Description: The small and densely populated nation of Belgium has played an important role in the history of Europe and other continents, especially Africa. It was a pioneering force in industry, trade, and finance during the Middle Ages, through early modern times and into the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It introduced innovative political regimes and played a leading role in the creative arts. Yet this rich past is not widely known. This introductory history offers an accessible and rigorous overview of this small but important West-European country, synthesizing Belgium's main economic, social, political, and cultural developments from pre-Roman times until today. Today, this nation-state, born in 1830, is well-known for the rivalries between its two main language communities, and as a result is often considered a fragile or even an artificial political construct. This systematic chronological analysis of both present-day Belgium and the polities that preceded it throws fresh light on this controversial issue and demonstrates Belgium's enduring importance and influence.
Brief description: Guy Vanthemsche is Professor Emeritus at the Free University Brussels, where he taught contemporary history for over three decades. He is the secretary of the Belgian Royal Historical Commission and a member of the Belgian Royal Academy of Overseas Sciences. He is the author of several books on nineteenth- and twentieth-century social, economic and political Belgian history, including Belgium and the Congo, 1885-1980 (Cambridge University Press, 2012).
Review Quotes: 'A remarkable feat of synthesis. This volume provides an excellent modern history of the territories in north-west Europe which, having experienced many different forms of rule - local and imperial, religious and secular - were brought together as the nation and state of Belgium after 1830.' Martin Conway, University of Oxford