Why is Belgium a country? - History of Belgium in 11 Minutes

[@sketchye5943]

Imagine being a Belgian and coming on KZbin and this guy is just like why is Belgium a country???

[@lorenzodocx4021]

I'm belgian and i don't even know All jokes asides i do know and understand

[@lorenzodocx4021]

@@user-nu6ie7ti7g No, go tell that crap elsewhere

[@user-nu6ie7ti7g]

@@lorenzodocx4021 who ever you are, you are either German, French or dutch because your brain thinks in either of this 3 Languages. There is no such think like a belgish Language or Identity. You are barly a full Country. You are more like 4 autunomous regions.

[@skam9177]

@@lorenzodocx4021 he's not wrong, though. I live the Wallonia and here we hear more about what happens in France than in Flanders. I visited Flanders only 4 times while I visited Paris 10 times, Marseille once, Normandy twice and I crossed the border countless time in order to buy things that were not available in Wallonia. Flanders to me is basically a different country. I feel more connected with France on a linguistic and cultural level than Flanders and that's to be expected when a country has multiple official languages.

[@chainehistoire7616]

@@user-nu6ie7ti7g well, the also the USA can be seen as 51 autonomous regions, in belgium I do not think the devide is so clear: limburgers have much in common with walloon and the two Brabants are not so different from one another

[@scavulous6336]

Everyone asks "why is Belgium," never "how is Belgium"

[@sunmiswashingmachine]

sad Belgium noises

[@davidlaurentspack7523]

It blows

[@leonbaekelandt58]

Good

[@brunovanhove1832]

Corrupt

[@dirkgonthier101]

Almost dead and forgotten.

[@brittjulien7963]

The advantage of living in Belgium is that you learn to speak German, French and Dutch at school (and English of course)

[@thedirty530]

How do you guys go about that... is it all at a young age? I'm sure that gives a little insight to history at the same time!

[@myriamickx7969]

@@thedirty530 : I am Belgian and French speaker. I started learning Flemish in 3rd grade and English in high school. While also studying Latin and Ancient Greek in high school. The more languages you know, the easier it is to learn new ones.

[@Infamous41]

Wow one international language and two locals. That sucks

[@24blocking63]

@@navarrenavarre I'd take a look at what Congolese Tribes did in the past to European Settlers, not much good either, going from beheading and skinning alive to crushing their brains while they're alive. Also, not our people it was owned by Leopold himself, not by Belgium, so usually it were just him and his men going there and the real populus of Belgium had no place there.

[@blackmantis3130]

@@navarrenavarre is he responsibility for what his forefathers did?

[@grapesodaboy]

Great video, although I wouldn't exactly call Belgians colonial history in Congo "smooth sailing"… feel like that was quite a big mistake.

[@lth5015]

I physically cringed

[@DoomEB]

Well it was Leopold II who litteraly owned Congo, not the belgian government until the french and british noticed it became very bad

[@fernandareyes7813]

Leopold literally massacred the Congolese people for the sake of economic prosperity… but sure “smooth sailing” is what history recalls it

[@kip6345]

We got rich from it so ug went smooth enough the millions of people that died is uhh another story

[@camilkegels3640]

you have to make a distinction between the congo free state under Leopold II and the congo under the Belgian state. what happened then is really not okay, but the economy was blooming after Leopold

[@yannick7699]

As a german speaking Belgian, i really don´t know any other country who is more devided than Belgium. The only time when Belgians are united is in Football

[@pelto7706]

Basically, German speaking part of Belgium was Germany, but german WW1's defeat said hello

[@galactorsus_i.n.c]

Yeah i don't actually see myself as belgian more as flander

[@heliosjollywolf9552]

well id call the US more divided

[@bimarshgurung4065]

Korea: hold my Kim Jong Un

[@galactorsus_i.n.c]

@@heliosjollywolf9552 well they caused that themselves lol,

[@THECOMMUNISTCHANNEL]

Belgium: what is my purpose? European powers: you're a buffer zone between great powers Belgium: *looks around* oh my god

[@commando2113]

Nope after napolion we were with the nederland's but wd did not wan't that so we fought again'st the dutch belgium was never e buffer zone

[@godzillaqq7712]

@@commando2113 ye you were empire

[@ryanlaird6447]

Love the rick and Morty reference

[@commando2113]

@@godzillaqq7712 yeah so ?

[@Dystopia1111]

@@ryanlaird6447 This immediately came to mind for me as well.

[@bertdejonghe3303]

Correction on minute 07:58: The national holiday of Belgium is on 21st of July, not the 22nd. In 1831, not 1813.

[@t0xicrash1]

Am i glad to see at least 1 other person has noticed the "mistake"

[@schiffelers3944]

Thank you - I was wondering about that part.... now I don't have to look it up.

[@OhioDan]

Same here. I was like, "Wait, that's some time during the Napoleonic Wars."

[@kitiowa]

Yeah I was wondering how he took the oath of office a score of years ahead of independence!

[@fienbaeyens5962]

and he is "king of the Belgians", not "king of Belgium"!

[@Acthms1234]

As Belgian I m quite sad to read most of comments . A lot of people judge our country, and by doing that ,they play the game of some political extremists . A lot of people have -as me - family in both parts of Belgium and at family diners it's just a mix of langages without being a problem . It's just a way of life. Reading some comments on the differences it's just like reading something as if for some people half of my family were from another galaxy . The question is like asking why France or UK is a country . They have also some really different regions with others dialects ... At the basis Flemish, walloon and brusseleir were only dialects, not languages . Most wealthy people were speaking french because, in the past, it was the international business language, so they were obligated knowing it, and other people were speaking dialects from their own areas . A lot of people seems to forgot that the unification of languages is a quite historical recent concept in the world . Even in France , before the work of the French Academy , each part from France had its own way to write and say something. The division of my country in two blocks is quite recent and is a political decision , even if some politicians love having a revisionist way to see the History of the Flemish part of Belgium as if it was completely disconnected from the rest of the country( in fact it was only after the WW2: in 1962 the Gilson's law applied the use of one language for the Flemish part and another for the Walloon part ). Before the basis was more the 10 " Province's" and a centralized power in the city center . The reason why the division started is based on a mistake. During WW2 , most of officer's in the army were educated people ( at the time the cursus at the University was in french: the separation of the University in two parts for the University of Louvain in "Leuven" and "Louvain la Neuve" respectively in two languages was only in 1968), so some soldiers from the basis couldn't understand some orders while speaking only Flemish. In order to change that , and permitting people from each social class to have access to higher education, they promulgated in 1962 a law concerning the language in administrations and schools to unify language's ( but the same for the Walloon with an acces to the real french : for those having never heard a real walloon dialect, it's not closest from french than Flemish dialect ... Most of people thinking that walloon is close to french, think that just because they are issued from massive immigration during the 60's and their families had to learn french sometimes added with some mixed dialects words in the villages ) . It s true that Belgium is quite a young country , but as a region we have a common history ( even Julius Caesar wrote about Belgian people in his memory) . We have been conquest a lot of times because our regions were successively interesting for bigger countries ( in the middle age for the textile industry, after for the mining during the industrial revolution , and so on ) but it doesn't mean that we don't have a past common culture, a vision and that everyone in my country want to separate the country . Personally I feel me definitely Belgian.

[@texsia4364]

Its not that deep 😂

[@nurailidepaepe2783]

@@texsia4364 it's our country? it literally is?? lmao?

[@Freak753]

Belgium gang!

[@fuffoon]

Don't get to nostalgic. My first week in Belgum was greeted with questions of 'is it true that all Americans are fat'? Is it true that you only eat fast food? Do you own guns?

[@nurailidepaepe2783]

@@fuffoon that sounds like curiosity and not knowing a lot about america... which is normal, since america is so far away. don't know how that justifies political extremism?

[@Nebo8ful]

To clarify for everybody, flemish don't want to be annexed by the Dutch and walloon dont want to be annexed by the French

[@batuhanyayla7214]

Why? Belgium is just came in to my mind too unrealistic. I don't wanna disrecpect u guys but u cant even talk same language with ur citizens If that happens in my country I probably want a seperate from them

[@sparkcakes]

Well some of us do ;)

[@wouterdesmit2451]

@@batuhanyayla7214 Where are you from?

[@batuhanyayla7214]

@@wouterdesmit2451 I am from turkey

[@batuhanyayla7214]

@Pirate Bonny first af all kurds can speak turkish and second we are killing pkk not kurds

[@skam9177]

As a Walloon (Southern Belgian), I ask myself this question everyday.

[@vincent5880]

Walloons disrespect Flanders

[@skam9177]

@@vincent5880 we don't. That's a straight up lie. We may not perfectly speak your language (most Walloons do speak Dutch but not a lot) but that's not inherently disrespectful. We just don't know much about what is going on in your region because of the language barrier.

[@AVEdrums]

pls lets just split up

[@skam9177]

@@AVEdrums I agree. I don't really feel Belgian and I honestly feel way more connected to France and knowledgeable about France than Flanders.

[@javier019]

@@vincent5880 As a foreigner living in Walonia, I think you are totally wrong

[@patrikfagard6525]

Belgium is where empires go to die. The Spanish Empire went bankrupt financing the 80-year war. Napoleon met his waterloo in Belgium. The British Empire went into decline trying to defend Belgium. The Germans were first stopped at Ypres and gasped their last breath at the battle of the Bulge. And the Japanese empire was brought to its knees after Belgium had pre-emptily shipped uranium to the US.

