Why Isn't Belgium Part of the Netherlands? | History of the Low Countries 100 AD - 1815
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- čas přidán 23. 04. 2024
- Belgium and the Netherlands are two of the three countries in Western Europe that make up the Low Countries. In many ways the two are very similar, and historically at different periods in history large parts of both were ruled by the same political entities including the Roman Empire, the Frankish Empire, the Burgundian Netherlands, the Habsburg Netherlands, The Spanish Empire, and finally the Kingdom of the United Netherlands. But today the two are independent of one another despite the many cultural similarities and shared history. In this three part series I will be looking at how Belgium became independent from the Netherlands starting with this episode on the historical context of the two countries.
I'm not alone today as this video is brought to you in collaboration with Mr Beat, a fellow CZcamsr who makes all sorts of videos explaining history, politics and generally interesting things. He has a video up on his channel all about comparing the Netherlands and Belgium today - check it out:
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0:00 - Intro
1:26 - Leve De Koning!
1:42 - Belgium & The Netherlands' Ancient History
3:28 - Belgium & The Netherlands' Middle Ages
5:09 - The Eighty Years War
6:07 - The Netherlands Divided
6:54 - The Brabantine Revolution
7:53 - Patriots and Orangists in the Dutch Republic
9:29 - France Invades Belgium
10:26 - The Batavian Republic
11:04 - The Kingdom of Holland
11:57 - Liberation
12:28 - The Return of the Stadthouder
13:49 - The Kingdom of the United Netherlands
15:44 - A House Divided?
18:42 - Outro
Music Used:
Expeditionary - Kevin MacLeod
Angevin B - Kevin MacLeod
Inspired - Kevin MacLeod
Lost Frontier - Kevin MacLeod
Hungarian Rhapsody - Franz Liszt
Egmond Ooverture - Beethoven
Eine Kleine Nachtsmusik - Mozart
Sunday Dub - Kevin MacLeod
Send me an email if you'd be interested in doing a collaboration! historywithhilbert@gmail.com
#Belgium #Nederland #Belgique
Hi everyone thank you very much for watching! Do check out Mr Beat's video on comparing the Netherlands and Belgium here:
czcams.com/video/aoKJhFN3vno/video.html
The belgian goverment doesnt work.
Came here looking for this comment after I saw the thumbnails near each other in my subscription feed.
@@AholeAtheist lmao
If you think Belgium have bad roads you have never been to stauland(🤢germany 🤮).
One big thing that you missed in your conclusion about the causes of Belgian independance is that, apart for language and religion differencies, there was also a big divide on social matters, as liberals allied themselves with catholics to proclaim independance, on basis such as freedom of speech, which was not granted by the Dutch king. The importance of the liberals are really important considering belgian independance.
''While most northern Netherlands were able to speak French, most French weren't able to speak Dutch' '
Some things never change
I ask myself this everyday
The Congolese wonder this too
It's very simple. The belgians dont want to.
Recently there were a couple of polls in the netherlands and in flanders, in the netherlands 77% of the population are for uniting while 85% are for closer relations. In flanders however only 1% to 2% are for uniting, this isnt even counting wallonia which will probably be even lower.
The simple thing is the people dont want it.
The common dutch narrative is that the belgian revolution was caused by religious and linguistic differences but thats just not the full picture, the belgians paid more for less representation and the massive harbour and textile industries were scaled back massively putting loads of belgians into poverty as a direct result of relocation of these industries to amsterdam, which is one of the reasons amsterdam is a bigger port city then antwerpen.
@Steele D w8 wot?
Expand plz
@@lordmiraak8991 kerel 1 tot 2% lijkt mij belachelijk weinig
@@MrWimvdg is het toch, volgens een studie uit het ku leuven.
The fact is that the Netherlands and France share a common border.
On the Saint Martin island in the Caribbean.
You mean sint maarten 😉🇳🇱
That's about the oldest joke everybody knows.
@@bernarddelafontaine4825 Let people have fun, will you.
@@xenotypos Sure. What really makes me puke, though, is some adolescent like Jens, who hasn't yet found out that his loving mom is the only one who considers him an omniscient boy wonder, has no clue he makes busloads of people lose time by having them read the same moldy stuff for the 7000th time. Fun has its limits! So: JENS, INNOVATE! URGENTLY! Like NOW!
