kingdom of Belgium

The Kingdom of Belgium(Royaume de Belgique) is a country situated in the Benelux, as it borders several countries including the Kingdom of Prussia, the Kingdom of France, the Kingdom of Luxembourg, and the Dutch Republic. Belgium is a multi-ethnic country with Flemish and Wallon making the bulk of the population and a small dutch minority.  The majority of the people speak French, Dutch, and German, though recent anti-dutch sentiment has brought that down. The motto of the country is “Unity make strength” as it is ruled by King Leopold III of the Belgians. The colonial empire of Belgium spans several time zones which include the Belgian Kongo, Ruanda-Urundi, Belgian Tianjin, Sint Maarten, Aruba, Curaçao, Kersteilland. Their colonies are grouped into 4 administered zones: Territoire impérial des Caraïbes(Imperial Caribbean Territory), Afrique Belge(Belgian Africa), Territoire de l'océan impérial(Imperial Ocean Territories), Territoire chinois sous administration Belge(Belgian Administered Chinese Territory). Belgians pride themselves on their Empire and always try to outperform their Dutch counterparts in every way possible.

## **History**

### **The Belgian Revolution and the aftermath(1830-1840)**

The Belgian people were enraged at the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. The King at the time William I made Protestantism the official religion of the country, despite there being a large Roman Catholic population in the Southern Provinces of the Flemings and Walloons. The Revolution broke out because of many factors. More Dutch held seats in governments and in the military, despite the Southern Provinces having 62% of the population. William I shunned Catholicism and limited it's teachings in education. In the Flemish Provinces Dutch was made the official language despite there being a large French speaking population there. In Brussels, riots broke out and Crown Prince William, who represented the monarchy in Brussels, was convinced by the Estates-General on 1 September that the administrative separation of north and south was the only viable solution to the crisis. However the King soon sent 6,000 soldiers to the city to quell the revolts. This soon led for Belgium to declare independence on the 4th of October 1830. The British intervened forcing the Netherlands to cede territory to the new country of Belgium. Disaster followed in 1833 as William I invaded Belgium again, but was halted by British troops. France and Spain supported the Netherlands, while Prussia and Britain countered them. What followed was a short and swift war, causing the Netherlands to recognize Belgian independence and Belgium officially allying itself with Great Britain.

### **France and the Victorian Era(1840-1875)**

When France broke out into revolution(cant write till manx finishes it)

### **The Shadow War(1875-1880)**

Following the great decades of peace between the Netherlands and Belgium, war erupted again. This time over the controversial Limburg and Zeeland regions. William III of the Netherlands decided to settle these disputes by force, as well hopefully gain Belgian Settlements in the Kongo. The Dutch swept the Kongo settlements with ease from their Golden Coast Colony, and their army marched through Antwerpen and Limburg, before capturing Antwerpen itself. The Dutch issued a blockade and all was going well. Until Great Britain declared war on the Netherlands and issued a blockade, while sending troops in to defend Belgium. Luxembourg would be swiftly overran, and the local population would establish the country of Luxembourg. Dutch Caribbean colonies fell, as the British begun to wreak havoc on the Dutch East Indies trade routes. Belgium successfully counterattacked the Dutch to around the pre-war border. France mobilized on Belgium's border after the conflict was going on for five years. Pressure from the Dutch East India company forced William III to agree to the peace deal that the British have gave them, after it seemed the British were going to take their colonies. Prussia and France also would seem to joined, and William, not wanting to causing another world conflict after the toll the 2nd Anglo-Spanish war has taken on Europe, he surrendered. The Netherlands were to cede Limburg and parts of Zeeland to Belgium, and as well pay war reparations. They were to cede their Caribbean colonies to Belgium, hand over the seized Kongo settlements back over to Belgium, and the Malay Peninsula to Britain. The aftermath of the war took a toll on both countries as they begun to rebuild.

### **The emergence of the Empire(1880-1915)**

Leopold then had many colonial ambitions, but never carried out his dreams. In the late 1870’s Leopold II requested for the government of Belgium to venture out for a colonial empire. At the time Belgium had several colonies in the Caribbean, which they managed easily. But Leopold wanted something bigger, with more resources. The government declined this, not wanting to spend more money on colonies. Leopold then went past this to form a state under his personal rule, which was the Congo Free state. Belgium already had some minor trade forts in that area, and with help from Britain, they formed the Anglo-Belgium India Rubber Company which explored the area for resources. When the conference of Brussels happened, most European powers agreed for Kongo to go to Belgium however some resistance from the Dutch occurred. Over 10 million people in Kongo later died, but this wasn’t shared publicly till the Kongo Crisis happened. Leopold himself personally gained multi-million dollars of wealth from his cruel campaign of looting and killing in the Kongo. Later Belgium took control of the colony after international pressure and began to build it up into a model colony. During the 3rd Anglo-Spanish War, Belgium gained Ruanda-Urundi from the former Spanish colony in East Africa. Besides their African Colonies, Belgium did have numerous small possessions scattered around. In the Caribbean, they gained most of the Dutch colonies from the Shadow War gifted to them from the British. These islands would be mostly tourist attractions and supply the sugar for the mainland. In China, they got some Tianjin concessions, along with other nations got a small part of the city in the late 19th century. The Austro-Hungarian, Italian and Russian concessions were later bought out by Belgium who modernized their area, with them owning about ⅓ of the city’s concessioned territory. Their last and final colony is located in between the Dutch East Indies, and British Australia. Kersteilland as it is called or Christmas Island in French is owned by Belgium, after a trade agreement with the British Government over disputes with the Dutch. Kersteilland serves as a minor trading port, and it has a British military base on the island. It was given to the Belgians in 1913.