[@teghem6723]

You can also go for the usual stereotypes. On the front window shelves, we have fries, waffles, and chocolates. In the back yard, we also have craft beers, some hiroshima uranium left over, FN guns, blood diamonds, some antique rubber tyres and statues of Leopold II.

[@gogetta8886]

Not sure we'll be able to do the same with the American and Chinese empires😅😂

[@NoName-xg3op]

Yeah true, Belgium is a super power. Al the other countries are watching Belgium first al the time. Is Belgium in Europe btw? Or is it on another planet? 👀👀

[@amraam8723]

@@teghem6723 true XDDD

[@NoName-xg3op]

@Amiel Verhaeghe Vandorpe you can see the Belgium blood is extreme on the olympics on the 46th place right now. The whole world is watching this amazing country. Insane!! Even that guy on distance jumping yesterday did a special head first! Wow what will the Belgiums be proud 😅

[@storm1968eu]

we live in a small, fairly young nation-state with a very rich and diverse history. we have learned over time to live with differences - of any kind - and how to deal with those differences in a peaceful way. it often makes things more complicated, but we usually find a compromise that works for most of us. we, as a country and a population, are no superpower but - maybe because of this - we are very good in a few things and are doing rather okay in many important areas. most belgians have a good life, and the others are not left behind in their misfortune. since the very beginning we were part of a growing family which later became the european union. most belgians feel good about being part of a large and diverse community. being multilingual broadens one's vision, on the world and on the neighbours next door. i feel glad and very fortunate to have grown up in belgium and to be living here. travelling is great and there are so many wonderful places around the world, but it's good to know one can alwas return home, where the real problems are often tiny compared to what lots of people around the world have to endure.

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

I am glad to know this. I feel it's effective.

[@aqep]

We arent a superpower but we would win against the netherlands

[@jeroengevers9558]

Als Belg wonende in het buitenland, perfect verwoordt!

[@frederiknielsen5496]

I appreciate videos on Belgium, but I think this one misses so many important points and overstates many others. The 'Netherlands' (as in what is now Benelux) came to be slowly over time through intermarriages between the different local princes (counts of Flanders, dukes of Brabant, counts of Holland), etc. This then fell into the hands of the Dukes of Burgundy, who almost turned the territories into an independent kingdom in the fifteenth century. Their realm was the most prosperous in Europe, the most urban and led the way in arts in ways rarely acknowledged (such as the world's first major oil paintings!). It then passed to the Habsburgs, who considered themselves first and foremost 'Burgundian' from then on, and had their capital in Brussels, the capital of Brabant, which had the nicest palace. Charles V, Philip II's father, then united them all and took Flanders out of France and put it in the HRE, creating the 'Seventeen Provinces'. As you point out, the north then left. But you fail to recognise that the modern state of Belgium is the claimed successor state to the Habsburg Netherlands. What is now Belgium was Habsburg from 1477-1792, with a brief interval during the Seven Years' War. The whole time it maintained its medieval institutions in a union with the Spanish and later Austrian Habsburgs. I feel skimming over such a period of time, and then overstating the French period (it was occupied during the Seven Years War, and not for all of it), the French Revolution (1792-1814), and the Dutch period (1814-1831), as very important periods in its history. Collectively, they amount to roughly 30-35 years, which isn't even as long as Charles V's ruled the territory. The reason Belgium is a country is because it stayed with the Habsburgs, stayed Catholic, and returned to being its own entity (albeit with a new king and new constitution) after seceding from the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It wasn't created then, it just reformed itself and reasserted itself. It's no accident that the flag and coat of arms are the colours and arms of Brabant itself. On the buffer zone issue: This is very much a modern thing. The pre-1830 Belgium was much less of a buffer and more a strategic way of surrounding the French. Ever since the assassination of John the Fearless the rulers of the territories seriously mistrusted the French (I'm not making this up, they took it seriously for generations). The Habsburgs at one point held both Spain and what is now Belgium, which gave them a strategic advantage against France and maintained it for this reason. The Austrian Habsburgs continued this, but for the first time ever, in the so-called Diplomatic Revolution, Austria became allied with France. This was the biggest anomaly in European history, as they had hated each other for 300+ years, and their defining foreign policies were against each other. In that sense, 'Belgium' was no buffer, it was a piece of land they used and France wanted to get (see the War of Devolution, or the Nine Years War). This was a huge reason why Marie Antoinette was hated in France. Anglophone popular history tends to overstate the extent of French and English historical rivalry, but the real enemy for France historically was specifically the Habsburgs, the House of Austria, and before that the Empire. Later it was Germany. The big concern with Britain only became a greater priority in 1756. Assuming that countries form by ethnic boundaries is a weird 20th century anachronism, and fails to recognise that most modern states were created with a lot of people being kicked out of the country in the 20th century to create ethnostates. Furthermore, even in France there was a huge linguistic divide, but unlike in Belgium, France succeeded in stamping out local languages (langues doc, langues d'oïl, being the big difference). Belgium exists for the same reason most countries do: a history of consolidation and protection of its borders, with its own twist of British intervention in this case. I just fundamentally think it's clichéd to dismiss 500 years of Burgundian-Habsburg history in explaining how it formed its own identity which transcended ethnicity and language.

[@amraam8723]

The netherlands isn't the benelux but part of it: benelux is: belgium,netharlands,luxembourgh...and in fact the belgian Air Force protects the benelux skies every day

[@niekflikweert7778]

@@amraam8723 De Lage Landen toch? (Netherlands)

[@stevendeville4314]

@@amraam8723 I suppose you are from The Netherlands. Frederik says: " The 'Netherlands' (as in what is now Benelux)..." As in... The Netherlands were/was a country which included nowadays Netherlands, nowadays Belgium and nowadays Luxemburg. The nowadays Netherlands was called "the Northern Netherlands", Nowadays Belgium and luxemburg were called "the Southern Netherlands" (and depending of the period "the Spanisch Netherlands" or "the Austrain Netherlands").

[@amraam8723]

@@stevendeville4314 benelux is the name for the area of 3 countries v BENELUX thr BE in benelux is for belgium... The NE is benelux is for netherlands, the LUX in benelux stands for luxebourg... And i do not live in the netherlands, i live in belgium

[@coisd.b.486]

Lage Landen of de Nederlanden (niet Nederland) komt van de oorspronkelijke (regionaam) Belgica.

[@AngelinoLaroye]

As an Belgian myself, i have in my collection a 4-part history book about the entire history of the "low countries" (The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg). Whilst many question our independence and often only look at the treaty of London around 1830, many fail to understand and recognize a long term of history which actually can proof why we exist in the first place and why we are independent today. Our neighbours in the North, The Netherlands managed to receive alot more autonomy compared to our part of the Low Countries, often referred to as "The Southern Netherlands" (which is todays Belgium and Luxembourg). Depending on the month, year or decade, we were controlled by either Dutch, Spanish, Austrian, French and twice by Germans (even though this last one occurred a long time after our indepenence and have less impact on this subject). Few of these controlling foreign lands actually gave us any high autonomy and often exploited us. At one point during the 18th century the Belgian people were so unhappy about the Austrian rulers, that they asked French support to expel the Austrian forces in an hope to become independent. The French agreed on aiding us against the Austrians, but never agreed on our independence; resulting in the Belgian people being so discontent about the French, that they asked the Austrians to help them to expel the French forces, on which they agreed. Long stories short; the Belgian revolution in 1830 only marked a lucky time where the great powers (Great Britain, France, Prussia, Spain and Austria) actually preferred that no other great power had these lands and agreed upon our quest for independence. A quest which failed every time before, because there was always a great power ready to take control over the Southern Netherlands and was either uncontested or the contest didn't held them back from trying/doing it anyways. Those claiming today that Belgium is an failed state and should split up also often completely ignore or don't know that there are also cultural and linguistic differences in Flanders and people are much more proud of the City or Province they are born at, than they are proud of the Region or Nation they are born at. A strong presence of this "Provincial-nationalism" is present in f.e. Antwerp, Limburg, West-Flanders, Gent (capital of East-Flanders),.... People whom live in West-Flanders also always get subtitled in the Flemish news, as it is tend to be luingistic less understandable to other people in Flanders. Therefor, i as an Belgian Nationalist, always claim that Belgium either needs to be an Unitarian State or we need to agree on going all the way back to an HRE situation where each Province or even City is an independent entity. Despite a popular view of Flemish Seperatism, it would only open the gate to other big struggles such as: which city becomes the capital of Flanders, who's getting Brussels,.... :)

[@galactorsus_i.n.c]

Pls add spaces in the future, I can't read it😅 but interesting comment from what i could read

[@beu9245]

If they were to split up Brussels should go to Flanders i don't care about the diplomatic mess i just like my borders nice and organized without any weird exclaves

[@AngelinoLaroye]

@@beu9245 Unfortunately most unlikely! Several years ago there was a big poll conducted in which they asked people living in Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels about the outcome of an seperation of Belgium. Nearly half of the people in Flanders want to be independent, but only a small portion of them wants to reunite with the Netherlands after seperation. More than half of the people in Wallonia want to remain independent when Flanders would want to split off and does not want to be united with France due to linguistic and cultural differences between French and Wallonian people. More than half of the people of Brussels neither want to end up with Flanders or with Wallonia if one of them decides to split up the country, thus becominging an independent city state; as this would probably be the best way to keep their status as capitol of the European Union and capitol of NATO. No tests were conducted in Ostbelgien, but chances are likely that those people would vote to be reunited with Germany. This is why they call Brussels the child of Flanders and Wallonia which keep the parents together.