@@bernarddelafontaine4395
I did not mind him mentioning it. And I have Dutch family living in St Maarten.
Bu the way, it wasn't a joke.
It was information that many people might not know about. St Maarten is not very well known outside of France and the Netherlands.
Your critique was totally ridiculous.
If I had nikel for every French speaking region wanting for independence I'd have two nikel which isn't a lot but it's weird that there's two of them
I think you mean nickel
@@prussian_floppa3727 I dorn't bhink anyhone wars conbrused ash tom whaart hes wabs sayling.
@@OgrimMetal Beautiful.
@@OgrimMetal I like this. Well done. x'D
Could you please translate 'nikel' from Nipponenglish into something we may understand?
Wait, you think Belgium has bad infrastructure? Laughs in American.
Great to finally collaborate with you!
America is to big which is understandable
@@Hello-uk5xp It's really not about that. Other types of road (for example combined with proper sidewalks, public transit and bike lanes) is actually way better in terms of capacity. It's a design flaw, not a flaw in it's geography. The channel not just bikes explain things pretty well.
Grid structures also don't help, which is also a design flaw.
Realy nice video you put up. rarely there is the mention of the franks/ carolingian , empires.
President Biden is in the process of fixing that
r/americabad, dude we’re tired of hearing the same thing about the nation over and over again.
"how do the governments work?" Wow, i didn't know the Belgian government works.
Touché ;)
Only when we have one.
And then they work mostly on filling their own pockets.
@@JorneDeSmedt urgh
@@JorneDeSmedt not exactly... yhr main problem is that we have a governement under a governement wuth their own leaders which will bitch at eachother 50% of the time...
Propably more.
@@gentleshark972 Well yeah, there's that too. Sometimes I think certain parties are purposefully undermining our country, to get to force their goal of a confederacy,
One big thing that you missed in your conclusion about the causes of Belgian independance is that, apart for language and religion differencies, there was also a big divide on social matters, as liberals allied themselves with catholics to proclaim independance, on basis such as freedom of speech, which was not granted by the Dutch king. The importance of the liberals are really important considering belgian independance.
I agree. The social structure of what would become Belgium is very important. French was spoken by the elite, first of all the catholics, but also by the liberals. This is the start of the Industrial Revolution. The Dutch speaking part of Belgium, Flanders had a long history of textile industry. Where French speaking "liberals" were the bosses in factories with Dutch speaking laborers. Meanwhile in the French speaking Wallonia coal and iron ore made it one of the riches regions in Europe. In Belgium at that time Dutch speaking citizen were second class and the Industrial Revolution empowered the French elite. In 1830 there was a wave liberal revolutions (in France, Poland, Italy, Portugal and Switserland) and the Belgium revolution is part of that wave. The change of power from (catholic) noble landowners to liberal rich factory owners.
From my (Dutch) perspective that isn't relevant. The Belgians wanted their independence. So we should have granted that. The reasons why Belgian wanted to become independent is up to the Belgians, and the Dutch should respect that, whatever it is.
Btw: I think this is a good example of how countries should resolve their differences. Many other countries would still be griping about territorial issues, atrocities committed, etc. The Belgians and Dutch got beyond that, and now have excellent relations.
This youtuber is a biased and smallminded 'historian'
@@gravityskeptic8697 The issue was that the King, who was head of state at the time, didn't want to grant independence to half of his kingdom. I don't think that the average Northern Dutchman of that time had any gripe against Belgian independence.
@@gravityskeptic8697 The thing is that "The Belgians" weren't a single unified voice at this point, and The United Kingdom of the Netherlands wasn't a modern democracy. So to whom you listen as representing "The Belgians" is a bit of a toss-up. This is also the time when nationalism starts forming, and the national question has been a complicated matter in Belgium from the outset.
Hello Hilbert. I enjoyed this as it is not often covered.
My interest in history was started by a childhood fascination with Napoleonic Wars and Battle of Waterloo. I soon noticed about the union of what is now Belgium into the Netherlands in 1815, especially as at Waterloo the Belgian and Dutch units differed in the Belgians had the Belgic shako, as had the British. Noticeably the riflemen like Sharpe wore an older style. I used to buy Waterloo Airfix figures from a shop near my grandmas when visiting the family home town of Keighley. Funny how on TV Sharpe was from there later. His shooting the Prince of Orange seemed so like a typical Keighley response, though I know he is not from there in the books.
