What nation lives in Belgium? Demographic situation in Belgium. Population growth

In 2008, 10.7 million people lived in Belgium. Due to a decrease in the birth rate, the country's population grew by only 6% over 30 years. And in 2003The birth rate was 10.45 per 1,000 inhabitants, and the death rate was 10.07 per 1,000 inhabitants. Population growth rate 0.15% (2002). Birth rate - 10.58%, mortality - 10.08% Infant mortality reaches 4.64 people. per 1000 newborns (2002).

Average duration life in Belgium - 78.29 (74.97 for men and 81.78 for women). About 900 thousand foreigners permanently reside in Belgium (Italians, Moroccans, French, Turks, Dutch, Spaniards, etc.).

Belgium is one of the most densely populated countries peace. The average population density is about 320 people per 1 sq. km - it ranks second in Europe after the Netherlands (not counting microstates).

The central part of the country is especially populated - the Sambre and Meuse valleys and the strip along the Antwerp - Brussels - Charleroi axis, where the main industrial, trade and transport life of the country is concentrated and the Largest cities. Here for 1 sq. km there are from 7 to 1000 people.

In rural areas, the density is somewhat lower, although it still remains relatively high, and only in the Ardennes does it drop to 50-100 people per 1 sq. km.

The educational level is high (98% of the country's residents can read and write).
The structure of the population has a number of gender and age characteristics. The size of the male population of the country as a whole is somewhat inferior to that of the female population (0.96). True, at birth it predominates (1.05), but then gradually loses its leadership.

At the age of 15-64 years, this indicator almost levels out (1.02), and St. At 65 years of age there is already a significant gap (0.69). Age structure population: under 14 years old - 17.3%, 15 -64 years old - 65.6%, 65 years old and older -17.1%. The retirement age ranges from 56-58 years. The vast majority of the population lives in cities (80.5%).

“Belgians,” says the popular proverb, “do not exist in nature.” The population of Belgium is split (this word is not chosen by chance) into 58% Flemings in the northern part of the country, speaking Dutch, traditionally called Flemish in Belgium, and approximately 32% French-speaking Walloons in the south.

In addition, there are more than 67,000 German-speaking residents in the Eastern Cantons.
The high percentage of immigrants (there are almost 870,000 people here) leads to a mixture of languages. But language conflicts arise exclusively between the Walloons and the Flemings.

The indigenous population of Belgium consists of the Flemings - descendants of the Frankish, Frisian and Saxon tribes, and the Walloons - descendants of the Celts. The Flemings live mainly in the north of the country (in East and West Flanders). They are fair-haired and have a physical resemblance to the Dutch. The Walloons live mainly in the south and are similar in appearance to the French.

The French-speaking areas of the country are united under the general name of the Walloon region, and the north of the country, where the Flemish language predominates, is usually called the Flanders region. About 58% of Belgians live in Flanders, 33% in Wallonia, 9% in Brussels and less than 1% in the German-speaking area that was ceded to Belgium after the First World War.

Some Walloon families still speak the Walloon dialect of French, but in Walloon schools literary French is taught as the mother tongue. Literary Flemish is similar to Dutch, but spoken Flemish, which is divided into Brabant-Frankish and Limburgish-Frankish dialects, is somewhat different from spoken Dutch.

In the following decades, Belgian culture was dominated by France. Francophonie has strengthened the social and economic role Walloons, and this led to a new rise of nationalism among the Flemings, who demanded equal status of their language with French.

This goal was achieved only in the 1930s after the adoption of a series of laws that gave the status of the state language to the Dutch language, which began to be used in administrative matters, legal proceedings and teaching.

The long-term communication between the Flemings and Walloons, the growing economic and cultural ties between them, Belgian patriotism, manifested in participation in the Resistance movement during the years of Hitler’s occupation of both the Walloons and the Flemings, as well as the massive spread of bilingualism, gave some authors reason to talk about their merging into one “Belgian nation.” "

However, many Flemings continued to feel like second-class citizens in their country, where they not only outnumbered them but, in the post-war period, achieved more high level welfare compared to Wallonia.

Antagonism between the two communities increased, and constitutional amendments were made in 1971, 1980, and 1993 to grant each greater cultural and political autonomy.

The problem that had long plagued Flemish nationalists was that their own language had become a chaotic collection of dialects that had developed during a long period of Francophonie in education and culture.

However, after the First World War, the Flemish language gradually moved closer to the literary norm of modern Dutch. In 1973, the Flemish Cultural Council decided that the language should be officially called Dutch rather than Flemish.

Ethnic groups live predominantly in certain provinces. The northern part of the country (West and East Flanders, Vlaams-Brabant, Antwerp, Limburg) is inhabited by Flemings, who speak a special language of the West Germanic group, close to Dutch.