[@syllysayanami5032]

Interesting read and I agree with it. The only point I don't agree with is that, as someone born in Brussels, I can't see it join Flanders. Tho historicaly it was a Flemish speaking city nowadays French is much more prevalent. I would prefer a United Belgium because, as our motto says, l'Union fait la force - Eendracht maakt kracht. This is as true as the oposite of it which says Verdeel en heers - Diviser pour mieux régner. Instead of having some politicians dividing more and more the layers of government, we should go back to a model of one Belgian Government with local governing happening at the Province level to stay closer to the people.

[@zackamor8043]

@@AngelinoLaroye That was a poll that wasn't a referendum calm down son calm down. The reality is most people do not want to split belgium only around 17%.

[@adamuppsala1931]

I'm here because I love Belgium. I spend all my holidays there. Gent, Liege, Antwerp, Brugge and others are wonderul places full of history, good taste... there are so many things to do. It's a peaceful and clean place.

[@Little_phly]

Thank you for saying nice things about our country!!!

[@unclah]

I wish Congolese people could say the same.

[@moefis]

its a helhole .

[@quentinreusens3208]

@@unclah god please, that's 100 years ago, like we can do something about that. We are not the same people as 100 years ago, the last people who were in Congo are now 80+, let it go please...

[@pact7836]

Yessss thx man for saying this from my country 😁😁😁

[@GeoffreyRogg]

I lived and worked in Antwerp. I was a member of the Braaschaat Tennis and Riding club. Although basically Flemish its members were elitist and spoke French except when they dropped a ball and swore in Flemish. Flemish was considered the language of the low born servants. The Flemish spoke perfect French and mocked the Walloons low class imperfect French. I had few problems in communication because the business classes spoke pretty good English. I have rarely encountered a more divided people in my many years of an international international career, except perhaps with the Québécois in Canada. Anyhow Belgium cuisine in general is the finest in Europe and Belgians are the number one consumers of the best vintage French wines per capita in the world. I had a bilingual (Flemish and French) girlfriend from Braaschaat at the time who was a delightful young lady. Yes, all in all, my sojourn in Belgium was good for business and life in general. One of my best collaborators was a Walloon from Soignies with whom we became best friends and shared a passion for horses and haute cuisine. I have no complaints about my life and times in Belgium.

[@germanichistory5003]

And you forgot to tell that Flanders was the richest region in all of medieval Europe. That's why a lot of countries fighted over Flanders.

[@joanedi5303]

Quiet right, The north-west of France was once Flanders ; I don´t understand why Flanders that part of France leave it to France !

[@frederiknielsen5496]

@@joanedi5303 Charles V took it out of France because the rest of the 16 provinces (there were 17) were a part of the Holy Roman Empire, of which he was himself Emperor. He took Flanders out of France to make sure they were autonomous. Even created the 'Burgundian Circle' in the Empire for extra autonomy.

[@Bananaman-hk6qw]

do you want a medal now?

[@enricomanno8434]

In the medieval Europe the most rich and forward countries they were in Italy... Venice.. Genoa... Amalfi... Pisa The Banks were created in Florence... and we had elections on the free Commons where the people choose their rulers...

[@naria2224]

@@Bananaman-hk6qw What’s your unnecessary rude comment for?

[@bruhemperor5420]

Short Answer: The Netherlands preferred pancakes over waffles

[@ewoudalliet1734]

Pancakes are equally popular in Belgium (especially Flanders) and (northern) France as in the Netherlands though.

[@nikinikolov6570]

Tsk. It is not pancakes it is crepe (silent "e" in the end). Americans make literal cake in a pan (they are thick), crepe is quite thin. Also there is a difference between Belgium and Dutch waffles :) We have an argument with the French for frits and an argument with the Dutch for waffles. Chocolate though is our thing.

[@beu9245]

@@nikinikolov6570 "Chocolate though is our thing" Switzerland entered the chat.

[@nikinikolov6570]

@@beu9245 We have no disagreements with Switzerland on chocolate 😀 I do not see the big deal about waffles and frits either. We were a part of France and the Netherlands at one point or another 😄

[@ewoudalliet1734]

@@nikinikolov6570 Crêpe is just French for pancake, so no; it is correct. And "flensje" is the specific term for thin pancakes - pannenkoek in Dutch/Flemish. The most common type of pancakes in the Netherlands are these and same goes for Belgium. There's also no discussion about fries or waffles with those countries. "French" fries is just an American misconception; which is only used as an argument by some French chauvenists or ignorant Americans. And I really don't know how you got by the waffles. If there's a "discussion" about anything it's actually about chocolate (with the Swiss, about which is the best).

[@davidtrask4099]

You referred to Leopold I as "King of Belgium". There is no King of Belgium. As a temporary resident of that fascinating country, I was acutely aware of his title as "King of the Belgians". This was true in the beginning and still is the title of the Belgian monarch.

[@commando2113]

Indeed because the king does not own Belgium that's why he is king of the belgian's

[@jeremielamette579]

And the De Saxe Cobourg Gotha family is from Germany

[@dietrichrosiers8184]

And the title '-of the Belgians' as opposed to '-of Belgium' carries an important meaning! It signifies that it is a popular monarchy; not a god-given monarchy. When one is the 'King of Country', the monarch is granted the power by god to rule over the country (such as in the UK). But when one is the 'King of the People', it indicates that the royal power is not divine or god given; but instead given by the people themselves. Ultimately, the Kings of the Belgians their responsability lies not with God, but with their people. And that carries quite a symbolic importance, certainly when all the monarchs were forced to place country above religion. Today, Belgium remains the sole popular monarchy in the world, with King Philippe of the Belgians reigning over the country. Long live the King!

[@davidtrask4099]

Well said. Leopold III gives and excellent example.

[@TheBayzent]

And there are no "British Citizens" just "British Subjects", stating these differences is pedantic.

[@travishall6930]

Just found out my great grandparents came to America from Belgium. Came here to learn more about where they are from. Ty.

[@ulftnightwolf]

Gaul Belgae roots Bro

[@EwoutHellin]

Fun fact: they probably came on a boat called "the red starline".

[@realhawaii5o]

One of the greatest questions "Why is Belgium?"

[@yidir6778]

Everyone always asks "Why Belgium?" But it's never "How's Belgium?"

[@noahdewitz790]

@@yidir6778 I was going to say that lol

[@drswag0076]

why NOT Belgium?

[@alphaomega8373]

What is gium and you have you answer.

[@Bln-f9u]

Belgium, Czechia and Slovenia are like the generic European model countries. They're just what you'd expect how European countries look like.

[@KiraSanMangaEtMC]

Comment section is absolutely wrong in everything concerning Belgian identity. It's not just about being Flemish, being Walloon, being from the German part or Brussels and thus feeling no strong Belgian identity. A big part of Belgian citizens has a mixed background (all people living at the language border, but also people who grew up in families that had to move from Flanders to Wallonia when the latter was the richest, during the industrial period, etc.) Belgian people are discrete, yet proud people when speaking about the country. We know our country makes no sense in a lot of disputes, like politics, yes. But the messy history, culture, and our immense self-mockery IS what makes us proud and makes us feel different than other countries. But I don't think it's nationalism per definition, and that could explain why other countries may see us as an irrelevant country, culturewise ! It's not always about geopolitics and achievements when speaking of countries, this is my main point. Open for debate !

[@ericdpeerik3928]

Honestly, you act like a bunch of hutus and tutsis.... Now explain why that's funny

[@GO-cg4sn]

The art of being Belgian is being what the others are not.

[@mr.nobody_really2080]

I mean, being a complete fuckery of a country with more ministers than anyone knows what to do with and at the same time a movement that is so ass-backwards that it's scary for immigrants to leave their homes we aren't that different the only thing we have is a decent Healthcare plan and acces to unrestricted netflix.

[@dannyverhamme7970]

@@patrickvan6038 Volledig correct geantwoord.

[@josh33172]

Belgium is a small beautiful country that has created a worldwide identity for itself but if you're on the outside looking in or stick around more than a few years, its hard to get past that the Walons very much take after the French, and the Flemish very much take after the Dutch. Even to this day, it is the prime disagreement between the two regions, but the things they do (in which they do incredibly well) is the glue that holds the country together.

[@Razorator.1]

Ja man echt he belge for life

[@Razorator.1]

@@mr.nobody_really2080 leer eerst normaal spreken idio*t

[@pirmezo]

Have lived in Belgium and this country is incredible (with amazing bars/beers) with 3 languages and communities while the country is working pretty well! I like to say that it is a EU mock-up

[@Optidorf]

Some things you missed: - The revolution was also incited because French was pushed aside/reduced as an official language. Dutch became more and more important. Something the exclusive French speaking noble class didn't like. Afterwards French was the only official language in Belgium for dozens of years while the majority is in fact Dutch speaking. - The union of Belgium and the Netherlands between 1815 and 1830 was more beneficial for the Netherlands as most of the resources came from the richer Belgium, but was mostly spent by the Netherlands. - The Dutch campaign in 1831 wasn't unsuccessful. The Dutch backed down because France threatened to help Belgium in this military campaign. The obvious reason being that Belgium - which is now reigned by the French speaking noble class - would join France at a later stage. - The Netherlands recognized Belgium as an independent country but Belgium had to give up some areas such as the region around Maastricht (Dutch Limburg). - At the start of the 20th century Belgium was one of the richest countries in the world. It had a high degree of industrialisation and the republic of Congo was one the primary supplier of rubber in the world. Bonus fun fact: Leopold II was quite imperialist and one of his ideas was to invade the Netherlands to conquer the Dutch regions below the Meuse and Rhine. He didn't carry out the plan as France wasn't a supporter of this idea. So to answer your question: why is Belgium a country? Because France allows it.