I am also fascinated by languages.
I think this is from speaking dialect. I really like how you bring language and history together in your videos.
"Bene, which I think looks pretty good." I see what you did there
Thank you Hilbert for today's dose of awesomeness
Bene Lux, which shines a good light in dark times.
Fa Bene!
🤌
Belgian here. It’s funny how the Romans laid roads in Belgium, but not in the Netherlands, but somehow we still managed to get behind on keeping them up to speed.
(No pun intended btw)
There are Roman roads found in the NL the where made of wood because of the soil so the rotting away.
Even better, asphalt roads were INVENTED by the Belgians. 1870, Edward de Smedt.
@@murdoch201 Wow…that’s a bunch of people we’re dissapointing. 😅
Duinkerke-transgressies
Near on impossible to build long-lasting roads in low-lying bogs & wetlands....Only with the creation of canals & dykes was the Netherlands able to then be manageable through infrastructure build.
I understand it's a very complicated history with a lot of nuances. But I still would like to add a more Belgian perspective (often overlooked when it comes to the 80 years war eventhough that's a major influence on our history). Most of the biggest cities, the richest merchants, the only university (Leuven) were all ... in the south. The north prospered partly due to an exodus of protestants from the south. As to the idea to reunite the region... It's not that straightforward as it might seem. Holland, Brabant and Flanders were economical competitors and each had important cities that profited largely from the decline (Antwerp from the decline of Bruges, Amsterdam from the sack of Antwerp). Many of the leading figures including William of Orange or the man who wrote the Wilhelmus (national anthem), Marnix of St-Allegonde, were all from the south and only fled north due to the revolt establishing a foothoold there. Once the contrareformation had reestablished catholicism in the major southern cities, a reunion of the two regions would have had an overwhelming catholic majority... Having to give up the power, the protestant leaders of the United Provinces were reluctant, even fearful at times. An additional reason the Dutch had to leave the situation like it was, was to prevent a direct border with the largest European land power, France. Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries there were numerous wars where the southern Netherlands were pillaged, adding to the general feeling of decline after the Dutch revolt.
The name of both countries means exactly the same, the Low Countries. Belgium just refers to the French adaptation of the latin name, Belgica). This is why you see the Leo Belgica map of the 17 provinces or New Netherlands being called Nova Belgica. Somewhere in the 18th century people in current Belgium began referring to themselves as Belgians (you did it in the video to). This is why the translation of Netherlands was translated as Belgiques in French. This was not a mistake, it's just that most people don't realize the meaning of both names.
'The north prospered partly due to an exodus of protestants from the south.' True but also jewish Portugese sailors, Italian bankiers, french protestants etc. etc. idk if the belgian weavers were the bigger part but ye there was alot of people moving to Holland
Thanks for the perspective, especially the first half of the video felt more like the history of the Netherlands with Flanders being symbolically mentioned as well.
I mean, mentioning Danes rule in Holland but not the Union of Atrecht is just a weird choice
@@Hacckfort The French protestants didn't arrive in numbers until the end of the 17th century. The Jewish population was important for Amsterdam specifically because other Dutch cities had refused them, but not the Republic as a whole as much (which isn't surprising, given the distance and comparatively small number). The Italian bankers were already present in Bruges and Antwerp and simply moved north as well, together with the Souther protestants.
It was rather a bit more than "weavers". Painters, printers, cartographers, shipwrights, civil engineers for drainage and canals (extant already in Flemish cities back when Amsterdam's only canals were its city moats, Singel & Oudeschans), bankers, brokers, insurers, instrumentmakers and bell casters. To a degree, they're all just part of a continuous tradition of the low countries, but the stock exchanges (pioneered in Bruges and Antwerp), and university tradition were direct inheritances from the south.
@@matthijslenaerts9423 o, yea I didnt know, I already stopped commenting on topics I dont know things about lol dont worry
YES! This is EXACTLY the video I’ve been wanting!!! Thanks Hilbert 🙌
Thanks for sharing an excellent video. Interesting to watch. Keep up the good work.
Very interesting topic, Keep up the good work.
PLEASE! Increase the volume of the narration or decrease it for the music. It is difficult to hear the narration over the music in much of the video.
YES!
Definitely, music is far too loud.
