Belgium History Timeline & FactsThe Celts and Ancient History
Bronze and Iron Age - The ancient culture of the Celts had settled in many European countries including Austria, Britain, France, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, Western Germany, Northern Spain, Turkey and Hungary Click the following link for details of the ancient
Celts History Timeline & Facts Belgium History Timeline & Facts
The earliest named inhabitants of Belgium were the Belgae who were from Celtic tribes
496 AD King Clovis of the Franks founded a kingdom which included Belgium
768 The Carolingian family began to rule the Frankish kingdom
800 Charlemagne was made King of the Franks
843 Charlemagne's three grandsons divided the Frank empire between themselves
900s - 1000's The Carolingians lost most of their power and the following families took control - Flanders, Brabant, Hainaut, Limburg, and Namur
1477 Maximilian of Austria married to Mary of Burgundy and Belgium was brought under the rule of Austria
1506 1506 Maximilian's grandson, Charles the Bold, inherited the Netherlands (which included present-day Belgium)
1516 Charles the Bold inherited Spain
1519 Charles the Bold became the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V
1555 Charles gave up Belgium to his son, Phillip II
1566 The Protestants in the country, led by William I, Prince of Orange, rebelled against the Catholic Phillip who sent thousands of Spanish soldiers to put down the rebellion
1648 The conflict between Belgium and Spain finally came to an end when Spain recognized the independence of the Netherlands ( which included Belgium )
1713 Belgium came under the rule of Austria
1769 Napoleon Bonaparte is born in Corsica (1769-1821)
1787 Henri Van der Noot and Jan Vonck helped write a Declaration of Independence
1789 The Brabant Belgium Revolution occurred defeating the armies from Austria
January 1790 Belgians formed the independent state called the Etats Belgiques Unis
End of 1790 Austria regained control of the region
Early 1790s France drove the Austrians out of the region
1797 Austria surrendered to Napoleon
1797 Austria gave up the Netherlands and Lombardy to France
1795 Belgium became a part of France
1814 April 6 Napoleon had to give up his throne
1815 After Napoleon was defeated the Congress of Vienna decided that Belgium, Holland, and Luxembourg should be united
1821 Napoleon dies
1830 Belgium won its independence from the Netherlands
1831 July 21 Belgium gains independence from Netherlands
1831 July 21 Leopold I made King of Belgium
1865 King Leopold II sent explorers to Africa and establishes the Congo Free State
1908 The United States forced the king to give control of the Congo to the Belgium Parliament
1908 The Congo Free State is called the Belgian Congo
1909 King Albert I became the new King of Belgium
4 August 1914 Germany invade Belgium and by November Germany occupies all of Belgium
1914-1918 World War I
September 1918 Allied forces began the liberation of Belgium
10 May 1940 Germany invades Belgium drawing them into World War II
1939 -1945 World War II
September 1944 Allied forces liberated Belgium
August 1945 The United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
1951 Leopold gave his crown to his son, Baudouin
1960 The Belgian Congo obtains independence from Belgium. Belgium History Time line |