In the south, the Walloons predominate (Brabant-Walloon, Hainaut, Liege, Namur), whose language is close to northern French (they represent the descendants of the Romanized Belgae). The same language is spoken by about 80% of Brussels residents. Finally, in the east of the country (around the cities of Eupen and Malmedy) mainly Germans live.

Belgium's culture may come from two different roots, but there is no enmity between them. Both the Walloons and the Flemings like to work hard and play fair.

They love to sit in a cafe, eat delicious food, and have intelligent conversations with friends. Belgians are not braggarts, but they are proud of their country, especially appreciating its excellent cuisine. Strong families and family ties are very important for our society; many families have lived side by side on the same street for centuries, and the older generation helps children raise their grandchildren.

Belgium is one of the most “traditionally urban” countries in the world, with many cities and towns to be found here. There are practically no uninhabited territories or unused lands on the territory of the country.

About 70% of the total population lives in cities, which include settlements with over 5 thousand inhabitants. However, the border between city and village is very arbitrary.

Many villages have the outward appearance of a city, and a significant proportion of their residents work outside of agriculture. Therefore, in fact urban population prevails.

The capital of Belgium is Brussels, with 1.1 million inhabitants, Antwerp (over 900 thousand), Liege (over 600 thousand), Rent and Charleroi (approximately 500 thousand inhabitants each). More than a quarter of the country's total population lives in these cities.

Also in Belgium, so-called highly urbanized areas are widespread, which are a cluster of several small towns and industrial settlements with a total population of more than 100 thousand.

Examples include Borinage-Mons, Center-Hainaut. Courtray, Aalst-Ninove, La Louviere - Senef - Manage. Such clusters are distinguished by the absence of a clearly defined single center, as if absorbing other cities and towns. Urban agglomerations are so close to each other that their zones of influence and the boundaries of developments touch.

The close proximity of settlements to each other, as well as a well-developed road network and transport, have contributed to the fact that more than 40% of the active population of Belgium makes daily work trips from one village or city to another.

The world wars affected the cities of Belgium relatively little, so they preserved many monuments of ancient architecture dating back to the early Middle Ages.

In each city, its old, usually central, part and its new, usually located on the outskirts, industrial and residential areas with modern houses.

In rural areas you can find various shapes settlements and buildings. In the Flemish part of the country, farmsteads located close to each other predominate; There are also villages, mainly of the cumulus type. In the rural areas of the Walloon zone, the population lives mainly in villages.

In central Belgium these are mostly small villages of the street or cumulus type, and in the Ardennes they are quite large villages widely spaced along river valleys.

The peoples of the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg - three states located in north-west Europe - have much in common in ethnic history and culture, although they belong in language to different groups of the Indo-European family - Germanic (Friesians, Dutch, Flemings, Luxembourgers) and Romanesque (Walloons). State borders in this part of Europe do not coincide with linguistic and ethnic ones. Thus, the Frisians live in the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark, the Flemings - in the Netherlands, Belgium and France, the Walloons - in Belgium and France. The official language in the Netherlands is Dutch (or Dutch); Belgium has two official languages: Flemish (close to Dutch) and French, as well as in Luxembourg - Luxembourgish (a dialect of German) and French.

The majority of the population of the Netherlands (the total number in 1964 was 12 million 79 thousand people) are Dutch, inhabiting the northern, central and eastern regions countries. Dutch belongs to the Low German subgroup of the Western group of Germanic languages. The Flemings living in the southern provinces of the Netherlands (North Brabant, Limburg) are very close to the Dutch in culture and language. They are gradually merging with the Dutch into a single nation, and only some specific features in everyday life rural population Yes, partly religion (most Flemings are Catholics, while the bulk of the Dutch are Protestants) also distinguishes them from the Dutch. In the north of the country, in the province of Friesland and on the West Frisian Islands adjacent to its coast (Texel, Vlieland, Terschelling, Ameland, etc.), a small nation lives - the Frisians (over 300 thousand people, of which about 350 thousand people live in the Netherlands ). Frisian belongs to the Anglo-Frisian subgroup of West Germanic languages.

Heterogeneous National composition population and in Belgium. Total number The population of this country, according to 1963 data, is 9 million 270 thousand people. Northern Belgium (West and East Flanders, Antwerp and Limburg) is occupied by the Flemings (over 5 million people), who are closely related in origin and culture to the Flemings of the Netherlands. The Flemish language has a common grammar with the Dutch language and is only slightly different from it in vocabulary. The south of Belgium (provinces of Hainaut, Namur, Liege, Luxembourg) is inhabited by Walloons (about 4 million people), whose language is a dialect of French. Brabant is divided roughly in half by a linguistic border: the district of Nivelles is Walloon, Louvain is Flemish. The Brussels district with its mixed Walloon-Flemish population is allocated as a separate linguistic region. 15% of the country's total population lives here.