Came to the comments sections just to mention this too. The music is WAY too loud compared to the voice levels here. Coupled with his monotone voice and rambling monologue style, it's hard to make it through this video.
I can't hear what's being said here.
The volume of the dramatic music is very distracting.
I can't watch this whole episode, despite being interested in the subject.
This channel is normally really good.
Having lived in both Belgium and the Netherlands, I'm absolutely loving this video!
Great work once again!
Saw the title and was anxiously waiting for *the* song
"And there was a period in time when the BeNeLux was only the Ne"
*based and Wilhelmus-pilled*
Everyone watching this: Wait, it's all Netherlands...
Hilbert: *Always has been*
And all is Belgica Nostra!
You mean it was only the "Be"..
Nice to have a Dutch perspective on the Belgian revolution. I also learned a lot about the history of the Netherlands too. One detail though: I've never heard of the term 'le royaume des Belgiques' before but if such translation exists it shoudn't be seen as a reference to nowadays belgium as basically back then through latin, Belgium (Belgique in french) was sometimes the French translation of the Netherlands. For instance, the briefly mentioned United Belgian States, a confederation that was formed after the Brabant revolution, was called Verenigde Nederlandse Staten in Dutch annd Etats Belgiques Unis in French
That is so weird. Never heard of that. Tho België is then a word that came in use after the Belgian revolution I assume
@@tunahan4418 Yes, but it's a direct reference to Belgica, which was the latin name for the Seventeen provinces prior to the Dutch Revolt/Independence, which in turn refers to the Roman Province named after the Belgae tribe from what's now Eastern Belgium, which appealed to the romantic spirit of the time (and contrasted with Batavia, the name of the Celtic tribes to the North that was used for the Napoleonic puppet-state in the Dutch Republic.)
@@Biggie-Cheese9 nee hij is Nederlands (en/of misschien Fries). Niet een Belg of Engelse lol
Belgium is rightful Dutch clay
- refuses to elaborate
- leaves
Only country in the world where they manage to run the country with out a functioning goverment for 2 years.
@@marcusfranconium3392 The Netherlands is pretty good at that today. It is not yet 2 years but we allready have the longest formation ever. So even in that respect we are painfully allike. We just have more riots....and big corperations that leave us for england (England Brexit country how bad must it be for a corp. to go there?) even though we are a tax heaven and then I don't even speak about the Corona wildfire that goes on because we are to fíng stubborn to follow the most basic rules.. .O god we suck so bad.. still have better roads though :-)
@@fulconielsgawein Funny because of Brexit, English companies are now moving to Flanders and Wallonia. Seems, like it's coming full circle xD.
But I read that a lot of London based bankers are moving to Amsterdam and Frankfurt, so maybe yall get a piece of that cake.
@@davgg9621 everyone is going in circles it seems :-)
Yesss! Thank you! More lowlands history videos, please!
As a Belgian it still blows my mind how my country (or at least the lands where it is located now) has always been the playing ground for the wars of larger nations and how much of our history we have been occupied by foreign powers. Spanning from the Roman Empire all the way up to the Second World War.
The low lands...where great powers come to die...the Romans, the Franks,the Spanish, Napoleon and Germans...
Thanks a lot for looking into the complicated history of my complicated, proud and small country!
Cheers from Namur!
@@judgecaligulabushman Nameur
@@judgecaligulabushman Namur is in the Province of Namur wich is a French speaking Province. Therefor it's official name is Namur not Namen. Like I'm not calling Antwerpen "Anvers".
@@epinoke4168 yep Nameur 😉👍
For those who wonders, in walloon dialect Namur is called Nameur.
@@duneydan7993 You can call Antwerpen as you like, but your "Namur" will forever be "Namen" to me. I'm not French.
My toddler loves stroopwafels. Why did you mention stroopwafels? I'm all out at the moment. Now my house is like spending New Years Eve 1944 in the Ardennes. Thanks.
Belgium: The state that was meant to be a speed bump, but ended up getting squished, twice over.
Hey look I found the tommykay guy
I'm beginning to realise the algorithm works too well
Well during the first world war we did slow down the Germans enough to make the Von Schlieffen Plan fail. And during the Second world war it was mostly due to French failure in Planning around the Ardennes so I don't really get your point.
@@HetRodeGevaarVanGent you must feel proud of yourself
@@cv4809 ?
