1.
Luxembourg
–
Luxembourg /ˈlʌksəmbɜːrɡ/, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east and its culture, people and languages are highly intertwined with its neighbours, making it essentially a mixture of French and Germanic cultures. It comprises two regions, the Oesling in the north as part of the Ardennes massif. With an area of 2,586 square kilometres, it is one of the smallest sovereign states in Europe, Luxembourg had a population of 524,853 in October 2012, ranking it the 8th least-populous country in Europe. As a representative democracy with a monarch, it is headed by a Grand Duke, Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Luxembourg is a country, with an advanced economy and the worlds highest GDP per capita. Luxembourg is a member of the European Union, OECD, United Nations, NATO, and Benelux, reflecting its political consensus in favour of economic, political. The city of Luxembourg, which is the capital and largest city, is the seat of several institutions. Luxembourg served on the United Nations Security Council for the years 2013 and 2014, around this fort, a town gradually developed, which became the centre of a state of great strategic value. In the 14th and early 15th centuries, three members of the House of Luxembourg reigned as Holy Roman Emperors, in the following centuries, Luxembourgs fortress was steadily enlarged and strengthened by its successive occupants, the Bourbons, Habsburgs, Hohenzollerns and the French. After the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, Luxembourg was disputed between Prussia and the Netherlands and this arrangement was revised by the 1839 First Treaty of London, from which date Luxembourgs full independence is reckoned. In 1842 Luxembourg joined the German Customs Union, the King of the Netherlands remained Head of State as Grand Duke of Luxembourg, maintaining a personal union between the two countries until 1890. At the death of William III, the throne of the Netherlands passed to his daughter Wilhelmina and this allowed Germany the military advantage of controlling and expanding the railways there. In August 1914, Imperial Germany violated Luxembourgs neutrality in the war by invading it in the war against France and this allowed Germany to use the railway lines, while at the same time denying them to France. Nevertheless, despite the German occupation, Luxembourg was allowed to maintain much of its independence, in 1940, after the outbreak of World War II, Luxembourgs neutrality was again violated when the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany entered the country, entirely without justification. A government in exile based in London supported the Allies, sending a group of volunteers who participated in the Normandy invasion. Luxembourg was liberated in September 1944, and became a member of the United Nations in 1945. Luxembourgs neutral status under the constitution formally ended in 1948, in 2005, a referendum on the EU treaty establishing a constitution for Europe was held
2.
History of Luxembourg
–
The history of Luxembourg consists of the history of the country of Luxembourg and its geographical area. Although its recorded history can be traced back to Roman times, over the following five centuries, the powerful House of Luxembourg emerged, but its extinction put an end to the countrys independence. After a brief period of Burgundian rule, the passed to the Habsburgs in 1477. After the Eighty Years War, Luxembourg became a part of the Southern Netherlands, after occupation by Revolutionary France, the 1815 Treaty of Paris transformed Luxembourg into a Grand Duchy in personal union with the Netherlands. The treaty also resulted in the partitioning of Luxembourg, the first being in 1658. Although these treaties greatly reduced Luxembourgs territory, the latter established its formal independence, in the following decades, Luxembourg fell further into Germanys sphere of influence, particularly after the creation of a separate ruling house in 1890. It was occupied by Germany from 1914 until 1918 and again from 1940 until 1944, since the end of the Second World War, Luxembourg has become one of the worlds richest countries, buoyed by a booming financial services sector, political stability, and European integration. In the territory now covered by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the oldest artefacts from this period are decorated bones found at Oetrange. However, the first real evidence of civilisation is from the Neolithic or 5th millennium BC, traces have been found in the south of Luxembourg at Grevenmacher, Diekirch, Aspelt and Weiler-la-Tour. The dwellings were made of a combination of tree trunks for the structure, mud-clad wickerwork walls. Pottery from this period has been found near Remerschen, the sites include Nospelt, Dalheim, Mompach and Remerschen. What is present-day Luxembourg, was inhabited by Celts during the Iron Age, the Gaulish tribe in what is present-day Luxembourg during and after the La Tène period was known as the Treveri, they reached the height of prosperity in the 1st century BC. The Treveri constructed a number of oppida, Iron Age fortified settlements, near the Moselle valley in what is now southern Luxembourg, western Germany, the Romans, under Julius Caesar, completed their conquest and occupation in 53 BC. The first known reference to the territory of present-day Luxembourg was by Julius Caesar in his Commentaries on the Gallic War, the Treveri were more co-operative with the Romans than most Gallic tribes, and adapted readily to Roman civilization. Two revolts in the 1st century AD did not permanently damage their cordial relations with Rome, the land of the Treveri was at first part of Gallia Celtica, but with the reform of Domitian in c. 90, was reassigned to Gallia Belgica, Gallia Belgica was infiltrated by the Germanic Franks from the 4th century, and was abandoned by Rome in AD406. The territory of what would become Luxembourg by the 480s, became part of Merovingia Austrasia, with the Treaty of Verdun, it fell to Middle Francia, and in 855, to Lotharingia. With the latters division in 959, it fell to the Duchy of Upper Lorraine within the Holy Roman Empire
3.
Celtic Luxembourg
–
Celtic Luxembourg existed during the period from roughly 600 BC until 100 AD, when the Celts inhabited what is now the territory of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It was around 100 BC that the Treveri, one of the Celtic tribes and they constructed a number of fortified settlements or oppida near the Moselle valley in what is now southern Luxembourg, western Germany and eastern France. In the territory now covered by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the oldest artifacts from this period are decorated bones found at Oetrange. However, the first real evidence of civilization is from the Neolithic or 5th millennium BC when houses began to appear, traces have been found in the south of Luxembourg at Aspelt, Weiler-la-Tour, as well as at Grevenmacher and Diekirch. The dwellings were made of a combination of tree trunks for the structure, mud-clad wickerwork walls. Pottery from this period has been found near Remerschen and these include Nospelt, Dalheim, Mompach and Remerschen. The discovery in 1846 of a cemetery at Hallstatt in Austria revealed distinctive artifacts from the Neolithic through to the early Iron Age from 600 to 450 BC. These are considered to be the first evidence of Celtic civilization, in Luxembourg too, evidence of this early period comes mainly from fairly modest tombs such as those found in Niederanven. However, the found in south-east Luxembourg at Grosbous, Flaxweiler and Altrier which date back to between 450 and 250 BC contained much richer finds. Judging from the objects discovered at Altrier, the tomb from about 450 BC must have been that of a high-ranking chieftain and it contained a bronze Etruscan stamnos, an iron sword, an ornate bronze and coral fibula and a gold bracelet. The Grosbous tomb, part of a cemetery, is particularly interesting as the corpse had been placed on a two-wheeled chariot providing indications of how the Celts constructed such vehicles. The Celtic civilization was at its peak at around 300 BC, most of the evidence from that period has been discovered in tombs, many closely associated with Titelberg, a 50-ha site which reveals much about the dwellings and handicrafts of the period. Titelberg is the site of a large Celtic settlement or oppidum in the extreme southwest of Luxembourg near Rodange and Differdange. Though it had been inhabited from about 300 BC, by the 1st century BC, another attraction was the iron ore which could be mined in the immediate vicinity and was indeed increasingly smelted to produce knives, lances, swords and cooking utensils and equipment. Covering an area of some 50 ha, the oval-shaped Titelberg plateau rising 100 m above the river Chiers is approximately 1 km long and 500 m wide, a very large number of both Celtic and Gallo-Roman fibulae have also been found on the site. In a multitude of different shapes and sizes, these bronze clasps, initially, the Romans converted the Celtic dwellings to houses with stone foundations. But towards the end of the 1st century BC, the Romans established their centre of interest in Trier which also became the new capital for the Treveri. Indeed, the Romans dismantled the ramparts and reduced the oppidum to a vicus which nevertheless continued to be inhabited for another 400 years
4.
Treveri
–
The Treveri or Treviri were a Belgic tribe who inhabited the lower valley of the Moselle from around 150 BCE, if not earlier, until their eventual absorption into the Franks. Celtic in language, according to Tacitus they claimed Germanic descent, although early adopters of Roman material culture, the Treveri had a chequered relationship with Roman power. Their leader Indutiomarus led them in revolt against Julius Caesar during the Gallic Wars, much later, during the Crisis of the Third Century, the territory of the Treveri was overrun by Germanic Alamanni and Franks and later formed part of the Gallic Empire. Under Constantine and his 4th-century successors, Augusta Treverorum became a large, favoured, rich, during this period, Christianity began to succeed the imperial cult and the worship of Roman and Celtic deities as the favoured religion of the city. Such Christian luminaries as Ambrose, Jerome, Martin of Tours, among the surviving legacies of the ancient Treveri are Moselle wine from Luxembourg and Germany and the many Roman monuments of Trier and its surroundings, including neighbouring Luxembourg. The spelling variants Treveri and Treviri are found in Latin texts from the time of Caesars De Bello Gallico to Tacituss Annales, Latin texts are in general agreement that the first vowel, however, is -e-. For their part, Ancient Greek texts mostly give Τρηούϊροι, variants such as Treberi and Τρίβηροι appear in Pliny and Ptolemy, respectively. A few highly deviant variant forms are attested, Τριήροι in Ptolemy. The name has been interpreted as referring to a river or to crossing the river. They had a goddess of the ford called Ritona and a temple dedicated to Uorioni Deo. treuer- can be compared with the Old Irish treóir guiding, passage through a ford. The first syllable is long and stressed in Latin dictionaries, according to its Celtic etymology. The city of Trier derives its name from the later Latin locative in Trēverīs for earlier Augusta Treverorum, in the time of Julius Caesar their territory extended as far as the Rhine north of the Triboci, across the Rhine from them lived the Ubii. Caesar mentions that the Segni and the Condrusi lived between the Treveri and the Eburones, and that the Condrusii and Eburones were clients of the Treveri, Caesar bridged the Rhine in the territory of the Treveri. They were bordered on the north and west by Belgic tribes, the Tungri, to the south their neighbours were the Mediomatrici. The Rhine valley was removed from Treveran authority with the formation of the province of Germania Superior in the 80s CE, the valley of the Ahr would have marked their northern boundary. Colonia Augusta Treverorum was the capital of their civitas under the Empire, there is strong evidence that the recently excavated oppidum on the Titelberg plateau in the extreme southwest of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg was the Treveran capital during the 1st century BCE. The transfer of their activities to Trier followed the construction of Agrippas road linking Trier with Reims which bypassed the Titelberg, during the Roman period, Trier became a Roman colony, and the provincial capital of Belgica itself. It was the frequent residence of a number of emperors, archaeological evidence suggests that the Treveri were divided into five cantons centred respectively on the oppida of the Titelberg, Wallendorf, Kastel, Otzenhausen and the Martberg
5.
Gallic Wars
–
The Gallic Wars were a series of military campaigns waged by the Roman proconsul Julius Caesar against several Gallic tribes. The wars paved the way for Julius Caesar to become the ruler of the Roman Republic. Still, Gaul was of significant military importance to the Romans, conquering Gaul allowed Rome to secure the natural border of the river Rhine. The Gallic Wars are described by Julius Caesar in his book Commentarii de Bello Gallico, as a result of the financial burdens of his consulship in 59 BC, Caesar incurred significant debt. When the Governor of Transalpine Gaul, Metellus Celer, died unexpectedly, Caesars governorships were extended to a five-year period, a new idea at the time. Caesar had initially four veteran legions under his command, Legio VII, Legio VIII, Legio IX Hispana. As he had been Governor of Hispania Ulterior in 61 BC and had campaigned successfully with them against the Lusitanians, Caesar also had the legal authority to levy additional legions and auxiliary units as he saw fit. His ambition was to conquer and plunder some territories to get out of debt. It is more likely that he was planning a campaign against the Kingdom of Dacia, the countries of Gaul were civilized and wealthy. Most had contact with Roman merchants and some, particularly those that were governed by such as the Aedui. The Romans respected and feared the Gallic tribes, only fifty years before, in 109 BC, Italy had been invaded from the north and saved only after several bloody and costly battles by Gaius Marius. Around 62 BC, when a Roman client state, the Arverni, conspired with the Sequani and the Suebi nations east of the Rhine, to attack the Aedui, the Sequani and Arverni sought Ariovistus’ aid and defeated the Aedui in 63 BC at the Battle of Magetobriga. The Sequani rewarded Ariovistus with land following his victory, Ariovistus settled the land with 120,000 of his people. When 24,000 Harudes joined his cause, Ariovistus demanded that the Sequani give him land to accommodate the Harudes people. This demand concerned Rome because if the Sequani conceded, Ariovistus would be in a position to all of the Sequani land. They did not appear to be concerned about a conflict between non-client, client and allied states, by the end of the campaign, the non-client Suebi under the leadership of the belligerent Ariovistus, stood triumphant over both the Aedui and their coconspirators. Fearing another mass migration akin to the devastating Cimbrian War, Rome, the Helvetii was a confederation of about five related Gallic tribes that lived on the Swiss plateau, hemmed in by the mountains, and the Rhine and Rhone rivers. They began to come under increased pressure from German tribes to the north, by 58 BC, the Helvetii were well on their way in the planning and provisioning for a mass migration under the leadership of Orgetorix
6.