[@kaspervletter290]

Leopold the 2nd’s reign of terror in congo was horrible leading to millions of deaths

[@VictorbrineSC]

As a French person I feel empowered to know that we got to say if Belgium must be independent or not.

[@appleseed4672]

@@VictorbrineSC nobody likes the french tho lol

[@sophiaerling7714]

Yes. All the cultural part is missing... but you cannot tell it all in 11 minutes about Belgium for sure1

[@niksarass]

@@appleseed4672 Most visited country in the World

[@francisxavier5498]

Having lived for a while in Belgium, I would say that it is a beautiful country where different ethnicities live together and work together. It is a model for the word where there is so much of strife and dissention. God bless la Belgique!

[@kjellvanderpoten3141]

leve belgie, vive la Belgique

[@adamuppsala1931]

beautifully said. I love Belgium. I go there every year.

[@jige1225]

"where different ethnicities ... work together" - ROTFL!!

[@jochemlembregts4958]

Hahahaha goei mop

[@iljavanhaute3315]

Thank u finally someone who actually knows something about our country giving commentary in stead of all these dumb assumptions people are making who don’t even know anything about Belgium

[@twokool4skool129]

Everyone: "Why is Belgium a country? It's way too small and could be easily conquered." Luxembourg: *begins sweating nervously*

[@HostileGG]

Nobody is going to harm Luxembourg since everyone hide is money there. Just like Switzerland.

[@goofygrandlouis6296]

Luxembourg is a tax heaven, like Jersey or the Caiman islands. It's a way for rich people to avoid taxation and pay their fair share.

[@MusicJunky3]

But we did says the Netherlands but then we didn't know what to do with it. Still love you guys

[@remus3960]

A bit of history, in the years 1800 -1900 ,Belgium was a new country ,they offered Luxembourg to be a part of Belgium .Some Belgian liberal politicians ( Wallons ) thought it wasn’t a good idea & toomuch work so they denied the offer . That’s why luxembourg is alone …

[@oeilmars4503]

@Ararune actually in Luxembourg they also speak 3 languages but the only difference is that languages don’t have regions

[@georgesouthwick7000]

We visited Belgium 7 years ago. It is a beautiful country and the people are very friendly.

[@dannywest7587]

That means you check out the funnelled places to be !!!

[@Barbossa778]

Congo had some smooth sailing. Yeah that’s one way of looking at it.

[@roctv100]

You notice that one too. How conveniently they skip over the atrocities.

[@the4thindustrialrevolution225]

@@roctv100 because it never happened

[@Rochester_gooner]

I thought the same thing what smooth sailing is he talking about

[@superwout]

What is that? Bullcrap. We had to clean up after that bastard Leopold 2 had his fill... and they've been independent since 1960...

[@deconinckdaniel5057]

@@superwout thx to leopolds they had electricite , cars , buildings etc . Otherwise they would still have lived in cabins etc 😉

[@gilvankeulebroeck8288]

- People around the world: I can speak 2 languages. - Belgian: HOLD MY BEER...

[@XxXBalderXxX]

PRISE MIJN BIER

[@LunaticDandy]

Tiens ma bière

[@willyholdsman3956]

Mostly speak Flemish people 4 languages; Dutch, French, English and German, the Walloons; French and English....

[@lnagels7133]

@@willyholdsman3956 No that's not true at all. In theorie maybe...but in reality lots of people are bilingual or even 1 language. Depends on where they were born, how they were raised and what they did in school. I was raised in flemish, learned french along the way in school and english from tv😊

[@willyholdsman3956]

@@lnagels7133 I must learn in the high school in Flanders; Leuven; five languages ; Dutch, French, English and German to get my high school degree....

[@naria2224]

It upsets me that some people are trying to push for Belgium to split up. There are also many of us who do not wish that to happen. Don’t destroy our country. Stay strong as our nation’s people we must.

[@sircharleston2712]

Belgium is an amazing country with amazing people, you deserve to be your own country

[@naria2224]

@@sircharleston2712 Thank you sir :)

[@tishaak2800]

Blame vlaams belang Theyve been trying to convince people that splitting up is good using propaganda like calling the walloons a "waste of tax"

[@colruytgaming8365]

speak for yourself

[@naria2224]

@@colruytgaming8365 I don’t know what your problem is. And it’s not like I said it’s the way every single person feels. It is true that there are plenty that do though. You don’t have to be one of those bitter internet people who have a problem with everything and everyone.

[@justaguyonabike2055]

Belgium only counts 11 million citizens but has the most intellectual, musical, athletic and scientifically advanced individuals per capita in the world. As one of the 'lowlands' this geographical region has been conquered by the French, Spanish, Romans, etc... Most Belgians I know speak at least 4 languages. Learning different languages at a young age stimulates the brain to make associations which benefits the general development of cognitive capacities. As a result Belgians are really sophisticated in general.

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

Glad to hear.

[@NB-yu4lj]

Cool

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

@@NB-yu4lj I would also think bring an EU citizen makes it even easier traveling around the continent.

[@claravela3330]

Totally right.

[@Wazkaty]

Totalement d'accord ! Un bonjour 👋 de France

[@jokehu7115]

is er leven op pluto? kan je dansen op de maan? is er een plaats tussen de sterren waar ik heen kan gaan?? BELGiË!!!

[@thomasmignauw7026]

zij ma heel zeker

[@adhub3971]

Prachtig lied. En dan lekker onbeholpen dansen net als Henk Westbroek!

[@joanedi5303]

België is een terroristengebied geworden ; best is er weg te blijven, er dreigt steeds levensgevaar

[@andersbjrnsen7203]

As a Norwegian, Im pretty sure I almost understood that😂

[@columbuskaka]

Lutosa schatjes van patatjes

[@wargriffin5]

"I'm gonna ask you this one time. WHERE is Belgium?" -Romans "Yeah? I'll do you one better. WHO'S Belgium?" -Germans "I'll do YOU one better....WHY is Belgium?" -Knowledgia

[@beluza_gaijin]

I am Belgian and I am so proud of my little naughty country. Long live Belgium..

[@dietrichrosiers8184]

Long live Belgium, long live the King! 🇧🇪

[@umuliberathe6011]

Really, and what about leopold 2, nothing to be proud about.

[@lander681]

@@umuliberathe6011 So we can't be proud off our country because off one person?

[@stephanievantielen5615]

@@umuliberathe6011 take a good look at your own country first!

[@umuliberathe6011]

@@stephanievantielen5615 I had the privilege to be abducted as a child to your country. So I know the shady past and present from Belgium first hand. Sadly they don't teach that at the schools. België is samen met nog enkele Europese landen het meest hypocriet, gewelddadig en zou moeten aangeklaagd worden voor schending van mensenrechten.

[@aabidn275]

Man I feel for Belgium They’re so chill and such a nice country but their existence is questioned all the time

[@driesvandenbrande2941]

It's true. We have our strife, but most people are ok with keeping the country together and working together. The rest of the world however, thinks that the country is about to fall apart. The funny thing is, they've been thinking that for well over two centuries.

[@madclasher722]

The questioning... Not one Belgian cares 😎

[@thatrandomguyontheinternet2477]

I mean the largest political party is against the country

[@driesvandenbrande2941]

@@thatrandomguyontheinternet2477 Well yes, but that doesn't mean all that much when a lot of parties have a chunk of the votes. They don't even have close to a majority of the votes.

[@Lisaatjewow]

I'm from Belgium thank you

[@EdinProfa]

Germans wake up from nightmares asking this exact question.

[@appleslover]

Germans actually have sweet dreams thinking of Belgium because it separates them from the snail-eating France

[@uberjoe-08]

@@appleslover long live France 🇫🇷🖕🏻

[@MinecraftMasterNo1]

@@appleslover Eupen is rightful German clay

[@belgianvanbeethoven]

@@MinecraftMasterNo1 In Eupen live the most faithful and reliable Belgians. They don't give a damn about the fights and political games played between Flanders and Wallonia, they just want the country to function. They are the best of Belgians. Es lebe Belgien. 🇧🇪

[@MinecraftMasterNo1]

@@belgianvanbeethoven They want to return to their fatherland, not live in a country where the parliament doesn't even speak their language.

[@publicfreakoutcringe1918]

As a "proud" Belgian, living in Ostend, coast of Belgium. There is A LOT MORE than just what you just all said in this video :)

[@MinecraftMasterNo1]

Eupen is rightful German clay

[@publicfreakoutcringe1918]

@@MinecraftMasterNo1 That's correct, the entire region has a big German piece of it, nowadays, there aren't that many people talking German... We litterally have more Germans at the coast than at the German border... 'De Haan' is one of the vacation destinations of the 'german people', right besides my own coastal city... Just as my coastal city is more a vacation destination for the French and people who live inland... The British people are every year less and less, especially now with the Brexit, we don't see many anymore, otherwise we had several neighborhoods specially for the British in our city centers (like you have Asian town in American cities).

[@publicfreakoutcringe1918]

He left so much out of the video about Belgium... We litterally have THE MOST COMPLEX political system in the entire world, even to Western standards :p our people speak 2 to 5 different languages, ... Belgium is like the pioneer country to govern the entire continent of Europe.

[@MinecraftMasterNo1]

@@publicfreakoutcringe1918 "pioneer" lol. The parliament is split 50/50 between Flemish and Walloon that shouts at each other all day instead of doing anything. Every other ethnicity basically has the short end of the stick and don't even get a voice.