A side issue that the Dutch and Belgians may not have noticed is the large numbers of Englishmen, Scots and Irishmen who used to go crusading in Prussia and Livonia with the Teutonic Knights or in Palestine could later on more easily take part in the fighting in the Low Countries.
They included the poet Sir Philip Sidney, who died for one side at Zutphen, and Guy Fawkes, who survived to come back as a jihadi on the other side.
I'm so happy I found this video!! My Grandparents on my Mother's side came to the United States from Luxembourg in or around the 1920's ..I grew up hearing about Belgium & " zee old country"!!❤😍 I adored to hear their stories...they spoke french , german & I think the Luxembourgers (?) Had their own language?? I'm not sure..I am sure that I used to translate their broken english to my friends or on the phone ( if my parents weren't around) So I subscribed in hopes I can find out even more about that lovely & beautiful part of our world!! Thank you so much for this!!❤❤❤
The language you’re looking for is Lëtzebuergesch
@@timpauwels3734 thank you so much! Now I will have to learn to pronounce that correctly!😊🙋 It's very kind of you to tell me...👍
Did not expect my dad's voice in this video. We are from Doetinchem and indeed my dad would still pronounce "Woar is mien pannekuhk?" in the local dialect.
Because Belgium has contractual obligations.
Jeremy Clarkson needs it as a unit of torque.
I'm excited to hear that the Belgian Revolution is getting its own video next week. Both because it is a very interesting event in its own right, and because there is a connection between it and the November Uprising in Poland, which started on the 29th of November 1830 (and lasted for most of the following year).
fun fact, in the "Fiftieth Anniversary Arc" in Brussels there is a monument in honour of Polish soldiers who fought for the Belgian independence after they failed in Russia
@@chainehistoire7616 Thanks for the information! I didn't know that. Can you recommend some additional sources? Did these Polish veterans fight in the siege of Antwerp in 1932? I'm asking because when the fighting during the Belgian Revolution itself and later the Ten Days' Campaign already ended, the fighting in Poland was still going on. Therefore for a moment, I started suspecting that the monument you wrote about simply honours the Polish insurgents because the November Uprising helped the Belgian cause by keeping Russia busy; preventing any direct Russian intervention and temporary weakening its strategic and diplomatic position (while also averting Prussian attention eastward), not because they directly fought for Belgium. Plus, among the reasons for the uprising in Poland were the rumours circulating among Polish troops (the autonomous Kingdom of Poland had its own Army) that Nicholas I is going to intervene in the Belgian Revolution and that they are going to be used in this intervention. I also knew that, after the Uprising was eventually crushed, many of its participants found refuge in Belgium (some temporary, before moving on to other countries, some for good).
@@Artur_M. i do not remember
The problem is that the monument is in an area generally not open to the public (the stairs leadind to the top of the arch in the opposite side of the war museum if I remember correctly)
I cannot verify sorry
@@chainehistoire7616 Thanks again anyway! BTW I looked up The Cinquantenaire Arcade and holy smoke it's really massive, an entire complex, not just a simple triumphal arch. No wonder it has some hidden details.
@@Artur_M. the museum of war in that complex has a very big collection, if you come to Brussels one day it is one place to visit
I really enjoy learning about the history of the Low Countries...my own ancestors from Antwerp had French names and moved to Rotterdam in the 1620s (thank you nl genealogie!) I find it fascinating that this coincides with the world's most important port moving from Antwerp to Rotterdam. Am intrigued to find that they had French names so am assuming they were Catholic but I really don't know! Especially as they moved from a predominantly Catholic area(Antwerp) to a predominantly Protestant one (Rotterdam), so I would really love to know more!
Informatief, bedankt
EXCELLENT QUESTION!
Goed uitgelegd 👍🏿
Instead of just names can you add maps ? Btw love these videos!
The Germans wanted to take a grand ol' holiday to Paris in 1940, and not even they could avoid the speed bump
Not gonna lie, Orangists sound like a nickname for Floridian politicians
Hello son!
Or Trumpers
In 1914 we stopped them.
In 1914 they were stopped by bad roads, so in 1940 they avoided those went went straight through the Ardennes, as rough terrain is much easier to traverse than Belgian roads.
@@kimjongil5753 lol
Great stuff mate!
Groeten uit Brabant 😜
Ok ok!
Opening straight away with the state of our infrastructurs!
Straight where it hurts!