Gallia Belgica
–
Gallia Belgica was a province of the Roman empire located in Belgium, in the northern and eastern parts of Roman Gaul. It began as one of the three provinces of Gaul described by its Roman conqueror Julius Caesar. An official Roman province was created by emperor Augustus in 22 BC. The province is named for the Belgae as the largest tribal confederation in the area, the southern border of Belgica, formed by the Marne and Seine rivers, was reported by Caesar as the original cultural boundary between the Belgae and the Gauls who he distinguished as Celts. The province was re-organized several times, first increased and later decreased in size, the capital of Belgica Prima, Trier, became an important late western Roman capital. In 57 BC, Julius Caesar led the conquest of northern Gaul and this definition became the basis of the later Roman province of Belgica. Indeed, the Belgian tribes closest to the Rhine he distinguished as the Germani cisrhenani, apart from the southern Remi, all the Belgic tribes allied against the Romans, angry at the Roman decision to garrison legions in their territory during the winter. At the beginning of the conflict, Caesar reported the combined strength at 288,000, led by the Suessione king. Due to the Belgic coalitions size and reputation for uncommon bravery, instead, he used cavalry to skirmish with smaller contingents of tribesmen. Only when Caesar managed to isolate one of the tribes did he risk conventional battle, the tribes fell in a piecemeal fashion and Caesar claimed to offer lenient terms to the defeated, including Roman protection from the threat of surrounding tribes. Most tribes agreed to the conditions, a series of uprisings followed the 57 BC conquest. The largest revolt was led by the Bellovaci in 52 BC, during this rebellion, it was the Belgae who avoided direct conflict. They harassed the Roman legions, led personally by Caesar, with cavalry detachments, the rebellion was put down after a Bellovaci ambush of the Romans failed. Following a census of the region in 27 BC, Augustus ordered a restructuring of the provinces in Gaul, the capital of this territory was Reims, according to the geographer Strabo, though later the capital moved to modern day Trier. The date of this move is uncertain, successive Roman emperors struck a balance between Romanizing the people of Gallia Belgica and allowing pre-existing culture to survive. The Romans allowed local governments to survive, typically in the form of cantons, Roman government was run by Concilia in Reims or Trier. Additionally, local notables from Gallia Belgica were required to participate in a festival in Lugdunum which typically celebrated or worshiped the emperor’s genius, the gradual adoption of Romanized names by local elites and the Romanization of laws under local authority demonstrate the effectiveness of this concilium Galliarum. With that said, the concept and community of Gallia Belgica did not predate the Roman province, during the 1st century AD, the provinces of Gaul were restructured
7.
Franks
–
Some Franks raided Roman territory, while other Frankish tribes joined the Roman troops of Gaul. In later times, Franks became the rulers of the northern part of Roman Gaul. The Salian Franks lived on Roman-held soil between the Rhine, Scheldt, Meuse, and Somme rivers in what is now Northern France, Belgium, the kingdom was acknowledged by the Romans after 357 CE. Following the collapse of Rome in the West, the Frankish tribes were united under the Merovingians, who succeeded in conquering most of Gaul in the 6th century, which greatly increased their power. The Merovingian dynasty, descendants of the Salians, founded one of the Germanic monarchies that would absorb large parts of the Western Roman Empire, the Frankish state consolidated its hold over the majority of western Europe by the end of the 8th century, developing into the Carolingian Empire. This empire would gradually evolve into the state of France and the Holy Roman Empire, in the Middle Ages, the term Frank was used in the east as a synonym for western European, as the Franks were then rulers of most of Western Europe. The Franks in the east kept their Germanic language and became part of the Germans, Dutch, Flemings, the Franconian languages, which are called Frankisch in Dutch or Fränkisch in German, originated at least partly in the Old Frankish language of the Franks. Nowadays, the German and Dutch names for France are Frankreich and Frankrijk, respectively, the name Franci was originally socio-political. To the Romans, Celts, and Suebi, the Franks must have seemed alike, they looked the same and spoke the same language, so that Franci became the name by which the people were known. Within a few centuries it had eclipsed the names of the tribes, though the older names have survived in some place-names, such as Hesse. Following the precedents of Edward Gibbon and Jacob Grimm, the name of the Franks has been linked with the word frank in English and it has been suggested that the meaning of free was adopted because, after the conquest of Gaul, only Franks were free of taxation. It is traditionally assumed that Frank comes from the Germanic word for javelin, there is also another theory that suggests that Frank comes from the Latin word francisca meaning. Words in other Germanic languages meaning fierce, bold or insolent, eumenius addressed the Franks in the matter of the execution of Frankish prisoners in the circus at Trier by Constantine I in 306 and certain other measures, Ubi nunc est illa ferocia. Feroces was used often to describe the Franks, contemporary definitions of Frankish ethnicity vary both by period and point of view. According to their law and their custom, writing in 2009, Professor Christopher Wickham pointed out that the word Frankish quickly ceased to have an exclusive ethnic connotation. North of the River Loire everyone seems to have considered a Frank by the mid-7th century at the latest. Two early sources describe the origin of the Franks are a 7th-century work known as the Chronicle of Fredegar. Neither of these works are accepted by historians as trustworthy, compared with Gregory of Tourss Historia Francorum, the chronicle describes Priam as a Frankish king whose people migrated to Macedonia after the fall of Troy
8.
Merovingian dynasty
–
The Merovingians were a Salian Frankish dynasty that ruled the Franks for nearly 300 years in a region known as Francia in Latin, beginning in the middle of the 5th century. Their territory largely corresponded to ancient Gaul as well as the Roman provinces of Raetia, Germania Superior and the southern part of Germania. The Merovingian dynasty was founded by Childeric I, the son of Merovech, leader of the Salian Franks, after the death of Clovis there were frequent clashes between different branches of the family, but when threatened by its neighbours the Merovingians presented a strong united front. During the final century of Merovingian rule, the kings were increasingly pushed into a ceremonial role, the Merovingian rule ended in March 752 when Pope Zachary formally deposed Childeric III. Zacharys successor, Pope Stephen II, confirmed and anointed Pepin the Short in 754, the Merovingian ruling family were sometimes referred to as the long-haired kings by contemporaries, as their long hair distinguished them among the Franks, who commonly cut their hair short. The Merovingian dynasty owes its name to the semi-legendary Merovech, leader of the Salian Franks, the victories of his son Childeric I against the Visigoths, Saxons, and Alemanni established the basis of Merovingian land. Childerics son Clovis I went on to unite most of Gaul north of the Loire under his control around 486, when he defeated Syagrius, the Roman ruler in those parts. He won the Battle of Tolbiac against the Alemanni in 496, at time, according to Gregory of Tours. He subsequently went on to defeat the Visigothic kingdom of Toulouse in the Battle of Vouillé in 507. After Cloviss death, his kingdom was partitioned among his four sons, leadership among the early Merovingians was probably based on mythical descent and alleged divine patronage, expressed in terms of continued military success. In 1906 the British Egyptologist Flinders Petrie suggested that the Marvingi recorded by Ptolemy as living near the Rhine were the ancestors of the Merovingian dynasty, upon Cloviss death in 511, the Merovingian kingdom included all of Gaul except Burgundy and all of Germania magna except Saxony. To the outside, the kingdom, even when divided under different kings, maintained unity, after the fall of the Ostrogoths, the Franks also conquered Provence. After this their borders with Italy and Visigothic Septimania remained fairly stable, internally, the kingdom was divided among Cloviss sons and later among his grandsons and frequently saw war between the different kings, who quickly allied among themselves and against one another. The death of one king created conflict between the brothers and the deceaseds sons, with differing outcomes. Later, conflicts were intensified by the personal feud around Brunhilda, however, yearly warfare often did not constitute general devastation but took on an almost ritual character, with established rules and norms. Eventually, Clotaire II in 613 reunited the entire Frankish realm under one ruler, later divisions produced the stable units of Austrasia, Neustria, Burgundy and Aquitania. The frequent wars had weakened royal power, while the aristocracy had made great gains and these concessions saw the very considerable power of the king parcelled out and retained by leading comites and duces. Very little is in fact known about the course of the 7th century due to a scarcity of sources, clotaires son Dagobert I, who sent troops to Spain and pagan Slavic territories in the east, is commonly seen as the last powerful Merovingian King
9.
Austrasia
–
Austrasia was a territory which formed the northeastern section of the Merovingian Kingdom of the Franks during the 6th to 8th centuries. In AD567, it became a kingdom within the Frankish kingdom and was ruled by Sigebert I. In the 7th and 8th century it was the powerbase from which the Carolingians, originally mayors of the palace of Austrasia, Austrasia gradually lost its territorial character after the disintegration of the Carolingian Empire in the second half of the 9th century. The name Austrasia is not well attested in the Merovingian period and it is a latinisation of an Old Frankish name recorded first by Gregory of Tours in c. AD580 and then by Aimoin of Fleury in c, Austrasia was centered on the Middle Rhine, including the basins of the Moselle and Main, and the Meuse rivers. It bordered on Frisia and Saxony to the north, Thuringia to the east, Swabia and Burgundy to the south and to Neustria, metz served as the Austrasian capital, although some Austrasian kings ruled from Reims, Trier, and Cologne. Other important cities included Verdun, Worms and Speyer, fulda monastery was founded in eastern Austrasia in the final decade of the Merovingian period. In the High Middle Ages, its territory divided among the duchies of Lotharingia and Franconia in Germany, with some western portions including Reims. After the death of the Frankish king Clovis I in 511, his four sons partitioned his kingdom amongst themselves, with Theuderic I receiving the lands that were to become Austrasia. Descended from Theuderic, a line of kings ruled Austrasia until 555, when it was united with the other Frankish kingdoms of Chlothar I and these three kingdoms defined the political division of Francia until the rise of the Carolingians and even thereafter. From 567 to the death of Sigbert II in 613, Neustria and Austrasia fought each other almost constantly and these struggles reached their climax in the wars between Brunhilda and Fredegund, queens respectively of Austrasia and Neustria. Finally, in 613, a rebellion by the nobility against Brunhilda saw her betrayed and handed over to her nephew and foe in Neustria, Chlothar then took control of the other two kingdoms and set up a united Frankish kingdom with its capital in Paris. During this period the first majores domus or mayors of the palace appeared and these officials acted as mediators between king and people in each realm. The first Austrasian mayors came from the Pippinid family, which experienced a slow, in 623, the Austrasians asked Chlothar II for a king of their own and he appointed his son Dagobert I to rule over them with Pepin of Landen as regent. Dagoberts government in Austrasia was widely admired, in 629, he inherited Neustria and Burgundy. Austrasia was again neglected until, in 633, the demanded the kings son as their own king again. Dagobert complied and sent his elder son Sigebert III to Austrasia, historians often categorise Sigebert as the first roi fainéant or do-nothing king of the Merovingian dynasty. His court was dominated by the mayors, in 657, the mayor Grimoald the Elder succeeded in putting his son Childebert the Adopted on the throne, where he remained until 662
10.