The people of Luxembourg must be regarded as a special people.

Geographical sketch

Belgium and the Netherlands are small states. The Netherlands covers an area of 34 thousand square meters. km.

Belgium - 30 thousand square meters. km.

Both countries are very densely populated: the average population density of the Netherlands is 350 people per 1 sq. km., Belgium - 305 people per 1 sq. km.

Most of the surface of the Netherlands and northern Belgium is flat. A significant part of the surface of the Netherlands is at the same level with the sea or even below it (country name " Nederland " means "lowland"). Almost along the entire northern coast of the Netherlands and Belgium there is a strip of sand dunes covered with heather and bushes. Dunes protect against the invasion of sea waves. Where there are no dunes, the shores are protected by massive dams and levees. But even these structures did not always save the country from catastrophic floods, especially frequent in the Middle Ages, when the sea often significantly changed the contours of the coast. So, in the 13th century. During one of the storms, the sea invaded deep into the Netherlands, forming the large sea bay of Zuiderzee from the freshwater Lake Flevo. In the same century, the Lauwersee and Dollart bays were created by the sea on the northern coast. In 1953, when dilapidated levees and dams, long in need of repair, failed to hold back the onslaught of the sea during a storm, it flooded vast, densely populated areas of the west coast. The flood caused great damage to the country, with the death toll exceeding 1,800 people.

For a long time, the Dutch have not only been fighting against the incursions of the sea, but also have been striving to reconquer areas of land from it.

Along the entire coast, behind rows of dunes and dams, lie low-lying, heavily swampy plains - marshes. To drain them and remove the rainwater that accumulates here, numerous canals have been built and special pumps pump the water into canals and rivers, and through them it is discharged into the sea. From the 16th century are widely used to drive bilge pumps and windmills. An abundance of windmills of various designs, flat green plains cut by a network of canals, sometimes located above ground level and enclosed in artificial banks, - character traits Dutch landscape. Nowadays, when much of the water pumping work is concentrated on powerful pumping stations, the remaining mills are carefully preserved and maintained to preserve the traditional Dutch landscape.

In the last two centuries, work has been undertaken in the Netherlands to drain large lakes - Haarlem and others. In the 20th century. Extensive work began to drain the Zuiderzee. In 1932, a thirty-kilometer dam was closed, separating the bay from the sea. Two large polders (drained areas of land) are now ready. When the work is completed, only a small lake will remain from the sea bay and five large polders will be formed, which will make up the twelfth province of the country.

The flat, lowland landscape of the Netherlands is broken only in the south of the country, in the province of Limburg, where there are small hills 150-200 m high. Hilly surfaces also predominate in central Belgium, and in the south there is the Ardennes mountain range. There are low forested mountains with steep steep slopes. In the Ardennes, the climate is close to continental - with hot summers and cool winters, while everywhere else a mild, humid maritime climate prevails with an average annual temperature of +10°. It falls in both the Netherlands and Belgium a large number of precipitation, mainly in the form of prolonged, drizzling rains. In the Netherlands, the number of clear cloudless days does not exceed 60-65 per year. A peculiarity of the climate of the Netherlands and the surrounding regions of Belgium is frequent and dense fogs. Both countries have many rivers and lakes. The Netherlands is located on the lower reaches of three major European rivers: the Rhine, Meuse and Scheldt. The Meuse and Scheldt are the main rivers in Belgium. With many tributaries and artificial canals, they form a dense network of waterways. The mild, humid climate favors the growth of grasses, which creates good conditions for the development of livestock farming.

In the past, broad-leaved forests covered these countries, but now they are almost completely cut down. In Belgium, forests remain only in some parts of the Campina region and in the Ardennes. A significant part of the forests is already made up of artificial plantings.

The Netherlands and Belgium are not rich in mineral resources. Only coal deposits are significant: in Belgium there are two coal basins - northern (in Campina, in the north-east of the country) and southern (in the valleys of the Sambre and Meuse rivers); in the Netherlands - a coal basin in the province of Limburg. In addition, in Belgium there are small deposits of iron ore, marble, building stone, and in the Netherlands, in the province of Drenth, there are minor oil reserves.

