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History of BelgiumA summary of the history of Belgium.
The name Belgium comes from a Celtic tribe, the Belgae, who settled there around 900 BC. Julius Caesar conquered the Belgae's territory, Belgica, in 52 BC, and so Belgium was put under Roman rule. The history of Belgium tells us that when the Roman Empire went into decline, a group of Germanic tribes called the Franks began settling in what is now Belgium. In time Belgium became part of the Frankish empire. Belgium's Godfrey of Bouillon was one of the leaders of the first Crusade and in 1099 he became the ruler of Jerusalem. This was important in the history of Belgium because the Crusades opened up European trade with the East and Belgian merchants became wealthy. In the late 1300s Belgium fell under the rule of Burgundy and much of the country enjoyed a golden age of prosperity and artistry under the French Duke of Burgundy during the 14th century. This golden age began to tarnish in the mid 15th century when the Low Countries were inherited by Spain. We see in the history of Belgium that the following centuries were a time of great religious upheaval, and there were many conflicts between Protestants and Roman Catholics. Around 1800 Belgium was taken over by the French revolutionaries and remained under control until 1815 when the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated. This led to the creation of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, but the history of Belgium shows that this didn't last long either. Catholic Belgians revolted and Belgium became independent in 1830.
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