Belgium: References & Edit History

Additional Reading

Geography

General Works

Overviews of all aspects of the country are contained in Marina Boudart, Michel Boudart, and René Bryssinck (eds.), Modern Belgium (1990); Stephen B. Wickman (ed.), Belgium: A Country Study, 2nd ed. (1984); Vernon Mallinson, Belgium (1969), detailed and well documented; and Frank E. Huggett, Modern Belgium (1969), thorough and discerning. R.C. Riley (compiler), Belgium (1989), is a bibliography. Important aspects of the impact of the European Union on Brussels are highlighted in A.G. Papadopoulos, Urban Regimes and Strategies: Building Europe’s Central Executive District in Brussels (1996).

An introduction to the geography of Belgium is provided by Comité National de Géographie (Belgium), Tweede atlas van Belgie, also called Deuxième atlas de Belgique (1984), a detailed compilation of thematic maps with accompanying text in French, Dutch, English, and German. Raymond Riley, Belgium (1976), studies the country’s economic geography.

People

Aspects of the language problem and nationalist movements in Belgium are explored in Kas Deprez and Louis Vos (eds.), Nationalism in Belgium, Shifting Identities, 1780–1995 (1998); Liesbet Hooghe, A Leap in the Dark: Nationalist Conflict and Federal Reform in Belgium (1991); Alexander B. Murphy, The Regional Dynamics of Language Differentiation in Belgium (1988), a political geographic treatment; Kenneth D. McRae, Conflict and Compromise in Multilingual Societies: Belgium (1986), a detailed review of language and politics in Belgium; Arend Lijphart (ed.), Conflict and Coexistence in Belgium: The Dynamics of a Culturally Divided Society (1981), articles by a variety of Belgian and American scholars; John Fitzmaurice, The Politics of Belgium: A Unique Federalism (1996); Shepard B. Clough, A History of the Flemish Movement in Belgium: A Study in Nationalism (1930, reissued 1968); and M. de Vroede, The Flemish Movement in Belgium (1975; originally published in French, 1975).

Government and Society

Information on Belgium’s constitution and administrative structure may be found in André Alen (ed.), Treatise on Belgian Constitutional Law (1992). The ideological conflict is well covered in Vernon Mallinson, Power & Politics in Belgian Education, 1815–1961 (1963).

History

Henri Pirenne, Histoire de Belgique, 7 vol. (1900–32), remains the standard scholarly history. A general history covering the period from the late Middle Ages to the present is Bernard A. Cook, Belgium: A History (2002).

The period of Burgundian Netherlands to 1795 is discussed in the context of political history by Henri Pirenne, Early Democracies in the Low Countries: Urban Society and Political Conflict in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance (1963, reissued 1971; originally published in French, 1910); and from a social and economic perspective by Herman van der Wee, The Growth of the Antwerp Market and the European Economy (Fourteenth–Sixteenth Centuries), 3 vol. (1963); Herman van der Wee (ed.), The Rise and Decline of Urban Industries in Italy and in the Low Countries: Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Times (1988); Herman van der Wee and Eddy van Cauwenberghe (eds.), Productivity of Land and Agricultural Innovation in the Low Countries, 1250–1800 (1978); and Janet L. Polasky, Revolution in Brussels, 1787–1793 (1987).

Belgian history from 1795 to the present is covered in E.H. Kossmann, The Low Countries, 1780–1940 (1978). Another general work on this period is Émile Cammaerts, The Keystone of Europe: History of the Belgian Dynasty, 1830–1939 (1939), on the foundation and development of independent Belgium. Aspects of Belgian foreign policy and colonial policy are addressed by Jonathan E. Helmreich, Belgium and Europe: A Study in Small Power Diplomacy (1976); Daniel H. Thomas, The Guarantee of Belgian Independence and Neutrality in European Diplomacy, 1830’s–1930’s (1983); and Martin Ewans, European Atrocity, African Catastrophe: Leopold II, the Congo Free State and Its Aftermath (2002). The World War I period is covered in Larry Zuckerman, The Rape of Belgium: The Untold Story of World War I (2004). Modern social and economic history is discussed in Guido L. de Brabander, Regional Specialization, Employment, and Economic Growth in Belgium from 1846 to 1970 (1981); Robin L. Hogg, Structural Rigidities and Policy Inertia in Inter-war Belgium (1986); and Ron J. Lesthaeghe, The Decline of Belgian Fertility, 1800–1970 (1977).