SKETCH OF ETHNIC HISTORY

The most ancient tribes in the Netherlands and Belgium, about which written sources tell us, were the Celts. Among them, the Belgae tribes were numerous here. Menapia are often mentioned in sources - in Brabant and along the banks of the Rhine, Morina - on the coast of Flanders, Nervia - in Gennegau, Brabant. Even before the mass migration of the Germans to Central and Western Europe, the Netherlands was also inhabited by Germanic tribes that came here from the east long before Caesar’s campaigns. The areas of settlement of the Celtic tribes were mainly the southern regions of the modern Netherlands and Belgium, while the Germanic tribes settled mainly to the north and east of them. Among these Germanic tribes, the most famous are the Frisians, who first occupied the coast of the North Sea between Lake Flevo and the Ems River, and in subsequent centuries spread further to the west - into the current provinces of North Holland, Gelderland, Utrecht up to Zeeland inclusive. Almost simultaneously with the Frisians, the Germanic tribe of the Batavians moved to Holland from the east, playing an important role in the enthogenesis of the Dutch people. The Batavians settled the islands formed by the mouths of the Rhine and Meuse, and the coastal strip between these rivers.

A noticeable mark on the ethnic history of the peoples of the Netherlands and Belgium was left by Roman rule over Gaul (1st century BC - 4th century AD). Its significance is especially great for those parts of the country that were included in the Roman Empire and underwent Romanization (southern Belgium). These areas, inhabited by the Celtic tribes of the Belgae, were part of the Roman province of Belgica.

The Roman conquerors built roads, bridges, and dams in the country. The first canals connecting rivers were dug by the Romans. During archaeological excavations throughout Holland and Belgium, traces of Roman culture are found.

The Roman conquest, however, brought with it heavy oppression for the population. Extortions and the forced introduction of Roman orders more than once caused uprisings, but they were brutally suppressed. The dominance of the Romans was put an end to the strong flow of Germanic tribes in the 4th-5th centuries. n. e.

At the end of the 3rd century. For the first time in historical sources the Franks are mentioned. They settled in the northern regions of the Netherlands and Belgium, moving from the east, apparently under pressure from the Saxon tribes. The territory of the Netherlands was inhabited mainly by the Salic Franks, who united many tribes under their leadership, including the Batavians. During the IV-V centuries. they moved further and further to the west. Already in the 4th century. the Franks in the south reached the current border separating the Romance languages from the Germanic languages. In the east, their neighbors were the Saxon tribes who lived here all the way to the IJssel River.

The military resistance of the Romans became increasingly weaker. In the 5th century the last Roman legions were withdrawn from Gaul. On the site of the former Gallorim region, a Frankish state was formed, which later became one of the most powerful in Western Europe.

Under Charlemagne (768-814), the Frankish state, Christianized since the 5th century, waged a stubborn struggle with the Saxons and Frisians, who still retained the tribal system and pagan religion. From the legal monument of the ancient Frisians “Lex Frisionum” (IX century) it is clear that at that time the area inhabited by the Frisians was divided into three parts: western (northern regions of the current provinces of North and South Holland and Zeeland), central - main (modern province Friesland) and eastern (province of Groningen and adjacent parts of Germany). The Frisians had no unity; tribal groups were at enmity with each other. Charles I skillfully used this enmity to his advantage during the conquest of Friesland.

At the beginning of the 9th century. Charles conquered the Frisians and Saxons and forced them to accept Christianity. The Saxons were resettled en masse to the Frankish state, and their lands were distributed to the Franks. Friezes up to the 14th century. subordinated to local tribal leaders. Feudal relations never took hold here and there were the largest number of free peasants - small ploughmen (kennemers).

After the death of Charles I, the vast Frankish empire fell apart. By the Treaty of Verdun in 843, most of the lands forming the present Netherlands and Belgium became part of Lorraine, which was united with the East German state in 925. After Otto I of Germany conquered Italy and took the title of emperor, the Dutch lands became part of the Holy Roman Empire and only the southwestern regions between the Scheldt and the sea went to France. In the Middle Ages, on the territory of the modern Netherlands and Belgium there were many independent duchies, counties and free cities. The strengthening of the power of the counts and dukes was greatly facilitated by the raids of the Normans in the 9th-10th centuries. The counties independently organized defense against them and could oppose the central government with their military detachments.

Most developed in economically were the counties of Flanders and Holland. Their advantageous position at the crossroads of important trade routes favored the development of trade, the emergence and growth of cities (Ghent, Bruges, Antwerp, Liege). The flourishing of crafts, especially wool, and trade, as well as the need to fight against France, rallied the population of the Flemish regions. The formation of the Flemish people took place mainly on the basis of Frankish tribes with an admixture of Celts and Saxons. The main role in the formation of the Walloon people neighboring the Flemings belonged to the descendants of the Belgae, who underwent Romanization.

In the coastal regions of the Netherlands - Holland, Zeeland and Utrecht - shipping and fishing were developed. At the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th centuries, after the movement of trade routes from south to north, the coastal cities of Holland found themselves on the most important trade routes and developed a huge intermediary trade. In these provinces, the Dutch people began to take shape, which included the descendants of the Germanic tribes of the Franks, Saxons, Frisians and the remnants of the Celtic tribes.