Carolingian dynasty
–
The Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. The name Carolingian derives from the Latinised name of Charles Martel, the Carolingian dynasty reached its peak in 800 with the crowning of Charlemagne as the first Emperor of Romans in over three centuries. His death in 814 began a period of fragmentation of the Carolingian empire and decline that would eventually lead to the evolution of the Kingdom of France. This picture, however, is not commonly accepted today, the greatest Carolingian monarch was Charlemagne, who was crowned Emperor by Pope Leo III at Rome in 800. His empire, ostensibly a continuation of the Western Roman Empire, is referred to historiographically as the Carolingian Empire, the Carolingian rulers did not give up the traditional Frankish practice of dividing inheritances among heirs, though the concept of the indivisibility of the Empire was also accepted. The Carolingians had the practice of making their sons kings in the various regions of the Empire. The Carolingians were displaced in most of the regna of the Empire by 888 and they ruled in East Francia until 911 and held the throne of West Francia intermittently until 987. One chronicler of Sens dates the end of Carolingian rule with the coronation of Robert II of France as junior co-ruler with his father, Hugh Capet, the dynasty became extinct in the male line with the death of Eudes, Count of Vermandois. His sister Adelaide, the last Carolingian, died in 1122, the Carolingian dynasty has five distinct branches, The Lombard branch, or Vermandois branch, or Herbertians, descended from Pepin of Italy, son of Charlemagne. Though he did not outlive his father, his son Bernard was allowed to retain Italy, Bernard rebelled against his uncle Louis the Pious, and lost both his kingdom and his life. Deprived of the title, the members of this branch settled in France. The counts of Vermandois perpetuated the Carolingian line until the 12th century, the Counts of Chiny and the lords of Mellier, Neufchâteau and Falkenstein are branches of the Herbertians. With the descendants of the counts of Chiny, there would have been Herbertian Carolingians to the early 14th century, the Lotharingian branch, descended from Emperor Lothair, eldest son of Louis the Pious. At his death Middle Francia was divided equally between his three surviving sons, into Italy, Lotharingia and Lower Burgundy, the sons of Emperor Lothair did not have sons of their own, so Middle Francia was divided between the western and eastern branches of the family in 875. The Aquitainian branch, descended from Pepin of Aquitaine, son of Louis the Pious, since he did not outlive his father, his sons were deprived of Aquitaine in favor of his younger brother Charles the Bald. The German branch, descended from Louis the German, King of East Francia, since he had three sons, his lands were divided into Duchy of Bavaria, Duchy of Saxony and Duchy of Swabia. His youngest son Charles the Fat briefly reunited both East and West Francia — the entirety of the Carolingian empire — but it again after his death. With the failure of the lines of the German branch, Arnulf of Carinthia
11.
Duchy of Lorraine
–
The Duchy of Lorraine, originally Upper Lorraine, was a duchy now included in the larger present-day region of Lorraine in northeastern France. It was founded in 959 following the division of Lotharingia into two duchies, Upper and Lower Lorraine, the westernmost parts of the Holy Roman Empire. The Lower duchy was quickly dismantled, while Upper Lorraine came to be known as simply the Duchy of Lorraine, the Duchy of Lorraine was coveted and briefly occupied by the Dukes of Burgundy and the Kings of France. When Stanisław died on 23 February 1766, Lorraine was annexed by France, lorraines predecessor, Lotharingia, was an independent Carolingian kingdom under the rule of King Lothair II. Its territory had originally been a part of Middle Francia, created in 843 by the Treaty of Verdun, Middle Francia was allotted to Emperor Lothair I, therefore called Lotharii Regnum. On his death in 855, it was divided into three parts, of which his son Lothair II took the northern one. His realm then comprised a territory stretching from the County of Burgundy in the south to the North Sea. In French, this became known as Lorraine, while in German. In the Alemannic language once spoken in Lorraine, the -ingen suffix signified a property, thus, in a figurative sense, stuck in the conflict with his rival Hugh the Great, in 942 King Louis IV of France renounced all claims to Lotharingia. In 953, the German king Otto I had appointed his brother Bruno the Great Duke of Lotharingia, in 959, Bruno divided the duchy into Upper and Lower Lorraine, this division became permanent following his death in 965. The Upper Duchy was further up the system, that is, it was inland. Upper Lorraine was first denominated as the Duchy of the Moselle, the usage of Lotharingia Superioris and Lorraine in official documents begins later, around the fifteenth century. The first duke and deputy of Bruno was Frederick I of Bar, Lower Lorraine disintegrated into several smaller territories and only the title of a Duke of Lothier remained, held by Brabant. After the duchy of the Moselle came into the possession of René of Anjou, the name Duchy of Lorraine was adopted again, only retrospectively called Upper Lorraine. At that time, several territories had already split off, such as the County of Luxembourg, the Electorate of Trier, the County of Bar, the border between the Empire and the Kingdom of France remained relatively stable throughout the Middle Ages. In 1301, Count Henry III of Bar had to receive the part of his lands as a fief by King Philip IV of France. In 1475, the Burgundian duke Charles the Bold campaigned for the Duchy of Lorraine, in the 1552 Treaty of Chambord, a number of insurgent Protestant Imperial princes around Elector Maurice of Saxony ceded the Three Bishoprics to King Henry II of France in turn for his support. In the 17th century, the French kings began to covet Lorraine, while the central Imperial authority decayed in the course of the Thirty Years War, Chief Minister Cardinal Richelieu urged the occupation of the duchy in 1641
12.
House of Luxembourg
–
The House of Luxembourg was a late medieval European royal family, whose members between 1308 and 1437 ruled as King of the Romans and Holy Roman Emperors as well as Kings of Bohemia and Hungary. Their rule over the Holy Roman Empire was twice interrupted by the rival House of Wittelsbach and her father, Count Henry IV of Luxembourg, was related on his mothers side to the Ardennes-Verdun dynasty, which had ruled the county since the late 10th century. Count Henry Vs grandson Henry VII, Count of Luxembourg upon the death of his father Henry VI at the 1288 Battle of Worringen, was elected Rex Romanorum in 1308. One year after being crowned Holy Roman Emperor at Rome, Henry VII, still on campaign in Italy, John instead concentrated on securing his rule in Bohemia and gradually vassalized the Piast dukes of adjacent Silesia from 1327 until 1335. His son Charles IV, in 1346 mounted the Imperial throne and his Golden Bull of 1356 served as a constitution of the Empire for centuries. Charles not only acquired the duchies of Brabant and Limburg in the west, the familys decline began under Charles son King Wenceslaus, deposed by the prince-electors in 1400 who chose the Wittelsbach Elector Palatine Rupert. He was succeeded by his son-in-law, the Habsburg archduke Albert V of Austria, the Habsburgs finally prevailed as Luxembourg heirs, ruling the Empire until their extinction upon the death of Maria Theresa in 1780. Henry VII — elected King of the Romans in 1308 succeeding assassinated Albert of Habsburg and he was succeeded by Louis IV from the House of Wittelsbach. Baldwin — brother of Henry, Prince-Archbishop of Trier and thereby Archchancellor of Burgundy 1307–54, John the Blind — only son of Henry. He was enfeoffed with the Bohemia by his father in 1310, married the Přemyslid heiress Elisabeth of Bohemia, Charles IV — eldest son of John. He was elected King of the Romans in opposition to Louis IV in 1346 and succeeded his father as king of Bohemia in the same year, John Henry, Margrave of Moravia — younger brother of Charles. He married Margaret, Countess of Tyrol, daughter of Henry the Carinthian in 1330, jobst of Moravia — eldest son of John Henry. Margrave of Brandenburg 1388–1411, elected King of the Romans in 1410, Wenceslaus — eldest surviving son of Charles. As Margrave of Brandenburg from 1373 to 1378, he was elected King of the Romans in 1376, declared deposed by the prince-electors in 1400, he was succeeded by Rupert of Wittelsbach. Sigismund — younger son of Charles, Jacquetta of Luxembourg — Mother of Queen Consort, Elizabeth Woodville and subsequent ancestress of all English and British monarchs since Henry VIII including the current monarch, Elizabeth II. According to the Salic law, the succession could have been disputed and that branch descended from a younger son of Henry V, and was headed by Louis de Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol, before he was executed for treason by Louis XI of France. The first instance of the house of Luxembourg seems to be, Two houses descended from the women of the counts of Luxembourg, the Counts of Loon, both families had a place in relation to the succession of the House of Ardennes. The Counts of Loon are also in position to claim the inheritance Luxembourg, albeit weaker position, Jacquetta of Luxembourg
13.
Duchy of Luxemburg
–
The Duchy of Luxemburg was a state of the Holy Roman Empire, the ancestral homeland of the noble House of Luxembourg. The House of Luxembourg, now Duke of Limburg, became one of the most important political forces in the 14th century, in 1411, Sigismund of Luxembourg lost the duchy to his niece Elisabeth because he defaulted on a loan. Elizabeth later sold the duchy to the Duke of Burgundy, Philip the Good of the House of Valois-Burgundy, who paid her off in 1444. The male line of the dukes of Burgundy died out in 1477 when Philips son Charles the Bold died at the Battle of Nancy, leaving Mary of Burgundy, his only child, as his heiress. After his death, Mary married Archduke Maximilian I of the House of Habsburg, the Burgundian Netherlands then came under the rule of the House of Habsburg, beginning the period of the Habsburg Netherlands. With the abdication in 1555 of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, during this time, the remaining southern provinces were referred to as the Spanish Netherlands. The area remained under Austrian rule until the French Revolution, when it was taken over by France in 1795, Luxembourg lost a small amount of its territory to Prussia in 1813. The resulting personal union between Luxembourgs throne and the Dutch throne continued until 1890, unlike the Netherlands, however, Luxembourg was part of the German Confederation established in 1815, and a garrison of the Kingdom of Prussia was stationed there. The first known reference to the territory was made by Julius Caesar in his Commentaries on the Gallic War, the historical region of Luxembourg belonged to the Roman province of Belgica Prima. After the invasion of the Germanic tribes from the East, Luxembourg became part of the Frankish Empire, by the 843 Treaty of Verdun, it became part of the Lotharingian province of Middle Francia. According to the Treaty of Ribemont in 880, it had fallen to East Francia. By the 959 partition of Lotharingia, the Luxembourg region had passed to Duke Frederick I of Upper Lorraine of the Ardennes-Verdun dynasty, in 963, Count Siegfried, probably a younger brother of Duke Frederick I, purchased some land from Abbot Wikerus of Saint Maximins in Trier. This land was centered on a fort by the Old High German name of Lucilinburhuc. In the following years, Count Siegfried had a new castle built on the site of these ruins and this castle dominated a stretch of the old Roman road linking Reims, Arlon, and Trier, and opened some prospects for trade and taxation. Despite this new construction, it seems that Siegfried and his successors did not make the castle their primary residence. The history of Luxembourg proper began with the construction of this castle, in the following years, a small town and market grew around the new castle. The first inhabitants were probably servants of Count Siegfried and clergy of Saint Michaels church and this settlement soon received additional protection by the construction of a first, partial city wall and moat. In addition to the town near Bock Fiels and the Roman road
14.
Habsburg Netherlands
–
Habsburg Netherlands is the collective name of Holy Roman Empire fiefs in the Low Countries held by the House of Habsburg and later by the Spanish Empire, also known as the Spanish Netherlands. Then known as Seventeen Provinces, they were held by the Spanish Empire from 1556, in 1581, the Seven United Provinces seceded to form the Dutch Republic, the remaining Spanish Southern Netherlands eventually passed on to Habsburg Austria. Finally the Austrian Netherlands were annexed by the French First Republic in 1795, the Habsburg Netherlands was a geo-political entity covering the whole of the Low Countries from 1482 to 1581. The centre of the Burgundian possessions was the Duchy of Brabant, deeply disappointed, he entered into the disastrous Burgundian Wars and was killed in the Battle of Nancy. Upon the death of Mary of Burgundy in 1482, her possessions including the Burgundian Netherlands passed to her son. Through his father Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor from 1493, Philip was a Habsburg scion, the period 1481–1492 saw the Flemish cities revolt and Utrecht embroiled in civil war, but by the turn of the century both areas had been pacified by the Spanish rulers. Philips son Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, born in Ghent, succeeded his father in 1506 and his grandfather Emperor Maximilian I incorporated the Burgundian heritage into the Burgundian Circle, whereafter the territories in the far west of the Empire developed a certain grade of autonomy. Attaining full age in 1515, Charles went on to rule his Burgundian heritage as a native Netherlander and he acquired the lands of Overijssel and the Bishopric of Utrecht, purchased Friesland from Duke George of Saxony and regained Groningen and Gelderland. His Seventeen Provinces were re-organised in the 1548 Burgundian Treaty, whereby the Imperial estates represented in the Imperial Diet at Augsburg acknowledged a certain autonomy of the Netherlands. It was followed by a sanction by the Emperor the next year. By a 1522 inheritance treaty with his younger brother Archduke Ferdinand I of Austria, Emperor Charles V had established the Austrian, upon his abdication in 1556, the Seventeen Provinces fell to the Spanish Crown. Charless son and successor King Philip II of Spain by his despotism and Catholic persecutions sparked the Dutch Revolt, the Spanish hold on the northern provinces was more and more tenuous. In 1579 the northern provinces established the Protestant Union of Utrecht, after the secession of 1581, the southern provinces, called t Hof van Brabant remained with the House of Habsburg until the French Revolutionary Wars. After the extinction of the Spanish Habsburgs and the War of the Spanish Succession, the southern provinces were also known as the Austrian Netherlands from 1715 onwards
15.