I mean I am sure Germany or France will build it for you the next time.
Lekkere videos, luisteren tijdens het werk
Hey really Nice video, but one thing, the background music was sometimes too loud! Itwas starting to get in the way of your voice
Nice use of the Egmont composition. Very fitting ;).
1:25 This is the moment I will always remember about your channel.
As a Dutch national living in Walloon on mere 100s meters from both the Netherlands and Flanders ... Okay there's the obvious language barrier and you can clearly make up in which of the 3 territories you are judging from the architecture and infrastructure alone, but man.... the cultural differences are unexpectedly WILD. Thanks for this.
I think a much more apt question for both the Netherlands and Belgium right now isn't "How do the governments?" work but "Do the governments work?".
great video
this man learned me more history that my history teacher
And your English teacher must have been a total failure 😂😂😂
Interesting video, I have one question though do you know why the Prince-Bishropic of Liege was also incorporated in to the Netherlands?
I'm not sure, but I associate Price-Bishops with the Holy Roman Empire which was dissolved during the Napoleonic wars.
A united Netherlands was created in part to form a buffer against French expansion. Having Liege in the middle of that would have undermined this function and created a conflict waiting to happen. (I suspect)
It was awarded to the Netherlands at the Congress of Vienna
Liège's people launched its own revolution in 1789, ousting the last prince-bishop and founding a republic that asked to join France (granted). When the French empire collapsed, it was clear to everyone in Vienna that Liège couldn't remain French, be independant again and/or that the bishopric principalty could be reestablished successfully. Thus, the most logical thing to do was to give it to whoever would have the rest of the southern Netherlands. Still today, Liège is the most francophile part of Belgium (I mean, the guys make a bigger party for Bastille day than for the National day of Belgium...)
@@francoisdebellefroid2268 Very cool!
When French revolutionary forces had taken it, they joined it to the region that is now Belgium, to which it had always kind of belonged in the way that ecclesiastic states are usually influenced by the regions around them. The Burgundians, Spanish and Austrians had always controlled it prior to that, so it was rather natural. The bigger surprise was that Post Belgian revolution, the lands were divided and Maastricht went to the Netherlands, which looks unusual from a map perspective (but there were forts and river access involved etc.)
Yes, for us Germans it really always was a speedbump on the way to france
Belgium border patrol: Occupation?
Germans: No, just passing through.
@@two_motion not in 1914 1918 i think bloody
I always thought the Yser was a river :)
@@murdoch201 helo the Yzer is a small river,
I’d say a speedbumb for the Americans on the way to Berlin
Je muziek is écht te luid in tegenstelling tot je stem, Hilbert.
Kijk daar even naar. Verder, prima video'tje! Lekker ding van mij!
Good to get a better understanding of what I was a bit vague about. 🤔
I like you added the Sharpe clip
It seems you skipped over a significant chunk of the Middle Ages, where Flanders (now West+East Flanders) was a rebellious French province, playing both sides of the 100 years war for trade advantages.
That’s the Burgundian face
@@luukmathijssen9877 no before that
Like 700 years of history… and to be fair, Flanders wasn’t more rebellious than any other French duchy or county. Normandy, burgundy, Aquitaine, .. were all entities that at some point played for or against their liege. We just remember Flanders because of the political situation in Belgium. Catalonia was as rebellious and actually seceded fairly early.
@@willelmus You're right, even if I don't if you can call that rebellious when the system is designed to have powerful nobles and to limit the powers of the king. They just felt it was their right to be quasi-independent.
@@willelmus Flanders was simply more relevant historically as an independent territory because of its trade position. Its lords (Godfrey of Bouillon descended from the house of Flanders as well) were major figures in the crusader states and the Latin Empire of Constantinople, its early cities were far larger, richer and independent than most northern European cities and it was the artistic centre for painting north of the Alps prior and during most of the renaissance. But most of all, because it was the birthplace of the Habsburg dynasties after the marriage of Mary of Burgundy and Maximilian I. Also, no point in separating Burgundy from Flanders. The only time Burgundy revolted was when its ruler also came into possession of Flanders
Normandy and Aquitaine are relevant for England because of William the Conqueror and the Plantagenets but, didn't have much wider importance vs let's say the large fairs of Champagne or the Papacy at Avignon. Flanders and Brabant, by comparison, drove the Northern wool trade, played key roles in the crusades, 100 years war, Wars of religion, Dutch revolt, Wars of Spanish Succession, etc. and the rise of the Northern Renaissance. The only regions in France of equal historical importance for broader European history IMO would be Paris itself and perhaps Lorraine
If the only reason you've heard of Flanders is Belgian politics, you have had a weird education.