In the 15th century a significant part of the lands of present-day Belgium and the Netherlands came under the rule of the Burgundian dukes, who marked the beginning of the unification of disparate regions. In the 15th century For the first time, the Estates General was convened - a meeting of representatives of the estates. Around the same time, a common name for all provinces appeared “ Nederland " The regions that made up the Dutch possessions of the Burgundian dukes were not ethnically united. The differences were especially great in the southern provinces, where Romance-speaking Walloons and German-speaking Flemings lived side by side. Since the time of Burgundian rule, bilingualism existed in the Dutch provinces, with the Flemish language being used more in business and trade circles, and French in the field of science and culture.

In 1477, all regions united under the general name “Netherlands” and including, in addition to the modern Netherlands, also Belgium and Northern France, came under the rule of the powerful Habsburg dynasty. Charles V (1519-1555) united Germany, Spain and the Netherlands under a single scepter.

At the end of the 15th century. The Netherlands was one of the most developed countries Western Europe; The commercial and industrial cities of the Flemish provinces of Flanders and Brabant were especially rich. But by the end of the 15th century. The decline of the wool industry began due to the cessation of the import of English wool. From the 16th century In Flanders, new centers of wool production based on local raw materials began to develop. They arose mainly in rural areas. Unbound by guild restrictions and independent of English imports, the wool industry acquired increasingly capitalist forms. A new, capitalist mode of production began to take hold in northern Dutch cities. The struggle of the young emerging bourgeoisie with the feudal aristocracy was intertwined with the national liberation struggle of the commercial and industrial country with feudal Spain, which hampered the capitalist development of the Netherlands. This struggle took on a religious overtones, since the majority of the population of the Netherlands professed Calvinism, and Spain was a stronghold of the Catholic Church. The introduction of the Inquisition to punish Protestants, the robberies and arbitrariness of Spanish soldiers caused a general uprising (1568), which turned into an organized civil war. It was headed by one of the representatives of the Dutch nobility, Prince

William of Orange, later proclaimed stadthouder (viceroy). The long years of stubborn struggle between the Netherlands and Spain are one of the most brilliant, but also the bloodiest pages of their history.

In 1579, on the basis of the Utrecht Agreement, the northern Dutch provinces were united: Holland, Zeeland, Gelderland, Utrecht and Groningen, and a little later Overijssel and Friesland joined them. The southern provinces, exhausted by the long war that took place mainly on their land, did not join this union; it was dominated by the feudal nobility, to whom absolutist-feudal Spain was closer than the commercial and industrial bourgeoisie of the north of their own country. The overwhelming majority of the nobles remained adherents of the Catholic religion.

In 1581, the States General of the Northern Provinces proclaimed the creation of the Republic of the United Netherlands. In 1609, Spain was forced to recognize the independence of the United Provinces, and in 1648, a peace treaty with Spain finally legitimized the formation of an independent independent state in the Netherlands.

After the victory of the bourgeois revolution in the Netherlands, feudal barriers that hampered the development of trade and industry were eliminated, and economic development was facilitated.

The Dutch bourgeois revolution was of great importance for the ethnic development of the peoples of the Netherlands and Belgium. The national liberation war against Spain awakened a sense of patriotism and the creation of a national community among residents of various provinces. Quite significant ethnic movements also occurred at this time. During the occupation of the southern provinces by Spanish troops, many Flemings, mainly merchants and industrialists, moved to the northern provinces, significantly increasing the urban population there. This increased the influence of the Flemings on the Dutch economy and culture, especially on the formation of the literary Dutch language.

After the Dutch revolution, the Flemish people found themselves divided between two states: some of the Flemings became part of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, while some, together with the Romanesque population of the former Netherlands - the Walloons - remained under the rule of Spain * From then on, the political history of the newly formed states - the Netherlands and Belgium - went in various ways.

In the Netherlands, the provinces of North and South Holland were especially industrially developed; 2/3 of the country's total population was concentrated in them. The Dutch bourgeoisie occupied a dominant position in the United Provinces. Therefore, starting from the middle of the 17th century. the concepts “Netherlands” and “Holland” often coincided.

Already in the XV-XVI centuries. Culturally, the Netherlands stood above many European countries. An outstanding representative of Dutch culture was the great humanist of the Middle Ages, Erasmus of Rotterdam, an expert on ancient literature, who in 1509 created his famous pamphlet “A Word of Praise for Stupidity.”

The most prominent representatives of Dutch art were the artists brothers Van Eyck-Hubert (died 1426) and Jan (died 1441). The Van Eyck brothers are the founders of the Dutch realistic school of painting. The remarkable artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder (born between 1525 and 1530, died in 1569) depicted in his paintings daily life people (“Blind”, “Peasant Wedding”, etc.).