[@galactorsus_i.n.c]

@@MinecraftMasterNo1 yep, belgium should split, brussels and flanders to netherlands and wallonia to france

[@adrianos7334]

For me Belgium is by far the best Western European country to live. It's gorgeous, visited it 4 times, food is delicious, the Dutch could take an example of it, it's tiny, so you are able to be fast in France, NL, Germany, LuX. If I had to leave Greece, I wouldn't doubt to move to Belgium, even if the weather sucks.

[@nicolasdheedene2695]

As an belgian, I really like to read this

[@chickensheet6582]

belgium best country in western europe lol what a joke

[@SoDaoudi]

@@wallendiaz literally all the tourist say that you naiveling.

[@dirrekvanfilemong3634]

@@wallendiaz no one forces you to eat that

[@RomanNavi]

Belgium looks like a war zone lmao. The poverty compared with the Netherlands it's insane

[@michaelpolley01]

Thank you for that bight sized piece of history, very enlightening! As a Brit, I always enjoy visiting Belgium - rich in culture and a friendly welcome by so many English speaking people.

[@BygoneChina]

It is and always has been a buffer zone between large European powers.

[@thewolf9637]

Also known as a road bumper on the Tour de France.

[@lucinae8512]

Belgium and Luxemburg's intended purposes didn't work out, and both were involved in World War 1 and 2, but they now have their own national identity so it all worked out.

[@salvatorepillitteri6552]

Home to the UN!

[@sepep6288]

Now Belgium is the only European power

[@commando2113]

Nope after napolion we were part of the nederland's but we did not wan't that so we fought again'st the dutch that buffer zone crap is e lie

[@joseluisfernandez6592]

Me, a spaniard who is watching a video about Belgium and remembering spanish tercios at the same time: F L A N D E S

[@SirThanksalot_1]

as a Belgian: don't you dare think about it! :)

[@keithholland7620]

Ya, that was my first thought. spanish Netherlands.

[@keithholland7620]

And ya,my last name is Holland. But I'm not from there. Visited it once as kid. Holland is Scottish . Um old English "From the Hill" .. lol Highlander. And my tribe was most famous for digging their homes on the OTHER side of the hill so that when those damn Viking ships go sailing ny . They DONT see us.

[@mcj2219]

Me from Netherlands who likes to remind Spain about the 80 years war. 🇳🇱🇳🇱🇳🇱 😂.

[@Some_Dutch_Kid]

@@keithholland7620 why am I Scottish

[@ld.117]

"Of all the Gauls, the Belgians are the bravest enemies I have ever faced" -Caesar

[@Foxglove963]

Lennert D. ...the Nervii, concerning whose character and customs when Caesar inquired he received the following information:- that there was no access for merchants to them; that they suffered no wine and other things to luxury to be imported; because they thought that by their use the mind is enervated and the courage impaired: that they were a savage people and of great bravery: that they upbraided and condemned the rest of the Belgae who had surrendered themselves to the Roman people and thrown aise their national courage: that they openly declared they would neither send ambassadors, nor accept any condition of peace. ...This battle being ended, and the nation and name of the Nervii being almost reduced to annihilation, .....that from 60,000 men they were reduced to scarcely 500 who could bear arms. The Gallic War and Other Commentaries, Caius Julius Caesar.

[@Foxglove963]

@@seleucusinicator1971 The Romans were a depraved people with rotten morals. Shopkeepers who went bankrupt became the slaves of their debtors and could be sold across the Tiber. This additude also permeated medieval Italy, most cities had a stone of shame, where the debtor was publicly shamed, they had to sit on the stone with their naked behind and renounce "Cedo Bono", they were shamed throughout the town and were imprisoned. The Romans were afraid of the Gauls. On the Forum Boarii, they regularly buried alive a Gaulish man and woman. The despot Caesar considered it to be a fitting punishment to sever the hands of rebelling tribes.

[@SoDaoudi]

Bravest/strongest.

[@SoDaoudi]

@@seleucusinicator1971 its not propaganda he geniouly thought that because we went fearles into battle in the face of impossible odds, thats why we were nearly annihilated. Also its because not only did we face the romans but we also needed to fend off the germans at the same time.

[@JasmanJr]

Actually the Lusitanos, that was later Portugueses were called that. They didn't ruled them selves but wouldn't allow others to rule them

[@bokkenrijder172]

@8:50 it’s not really explained (except for a vague reference to the Treaty of London) why Belgium lost territory to The Netherlands and Luxembourg.

[@arollingman444]

Kisses from Belgium 🇧🇪

[@matthewbittenbender9191]

Great video. But you forgot to mention that it's home to the finest beer in the world!

[@puppypatrole666]

Yes it is! Gotta love all the beer!

[@augure2589]

Imagine the combo if Wallonie comes home! Best wine and beer in the world.💪

[@araspel2007]

AND a chocolate

[@kriekevaneenoo7880]

As a Belgian, I like you!

[@acesgames5318]

give this man a beer please 👍

[@mfcq4987]

I don't know why is Belgium a country, but i like it. Amitié aux Belges zelfs de Vlamingen (de France)

[@jjb645]

Saying that Congo was relatively smooth sailing until WW1 is insane. Do you not know or want to mention how many people King Leopold the 2nd killed during his reign in the Congo? He’s genuinely one of the most evil people in history, and you didn’t even give it 1 sentence.

[@fred8289]

"When De Bruyne turnes pink, it´s very bad news for the opposition... Run!" - Julius Caesar

[@thelinedrive]

And never loss sight of Lukaku or you have already lost.

[@gilh3947]

Playing with Belgium the guy never won a single price.

[@historywithhilbert]

Is it?

[@Knowledgia]

I guess

[@Zeynep6034]

@@Knowledgia Hello, I want to translate some of your videos into Turkish and present them in my own language.

[@ben_doverson1951]

Pancakes? - The Netherlands Waffles? - Belgium Hotel? - TriVaGo

[@OneTapFortuNe]

Belgium is not perfect and that's perfect. I always loved to live there, growing up there was just awesome. We will stand our ground one way or another.

[@mardiffv.8775]

Exactly, kick out any Dutchman who asked for "patat", instead of "friet" (both are names for French Fries).

[@stevenwalravens4220]

As a belgian citizen i am jealous of the Netherlands, France and yes even Germany... They only speak one language... So easy!!! I need to speak french 70% of the time at my job. Als een Belg ben ik jaloers van Nederland, Frankrijk en zelf Duitsland... Ze spreken er één taal... Zo gemakkelijk!!! Ik moet voor mijn werk minstens 70% Frans spreken.

[@JoshSweetvale]

English.

[@sauringlunala3716]

Ikr, and half doesn't want to learn more then one language

[@bordoenes6217]

Everybody asking "Why is Belgium", but nobody is asking "How is Belgium?"

[@galactorsus_i.n.c]

I'd say belgium is doing okay not good but not bad either. Lots of devision issue but so far it's only people being grumpy about it

[@Grivian]

Americans: "Where is Belgium?"

[@dhrvb]

@@Grivian ask Trump, for sure he can’t answer this question.

[@madmonkeycycling9098]

Broken

[@bimarshgurung4065]

Sadly not good, the numbers of Covid are increasing but we have one week extra vacation tho

[@maureen.loader]

SO I'm born in Belgium... So i had to watch this to know why that question actually xD SURPRISINGLY too many people are wondering the same question... Belgium is waffles, diamonds, chocolats, beers, JCVD and french fries's country (Yes french fries are actually from Belgium and not France) ... isn't that enough to be seen as a valuable country ? haha Thank you.

[@heliosjollywolf9552]

we also make guns that too

[@JoseRojas-je8gs]

People in South America (were the potatoes come from) Indians, mestizos, Spanish never had the idea to slice potatoes and cock it in oil (fried) ....come one use a little bit the logic. Almost everything invented between 1450-1800 was Spanish creations most all of them stoked by British and French.... but Spain was a complex kingdom with to many territories in Europe...that's the problem plus the chauvinism dosis close the possibility to give the credits to the real creators of this world we know now.

[@Rilcy2003]

Sorry but french fries are french as Enigma was decrypted by polish and not english people. Trying to rewrite history does not change real facts.

[@heliosjollywolf9552]

@@Rilcy2003 NA much?

[@karhedin]

@@Rilcy2003 the complete name for the "french fries" is "fried frenched potatoes", and was used to distinguish them from the "fried mashed potatoes". in cooking, "Frenched" mean "cut in long stripes", it doesnt necessarily mean it came from France. Historian located the origin of the "french fries" around the bank of the river Meuse in what is now Belgium, the actual debate came from the fact it was a part of France at that time but is not anymore.

[@j.a.weishaupt1748]

“The Congo was fairly smooth sailing…”. Erm… I think you forgot about the slaves who were mutilated and killed in the millions. And it wasn’t part of Belgium but Leopold’s own private property.

[@Belgisch_Monarchist1831]

My home country maybe weird but its a special kind of weird and tvats why i love it

[@roenie3010]

We should be proud of not belonging to any other than ourselves.

[@Belgisch_Monarchist1831]

@@roenie3010 dat is waar broeder

[@roenie3010]

@@Belgisch_Monarchist1831 liever Belgique dan van de Fransen, Duitsers of Hollanders.🇧🇪

[@guillaumearnould7836]

I am very proud to be belgian. This is just inside me. Dont ask me why tho, its in my blood i guess lol

[@Belgisch_Monarchist1831]

@@guillaumearnould7836 I know what you mean some people may shit ln our country but thats because they're country is even xorse

[@vinblake3676]

As a Belgian myself, this was awesome and interesting to watch. Thnx

[@webexchangeonlineservices7541]

I love this

[@garfieldt]

Why is everyone assuming that if Belgium were to break up, the parts would be annexed by its neighbors? If a break up would occur, we'd just continue independant, thanks.