Spanish Netherlands
–
Spanish Netherlands, French, Pays-Bas espagnols) was the collective name of States of the Holy Roman Empire in the Low Countries, held in personal union by the Spanish Crown from 1581 to 1714. This region comprised most of modern Belgium and Luxembourg, as well as parts of northern France, the Imperial fiefs of the former Burgundian Netherlands had been inherited by the Austrian House of Habsburg from the extinct House of Valois-Burgundy upon the death of Mary of Burgundy in 1482. The Seventeen Provinces formed the core of the Habsburg Netherlands which passed to the Spanish Habsburgs upon the abdication of Emperor Charles V in 1556. When part of the Netherlands separated to form the autonomous Dutch Republic in 1581 and his granddaughter Mary had confirmed a number of privileges to the States by the Great Privilege signed in 1477. After the government takeover by her husband Archduke Maximilian I of Austria, Maximilian prevailed with the support of Duke Albert III of Saxony and his son Philip the Handsome could assume the rule over the Habsburg Netherlands in 1493. The Habsburgs often used the term Burgundy to refer to their lands, actually until 1795. In 1522 Emperor Charles V concluded a treaty with his younger brother Archduke Ferdinand I of Habsburg, whereby the House of Habsburg split into an Austrian. By the Pragmatic Sanction of 1549, Charles declared the Seventeen Provinces a united, the Seventeen Provinces, de jure still fiefs of the Holy Roman Empire, from that time on de facto were ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs as part of the Burgundian heritage. Philips despotism and his stern Counter-Reformation measures sparked the Dutch Revolt in the mainly Calvinist Netherlandish provinces, the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs could only retain the rule over the partly Catholic Southern Netherlands, completed after the Fall of Antwerp in 1585. Better times came, when in 1598 the Spanish Netherlands passed to Philips daughter Isabella Clara Eugenia, in the early 17th century, there was a flourishing court at Brussels. Among the artists who emerged from the court of the Archdukes, by the Treaty of the Pyrenees of 1659 the French annexed Artois and Cambrai, and Dunkirk was ceded to the English. By the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle and Nijmegen, further territory up to the current Franco-Belgian border was ceded, including Walloon Flanders, later, in the War of the Reunions and the Nine Years War, France annexed other parts of the region. During the War of the Spanish Succession, in 1706 the Habsburg Netherlands became an Anglo-Dutch condominium for the remainder of the conflict. By the peace treaties of Utrecht and Rastatt in 1713/14 ending the war, the Southern Netherlands fell back to the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy forming the Austrian Netherlands
16.
Siege of Luxembourg (1684)
–
The action caused alarm among Frances neighbours and resulted in the formation of the League of Augsburg in 1686. In the ensuing war France was forced to give up the duchy, an important element of Louis XIVs policy of reunion was to the gain the strategically important city of Luxembourg, which was under Spanish rule, but belonged de jure to the Holy Roman Empire. The city had been besieged in 1681-1682, and the inhabitants endured great hardship and this attempt was broken off, but the country was occupied. Louis started the War of the Reunions especially to conquer Luxembourg in 1683, in December of that year, Luxembourg was bombarded with mortars. About 6,000 bombs and grenades were fired, the Fortress of Luxembourg did not, in those days, have modern fortifications, but was instead protected by its geographic location. Unlike the city, much of which was destroyed by the previous years bombardment, in January 1684, the French Marshal François de Créquy succeeded in cutting Luxembourg off from the main Spanish army. An army of 20,000 was posted between Brussels and Luxembourg, in order to distract the troops from the actual objective. Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban was in command of the siege of Luxembourg, the French troops numbered 25,000 men, and had more than 70 guns. Their forces included a group of 40 military engineers, the Spanish troops in the city were commanded by the Prince de Chimay and the Comte de Tille. They included about 4,090 men and 600 horses and they were complemented by 600 residents, who had volunteered. The city and fortress lacked provisions and ammunition, the siege started when defensive positions were built around the city from 28 April and 8 May, in order to protect the besieging army. About 12,000 workers were used, including conscripted farmers, workers were also brought in from the areas of Metz, Toul and Verdun. The defenders attempted to hinder the work as much as possible, on 1 May there was a major sorty, the workers in the area of the attack were driven off and the defences destroyed, before a counter-attack forced the Spanish to return to the fortress. As the main point of attack, Vauban chose the Front of the plain, furthermore, an additional point of attack and several feint attacks were planned. From early May, the siege trenches were dug. With the help of sap trenches, Vauban approached the fortress in two locations, the closest Front was still half a gunshot away from the covered passages of the city. Both points of attack were linked through a connecting trench, the French set up four batteries for the siege artillery, which were aimed at the main point of attack. Along with normal guns, mortars were used, in the night of 8 May, the cannons started firing on the city
17.
Austrian Netherlands
–
The Austrian Netherlands was the Southern Netherlands between 1714 and 1797. Austria, however, did not relinquish its claim over the province until 1797 in the Treaty of Campo Formio, the Austrian Netherlands was a noncontiguous territory that consisted of what is now western Belgium as well as greater Luxembourg, bisected by the Prince-Bishopric of Liège. The dominant languages were German, Dutch, and French, along with Picard, the result of the Barrier Treaty was that the Holy Roman emperor Charles VI did not have a lot to say about his Austrian Netherlands. This caused quite a lot of frustration with the Austrians, especially because the Dutch troops they had to allow were paid with money raised by the Austrian Netherlands themselves and this would last until empress Maria Theresa refused to pay for those troops any longer. The war of 1740-1748 showed that the fortifications manned with Dutch troops were not highly maintained, when Austria and France entered into an alliance in 1756, there was virtually no use for the barrier treaty anymore. In 1781 Emperor Joseph II of Austria unilaterally abolished the treaty, under the Treaty of Rastatt, following the War of the Spanish Succession, the surviving portions of the Spanish Netherlands were ceded to Austria. The Austrians were unconcerned with the upkeep of their province and the fortresses along the border were, by treaty, the area had, in fact, been given to Austria largely at British and Dutch insistence, as these powers feared potential French domination of the region. Charles VI attempted to use the Austrian Netherlands to compete with British, however, the agreement was later revoked by the Treaty of Versailles of 1758 and Austrian rule continued. However, the Emperors stance was far from militant, and he called off hostilities after the so-called Kettle War, known by that name because its only casualty was a kettle. In the 1780s, opposition emerged to the reforms of Emperor Joseph II, which were perceived as an attack on the Catholic Church. Resistance, focused in the autonomous and wealthy Estates of Brabant and Flanders, in the aftermath of rioting and disruption, known as the Small Revolution, in 1787, many of opponents took refuge in the neighboring Dutch Republic where they formed a rebel army. Soon after the outbreak of the French and Liège revolutions, the army crossed into the Austrian Netherlands. The rebels, supported by uprisings across the territory, soon took control over much of the territory, despite the tacit support of Prussia, the independent United Belgian States, established in January 1790, received no foreign recognition and soon became divided along ideological lines. The Vonckists, led by Jan Frans Vonck, advocated progressive and liberal government, whereas the Statists, led by Hendrik Van der Noot, were staunchly conservative, the Statists, who had a wider base of support, soon drove the Vonckists into exile through a terror. By mid-1790, Habsburg Austria ended its war with the Ottoman Empire, the new Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold II, was also a liberal and proposed an amnesty for the rebels. After defeating a Statist army at the Battle of Falmagne, the territory was soon overrun, the Austrian reestablishment was short-lived, however, and the territory was soon overrun by the French during the French Revolutionary Wars. In 1794, the armies of the French Revolution annexed the Austrian Netherlands and integrated them into the French Republic
18.
French period
–
It is often confused with Napoleon Is rule, although, in the states west of the river Rhine, it began with their occupation by troops of the French Revolutionary Army in 1794. However, in parts of Germany it lasted roughly from 1804 to 1813 or from the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 to the Battle of Leipzig in 1813. The term emerged only gradually, sometime after the events involved and it entered Low German usage with Fritz Reuters popular work Ut de Franzosentid. In Germany, the term has thus been shunned since the Bonn Republic, with French Revolutionary Wars, disquiet about mass-conscription also trigged an uprising, known as the Peasants War, in 1798 within modern-day Belgium and Luxembourg. In Germany, Napoleon formed two new states, the Grand Duchy of Berg and the Kingdom of Westphalia, which he gave to his brothers Joachim Murat, the Austrian Netherlands and Prince-Bishopric of Liège were annexed and became départements of France. During the French occupation, the Napoleonic Code was introduced, during which the German people came into contact with the ideals of the French Revolution and this was to be the decisive trigger of the Liberation War. The French period contributed significantly to the emergence of the idea of unity, the many regions with their various dialects found in the struggle against the French occupation German as a common definition of anti-French sentiment or freedom. At the Wartburg Festival in 1817 the first real movements among the students were formed - fraternities, the colors black, red and gold were symbolic of this. In the Prussian War of Liberation conscription modeled after the levée en masse of General Gerhard von Scharnhorst was introduced and the Prussian army reforms introduced
19.
Peasants' War (1798)
–
The Peasants War was a peasant revolt in 1798 against the French occupiers of the Southern Netherlands, a region which now includes Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Germany. The French had annexed the region in 1795 and control of the region was ceded to the French after the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. The revolt is considered part of the French Revolutionary Wars, after the Southern Netherlands was annexed by France, the French Revolutionaries began to implement their policies regarding the Catholic Church. The Civil Constitution of the Clergy required that priests take an oath of allegiance to the state, priests who refused such an oath were considered to be enemies—non-juring priests—of the state and could be removed from their positions and homes. Additionally, in early 1798 the French Council of Five Hundred passed a law requiring compulsory military service and this law ordered the conscription of men between the ages of 20 and 25 in all French territories. General conscription like this was a new product of the French Revolution. The majority of the conflict during the Peasants War occurred in Flanders, referred to as the Boerenkrijg, it is referenced by some historians as a Belgian national revolt, and an indication of a desire for independence by Belgium. In Flanders the revolt was organized, with the people seeking aide from Foreign nations such as England. On October 12,1798, the revolution began with taking up arms against the French in Overmere. Initially the rebellion was successful, however, lacking proper arms. An estimated 5, 000-10,000 people were killed in during the uprising, additionally, there were 170 executions of the leaders of the rebellion. In Luxembourg, the revolt was called Klëppelkrich and this revolt quickly spread, consuming most of West Eifel. The primary combatants in Luxembourg were the peasantry, the middle and upper classes were not driven to revolt as the anti-clericalism and the modernisation brought by the French Revolution were somewhat beneficial to them. Lacking both financial support from the classes, and proper military training, the peasants were quickly put down by the French occupation force. Ninety-four insurgents were tried and, of those 42, were executed, de Boerenkrijg, an 1853 novel by Hendrik Conscience Episodes of the war were depicted by the 19th century Belgian artist and sculptor Constantin Meunier. The war has been romanticized in some cases as a proper Belgian revolution, as it was a major uprising fighting for independence from external rule
20.