At the end of the 16th century, following political disunity, the united Dutch art split into two branches - Dutch and Flemish. First half of the 17th century is considered the golden age in the development of Dutch national culture, primarily the visual arts. The deeply realistic Dutch school of painting had a strong influence on the subsequent development of world art. One of the first artists of the new movement was Frans Hals (about 1580-1666) and the greatest artist of that time, Rembrandt (1606-1669), followed by a whole galaxy of artists - portrait painters, genre painters, landscape painters - Adrian Ostade (1610-1685 .), Jan Stein (1626-1679) and others - brought unfading glory to Dutch art. The Flemish school of painting also became world famous, the most prominent representatives of which were Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) and his student Anthony Van Dyck (1599-1641).

In the 17th century The Dutch literary language was formed and spread in almost all provinces, based on the dialects of the Dutch provinces, mainly Frankish in origin. By this time the Dutch had become the foremost nation in Europe. Industry developed in the country, science and art flourished. It was not for nothing that Russian Tsar Peter I went to Holland to study European sciences and navigation.

The most brilliant names among Dutch scientists of that time were biologists Jan Swammerdam (1637-1680), who was the first to study the life of insects, and Anton Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723), who improved the microscope.

After the revolution, religious tolerance was established in the Netherlands. Free-thinking people from many countries fled here from persecution. Thus, the outstanding materialist philosopher Benedict Spinoza (1632-1677) found refuge in Holland, where the learned lawyer and historian Hugo Grotius (1583-1645), who laid the foundation for the theory of international law, wrote his works.

The Dutch achieved great success in shipping. They enriched geographical map world with many discoveries. Henry Hudson (born around 1550 - died in 1611) sailed to the shores of North America in 1609. The river he discovered there was subsequently named after him. Willem Barents (1550-1597), during voyages in search of a northern sea route to China, discovered the island of Spitsbergen and Novaya Zemlya, William Janz discovered Australia in 1605, and in the 1640s, Abel Tasman discovered the island of Tasmania.

The sea voyages of the Dutch marked the beginning of the formation of vast colonial possessions Netherlands.

In 1602, the Dutch East India Company was created, and in 1621, the West India Company, the Netherlands captured Indonesia, Suriname (Dutch Guinea) and the island of Curacao in America, lands in southern Africa and soon turned into the largest maritime, colonial and a trading power.

However, the leading position of the Netherlands in the economic and political life of Western Europe lasted only until the end of the 17th century. The reason for the rapid decline of Holland lies in the lopsided development of Dutch capitalism: intermediary trade and colonial robbery with lagging industry. In the struggle with England and France for economic dominance, the Dutch bourgeoisie was defeated and lost part of its colonies. An unsuccessful war with England (1780-1783) finally reduced the Netherlands to the place of a minor power.

TO end of the 19th century V. in Holland there has been some revival of trade and industry. The development of the Dutch economy occurred through the merciless exploitation of the colonies. At the beginning of the 20th century. the foundations were laid in the country modern economy. Foreign (especially English) capital penetrated into the main industries, and production was further concentrated. Capitalist relations also invaded the countryside. The Netherlands was becoming a highly developed capitalist country.

In the continuation of the XVIII-XIX centuries. Along with the strengthening of economic and cultural ties between the provinces, further national consolidation of the Dutch took place. The ethnographic groups that had survived here since the Middle Ages gradually lost their uniqueness in everyday life and merged with the Dutch - the core of the Dutch nation. These ethnic processes were also facilitated by population movements within the country caused by extensive drainage work and the development of new areas. So, already in the 18th century. The eastern provinces of the country (Drenth, Overijssel), previously inhabited by descendants of the Saxons, became completely Dutch due to the settlement of vast wastelands and marshy areas by immigrants from the Dutch and Flemish provinces. The population of the northwestern regions of the country, previously inhabited by the Frisians and back in the 19th century, was also assimilated by the Dutch. known in literature as West Friesland. The Zeelanders (residents of the province of Zealand) completely merged with the Dutch, who currently retain only some unique features of material culture. Finally, the Flemings of the Netherlands, separated by political borders for more than three centuries from the Flemings of Belgium, related to them in language and origin, merge with the Dutch, who are very similar in language and culture, into a single nation.

The southern provinces that fell away from the Netherlands during the revolution remained under Spanish rule. The country was completely ruined by the long struggle against Spanish absolutism that took place on its soil, and economically developed slowly. The old centers of European industry - Flanders and Brabant - gave way to others European countries, the dominant position in the state passed from the cities to the feudal nobility and the Catholic Church. After the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714), Belgium came under the rule of Austria, depending on which it remained until the end of the 18th century, when it was conquered by France. After the defeat of France, by decision of the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Belgium was annexed to the Netherlands. However, such a union was met with discontent by the Belgian industrial bourgeoisie, whose interests did not coincide at all with the interests of the predominantly commercial bourgeoisie of the Netherlands. In 1830, an uprising against Dutch rule began in Brussels, which was joined by the entire population of the country. The National Congress, which met shortly afterwards, proclaimed the independence of Belgium.