[@casper6405]

Laughs in dutch annexation of Flanders in 2045

[@Charlie-hp2oh]

if it breaks up, the parts fall out of the european union

[@mikiplusdevideos4915]

Wallonia probably cant stand alone

[@garfieldt]

@@Charlie-hp2oh One of the reasons it hasnt happend yet.

[@garfieldt]

@@mikiplusdevideos4915 fair point. I mainly had Flanders in mind.

[@kuru61]

Reading the comment section here I think Belgians are underestimating their own country. It is so beautiful and culturally rich with a very good cuisine. And it is not French or Dutch, it has its own very unique character.

[@Rudysmismans]

We have the best government

[@shxbalee]

Thank you ❤️🙏 most Belgians don’t see it because they’re so drilled by the politicians and never opened themselves towards the “other side”, we’re to close minded when it comes to the other region and culture, even though we have more similarities than differences but people don’t want to see it…

[@alexandruchira184]

This question was on the lips of the great powers since its formation

[@TheRetrocords]

As a Belgian, I can vouch for the fact that our country is in a constant state of flux. We have the Flemish dutch-speaking region which, after the industrial revolution, has become the more affluent region while the (french-speaking) Walloon region was previously the more affluent (and slightly oppressive) region. The Walloon region has meanwhile become alot poorer and requires constant financial aid from the Flemish region. To make matters worse, they are politically alot more left-wing while the Flemish region has become more and more right-wing, and they both have an equal say in the composition of the federal government. This all results in a huge powder keg where conflicts and differences of opinion make up the daily news. But at the same time, people don’t want to be annexed with their northern or southern counterparts in general. We have a very distinct feeling of nationalism and wouldn’t want to be anything other than a Belgian. Julius Caesar once said that the Belgians were the bravest of the Galliards and I believe that still stands true to this day!

[@Yochemm]

Maar Julius Caesar zat toen al toen al in de leeftijdsklasse van Biden en bedoelde eigenlijk dat gebiedje daarboven, ik meen dat ze dat gebied Brabant noemde met al zijn moerassen, daar kwam geen zwaar bepakte Romeinse soldaat meer uit, die zonken 1 voor 1 naar de Brabantse dieptes.

[@dirkgonthier101]

Ooh, for crying out load! That quote of Caesar only concerns Gauls and not at all the Germanics.

[@shxbalee]

I want to remind you that as a Walloon (the name didn’t come from nowhere) we never spoke French before the oppression of the French Bourgeoisie !! Don’t come and tell us that we “oppressed” Flemish people when we were poor and oppressed too. My grandparents were kicked if they spoke the Walloon dialect from their region at school. Now we lost or original language and it’s dying, while y’all have conserved it because you had a stronger character against the oppression. Hate it when Flemish people say that, while my family was working in the mines. We (the Belgians) were always an oppressed community (the Netherlands, Spanish, French…) and now we try to throw the fault at each other 🤦‍♀️

[@moniquepenne8034]

???Because I was born from a Flemish father and a bilingual mother, all the rest of my family is flamish-speaking, my brother lived in Flanders and his children are flamish-speaking, my sister lives in the Flemish region but is French-speaking (bilingual), that I lived in a Flemish municipality with facilities, that I did all my studies in French, that I got married to a French speaking from the Brussels region, that I have lived in Wallonia for 34 years and that I have two french speaking children. What part of myself do I have to cut to match your abstract theories? that's being Belgian. Many Belgians are like me, with a mixture of cultures.

[@moniquepenne8034]

And i love Belgium. ♥️😁

[@maticelieben7768]

@@moniquepenne8034 *we love it

[@reallifepokemonattacks2126]

We Belgians never give up, never surrender, fight everybody, are really stubborn and are fierce warriors but we're also a good example for the rest of the world that we're all just one people and no matter the language (we literally speak whole different dialects from each other only a few km away in the next town over), origin, beliefs, etc we can all unite and work together as one. Also the video should have mentioned it's the center of Europe as it also houses the European Commission in Brussels ;)

[@hgv3666]

Lot me raden gij zijt nog in uw kleuterschoenen

[@GerbenDub]

De grootste bende jengelende huilebalken in Europa. Calimero syndroom.

[@niksarass]

This is not accurate, you gave up to islamism settlers

[@solinvictus2045]

​@@niksarasswhat a inaccurate statement

[@niksarass]

@solinvictus2045 go visit molenbeek

[@therongjr]

Wait, *that* Leopold? Oh, that was his son. Still: damn, Belgium . . . a young country and already off to a imperial start!

[@Comred1]

They grow up so fast!

[@teghem6723]

As Belgian, so I feel myself to have some legitimacy to be dismissive about my own country. To foreigners who are tempted by the same I offer them a reminder: Being the first country on the continent to succeed its industrial revolution, Belgium was once the 3rd world economy.

[@bertruslanus]

How could the age of a nation have any influence on his vew on imperialism ? The biggest imperialist power of the world is the USA yet it is a relatively new nation. they have been imperialists since day one anyway. + Congo was a private enterprise by Léopold II. The govenment was not convinced at all and the Congo only became a belgian colony 23 after is colonisation because Léopold was forced to give up after international scandals

[@minimax9452]

Leopold was a mass-murder: intrestant - how the belgians managed to keep the mass killings of 12 million people in ther congo-colony right before WW1 a secret.Nobody mentions it nobody seems to be interested. black lives don‘t matter in belgium?

[@bertruslanus]

@@minimax9452 yeah right. - the killings were well known at that time. The international outrage was the precise thing that forced Léopold II to concede the kingdom. - the population of Congo in 1885 is estimated to have been between 10 and 15 millions. If they had killed 12 millions there would be no one left. - colonisation started with 175 belgians in 1885 and only 1713 in 1908, when the colony became belgian. The Congo is bigger than Europe and had no roads at that time and the population was mostly scattered in small villages. Explain to me how they could have managed to kill two time more than the Germans with their train alimented death camps supplied by big cities all arround Europe. + Congolese population was hit by several epidemy that severly impacted the pop and, not that this is an excuse but most of the belgian-related death were due to the fact that people were forced to work in rubber plantation and didn't have enough time left to work in agriculture to feed themselves. Killings happened in rebel provinces but had not such a dramatic impact, at least on a national level.

[@Brand131]

6:28 I think you're really selling the 10 days campaign short. It was a very successful offense. Its goal was to get a better bargaining position, yet Belgians were so unprepared that their defense folded and total victory for the Dutch troops seemed imminent. It is only because France sent in their own army to support the Belgian government that this didn't happen. The result of the campaign was that half of the region of Limburg is still part of the Netherlands.

[@ericyeo26]

So do y'all want Limburg back?

[@Brand131]

​@@ericyeo26 I'd rather see the whole of Belgium and the Netherlands reunified, maybe with the Walloon region as a separate autonomous entity. I doubt that will ever happen, though.

[@imwinningthisone7613]

@@Brand131 Flanders would also be autonomous then. Because neither of those areas want to join their northern neighbors

[@BulletBill64]

Secedes from the United Netherlands. Picks "strenght through unity" as their motto.

[@dutchman7623]

L'onion fait la farce!

[@dutchman7623]

Concordia res parvae crescunt! or Eendracht maakt macht! has been the Dutch motto for centuries until Willem I put a part of his family motto under the national coat of arms. According to me we should restore it immediately.

[@whydoievenbothertoputthish2199]

Takes part of Luxembourg names that new province Luxembourg lmao

[@MrMikelangeloh]

The prehistoric Iron Age learns us that modern day Belgium was inhabited by many different tribes. They shared common values but where all different from one another in some way. They were not Gallic nor Germanic but showed similarities (you can compare it to the Portuguese sharing similarities with the Spanish or the Swedish with the Norwegians). Yet they lived together and were called the Belgae tribe. Ever since, meaning more than 2500 years, it has always been like that. Nowadays, the Belgae or Belgians, unite under one name but still are subdivided into different communities or modern tribes. It is just how it has always been for this country. Belgians are kind of united because of bindings factors other than a common language. This difficult to understand identity IS their identity and makes it very unique at the same time. You think an inhabitant of another country that has a very straight forward indentity and easy to understand, is happier and feeling more confident than Belgians today? A Belgian would probably laugh and continue to enjoy all the good stuff coming from this mysterious piece of land. They wouldn't even want to begin to explain a 2500 year history to an ignorant.

[@williamadams2361]

The central role of property rights in our system of government must be reinforced.

[@jamesmarcus4105]

@Chris Davis The American food tuber sonny went to Iran and said this. "People ain't their governments, people are people. we have a lot more in common than you think.

[@smithwillison6345]

The desire for profit was a powerful motivator to make man improve his condition (and thereby mankind's in general).

[@alanfuller7176]

@@smithwillison6345 The creation of this property eventually allowed for exchange.

[@danhanson5314]

@@alanfuller7176 I agree but it's sucks for us because, we both get our hard earned money taken by the government except you don't get free healthcare in return.

[@carsoncordelli9557]

Nevertheless business and investment are easiest way to make money irrespective of which party makes it to the oval office.

[@eikeljanuss]

Americans: " where are you from?" Me: "Belgium" Americans:" yeah nice city"

[@teghem6723]

Middle class US tourists in the mid of a speedy europe tour are sailing on a ferry from Dover to Ostend. They are at the exchange office: I want ,... I want ... I want Brussels money please!

[@Nebo8ful]

Some part of the country are so urbanized that its not to far from reality

[@witzenstein]

Belgium is actually a small village in the US.