Congress of Vienna
–
The objective of the Congress was to provide a long-term peace plan for Europe by settling critical issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. The goal was not simply to restore old boundaries but to resize the main powers so they could balance each other off, the leaders were conservatives with little use for republicanism or revolution, both of which threatened to upset the status quo in Europe. France lost all its recent conquests, while Prussia, Austria and Russia made major territorial gains, Prussia added smaller German states in the west, Swedish Pomerania and 60% of the Kingdom of Saxony, Austria gained Venice and much of northern Italy. The new Kingdom of the Netherlands had been created just months before, the immediate background was Napoleonic Frances defeat and surrender in May 1814, which brought an end to twenty-five years of nearly continuous war. Negotiations continued despite the outbreak of fighting triggered by Napoleons dramatic return from exile, the Congresss Final Act was signed nine days before his final defeat at Waterloo on 18 June 1815. However, others praise it for having created relatively long-term stable, the Congress of Vienna settlement, despite later changes, formed the framework for European international politics until the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. The Treaty of Chaumont in 1814 had reaffirmed decisions that had made already. The Treaty of Chaumont became the cornerstone of the European Alliance which formed the balance of power for decades, other partial settlements had already occurred at the Treaty of Paris between France and the Sixth Coalition, and the Treaty of Kiel which covered issues raised regarding Scandinavia. The Treaty of Paris had determined that a general congress should be held in Vienna, the opening was scheduled for July 1814. The Four Great Powers had previously formed the core of the Sixth Coalition, as the Congresss sessions were in Vienna, Emperor Francis was kept closely informed. Great Britain was represented first by its Foreign Secretary, Viscount Castlereagh, then by the Duke of Wellington, in the last weeks it was headed by the Earl of Clancarty, after Wellington left to face Napoleon during the Hundred Days. Tsar Alexander I controlled the Russian delegation which was led by the foreign minister. The tsar had two goals, to gain control of Poland and to promote the peaceful coexistence of European nations. He succeeded in forming the Holy Alliance, based on monarchism and anti-secularism, Prussia was represented by Prince Karl August von Hardenberg, the Chancellor, and the diplomat and scholar Wilhelm von Humboldt. King Frederick William III of Prussia was also in Vienna, playing his role behind the scenes, France, the fifth power, was represented by its foreign minister, Talleyrand as well as the Minister Plenipotentiary the Duke of Dalberg. Talleyrand had already negotiated the Treaty of Paris for Louis XVIII of France, Sweden – Count Carl Löwenhielm Denmark – Count Niels Rosenkrantz, foreign minister. King Frederick VI was also present in Vienna, the Netherlands – Earl of Clancarty, the British Ambassador at the Dutch court, and Baron Hans von Gagern Switzerland – Every canton had its own delegation. Charles Pictet de Rochemont from Geneva played a prominent role, mecklenburg-Schwerin – Leopold von Plessen Virtually every state in Europe had a delegation in Vienna – more than 200 states and princely houses were represented at the Congress
21.
United Kingdom of the Netherlands
–
The House of Orange-Nassau came to be the monarchs of this new state. The United Kingdom of the Netherlands collapsed after the 1830 Belgian Revolution, William I, King of the Netherlands, would refuse to recognize a Belgian state until 1839, when he had to yield under pressure by the Treaty of London. Only at this time were exact borders agreed upon, nowadays, the Benelux Union is in some ways a distant heir of the former United Kingdom of the Netherlands. Their respective political systems are similar and Dutch is the official. William returned to The Hague, where on 6 December he was offered the title of King and he refused, instead proclaiming himself Sovereign Prince of the Principality of the United Netherlands. During the Congress of Vienna in 1815 France had to give up its rule of the Southern Netherlands and these negotiations were not easy, because William tried to get as much out of it as he could. In 1789, after the Southern Netherlands declared themselves independent, Hendrik knew this was a fragile state, since then William had never forgotten this and after the fall of Napoleon he saw a chance. Three different scenarios were made, The Northern Netherlands restored within its old borders, if the Southern Netherlands would stay French, the Northern Netherlands should be extended to the Nete River or probably the whole of Flanders. In this scenario also portions of Germany would become Dutch, then the border would be the line Mechelen-Maastricht-Jülich-Cologne-Düsseldorf where it ends at the river Rhine. The first two came from Memorandum of Holland made in 1813 after the Battle of Leipzig. The last scenario came from William himself, the first scenario never made it because the Great Powers thought an independent Southern Netherlands/Belgium under an Austrian Prince was too weak and Austria was not interested in getting it back. The Dutch question became a problem, the Great Powers of Europe chose the last scenario, but didnt want to go as far in enlarging the Netherlands as William had wanted. It was later incorporated into the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Duchy of Luxembourg was not fully granted to William, because it was a member of the German Confederation. William however demanded that Luxembourg become a part of the Netherlands, historically it had been a part of the Seventeen Provinces or Burgundian Netherlands up to 1648, but Luxembourg was still a part of the discussions. On 1 March 1815, while the Congress of Vienna was still going on, Napoleon escaped from Elba and he was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo by Prussian, British, Belgian, Dutch and Nassau troops. In response, on 16 March 1815, William proclaimed the Netherlands a kingdom, furthermore, on 31 May 1815, William concluded a treaty at the Congress of Vienna whereby he ceded the Principality of Orange-Nassau to the Kingdom of Prussia in exchange for the Duchy of Luxembourg. With the unification, William completed his familys three-century quest to unite the Low Countries under a single rule, Royaume uni des Pays-Bas never was the French official name of this short-lived kingdom. This French unofficial name stayed in the language to avoid any confusion with the rest of the Netherlands after the Belgian Revolution and secession
22.
William I of the Netherlands
–
William I was a Prince of Orange and the first King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg. In Germany, he was ruler of the Principality of Nassau-Orange-Fulda from 1803 until 1806 and of the Principality of Orange-Nassau in the year 1806, in 1813 he proclaimed himself Sovereign Prince of the United Netherlands. He proclaimed himself King of the Netherlands and Duke of Luxembourg on 16 March 1815, in the same year on 9 June William I became also the Grand Duke of Luxembourg and after 1839 he was furthermore the Duke of Limburg. After his abdication in 1840 he styled himself King William Frederick, King William Is parents were the last stadtholder William V, Prince of Orange of the Dutch Republic, and his wife Wilhelmina of Prussia. Until 1806, William was formally known as William VI, Prince of Orange-Nassau, in Berlin on 1 October 1791, William married his first cousin Wilhelmina, born in Potsdam. She was the daughter of King Frederick William II of Prussia, after Wilhelmina died in 1837, William married Countess Henriette dOultremont de Wégimont, created Countess of Nassau, on 17 February 1841, also in Berlin. Like his younger brother Prince Frederick of Orange-Nassau he was tutored by the Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler and they were both tutored in the military arts by general Prince Frederick Stamford. After the Patriot revolt had been suppressed in 1787, he in 1788-89 attended the academy in Brunswick which was considered an excellent military school. In 1790 he visited a number of foreign courts like the one in Nassau and the Prussian capital Berlin, William subsequently studied briefly at the University of Leiden. As such he commanded the troops took part in the Flanders Campaign of 1793-95. He took part in the battles of Veurne, Menin, and Wervik in 1793, the siege of Landrecies, which surrendered to him. In May 1794 he had replaced general Kaunitz as commander of the combined Austro-Dutch forces on the instigation of Emperor Francis II who apparently had an opinion of him. But the French armies proved too strong, and the allied leadership too inept, the French first entered Dutch Brabant which they dominated after the Battle of Boxtel. When in the winter of 1794-95 the rivers in the Rhine delta froze over, the French breached the southern Hollandic Water Line, in many places Dutch revolutionaries took over the local government. After the Batavian Revolution in Amsterdam on 18 January 1795 the stadtholder decided to flee to Britain, the next day the Batavian Republic was proclaimed. However, the neutral Prussian government forbade this, in 1799, William landed in the current North Holland as part of an Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland. The local Dutch population, however, was not pleased with the arrival of the prince, one local Orangist was even executed. The hoped-for popular uprising failed to materialise, after several minor battles the Hereditary Prince was forced to leave the country again after the Convention of Alkmaar
23.
Belgian Revolution
–
The Belgian Revolution was the conflict which led to the secession of the southern provinces from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and established an independent Kingdom of Belgium. The people of the south were mainly Dutch-speaking Flemings and French-speaking Walloons, both peoples were traditionally Roman Catholic as contrasted with Dutch Protestants in the north. Many outspoken liberals regarded King William Is rule as despotic, there were high levels of unemployment and industrial unrest among the working classes. On 25 August 1830 riots erupted in Brussels and shops were looted, theatre goers who had just watched a nationalistic romanticist opera joined the mob. Uprisings followed elsewhere in the country, factories were occupied and machinery destroyed. Order was restored briefly after William committed troops to the Southern Provinces but rioting continued and leadership was taken up by radicals, Dutch units saw the mass desertion of recruits from the southern provinces, and pulled out. The States-General in Brussels voted in favour of secession and declared independence, in the aftermath, a National Congress was assembled. King William refrained from future military action and appealed to the Great Powers, the resulting 1830 London Conference of major European powers recognized Belgian independence. Following the installation of Leopold I as King of the Belgians in 1831, King William made a military attempt to reconquer Belgium. This Ten Days Campaign failed because of French military intervention, not until 1839 did the Dutch accept the decision of the London conference and Belgian independence by signing the Treaty of London. The Dutch overthrew Napoleonic rule in 1813 and, after the British-Dutch Treaty of 1814, symptomatic of the tenor of diplomatic bargaining at Vienna was the early proposal to reward Prussia for its staunch fight against Napoleon with the former Habsburg territory. When the British insisted on retaining the former Dutch Ceylon and the Cape Colony the new kingdom of the Netherlands was compensated with these southern provinces. The union of two areas reverted to the original cultural area of the Netherlands before the 16th century and were called the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Belgian Revolution had many causes and consequences, the causes were the domination of the Dutch over the economic, political. Catholic bishops in the south viewed the Protestant-majority north with suspicion and this rule, originated in 1815 by Maurice-Jean de Broglie, the French nobleman who was bishop of Ghent, caused an under-representation of Southerners in government apparatus and the army. The traditional economy of trade and an incipient Industrial Revolution were also centred in the present day Netherlands, furthermore, although 62% of the population lived in the South, they were assigned the same number of representatives in the States General. At the most basic level, the North was for free trade, King William I was from the North, lived in the present day Netherlands, and largely ignored the demands for greater autonomy. A linguistic reform in 1823 was intended to make Dutch the official language in the Flemish provinces and this reform met with strong opposition from the upper and middle classes who at the time were mostly French-speaking
24.
Treaty of London (1839)
–
It was a direct follow-up to the 1831 Treaty of the XVIII Articles which the Netherlands had refused to sign, and the result of negotiations at the London Conference of 1838–1839. Under the treaty, the European powers recognized and guaranteed the independence and neutrality of Belgium, article VII required Belgium to remain perpetually neutral, and by implication committed the signatory powers to guard that neutrality in the event of invasion. Since 1815, Belgium had been a part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, in 1830 Catholic Belgians broke away and established an independent Kingdom of Belgium. They could not accept the Dutch kings favouritism toward Protestantism and his disdain for the French language, outspoken liberals regarded King William Is rule as despotic. There were high levels of unemployment and industrial unrest among the working classes, there was small-scale fighting but it took years before the Netherlands finally recognized defeat. In 1839 the Dutch accepted Belgian independence by signing the Treaty of London, the major powers guaranteed Belgian independence. With the treaty, the provinces of the Netherlands became internationally recognized as the Kingdom of Belgium, while the province of Limburg was split into Belgian. The same happened to the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg which lost two-thirds of its territory to the new Province of Luxembourg in what is termed the Third Partition of Luxembourg, belgiums de facto independence had been established through nine years of intermittent fighting. The treaty was a fundamental lawmaking treaty that became a cornerstone of European international law, when the German Empire invaded Belgium in August 1914 in violation of the treaty, the British declared war on 4 August. The Treaty of London also guaranteed Belgium the right of transit by rail or canal over Dutch territory as an outway to the German Ruhr. This right was reaffirmed in a 24 May 2005 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in a dispute between Belgium and the Netherlands on the railway track, in 2004 Belgium requested a reopening of the Iron Rhine. This was the result of the transport of goods between the port of Antwerp and the German Ruhr Area. As part of the European policy of modal shift on the traffic of goods, transport over railway lines. The Belgian request was based on the treaty of 1839, after a series of failed negotiations, the Belgian and Dutch governments agreed to take the issue to the Permanent Court of Arbitration and respect its ruling in the case. In its ruling of 24 May 2005, the court acknowledged both the Belgian rights under the treaty of 1839 and the Dutch concerns for part of the Meinweg National Park nature reserve. The 1839 treaty still applies, the court found, giving Belgium the right to use and modernise the Iron Rhine, however, it has to finance the modernisation of the line, while the Netherlands have to fund the repairs and maintenance of the route. Both countries will split the costs of the construction of a tunnel beneath the nature reserve, list of treaties Treaty of Maastricht Treaties of London Schlieffen Plan Calmes, Christian. The Making of a Nation From 1815 to the Present Day, the Question of the Netherlands in 1829–1830, Transactions of the Royal Historical Society pp. 150–171 JSTOR3678256 Schroeder, Paul W
25.