In independent Belgium, industry, shipping, trade developed rapidly, and by the 20th century. it became a developed capitalist country.

During the period when Belgium was united with Holland, the Flemings occupied a dominant position in the country, and the Flemish language was the only official language. As a reaction against this, and also because the leadership of the revolution of 1830 was in the hands of the Walloons, immediately after gaining independence, the “Frankization” of all Belgian life began. French became the official language; the Flemish language was extremely constrained in its development, there were even few primary Flemish schools; The Walloon bourgeoisie treated Flemish culture with contempt. The response to this was the emergence in the 1840s of the Flemish movement, whose leaders aimed at the revival of Flemish culture and the struggle for equal rights for the Flemish language. Due to the small size and fragmentation of the Flemish working class, this movement, influenced by the Catholic Church, was imbued with the spirit of petty-bourgeois chauvinism. Its leaders initially managed to achieve some successes: independent literature in the Flemish language began to develop, a department of Flemish language and literature was opened at the University of Ghent, and, finally, the Flemish language became the second state language of Belgium.

In the 20th century During the first and especially the second world war, German agents tried to use this movement for their own purposes, as Germany sought to “reunite” the Flemish part of Belgium with its country. Already in the 30s, some figures in the Flemish movement were pro-fascist. At present, the Flemish movement reflects the interests of the Flemish bourgeoisie. The leading role in it still belongs to the Catholic Church. Behind last years The economic situation of the more developed part of Belgium - Wallonia - sharply worsened. The main branch of its industry - coal - is experiencing a severe crisis, the mines are closing. The Belgian imperialists prefer to direct their capital to Flanders, where enterprises are located closer to seaports, workers are less organized and united. The strike struggle of the Walloon working class intensified, and in 1961 the Walloon national movement arose. Supporters of this movement are demanding the introduction of a federal government system in Belgium, a number of reforms, primarily the nationalization of key sectors of the economy. This movement is actively supported by the Belgian communists. The national question in Belgium is increasingly connected with the labor movement. The demand for federation is opposed by Belgian capitalists, who deliberately incite national discord between the Flemings and Walloons. Their influence is stronger among the Flemish population, which bourgeois propaganda provokes to rebel against the Walloons. Thus, the existence within one unitary state of two peoples different in language and origin still clearly affects both the political and cultural life of the country.

Population of Belgium in 1995 it was 10,081,880 people (1995). The average population density is about 330 people per km2. The main ethnic groups are Flemings (55% of general population) and Walloons (33%), Germans and French also live in the country. There are three official languages in Belgium: Dutch or Flemish (spoken by about 60% of the country's population), French (32%) and German. The main religion is Catholic (75%), Protestantism, Islam, Judaism and Orthodoxy are also common. The birth rate in 1995 was 11.5 newborns per 1,000 people, the mortality rate was 10 deaths per 1,000 people (the infant mortality rate was 7 deaths per 1,000 newborns). Average life expectancy: men - 74 years, women - 81 years. The working population is 4,126,000 people, of which 64% are employed in the service sector, 28% in industry, 6% in construction, agriculture- about 2%.

The two main groups that make up the country's population are the Flemings (about 60% of the population) and the Walloons (about 40% of the population). The Flemings live in the five northern provinces of Belgium (see Flanders) and speak the Dutch language and its many dialects (see Flemish). The Walloons live in the five southern provinces that make up Wallonia and speak French, Walloon and several other languages.

After independence, Belgium was a French-oriented state, and the only official language at first was French, although the Flemings always formed the majority of the population. Even in Flanders, French remained for a long time the only language of secondary and higher education.

After the First World War, a movement arose in Belgium for the emancipation of the Dutch-speaking population. The result was the so-called “language struggle” (Dutch taalstrijd). The struggle began to bear fruit by the sixties of the 20th century. In 1963, a package of laws was adopted regulating the use of languages in official situations. In 1967, an official translation of the Belgian constitution into Dutch was created for the first time. By 1980, both main languages of the country were effectively equal in rights. Since 1993, Belgium has been divided into federal districts. The only official language in the Flemish District is Dutch.

Despite the progress achieved, language problems still lead to escalating tensions between the two main groups of the country's population. Thus, in 2005, the problem of dividing the bilingual electoral district of Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde almost led to the resignation of the government and a political crisis.

The Walloons are a people in Belgium inhabiting the southern provinces of the country. The population is about 3.9 million people. There are also Walloon communities in France and the USA. The total number of Walloons in the world is 4.1 million people (data given for 1992). They speak French and Walloon. Believers belong to the Catholic denomination.