15:10 The word "Belgium" at the time could still refer to both the north and south, in fact the Latin translation "Belgica" is still commonly used in Latin for the Netherlands today and on the golden Ducats the term "Belg." is used in reference to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. "Belgium" being a name for a historical Celtic tribe that the Romans knew, like referring to the Czech Republic as "Bohemia".
I love Belgium (aside from Brussels). It's my favorite country to visit and I've been to 78 countries and every country in Europe (aside from Romania and Estonia)
Why?
Lol, it’s a terrible country.
@@rogierb7577 why?
@@RazPerignon I don't know what's not to like about it. It's more relaxed than the other countries around it like France and Netherlands.
Thanks we love it to
Please make a video about the liberal reforms that Austria implemented. Austria is not the country I think of when someone says liberal reforms, and I would really love to see how you can develop on a much obscure side of the austrian/HRE monarchy.
Stroop Waffles are lovely, my Dad brought them back from a business trip to the Netherlands once, also great video and keep up the hard work from Ireland 🇮🇪 🤝🇳🇱
How has it taken me this long to figure out what Benelux means
The title is like one of the biggest questions in the Netherlands, up there with 'Who are we' and 'Where are we from'
Moet even oud Hollands zeiken, maar vond het soms moeilijk je te verstaan met de muziek zo luid. Verder super goed filmpje.
3:23 that horse having the best day of his life
Interesting stuff, just wish the music wasn't so loud
Interessant
One of problem with the videos is sometime the music is so loud that I can't hear what he's saying clearly.
Otro gran video de Don Hilberto
Muchas gracias tío
bloody good video
I stopped there during the tour of Europe in the youth of my summer and it had the best beer I ever tasted and some of the coolest bars I ever been to plus they have a bootleg cassette culture society that rivals the world...
I have wondered about this my whole life. As did my father, and my father's father, and his, and on back in time. At last, my bloodline can know peace.
You can call the battle of Waterloo "the battle of Eigenbrakel", as that is where it was fought.
Nobody wants to write or pronounce "Braine l'Alleud" as the town is called in French.There are hundreds of buildings and places called after Waterloo, can you imagine renaming them all to "Braine l'Alleud" ?
@@flitsertheo "Braine l'Alleud" would probably never have won the eurovision, I grant you that ^^
I love these two countries as I grew up near the border and used to visit both very often.
This is a gret video. And, of course, In such a video you have to leave out a lot of topics. But Charles V. resigned in 1556 and divided his country between his son Philipp and his brother Ferdinand. Charles lived in a great manor, well, or palace next to a cloister up to his death caused by Malaria in 1558. And the House of Austria was no new power in 1714. It was simply a name for the House of Habsburg, to which the Netherlands belonged since 1482 (or 1477, dependend how you interprete the agreement on this topic). They were named after Austria, only one of their territories, because they resided in Vienna and it became kind of their 'core land'. And Luxembourg was its own country with the same monarch. It even belonged to the German Federation ("Deutscher Bund").
Much of my father’s European ancestry comes from the Low Countries being part Dutch and Belgian and it’d be interesting learning more about part of my history to track migrations. Only thing is that there aren’t enough videos online about Dutch and Belgian history
mr beat told me that you were kickass
Really like the video, but I do find the volume of the background music really distracting. It's Beethoven, so how bad can it be, but it can make it difficult to focus on your voice.
Hi Hilbert, I think your videos would be better if you showed more maps, displaying the relevant area you're talking about, instead of orange screens with just the name. It's not that I don't like orange, but it's just easier to understand and later remember. Groeten. :)
Fun fact: the dress uniform of the Dutch artillery regiment 'Gele rijders' (yellow riders) is based on the uniform William I wore during the battles of Quatre-Bras and Waterloo.
Fun fact: My father is the commander of all the"Gele Rijders" in The Netherlands. (Not even kidding)
15:00 what song is that?
I wonder. Is that license free music in the background, cause that’s the HOI4 soundtrack. Well one of many tracks.