Alexander B. Murphy

Article History

Type Description Contributor Date
Updated currency exchange rate. Sep 16, 2024
Links added. Jun 29, 2023
Added material about Chantal Akerman and the Dardenne brothers. Mar 15, 2023
Removed media. Nov 01, 2021
Invalidated site: CoolKidFacts.com - Belgium, Europe. Mar 10, 2021
Add new Web site: National Geographic Kids - Belgium. Dec 06, 2020
Country Profile: Updated head of government. Oct 05, 2020
Country Profile: Updated head of government. Mar 23, 2020
Add new Web site: Science Kids - Fun Science and Technology for Kids - Belgium Facts for Kids. Jan 17, 2019
Add new Web site: CoolKidFacts.com - Belgium, Europe. Jan 17, 2019
Cross-references added. Jun 22, 2018
Country Profile: Expanded country profile. Sep 01, 2017
Media added. Apr 28, 2017
Add new Web site: World InfoZone - Belgium. Dec 09, 2016
In Economy section, added data charts. May 27, 2016
In People section, added data charts. May 27, 2016
Country Profile: Updated form of government; revised footnote 1. May 26, 2016
Added locator map to the Introduction. May 04, 2016
In reference to the frequency with which national elections are held, changed "every four years" to "every five years." Sep 03, 2015
Added video. Mar 24, 2015
Added video. Feb 03, 2015
Country Profile: Updated head of government. Oct 15, 2014
Country Profile: Updated head of state. Jul 21, 2013
Updated for the abdication of Albert II and the coronation of Philippe. Jul 21, 2013
Add new Web site: Buzzle.com - Belgium. Dec 06, 2012
Add new Web site: The Catholic Encyclopedia - Belgium. Dec 06, 2012
Add new Web site: GlobalSecurity.org - Belgium. Dec 06, 2012
"Dirck Bouts" changed to "Dieric Bouts." Mar 23, 2012
Country Profile: Added name of head of state and head of government, along with urban-rural, life expectancy, literacy, and GNI per capita statistics. Feb 24, 2012
Updated to mention the attack on Saint-Lambert Square in Liège. Dec 14, 2011
Updated for the resolution of the political deadlock and the inauguration of Elio Di Rupo as prime minister. Dec 06, 2011
Updated to mention Belgium's record-setting run without a formal government and its adoption of a law banning face-covering veils. Aug 05, 2011
National anthem added. Dec 21, 2010
Updated for June 2010 election results. Jun 16, 2010
Updated History section with the collapse of Belgium's coalition government. Apr 23, 2010
Changed name to "the Netherlands" from "The Netherlands." Apr 23, 2010
Country Profile: Updated area and population figures. Mar 12, 2010
Updated with the replacement of Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy with Yves Leterme. Nov 25, 2009
Added a mention of the Stoclet House, designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2009. Jul 17, 2009
Added photo of royal family. May 26, 2009
Added new Web site: National Geographic - Travel and Cultures - Belgium. Apr 16, 2009
Country Profile: 2009 update; add official German name Jan 28, 2009
Updated with new prime minister. Jan 09, 2009
Introduction revised. Jan 08, 2009
Article revised and updated. Jan 08, 2009
People section revised. Jan 08, 2009
Updated with the collapse of the coalition government and the resignation of the prime minister. Dec 23, 2008
History revised. Dec 23, 2008
History revised. Jul 31, 2008
Revised history. Jul 17, 2008
"Louvain" changed to "Leuven." Jul 17, 2008
Article revised and updated. Jul 17, 2008
Article revised and updated. May 15, 2008
Article cross-references updated. May 15, 2008
Article revised and updated. Mar 21, 2008
Article revised and updated. Dec 18, 2007
Article revised and updated. Aug 23, 2007
Article thoroughly revised. Aug 23, 2007
Economy section revised and updated. Aug 23, 2007
Bibliography revised and updated. Aug 23, 2007
Added new Web site: Federal Public Service Economy - Statistics Belgium. Dec 12, 2006
Added new Web site: Library of Congress - Belgium - Selected Internet Resources. Aug 08, 2006
Added new Web site: Central Intelligence Agency - The World Factbook - Belgium. Jul 26, 2006
Added new Web site: Lonely Planet - Belgium. Jul 17, 2006
Article revised. Jan 12, 2000
Article added to new online database. Jul 20, 1998
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