[@heliosjollywolf9552]

hey look its the country with bad education and school shootings while being 1 party away from a dictatorship talking smack

[@lemorholt6341]

When I was in New York : "Where are you from ? - Belgium. - Oh! yeah! In France !..." ^^

[@Peter_Scheen]

Fun fact. The province of Brabant was divided between the Netherlands and Belgium so now we have North Brabant in the south of the Netherlands and South Brabant in the north of Belgium.

[@Foxglove963]

Peter Scheen . The Duchy of Brabant was vast, pity it was divided.

[@r.v.b.4153]

Harba lorifa zong den hertog, harba lorifaaaa! Herenig Brabant.

[@1Natah]

Hello from Belgium. Thank your for this video ;)

[@luclepoudre4897]

Everbody, everywhere, have a mysterious big smile when I say:"I am from Belgium".

[@headshotzheadshotz8494]

I live in Belgium and the french people suck at dutch and vise versa. Thats why large groups are calling themeself "Vlamig" instead of "Belgian"

[@luclepoudre4897]

@@headshotzheadshotz8494 Yep! So I am Vlaming (that means Dutch speaking), not Belgian. We have a German-culture. French people have a Roman(Latin) culture. This country is not a nation and nothing is working normaly here.

[@Foxglove963]

@@headshotzheadshotz8494 The Flemish used to be discriminated against, French was preferred as (national) language.

[@naria2224]

@@headshotzheadshotz8494 Sure there are also plenty that don’t. But there are actually plenty of us who know both . It’s really just a question of effort and individual interest. And even for those who don’t interest to learn the other, in school both are taught.

[@naria2224]

@@luclepoudre4897 Don’t promote the divide and canceling of our country! There are many of us that don’t feel we should be divided! Yes there are things that work strangely, but that doesn’t mean we should give up on the country! And uh wether you like it or not , if you were born and/or raised in Belgium, you are Belgian. Don’t need to spit on our country. No country is perfect! Any country you can go to has its strange things and difficulties.

[@matthings4133]

most of the videos on youtube question belgiums existance. Me a Belgian : Yay, we get noticed

[@MinecraftMasterNo1]

Eupen is rightful German clay

[@matthings4133]

@@MinecraftMasterNo1 so are thousands of other cases... just look at french flanders and zeeuws vlaanderen for belgium alone.

[@Eugensson]

@@MinecraftMasterNo1 Funny enough they are the most pro-royal Belgians over there.

[@l.mercier2709]

​@@matthings4133 french flemish here, still fighting for our right to learn Flemish and Dutch as our grandparents in school!

[@matthings4133]

@@l.mercier2709 spain should have never given these lands to france ;(

[@SurfinScientist]

I am a bit confused. When did the Dutch provinces of Limburg and Noord-Brabant become part of the Netherlands again? I thought they were never part of Belgium, but in this video they are shown to be in Belgium up to WW1. This is not correct, because it is well-known that the Germans avoided to go through Limburg in their invasion of Belgium in WW1 in order to not violate the neutrality of the Netherlands (though when quickly retreating / escaping in 1918 the Germans did go through Limburg to the annoyance of the Belgians).

[@fermewilmotsagriculturebio3434]

At the start of ww1 the belgian-dutch border was as depicted, the Dutch had been given parts of Limburg back around Maastricht, but both countries had provinces called Limburg and Brabant. So the German army invaded through Belgian Limburg though not initially as they don't share borders. They came through Liège first.

[@SurfinScientist]

@@fermewilmotsagriculturebio3434 That is incorrect. Check your history. Dutch Limburg and Noord-Brabant have been parts of the Netherlands since 1843 as determined by the Treaty of Maastricht. Note there is also a Limburg in Belgium and a Brabant in Belgium, which were assigned to Belgium in the same treaty.

[@fermewilmotsagriculturebio3434]

@@SurfinScientist Still the map is correct at the start of WW1 around 09:00 , though it's a bit confusing as the time-line goes back and forth during that part, but notice the border is correct as he mentions the 1839 treaty of London, and then only switches to post 1843 when mentioning the 1914 German breach. But yes it's confusing that post 1843 events had already been mentioned. Also note that Limburg wasn't assigned to Belgium, it had joined the Belgian revolt against the Dutch and had been under Belgian authority up to 1843 when the Great powers at the London conference decided the Dutch should have a consolation prize. Not many were really happy with this.

[@slome815]

This video makes it seem like the netherlands and belgium were united until the revolution. This glances over so many things. Already from about 1580, during the first phases of the 80 years war, the netherlands split from what is now belgium, first under Spain, then under Austria. We were only part of the Netherlands for 15 years, between 1815 and 1830.

[@Eugensson]

"Why is Belgium a country?" Allez, kom aan. Nog een keer? Echt?

[@przemekh4857]

You know he's right

[@Eugensson]

@@przemekh4857 1) These videos are happening every year. 2) It is obviously cheaper to keep Belgium as is. Breaking it apart would bring enormous financial losses to all sides involved.

[@przemekh4857]

@@Eugensson I 100% agree with you. But we shouldn't ignore the fact that there's a big "compatibility" problem with the regions (Flanders, Brussels, Wallonie). And it's getting worse each year

[@Eugensson]

@@przemekh4857 honestly I do not see it getting worse. But the problem is there for sure (IMO it is exagerated by the politicians). I wouldn’t care if BE would split while still being part of EU, wouldn’t make a lot of problems for me to live and work in Flanders and to commute theough BXL. However the process of the split itself terrifies me as hell. Shit is already chaotic, the split would just paralize the region for 5 years straight at least. And after that, I would bet Limburg and WV would start requesting special treatment as the least productive and most productive regions respectively.

[@przemekh4857]

@@Eugensson I'm pretty sure Flanders would be totally fine, and i say that as a French-speaking guy from Brussels. They are hard-working people, and have some national identity, and I respect them a lot. They get disrespected a lot on French-speaking television, which is a shame because we could learn a lot from them

[@lylecampbell9036]

A better question is why is Luxembourg a country?

[@pelto7706]

Lets make it clear, the problem between Walloons and Flemish are 1000% caused by politics. I worked 2 years with flemish ppl, and i had a great time, tbh i kinda miss them.

[@naria2224]

Exactly ! This should be more widely known! I have lots of friends and family on both parts.

[@lauralaura396]

I grew up in a border town between Flanders and Wallonia. I never really felt animosity between people living on one side of the border towards the other side. Except for the language, the people didn't seem any different from one another. Since a few years I have moved a bit deeper (like 30km's :-) ) into Flanders, and here I do very occasionally hear some negativity towards the Walloons. I really feel like the animosity is mainly based on media and politics, and has very little to do with real life interactions they have with Walloons. I really wish there would be more interactions between Flemish and Walloons on a national scale. Like joint media platforms/events or more interaction between Flemish and Wallonian (primary/secondary) schools/ 'youth movements' (Chiro, Scouts, Patro,...)/etc. I feel politically it's either 'we want to split because we're different' or 'nah, we're alright, we don't need to split', but even from the side that doesn't want to split, I feel like there's very little effort and initiative to actually bring us together / increase interaction / become more united. Only football seems to be this event that unites us for a short while. I'm not into football, but I'm thankful it exists for this reason.

[@sameersekhar1539]

I just visited Belgium. For 4 days. Trust me, I loved the country and the people. Belgians!! Be proud of yourself and your country. No one has the right to ask WHY BELGIUM. You have all the rights to be happy with diversity and different language or culture. But you all are Belgian at the core. Love from an Indian. ❤

[@matissecallens9808]

The advantages of living in belgium is that we don’t really have a strong accent which means we can talk others languages easier than most people

[@gabagooom]

yeah this is so true, I feel like most Dutch and French people have extremely strong accents while speaking English, less so with Germans but it’s still more noticeable imo

[@msct6080]

We do have an accent thou, however we try to mimic the accent of the language we try to speak much more than any other nationality I have met.

[@matissecallens9808]

@@msct6080 yeah true

[@benvlerick8303]

Jamaja have you geweest naar West-Flanders keppe want there is beire sterk accent there, yes inderdeed zenne

[@matissecallens9808]

@@benvlerick8303 dat hangt af van persoon tot persoon hoor want ik ben van west-vlaanderen 😅

[@OnlyInMelsele]

One important thing you missed is the Brabantine or First Belgian Revolution. This created modern Belgium, the flag (Brabantine tricolour), Name (United Belgian states),... during the 41 years after the Brabantine Revolution, Belgium would revolt against France, play a crucial role at Waterloo against Napoleon, and then against the Dutch. So Belgium didn't just get created in 1830 because they didn't like the Dutch rule.

[@HH-xf9il]

Love how our first king was not sure if Belgium was a good idea lol

[@pixelcode6595]

He didn't even want us😂

[@dirkgonthier101]

Yeah, and the second was a real butcher, the third was a sanctimonious fool, the fourth was a Nazi, the fifth was religious fanatic, the sixth was a ...

[@specialnn2948]

@@dirkgonthier101 dont disrepect King Albert I, the man carried us in ww1

[@dirkgonthier101]

@@specialnn2948 I utterly and completely disrespect Albert I, because he didn't allow Dutch in the Belgian (bullshit) army which led to many Flemings who didn't even understand the orders they were given. What a difference with the attitude of the Germans during WW1, who gave Flemings many rights, such as: education in their native language, the first Dutch university in Gent, an administration in Dutch, Dutch courts, a Flemish police (something that the Frencophones refuse us until this day) and so on. And I completely and utterly disrespect Albert I because he (and the dispicable Frencophones) blocked in 1926 the attempt of Frans Van Cauwelaert (Catholic politician, later minister of State) to have Dutch installed as the only language of Flanders. The famous historian Lode Wils (former professor of history (now 91 years old) at the university of Leuven), who specialises in the history of the Flemish movement, points to this fact to explain why Belgium is ripping itself apart today. So, Albert I disgusts me and I spit on his memory.