0:49
Nice wee Italian Pun ;)
Hilbert: your videos are fascinating. One small mistake: Charles V abdicated in 1555 and died in 1558.
also important to note is that the brabantine revolution was a mostly dutch speaking Belgian revolution, and the dutch language got a more important place in the united belgian states than it got in 1830 in the kingdom of Belgium. I also get why you want to involve the netherlands into this but only one of the many Belgian armies formed in the netherlands (breda in noord-brabant, which was generaliteitland, not dutch republic and being catholics they would probably have prefered to join the other brabanders in the united Belgian states) other armies came from the militia of the flemish cities and volounteers from rural areas, they were also supported by the prince-bishopric of Liege, which was an independent state.
Neat
It’s in denial
It's a real shame about the United Kingdom of the Netherlands getting dissolved. It would've been a real powerhouse in Europe. If only Belgium and Luxembourg returned to the Netherlands
I think Luxembourg should stay independent but Belgium has no reason to exist. They should either be partitioned between France and the Netherlands or split into Flanders and Wallonia.
@@lincolnlog5977 Why? I love that country. It's gorgeous, it's rich and they have amazing food, beer and chocolate. If I had to leave my country, I surely move to Belgium.
@@adrianos7334 Did you not watch the video?
We don’t belong to the Netherlands. Never have and never will.
The music is beautiful and the subject is very interesting but sometimes the music is so fascinating I could barely listen to you ,... So maybe next time you could choose something less dominant as a background music
Very interesting and informative, but your commentary is often overwhelmed by the musical "background".
The real question is, why isn't the Netherlands part of Belgium.
8:13 Oh! So this is how the blue in our flag became cobalt blue then! Interesting. Thank you!
mooi stukje geschiedenis dit
Belgium only exists as a buffer state by separating European nations like with Britain and Germany, to the Netherlands and France, and Luxembourg from The Sea.
eh?
Do a video on the siege of Jadotville
The fact that we are still talking about it today makes me believe it will happen someday. I live in Limburg (south) and I went to school in Belgium. Even the majority of the Belgians say it would be more beneficial to merge than not.
You actually missed a part (or I'm just stupid and missed it). But Belgium was formed as a borderstate between France and Germany. Not by nationalist movements of the people, as is normally the case.
This probably would have been a good short documentary if it wasn't for Beethoven blasting out in the background. Is background music really necessary in a documentary ? I found it very distracting and had to turn it off half way through.
I have a question on the language situation in Nederland and Belgium?
Did really a significant proportion of the popolation speak the "Algemeen Beschaafde Taal" in the 19th century?
nah mate even now we don't speak "ABN" we all just communicate in dialects or a mix of dialect and ABN especially in Flanders and in the netherlands as well but less. But in the 19th century it was all regional dialects, now the dialects are fading away because in schools it's disencouraged you are not allowed to speak dialect at least where i'm from (West-Flanders) and people see you as unintelligent or as someone who has no manners. Dialects are mostly spoken in Villages and older people in general.
@@foscog5253 It was kind of a rhetorical question, I hate when poeple say that the flanders spoke dutch and that the french-dutch divide was always as important as it is now to understand Belgian history
What is a shame is that ABN was created to safeguard dutch and flemish cultures (with an s) against french language imperialim and it did what it was meant to prevent
Your Dutch pronunciation is quite alright bro.
Big thing you are forgetting xith the 80 years war: the southern netherlands were majority catholic and even formed a pro-spanish alliance out of fear of being repressesed by a possibly protestant northern elite.
That were only 3 provinces out of 17 and they are now largly part of France. The majority of the Southern Netherlands joined the revolt
@@5thMilitia true, but there was resistance against it. And even in the rebellious provinces there was a bit of conflict.
@@gentleshark972 Yeah internal conflict exists always but in the 1570s catholics and protestant and Northerners and Southerners mostly united against the foreign forces in the low countries. In 1581 in reaction to those 3 pro spanish provinces the other provinces signed the Union of Utrecht in which they declared themselfs independent
I like how This never crossed my mind but I’m interested 🗿
Nice video but the music is too loud.
You forgot that for over a century there was another country in that area: Neutraal Moresnet which existed until the end of WW1. It even had the only _vierlandenpunt_ in the world (still recognizable by the _Viergrenzenweg_ near the current _drielandenpunt._ You can make a whole long video about that bizarre piece of history!