Greater Belgium
Greater Belgium (fr: Grande Belgique) is a term to describe Belgian irredentism, that is, the movement which strives towards enlarging Belgian territory. It usually lays claim on; German territory that historically belonged to the former Duchy of Limburg (Land of Eupen), Dutch Limburg, Zeelandic Flanders and the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg.[1][2] To a lesser degree they also claimed Dutch North-Brabant[3] and the French Netherlands (Nord-Pas-de-Calais).[4] Shortly after Belgian Independence some groups even proposed a Belgo-Rhine federation.[5]
Nowadays belief in Belgian irredentism is very uncommon and overshadowed by talk of partitioning Belgium or the incorporation of Flanders into the Netherlands (see Greater Netherlands). Although since 1921 there does exist the Belgium–Luxembourg Economic Union.
History
Belgian Revolution
When the Belgian state became de facto independent from the Netherlands in 1830 it initially also encompassed eastern Limburg (except for Dutch-occupied Maastricht) and eastern Luxemburg (except for Prussian-occupied Luxemburg City). The young state also claimed North-Brabant and Zeelandic Flanders but was unable to conquer this territory. In 1839 Belgiums borders were officially recognised but it had to give up eastern Limburg and Luxemburg.
Afterwards some Belgians fought to retake these territories. Even King Leopold II made plans to invade the north.[6]
After the Great War
After World War I Belgian irredentism became relevant again as the claims were seen as reparation. The Belgians viewed the Netherlands' actions during this war as collaboration and because of this the Belgian state claimed Zeelandic Flanders and Dutch Limburg once again. After negotations Belgium only gained the German territory of Eupen-Malmedy through the Treaty of Versailles.[2] This could be seen as the first and only success the Belgian irredentists achieved on the European continent.
In 1919 Luxembourg held a referendum which could've led to a Belgian on the throne but this was rejected by its population.[7] Shortly after, Belgium and Luxembourg did create an Economic Union which led to greater economic collaboration.
After World War II, Belgium again annexed a few German border regions although it returned most of them in 1958, keeping only the towns of Losheimergraben and Leykaul.[8]
Sources
- ^ "Les rêves d'une Grande Belgique (1916-1921) | Connaître la Wallonie". connaitrelawallonie.wallonie.be. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
- ^ a b Kossmann, E. H. (1970-11-02), "The Low Countries", The New Cambridge Modern History, Cambridge University Press, pp. 359–384, ISBN 978-1-139-05579-6, retrieved 2021-08-08
- ^ "Noord-Brabant en de Opstand van 1830". uitgeverij-zhc.nl. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
- ^ DBNL. "De Franse Nederlanden / Les Pays-Bas Français. Jaargang 1979 · dbnl". DBNL (in Dutch). Retrieved 2021-08-08.
- ^ DBNL. "Bijdragen en Mededelingen van het Historisch Genootschap. Deel 76 · dbnl". DBNL (in Dutch). Retrieved 2021-08-08.
- ^ "Leopold II wilde Nederland binnenvallen". De Standaard Mobile (in Flemish). Retrieved 2021-08-08.
- ^ Elections in Europe : a data handbook. Dieter Nohlen, Philip Stöver (1st ed ed.). Baden-Baden, Germany: Nomos. 2010. ISBN 3-8329-5609-3. OCLC 617565273.
{{cite book}}:|edition=has extra text (help)CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ "GR-Atlas - GA081 1956: Aachen-Bildchen ..." archive.is. 2013-02-21. Retrieved 2021-08-08.