[@barongrenadier327]

@@dirkgonthier101 Are you mad dumb ? The Flemish soldiers were trained for months before the war, and so were the Walloons. Do you really think that at the beginning of the 20nd century the Walloons spoke french ? They didn't, just like the Flemish. The reason to why there were like 3-4% more deaths on the flemish part is that since they were poorer than the Walloons, they tended to join the infantry more than the cavalry and other components of the army. And yeah, the Germans' goals during WW1 and WW2 was to sparkle flemish nationalism in order for Belgium to be weaker. You're all in for weakness. You personally are going all for the easy thing to say, full of stereotypes and lack of Historical knowledge. Oh and now you're going to preach Frans Van Cauwelaert, the guy who fled his country during WW1 and then wanted a law to forgive those who collaborated with the germans during WW1 ? Quite ironic that you call Albert I a nazi since the flemish tended well more to collaborate with the germans than the rest. Two more things : it wasn't the first try at all for the Flemish to try having their language recognized, it happened for the first time in 1888, if that makes you happier in your selfish ideas. And now, the part of : "Albert I is against the Flemish" lol no. On the contrary. In 1917 some "flamingants" (The Flemish movement) wrote to him saying : "You're the only one we still believe in." He was all for Flemish welfare. But his parliament wasn't, which led to him never being able to get laws for it. So again, you're full of shit. Bonus : Lode Wils is against flemish independence.

[@KatandDogs2]

Very nice upload ☺♫ (and grts from Belgium ☺)

[@sharonmichael-oluyomi3880]

7:59 Nice video! But the correct Independence Day is 21 July and not 1813 but 1831.

[@khagan5951]

Actually the 10 Day Campaign was successful. The Dutch only withdrew after French intervention.

[@khagan5951]

@@doeme80 The problem is that the author formed a narrative in which it sounded like the Belgians repelled the Campaign, which they didn't.

[@bavo5179]

Belgium a small country. but for some reason does need more politicians than the biggest country’s in the world.

[@u-skillshuffle1531]

I can explain very fast, imagine 8 fields, needed atleast 3 ministers, for each region because each have their rules, and boom, a shittons of ministers

[@rokrxxx]

@@u-skillshuffle1531 yes that is the most accurate explanation to it in a fast way

[@dzhaydzhay4444]

As immigrant who lives in Belgium ,honestly I never felt Belgium and Belgian people ,it’s seems like I’m in the country without culture ,Brussels it’s no comments ,it’s seems for me that Belgian people give up and have Brussels to immigrants that’s it ,I meet Belgian people mostly on north side and there I feel some kind of culture but really not that deep as French or German or Spanish for example ,I live not far from center of Brussels and I still don’t have Belgian friends because I rarely meet them ,I feel sad for the fact how they could give up and give there capital city for immigrants from other country ?and they suppose to follow foreigners rules 🥲I’m not Belgian even but I worry about there country,mostly people come to Brussels only to work and make money ,here you don’t feel culture ,safe ,and happy ,only money and studies that’s it and it’s very sad ,in Nederland I feel totally different feelings and it’s much better than Belgium and they keep their culture in their capital city and I love it ,mostly people share with me same opinion ,unfortunately for me right now Brussels it’s second Morocco or second Africa by the way ,I believe we need to be kind and tolerant but we suppose to keep our culture and doesn’t let foreigners to change it or destroy it !)

[@christopherfleming7505]

I was born and bred in Belgium. A proud Brussels sprout!

[@abigailappiah1878]

❤

[@naria2224]

I understand that a lot of people don’t understand Belgium. But I am fed up with so many people in the comments and elsewhere (especially non Belgians) being rude or mean about it. No matter what you think of Belgium, it is there. The disrespect needs to stop. We are humans too.

[@naria2224]

The way it came to be may be awkward, but much time has passed. It is still there and deserves more respect. It is not okay to just offend all Belgians simply because some things are odd or complicated. Any country you look at, you can find things that don’t make sense to you. There are complicated things in every country. A perfect place does not exist.

[@chainehistoire7616]

Does anyone know why many germans are so aggressively pushing for a devide of Belgium between France, the Netherlands and Germany?

[@Bln-f9u]

I'm Gernan and find Belgium intersting. - I don't want you to disappear v: (secretly, I even want you to annex Luxemburg xD). But with all seriousnes, the Federal Republic has no land claims at all, eventhough we should fix these wacky railroad borders .. we take Petergensfeld, and we give you Ruitzhof and Mützenich. anyway, don't know why people are so fed up about it.

[@chainehistoire7616]

@@Bln-f9u are the any problem with the railroad border?

[@Foxglove963]

@@naria2224 A place where we are free does not exists either.

[@basvriese1934]

A little bit bothered with how you just ignored Limburg and Luxembourg when talking about the independence of Belgium, while the visuals showed it as part of Belgium, which is just wrong

[@jeroenvanzwam6991]

Exactly. North limburg was not part of Belgium, and neither was Luxemburg.

[@sanderlesschaeve3801]

They were in the beginning

[@carlotadias9335]

Very good video ! Only subtitles option is missing. The rest is perfect !

[@Omnatten9]

German speaking Belgian here. I'm here in Eupen and it's Belgium to me. Germany looks, feels and acts differently. Different laws, mentality, different spirit. The German speaking part of Belgium should remain Belgium. Just like Flanders and Wallonia. We shall remain.

[@arnauuu1]

The moment Nigel Farage referred to Belgium as a "non-country" was perhaps the most hilarious political statement I have ever watched 🤣. Especially van Rompuy's face in reaction to it 😂

[@littleprincess8526]

I love my country and I am a proud Belgian too. I am Flemish but love Wallonia and the German region. Nothing will break up Belgium!

[@_.chichi.chan._]

Des sous-titres en Néerlandais, Français et Allemand serait vraiment super ;)

[@coisd.b.486]

Ou apprendre le Néerlandais

[@wilhelmlegothdegascogne9674]

@@coisd.b.486 Autre chose a foutre que d'apprendre une langue local parlé dans 4 pays du monde

[@marwan8431]

I'm aproud Belgian now, and as you can see we we're fighters from the beginning (and he didn't even mention the middle-ages)

[@willyholdsman3956]

Today we are still fighten for a Corona-vaccin for the ages 65 +, because in the southern part Wallonia they got them all ......

[@marwan8431]

@@willyholdsman3956 you got that right of je hebt gelijk

[@theodecraene2001]

@@marwan8431 He didn't at all.

[@theodecraene2001]

@@willyholdsman3956 In Wallonië zijn er meer vaccinweigeraars, dus kunnen ze sneller jongere mensen vaccineren. In Vlaanderen is al een groter deel van de bevolking gevaccineerd, maar het gaat inderdaad vooral om de 75+'ers, omdat er minder vaccinweigeraars zijn. Het loont de moeite om de officiële berichtgeving in de gaten te houden en genuanceerd nieuws te verspreiden. De Vlaamse overheid een slechte naam bezorgen is hoe dan ook geen oplossing in dit geval.

[@marwan8431]

@@theodecraene2001 spijtig genoeg, niet nee

[@neilritson7445]

You forgot its N-S division!! And Magritte and Tin Tin, Snowy and the Thomson Twins. And Plastique Bertrand bloke. Oh and Poirot. That's all there is to Belgium.

[@juliogarcia4757]

Belgium’s occupation in the Congo was anything but “smooth sailing”

[@Frozhiir]

It was smooth for Belgium, not so much for Congo tho

[@raphaelostrowski6336]

He meant after the horrors of Leopold II and was owned by the actual country

[@Steve-dl1lv]

It was smooth sailing and mostly peaceful.

[@teghem6723]

As Belgian, so I feel myself to have some legitimacy to be dismissive about my own country. To foreigners who are tempted by the same I offer them a reminder: Being the first country on the continent to succeed its industrial revolution, Belgium was once the 3rd world economy.

[@frederiknielsen5496]

And during the late middle ages, the richest part of Europe in general, with some of the most superb art the world has ever seen.

[@willyholdsman3956]

@@frederiknielsen5496 Bruges is now again a world seaport......

[@willyholdsman3956]

@Pirate Bonny IS-Jihad imported by politicians.....

[@Bananaman-hk6qw]

do you want a medal?

[@Silence_stp]

Belgium wasn't the 3rd economy of the world but the second world economy

[@robmanueb.]

Even just a mention of the atrocities visited upon the Congolese by Leopold II would have been nice. It is estimated that around half of the population died under his rule rule, due to slavery and poor treatment.

[@jme104]

No, in reality, 95% of the Congoleses were murdered , that's why they are only 105 millions today .

[@stevendeville4314]

If that was true, it would be very stupid because the Congolese people were necessary in the proces off making big profit. The Anglo-Saxon literature has the habit to exaggerate the numbers. Nobody knows how many Congolese people died. But anyway, it was far to many (even 1 was already to many)

[@jerregaming6009]

Look, I know everybody thinks chocolate comes from Switzerland, Beer comes from Germany and Fries are French, all these things are, in fact, Belgian. Many breweries throughout the world were started by Belgian monks and Belgian chocolate is sure to rival the swiss. The term French fries is said to originate in the verb "Frenchen" or to french. This would be the act of slicing the potato into strips. Another option could be that it spread to america through the french speaking population and therefore was named French.