The Flemings are a people of the Germanic linguistic group, the indigenous population of Belgium, along with the French-speaking Walloons. The total population is 7 million 230 thousand. They inhabit the northern part of Belgium - Flanders (5 million people), 250 thousand live in the north of France (French Flanders), 1 million 720 thousand - in the south of the Netherlands (Zeeland Flanders. Language -- Dutch. 79% of the faithful are Catholics. However, many Flemings continued to feel like second-class citizens in their country, where they not only outnumbered, but in the post-war period achieved a higher level of prosperity compared to the Walloons. Antagonism between the two communities intensified , and in 1971, 1980 - 1993 the constitution was amended to give each of them greater cultural and political autonomy.

Ethnically, the Flemings are descendants of the Franks, Saxons and Frisians. How the ethnic group was formed in the 15th - 16th centuries. In the Middle Ages, the territory of modern Belgium was divided into scattered principalities: Flanders, Hainaut (Geneau), Brabant, Namur, Limbourg, Luxembourg, Cambrai, Tournai, and the bishopric of Liege. They were partly subordinate to France, partly to Germany.

The ethnic composition in Belgium is divided into: 58% Flemings, 31% Walloons and 11% mixed and other ethnic groups.

Languages

Belgium has three official languages. French is spoken in the southern part of the country, in the provinces of Hainaut, Namur, Liege and Luxembourg, and the Flemish version of the Dutch language is spoken in West and East Flanders, Antwerp and Limburg. The central province of Brabant, with the capital Brussels, is bilingual and is divided into northern Flemish and southern French parts. The French-speaking areas of the country are united under the general name of the Walloon region, and the north of the country, where the Flemish language predominates, is usually called the Flanders region. There are approx. people living in Flanders. 58% Belgians, in Wallonia - 33%, in Brussels - 9% and in the German-language area ceded to Belgium after the First World War - less than 1%.

After the country gained independence, friction constantly arose between the Flemings and Walloons, which complicated the social and political life of the country. As a result of the revolution of 1830, the task of which was the separation of Belgium from the Netherlands, French became the official language. In the following decades, Belgian culture was dominated by France. Francophonie strengthened the social and economic role of the Walloons, and this led to a new rise of nationalism among the Flemings, who demanded equal status of their language with French. This goal was achieved only in the 1930s after the adoption of a series of laws that gave the status of the state language to the Dutch language, which began to be used in administrative matters, legal proceedings and teaching.

In 1973, the Flemish Cultural Council decided that the Flemish language should be officially called Dutch rather than Flemish.

Religion

The Belgian Constitution guarantees freedom of religion.

The majority of believers (about 75% of the population) are Catholics. The following religions are also officially recognized: Islam (250 thousand people) and Protestantism (about 70 thousand). In addition, about 35 thousand people are adherents of Judaism, 40 thousand are Anglican, and 20 thousand are Orthodox. The church is separated from the state.

Excursion tours to Belgium, which are offered by our travel company Travel Plan - "DSBW Travel Collection", are very popular among Russian tourists. Belgium is a small country, everything is compactly located here. Belgium amazes with the number of well-preserved medieval cities, with well-equipped modern museums, medieval canals along which you can take a boat ride, squares and historical buildings.

Belgium is famous not only for its culture, but also for its gastronomy, including brewing. Belgian brewers brew about 700 types of beer. During a tour of a traditional brewery, you will learn all the secrets of Belgian beer production.

The travel company Travel Plan - "DSBW Travel Collection" offers in 2019 not only tours to Brussels with and without a different set of excursions. Our main difference is that we specialize in excursion tours around Belgium, visiting its most interesting cities with preserved medieval charm. On our tours you will find Antwerp, Ghent, Bruges, Namur and other cities of Belgium.

In 2019, you will also find many interesting tours covering two countries at once - Belgium and Holland.

In Belgium, in addition to its capital - Brussels, we suggest visiting the medieval cities of Ghent and Bruges, as well as the beautiful Antwerp. For most tourists, Antwerp unfortunately remains a city for an hour. A short photo session on the central square of Antwerp, Grote Markt, and a short walk in Rubens’s house are definitely not enough to get to know the beautiful Antwerp, which I remember as the chocolate capital of Belgium. Antwerp is worth spending at least one day here, learning all about the secrets of chocolate production, visiting several famous chocolatiers and simply strolling around beautiful Antwerp.

Prices for air travel to Brussels in 2019 remain at a low level and our company begins many tours not only to Belgium, but also to the Benelux, right here in the capital of Belgium.

As a tour operator in Belgium, we offer not only proven programs for 2019, but also new interesting excursions. Join us!