William II of the Netherlands
–
William II was King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Duke of Limburg. William II was the son of William I and Wilhelmine of Prussia, when his father, who up to that time ruled as sovereign prince, proclaimed himself king in 1815, he became Prince of Orange as heir apparent of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. With the abdication of his father on 7 October 1840, William II became king, during his reign, the Netherlands became a parliamentary democracy with the new constitution of 1848. William II was married to Anna Pavlovna of Russia and they had four sons and one daughter. William II died on 17 March 1849 and was succeeded by his son William III, Willem Frederik George Lodewijk was born on 6 December 1792 in The Hague. He was the eldest son of King William I of the Netherlands and his maternal grandparents were King Frederick William II of Prussia and his second wife Frederika Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt. William spent his youth in Berlin at the Prussian court, where he followed a military education, after this, he studied at the University of Oxford and had a splendid military career close to Wellington. William II had a string of relationships with men and women. The homosexual relationships that William II had as crown prince and as king were reported by journalist Eillert Meeter, the king surrounded himself with male servants whom he could not dismiss because of his abominable motive for hiring them in the first place. Though not yet 20, the prince, according to the customs of the time, was made lieutenant colonel on 11 June 1811. On 8 September 1812 he was made an aide-de-camp to the Prince Regent and his courage and good nature made him very popular with the British, who nicknamed him Slender Billy. He returned to the Netherlands in 1813 when his father became sovereign prince, on 8 July 1814, he was promoted to lieutenant-general in the British Army, and on 25 July to general. As such, he was officer of the Allied army in the Low Countries when Napoleon I of France escaped from Elba in 1815. As a sign of gratitude for what the Dutch throne styled his victory at Waterloo, in response, Siborne was accused by Lieutenant-General Willem Jan Knoop of many inaccuracies and contradictions. An inspection of the archives of Siborne by General Francois de Bas in 1897 confirmed the use of sources and numerous miscounts. In 1814, William became briefly engaged with Princess Charlotte of Wales, only daughter of the Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom and his estranged wife Caroline of Brunswick. The engagement was arranged by the Prince Regent, but it was broken because Charlottes mother was against the marriage, on 21 February 1816 at the Chapel of the Winter Palace in St. On 17 February 1817 in Brussels, his first son Willem Alexander was born, already in 1819, he was blackmailed over what Minister of Justice Van Maanen termed in a letter his shameful and unnatural lusts, presumably bisexuality
26.
William III of the Netherlands
–
William III was King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1849 until his death in 1890. He was also the Duke of Limburg from 1849 until the abolition of the duchy in 1866, William was the son of King William II and Anna Pavlovna of Russia. On the abdication of his grandfather William I in 1840, he became the Prince of Orange, on the death of his father in 1849, he succeeded as King of the Netherlands. William married his cousin Sophie of Württemberg in 1839 and they had three sons, William, Maurice, and Alexander, all of whom predeceased him. After Sophies death in 1877 he married Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont in 1879 and they had one daughter Wilhelmina, William was born on 19 February 1817 in the Palace of the Nation in Brussels, which was part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands at the time. He was the eldest son of the future king William II of the Netherlands and he had three brothers, one of whom died in infancy, and one sister. In 1827, at the age of ten, he was made a colonel in the Royal Netherlands Army. In the 1830s, he served as lieutenant in the Grenadiers Regiment, in 1834, he was made honorary commander of the Grenadiers Regiment of Kiev nr.5 in the Imperial Russian Army. He married his first cousin, Sophie, daughter of King William I of Württemberg and Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia and this marriage was unhappy and was characterized by struggles about their children. Sophie was an intellectual, hating everything leaning toward dictatorship. William was simpler, more conservative, and loved the military and he prohibited intellectual exercise at home, for which action Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, who corresponded with Princess Sophie, called him an uneducated farmer. Another cause of tension was his capriciousness, he could rage against someone one day. William loathed the 1848 constitutional changes initiated by his father and Johan Rudolf Thorbecke and his father saw them as key to the monarchys survival in changing times. Sophie, who was a liberal, also shared this view, William himself saw them as useless limitations of royal power, and would have preferred to govern as an enlightened despot in the mold of his grandfather, William I. He considered relinquishing his right to the throne to his younger brother Henry and his mother convinced him to cancel this action. The Dutch constitution provided no way to relinquish ones claim to the throne, on 17 March 1849 his father died and William succeeded to the throne of the Netherlands. He was at that moment a guest of the Duchess of Cleveland in Raby Castle, representatives of the Dutch government traveled to London to meet their new king in London. William was reluctant to return, but he was convinced to do so, upon arrival the new Queen welcomed her spouse with the question did you accept
27.
Luxembourg Crisis
–
The Luxembourg Crisis was a diplomatic dispute and confrontation in 1867 between the French Empire and Prussia over the political status of Luxembourg. The confrontation almost led to war between the two parties, but was resolved by the Treaty of London. Since the 1815 Congress of Vienna, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg had been in union with the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In a concession to neighboring Prussia, Luxembourg was to be a member of the German Confederation, the Belgian Revolution of 1830 had divided Luxembourg into two, threatening Dutch control of the remaining territory. As a result, William I of the Netherlands entered Luxembourg into the German customs union, despite potentially holding the balance of power between the two, Emperor Napoleon III kept France neutral. Although he, like most of Europe, expected an Austrian victory, Bismarck refused to offer any land from the Rhineland, which was Napoleons preferred region. However, he did make suggestions of French hegemony in Belgium and Luxembourg, when Austria and Prussia did go to war in 1866, the result was a shock to Europe. Prussia quickly defeated Austria and her allies, forcing Austria to the negotiating table, Napoleon III offered to mediate, and the result, the Treaty of Prague, dissolved the German Confederation in favor of a Prussian-dominated organisation, the North German Confederation. Assuming that Bismarck would honor his part of the agreement, the French government offered William III of the Netherlands 5,000,000 guilders for Luxembourg, being in deep financial trouble, William accepted the offer on 23 March 1867. But the French were shocked to learn that Bismarck now objected, there was a public outcry against the deal in Germany, Bismarcks hand was forced by nationalistic newspapers in north Germany. He reneged on the pledge that he had made to Napoleon at Biarritz, not only had Bismarck united much of northern Germany under the Prussian crown, but he had secretly concluded agreements with the southern states on 10 October. To avert a war that might drag their own countries into conflict, Austrias Foreign minister, Count Beust, proposed transferring Luxembourg to neutral Belgium, in return for which France would be compensated with Belgian land. However, Leopold II, King of the Belgians refused to part with any of his lands, with the German public angered and an impasse developing, Napoleon III sought to backtrack, he certainly did not want to appear to be unduly expansionist to the other Great Powers. Thus, he demanded only that Prussia withdraw its soldiers from Luxembourg City, to avoid this fate, Tsar Alexander II of Russia called for an international conference, to be held in London. The United Kingdom was more happy to host the talks as the British government feared that the absorption of Luxembourg by either power would weaken Belgium. All of the Great Powers were invited to London to hammer out a deal that would prevent war, the result was a victory for Bismarck, although Prussia would have to remove its soldiers from Luxembourg City, Luxembourg would remain in the Zollverein. Belgium in the nineteenth century France in the long nineteenth century Belgium. The European Powers and the German Question, 1848-71, the Making of a Nation From 1815 to the Present Day
28.
Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
–
Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Duke of Nassau was the first monarch of Luxembourg from the House of Nassau-Weilburg. He was a son of William, Duke of Nassau and his first wife Princess Louise of Saxe-Hildburghausen, Adolphes half-sister, Sophia of Nassau, was the wife of Oscar II of Sweden. Adolphe became Duke of Nassau in August 1839, after the death of his father, wiesbaden had by this time become the capital of the Duchy and Adolphe took up residence in the newly constructed Stadtschloss in 1841. On 4 March 1848 he consented to the population of Nassaus 9 Demands of the Nassauers, a few years later, however, he revoked his liberal views and took a strongly conservative and reactionary course. In general, though, he was seen as a popular ruler and he supported the Austrian Empire in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. After Austrias defeat, Nassau was annexed to the Kingdom of Prussia, in 1879, Adolphes niece Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont, the daughter of another of his half-sisters, married William III, King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg. In 1890, their only daughter Wilhelmina succeeded on his death without surviving male issue to the Dutch throne, the Grand Duchy, which had been linked to the Netherlands in personal union since 1815, passed to Adolphe in accordance with the Nassau Family Pact. Adolphe was King-Grand Duke William IIIs 17th cousin once removed through male line and he had, in fact, taken over the regency of Luxembourg for a short time during William IIIs illness. In any case, as he was already 73 years old and knew little of Luxembourgish politics, he left his hands off the day-to-day governing. The prime minister Paul Eyschen, in office since 1888, took care of the affairs of state, in 1902 Adolphe appointed his son William as Lieutenant-Representative. He died in 1905 at his home, Schloss Hohenburg in Lenggries. On 31 January 1844, Adolphe married firstly in St. Petersburg Grand Duchess Elizabeth Mikhailovna of Russia and she died less than a year afterwards giving birth to a stillborn daughter. Adolphe built the Russian Orthodox Church of Saint Elizabeth 1847 to 1855 as her funeral church, on 23 April 1851, he remarried in Dessau Princess Adelheid-Marie of Anhalt-Dessau. In 1892, Grand Duke Adolphe conferred the hereditary title Count of Wisborg on his Swedish nephew, Oscar, Wisborg was the old castle in the city of Visby within Prince Oscars lost Dukedom of Gotland, but the title itself was created in the nobility of Luxembourg. On April 20,1842, the Adelsverein, Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas, was organized in the Grand Dukes castle at Biebrich on the Rhine and he was named the Protector of the organization
29.
William IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
–
William IV reigned as the sovereign Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 17 November 1905 until his death. He succeeded his father, Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg and he also held the title of Duke of Nassau, although that was annexed by Prussia after the Austro-Prussian war of 1866. William IV was a Protestant, the religion of the House of Nassau and he married Princess Marie Anne of Portugal, believing that a Roman Catholic country ought to have a Roman Catholic monarch. Thus since William IV all other Grand Dukes have been Catholic, so in 1907, William declared the Counts of Merenberg non-dynastic, naming his own eldest daughter Marie-Adélaïde as heir presumptive to the grand ducal throne. She became Luxembourgs first reigning grand duchess upon her fathers death in 1912, charlottes descendants have reigned until the present day. He was the last monarch of Luxembourg to die whilst still on the throne, on 21 June 1893 in Fischhorn Castle, Zell am See, he married Infanta Marie Anne of Portugal, daughter of the deposed king Miguel I of Portugal and Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg
30.
German occupation of Luxembourg during World War I
–
The German occupation of Luxembourg in World War I was the first of two military occupations of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg by Germany in the twentieth century. From August 1914 until the end of World War I on 11 November 1918, during this period, Luxembourg was allowed to retain its own government and political system, but all proceedings were overshadowed by the German armys presence. Despite the overbearing distraction of the occupation, the Luxembourgish people attempted to lead their lives as normally as possible, the political parties attempted to focus on other matters, such as the economy, education, and constitutional reform. The domestic political environment was further complicated by the death of Paul Eyschen, with his death came a string of short-lived governments, culminating in rebellion, and constitutional turmoil after the withdrawal of German soldiers. Since the 1867 Treaty of London, Luxembourg had been a neutral state. The Luxembourg Crisis had seen Prussia thwart Frances attempt to purchase the Grand Duchy from the Netherlands, Austria-Hungary was supported by the German Empire, whilst Serbia had the backing of the Russian Empire. On 28 July, Austria-Hungary attacked Serbia, which, in turn, required the mobilisation of Russia, hence of Germany, anticipating a retaliatory declaration of war from Russias closest western ally, France, Germany put into action the Schlieffen Plan. Under this military strategy, formulated by Count Schlieffen in 1905 and this would bypass Frances main defences, arranged to the south. Germanys army would be able to encircle Paris, force France to surrender, since the 1860s, Luxembourgers had been keenly aware of German ambition, and Luxembourgs government was well aware of the implications of the Schlieffen Plan. Moreover, given the ethnic and linguistic links between Luxembourg and Germany, it was feared that Germany might seek to annex Luxembourg into its empire. The government of Luxembourg aimed to avoid this by re-affirming the countrys neutrality, on 1 August 1914, Germany declared war on Russia. On the outbreak of war with its neighbour, Germany put the Schlieffen Plan into action. Initially, Luxembourg was only a point for Albrecht von Württembergs Fourth Army. Eyschen protested, but could do nothing to prevent Germanys incursion, the next day, while French troops were still at a distance from the German frontier, Germany launched a full invasion. German soldiers began moving through south-eastern Luxembourg, crossing the Moselle River at Remich and Wasserbillig, tens of thousands of German soldiers had been deployed to Luxembourg in those twenty-four hours. They protested mildly, but both the young Grand Duchess and her aging statesman accepted German military rule as inevitable. On 2 August, German Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg justified the occupation of Luxembourg in terms of military necessity. The French minister in Luxembourg dismissed this argument, claiming that it would not have considered violating Luxembourgs neutrality unless Germany had done so first, Bethmann Hollweg attempted to prove his countrys regret by offering Luxembourg compensation for the losses due to the military presence
31.
Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg
–
Charlotte reigned as Grand Duchess of Luxembourg from 1919 to 1964. Born in Berg Castle, Charlotte of Nassau-Weilburg, Princess of Luxembourg, was the daughter of Grand Duke William IV and his wife. Unlike her sister, she not to interfere in its politics. In a referendum about the new constitution on 28 September 1919,77. 8% of the Luxembourgish people voted for the continuation of a Grand Ducal monarchy with Charlotte as head of state, in this constitution, the power of the monarch was severely restricted. During the German occupation of Luxembourg in World War II, Charlotte, exiled in London, on 6 November 1919 in Luxembourg, she married Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma, a first cousin on her mothers side. With the marriage, their descent was raised in style from Grand Ducal Highness to Royal Highness. During the Second World War the grand ducal family left Luxembourg shortly before the arrival of Nazi troops, luxembourgs neutrality was violated on 9 May 1940, while the Grand Duchess and her family were in residence at Colmar-Berg. Permission was received to cross Spain provided they did not stop en route, by 29 August 1940 Grand Duchess Charlotte was in London where she began to make supportive broadcasts to her homeland using the BBC. Later she travelled to the United States and to Canada, the Grand Ducal family went to North America in exile, settling in Montreal. The Grand Duchess visited Washington DC and made a good tour of the US to keep the profile of Luxembourg high in the eyes of the Allies. Charlottes younger sister Antonia and brother-in-law Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria, were exiled from Germany in 1939, meanwhile, from 1942 Grand Duchess Charlottes eldest son, Jean, served as a volunteer in the Irish Guards. Likewise, she visited Pius XII, Charles de Gaulle, in 1951 Charlotte by decree admitted into the nobility of Luxembourg three Swedish relatives who were not allowed to use their birth titles in Sweden. On 12 November 1964, she abdicated in favour of her son Jean, Charlotte died at Schloss Fischbach on 9 July 1985, from cancer. She was interred in the Ducal Crypt of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in the city of Luxembourg, a statue of the Grand Duchess is in Place Clarefontaine in the city of Luxembourg
32.
Luxembourg in World War II
–
The involvement of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in World War II began with its invasion by German forces on 10 May 1940 and lasted beyond its liberation by Allied forces in late 1944 and early 1945. After surrendering after just a day of fighting, Luxembourg was placed under occupation and was annexed into Germany in 1942. The Germanisation was facilitated by a collaborationist political group, the Volksdeutsche Bewegung, shortly before the surrender, the government had fled the country along with Grand Duchess Charlotte, eventually arriving in London, where a Government-in-exile was formed. Luxembourgish soldiers also fought in Allied units until liberation, the Luxembourgish government had pursued a policy of neutrality since the Luxembourg Crisis of 1867 had highlighted the countrys vulnerability. During the First World War, the 400 men of the Corps des Gendarmes et Volontaires had remained in barracks throughout the German occupation, in March 1939, in a speech to the Reichstag, Adolf Hitler promised that Luxembourgish sovereignty would not be breached. The strength of the military was gradually increased as international tension rose during Appeasement and after Britain, by 1940, the Luxembourgish army numbered some 13 officers,255 armed gendarmes and 425 soldiers. The popular English-language radio station, Radio Luxembourg was taken off-air in September 1939, apart from that, normal life continued in Luxembourg during the Phoney War, no blackout was enforced and regular trains to France and Germany continued. In Spring 1940, work began on a series of roadblocks across Luxembourgs eastern border with Germany, the fortifications, known as the Schuster Line, were largely made of steel and concrete. On 9 May 1940, after increased troop movements around the German border, the German invasion of Luxembourg, part of Fall Gelb, began at 04,35 on the same day as the attacks on Belgium and the Netherlands. An attack by German agents in civilian clothes against the Schuster Line, the invading forces encountered little resistance from the Luxembourgish military who were confined in their barracks. By noon, the city had fallen. The invasion was accompanied by an exodus of tens of thousands of civilians to France, at 08,00, several French divisions crossed the frontier from the Maginot Line and skirmished with the German forces before retreating. The invasion cost 7 Luxembourgish soldiers wounded, with 1 British pilot and 5 French Spahis killed in action, the departure of the government left the state functions of Luxembourg in disorder. From August 1942, Luxembourg was officially part of Germany. From August 1942, all male Luxembourgers of draft age were conscripted into the German armed forces, altogether,12,000 Luxembourgers served in the German military, of whom nearly 3,000 died during the war. The most significant collaborationist group in the country was the Volksdeutsche Bewegung, formed by Damian Kratzenberg shortly after the occupation, the VdB campaigned for the incorporation of Luxembourg into Germany with the slogan Heim ins Reich. The VdB had 84,000 members at its height, all manual workers were forced into the German Labour Front from 1941 and certain age groups of both genders were conscripted into the Reichsarbeitsdienst to work on military projects. Membership of the Nazi youth movement, the Luxemburger Volksjugend, which had created with little success in 1936, was encouraged
33.
German invasion of Luxembourg
–
The German invasion of Luxembourg was part of Case Yellow, the German invasion of the Low Countries and France during World War II. The battle began on 10 May 1940 and lasted just one day, facing only light resistance, Luxembourg was quickly occupied. The Luxembourgish government, and Grand Duchess Charlotte, managed to escape the country, the outbreak of World War II on 1 September 1939 put Luxembourgs government in a delicate situation. Together they formed the Corps des Gendarmes et Volontaires under Major-Commandant Émile Speller, on 1 September Radio Luxembourg ceased broadcasting. Two weeks later the corps was bolstered by the addition of a 125-strong auxiliary unit. In the spring of 1940, fortifications were erected along the borders with Germany, the so-called Schuster Line, named after its constructor, consisted of concrete roadblocks and bridge blocks with steel doors. The official aim of these obstacles was to slow down the progress of any invading army, however, compared to the massive power of the German forces, it was only symbolic but helped to calm the population. After several false alarms in the spring of 1940, the probability of a conflict between Germany and France grew. Germany stopped the export of coke for the Luxembourgish steel industry, abwehr agents under Oskar Reile infiltrated the country, posing as tourists. This was observed by Captain Fernand Archen, an undercover senior French intelligence officer in Luxembourg City and he reported his findings to his superiors at Longwy on 7 May, understanding that the agents were to be used to seize key bridges over the Sauer, Moselle and Our rivers. Luxembourg authorities also took notice, and Captain Stein worked to stop the Germans activities, on 3 March, the French Third Army was ordered to occupy Luxembourg in the event of a German attack. On the afternoon of 9 May, a French intelligence officer stationed in Clervaux witnessed German troops preparing pontoon bridges in the Sauer and he attempted in vain to contact Captain Archen, and resorted to making a direct phone call to his superiors at Longwy. Late that evening, the Grand Ducal government came into possession of a document from the German command, dated 23 April 1940, it detailed plans for occupying strategic points within the country, and also laid out plans of action for Luxembourgish Nazis. Luxembourgs border posts were put on full alert, the Grand Ducal Gendarmerie was mobilized to defend public buildings and to start arresting fifth columnists. Interned French pilots and German deserters were released, the economic councillor and the chancellor of the German legation were detained for questioning. It was alleged that they had used cars to organize subversive activities within the country, but since they still enjoyed diplomatic privilege. At 11,45 he radioed Longwy, Reports of important German troop movements on the German-Luxembourg frontier, throughout the night his messages became more and more frantic. Two Luxembourgish customs officials at Wormeldange heard horses and soldiers across the Moselle, at around midnight Captain Stein, Minister of Justice Victor Bodson, and Police Commissioner Joseph Michel Weis held an emergency meeting
34.
Luxembourg government-in-exile
–
The Luxembourgish government in exile, also known as the Luxembourgish government in London, was the government in exile of Luxembourg during the Second World War. The government was based in London between 1940 and 1944, while Luxembourg was occupied by Nazi Germany and it was led by Pierre Dupong, and also included three other Ministers. The head of state, Grand Duchess Charlotte, also escaped from Luxembourg after the occupation, the government was bipartite, including two members from both the Party of the Right and the Socialist Workers Party. The government was located in 27 Wilton Crescent in Belgravia, London which now serves as the Luxembourgish Embassy in London and it was located only a few hundred meters from the Belgian government in exile in Eaton Square. On 10 May 1940, neutral Luxembourg was invaded by German troops as part of an attack on France. The same day, the Luxembourgish government, then under the Dupong-Krier Ministry, while the departure of the Grand Duchess and her ministers was the result of a decision taken in advance, it was not well-prepared. The advance of German troops was so rapid that one of the ministers, the government established itself first in Paris, then when a French defeat was imminent, fled to Portugal. In the meantime, in Luxembourg, an Administrative Commission composed of government counsellors and it tried to fill the vacuum left by the departure of the executive, and tried to come to an arrangement with the German military authorities. The Administrative Commission and the Chamber of Deputies even appealed to the Grand Duchess, the Luxembourgish authorities remaining in the country had not yet abandoned the hope that in the new European order dominated by Nazi Germany, the Grand Duchy could retain its independence. In Lisbon, the month of July passed in uncertainty, while Dupong and the Grand Duchess leaned towards returning, Bech was reluctant. Germanys de facto annexation of Luxembourg put an end to hesitations, on 29 July 1940, Gustav Simon, Gauleiter of the Gau Koblenz-Trier, was named Chef der Zivilverwaltung in Luxembourg. All the institutions of the Luxembourgish state were abolished, the Grand Duchess and the government decided to definitively join the Allied side, and opted for a dual seat. The Grand Ducal family, Pierre Dupong and for a time, Victor Bodson, established themselves in Montréal, joseph Bech and Pierre Krier remained in London, which was the seat of several other governments in exile, such as those of Belgium and the Netherlands. The government first fled to Paris, Lisbon and then the United Kingdom, while the Government established itself in Wilton Crescent in London, the Grand Duchess and her family moved to Francophone Montreal in Canada. The government encouraged the foundation of the Luxembourg Society in London in 1942, the first reaction of the government in exile was to protest against the German violation of its independence and neutrality and appealing for French and British help. Despite its small size, Luxembourg was a party to the agreements which brought together the Allied war effort. It published a Grey Book, placed articles in the English-speaking press, luxembourgs cause also benefited greatly from the Grand Duchesss prestige with US President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Grand Ducal family was invited to the White House several times during their exile, the war brought Belgium and Luxembourg closer together
35.
The Holocaust in Luxembourg
–
The persecution lasted until October 1941, when the Germans declared the territory to be free of Jews who had been deported to extermination camps and ghettos in Eastern Europe. Before the war, Luxembourg had a population of about 3,500 Jews, the Nuremberg Laws, which had applied in Germany since 1935, were enforced in Luxembourg from September 1940 and Jews were encouraged to leave the country for Vichy France. Emigration was forbidden in October 1941, but not before nearly 2,500 had fled, in practice they were little better off in Vichy France, and many of those who left were later deported and killed. From September 1941, all Jews in Luxembourg were forced to wear the yellow Star of David badge to identify them, from October 1941, Nazi authorities began to deport the around 800 remaining Jews from Luxembourg to Łódź Ghetto and the concentration camps at Theresienstadt and Auschwitz. Around 700 were deported from the Transit Camp at Fuenfbrunnen in Ulflingen in the north of Luxembourg, Luxembourg was declared Judenrein except for those in hiding on 19 October 1941. Of the original Jewish population of Luxembourg, only 36 are known to have survived the war, the Holocaust Luxembourg in World War II Luxembourgish Resistance Artuso, Vincent. Des excuses, mais au nom de qui, die Natur is gnädiger als die Menschen. Luxemburg - Asyl und Gastfreundschaft in einem kleinen Land, solidarität und Hilfe für Juden während der NS-Zeit. Regionalstudien I, Polen, Rumänien, Griechenland, Luxemburg, Norwegen, Luxembourg at United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Luxembourg at European Holocaust Research Infrastructure Memoshoah. lu at MemoShoah association
36.
Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
–
Jean reigned as Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1964 until his abdication in 2000. He is the father of the current ruler, Grand Duke Henri, Jean was born on 5 January 1921, at Berg Castle, in central Luxembourg, the son of Grand Duchess Charlotte and of Prince Félix of Bourbon-Parma. Among his godparents was Pope Benedict XV, who gave him his second name and he attended primary school in Luxembourg, where he continued the initial stage of secondary education. He completed secondary school at Ampleforth College, a Roman Catholic boarding school in the United Kingdom, upon reaching maturity, on 5 January 1938, he was styled Hereditary Grand Duke, recognising his status as heir apparent. On 10 May 1940, Germany invaded Luxembourg, beginning a four-year occupation, having been warned of an imminent invasion, the Grand Ducal Family escaped the previous night. At first, they sought refuge in Paris, before fleeing France only weeks later, the Grand Ducal Family sought refuge in the United States, renting an estate in Brookville, New York. Jean studied Law and Political Science at Université Laval, Quebec City and he joined the British Army as a volunteer in the Irish Guards in November 1942. After receiving officer training at the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, Jean was commissioned as a Lieutenant in July 1943 and he landed in Normandy on 11 June 1944, and took part in the Battle for Caen and the liberation of Brussels. On 10 September 1944, he took part in the liberation of Luxembourg before moving on to Arnhem and the invasion of Germany. After the war, from 1984 until his abdication, he served as Colonel of the Regiment of the Irish Guards and he was named Lieutenant-Representative of the Grand Duchess on 28 April 1961. He became Grand Duke when his mother, the Grand Duchess Charlotte, the same day, he was made a General of the Luxembourg Army. Grand Duke Jean abdicated on 7 October 2000, and was succeeded on the throne by his son Henri, Grand Duke Jean now lives at Fischbach Castle. On 27 December 2016, Grand Duke Jean was hospitalized due to bronchitis and was discharged from hospital on 4 January 2017, the Grand Duke Jean Museum of Modern Art bears his name. He was married in Luxembourg on 9 April 1953 to Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium, daughter of Léopold III, King of the Belgians. They had three sons and two daughters, Princess Marie-Astrid, Grand Duke Henri, who ascended to the ducal throne in 2000, Prince Jean, Princess Margaretha. Many of the titles are held without regard to the rules of salic inheritance. Jean renounced the titles of the House of Bourbon-Parma for himself and his family in 1986 when his eldest son and it is not known if the marriage of Prince Guillaume was seen by Carlos Hugo as equal. The Arrêté Grand-Ducal of 21 September 1995 established that the title of Prince/Princesse de Luxembourg is reserved for the children of the sovereign and the heir to the throne
37.
Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
–
Henri is the current Grand Duke of Luxembourg, reigning since 7 October 2000. He is the eldest son of Grand Duke Jean and Princess Joséphine Charlotte of Belgium, the Princes godparents were the Prince of Liège and the Countess of Holstein-Ledreborg. Henri has four siblings, Archduchess Marie Astrid of Austria, Prince Jean of Luxembourg, Princess Margaretha of Liechtenstein, on 12 November 1964, when Henri was aged nine, his grandmothers abdication and his fathers subsequent accession as Grand Duke made him heir apparent. As the Grand Dukes eldest son, he took the title of Hereditary Grand Duke. Henri was educated in Luxembourg and in France, where he obtained his baccalaureate in 1974 and he then studied political science at University of Geneva and the Graduate Institute of International Studies, graduating in 1980. The Grand Duke also undertook military training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. While studying in Geneva, Henri met the former María Teresa Mestre y Batista and they married in Luxembourg on 4 February/14 February 1981 with the previous consent of the Grand Duke, dated 7 November 1980. The couple have five children, The Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg, born 11 November 1981, Prince Félix Léopold Marie Guillaume of Luxembourg, born 3 June 1984, married German Claire Margareta Lademacher on 17 September 2013 and 21 September 2013. From 1980 to 1998, he was a member of the Council of State, on 4 March 1998, Prince Henri was appointed as Lieutenant Representative by his father, Grand Duke Jean, meaning that he assumed most of his fathers constitutional powers. On 7 October 2000, immediately following the abdication of his father, Henri acceded as Grand Duke of Luxembourg, with the exception of Grand Duke of Luxembourg, all the titles refer to places in modern Germany, particularly in the House of Nassaus ancestral region of Nassau. On 2 December 2008 it was announced that Grand Duke Henri had stated he would refuse to ratify a new law on euthanasia that had been approved earlier in the year by the Chamber of Deputies. The signature of the Grand Duke was required under the Constitution in order for the law to take effect and this would remove one of the legislative roles of the Grand Duke, namely the approving of new legislation. The Luxembourg royal house had tried to block a decision by parliament only once before, the head of state no longer has to sanction laws for them to take effect, he merely promulgates them. As the head of a monarchy, Grand Duke Henris duties are primarily representative. However, he retains the power to appoint the Prime Minister and Government, to dissolve the Chamber of Deputies, to promulgate laws. Grand Duke Henri is Commander-in-Chief of the Luxembourg Army, in which he holds the rank of General and he is also an Honorary Major in the British RAF Regiment. One of the Grand Dukes main functions is to represent Luxembourg in the field of foreign affairs, in May 2001, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa undertook their first foreign state visit to Spain, at the invitation of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia. Grand Duke Henri is a member of the International Olympic Committee, a member of The Mentor Foundation, the Grand Duke lives with his family at Berg Castle in Luxembourg
38.
Recorded history
–
Recorded history or written history is a historical narrative based on a written record or other documented communication. Recorded history can be contrasted with other narratives of the past, for broader world history, recorded history begins with the accounts of the ancient world around the 4th millennium BC, and coincides with the invention of writing. Examples of written texts, however, can be found dating as far back as 1750 BCE in Ancient Mesopotamia, for some geographic regions or cultures, written history is limited to a relatively recent period in human history because of the limited use of written records. Because of these limits, recorded history in different contexts may refer to different periods of time depending on the historical topic. The question of the nature, and even the possibility, of a method for interpreting recorded history is raised in the philosophy of history as a question of epistemology. Prehistory traditionally refers to the span of time before recorded history, prehistory refers to the past in an area where no written records exist, or where the writing of a culture is not understood. Protohistory refers to the period between prehistory and history, after the advent of literacy in a society but before the writings of the first historians. Protohistory may also refer to the period during which a culture or civilization has not yet developed writing, more complete writing systems were preceded by proto-writing. Early examples are the Jiahu symbols, Vinča signs, early Indus script, earliest recorded history, which varies greatly in quality and reliability, deals with Pharaohs and their reigns, made by ancient Egyptians. Much of the earliest recorded history was re-discovered relatively recently due to archaeological dig sites findings, since these initial accounts, a number of different traditions have developed in different parts of the world in how to handle the writing and production of historical accounts. In China, the earliest history was recorded in oracle bone script which was deciphered, the Zuo Zhuan, attributed to Zuo Qiuming in the 5th century BCE, is the earliest written of narrative history in the world and covers the period from 722 to 468 BCE. The Classic of History is one of the Five Classics of Chinese classic texts and it is traditionally attributed to Confucius. Zhan Guo Ce was a renowned ancient Chinese historical compilation of materials on the Warring States period compiled between the 3rd and 1st centuries BCE. Sima Qian was the first in China to lay the groundwork for professional historical writing and his written work was the Shiji, a monumental lifelong achievement in literature. His work influenced every subsequent author of history in China, including the prestigious Ban family of the Eastern Han Dynasty era, Herodotus of Halicarnassus has generally been acclaimed as the father of history composing his The Histories written from 450s to the 420s BCE. However, his contemporary Thucydides is credited with having first approached history with a historical method in his work the History of the Peloponnesian War. Thucydides, unlike Herodotus, regarded history as being the product of the choices and actions of human beings, saint Augustine was influential in Christian and Western thought at the beginning of the medieval period. Through the Medieval and Renaissance periods, history was studied through a sacred or religious perspective
39.
Ancient Rome
–
In its many centuries of existence, the Roman state evolved from a monarchy to a classical republic and then to an increasingly autocratic empire. Through conquest and assimilation, it came to dominate the Mediterranean region and then Western Europe, Asia Minor, North Africa and it is often grouped into classical antiquity together with ancient Greece, and their similar cultures and societies are known as the Greco-Roman world. Ancient Roman civilisation has contributed to modern government, law, politics, engineering, art, literature, architecture, technology, warfare, religion, language and society. Rome professionalised and expanded its military and created a system of government called res publica, the inspiration for modern republics such as the United States and France. By the end of the Republic, Rome had conquered the lands around the Mediterranean and beyond, its domain extended from the Atlantic to Arabia, the Roman Empire emerged with the end of the Republic and the dictatorship of Augustus Caesar. 721 years of Roman-Persian Wars started in 92 BC with their first war against Parthia and it would become the longest conflict in human history, and have major lasting effects and consequences for both empires. Under Trajan, the Empire reached its territorial peak, Republican mores and traditions started to decline during the imperial period, with civil wars becoming a prelude common to the rise of a new emperor. Splinter states, such as the Palmyrene Empire, would divide the Empire during the crisis of the 3rd century. Plagued by internal instability and attacked by various migrating peoples, the part of the empire broke up into independent kingdoms in the 5th century. This splintering is a landmark historians use to divide the ancient period of history from the pre-medieval Dark Ages of Europe. King Numitor was deposed from his throne by his brother, Amulius, while Numitors daughter, Rhea Silvia, because Rhea Silvia was raped and impregnated by Mars, the Roman god of war, the twins were considered half-divine. The new king, Amulius, feared Romulus and Remus would take back the throne, a she-wolf saved and raised them, and when they were old enough, they returned the throne of Alba Longa to Numitor. Romulus became the source of the citys name, in order to attract people to the city, Rome became a sanctuary for the indigent, exiled, and unwanted. This caused a problem for Rome, which had a large workforce but was bereft of women, Romulus traveled to the neighboring towns and tribes and attempted to secure marriage rights, but as Rome was so full of undesirables they all refused. Legend says that the Latins invited the Sabines to a festival and stole their unmarried maidens, leading to the integration of the Latins, after a long time in rough seas, they landed at the banks of the Tiber River. Not long after they landed, the men wanted to take to the sea again, one woman, named Roma, suggested that the women burn the ships out at sea to prevent them from leaving. At first, the men were angry with Roma, but they realized that they were in the ideal place to settle. They named the settlement after the woman who torched their ships, the Roman poet Virgil recounted this legend in his classical epic poem the Aeneid
40.
Duchy of Burgundy
–
Upon the extinction of the line with the death of Duke Philip I in 1361, the duchy fell back to King John II of France and the royal House of Valois. The Burgundian duchy rose to a complex of a European scale after in 1363 King John II of France ceded the duchy to his younger son Philip of Valois. By his marriage with Countess Margaret of Flanders, he laid the foundation for a Burgundian realm further north in the Low Countries collectively known as the Burgundian Netherlands. The Burgundian sphere, in its own right, was one of the largest ducal territories that existed at the time of the emergence of Early Modern Europe. Including the thriving regions of Flanders and Brabant, it was a centre of trade. After about one hundred years of Valois-Burgundy rule, however, the last duke Charles the Bold rushed to the Burgundian Wars and was killed in the 1477 Battle of Nancy. With the abdication of the Habsburg emperor Charles V in 1556, the Burgundians settled in the area around Dijon, Chalon-sur-Saône, Mâcon, Autun and Châtillon-sur-Seine, and gave the name to the region. The Kingdom of the Burgundians was annexed by the Merovingian Kings of the Franks Childebert I in 534 following their defeat by the Franks and it was recreated, however, on several occasions when Frankish territories were redivided between the sons on the death of a Frankish king. As part of the Kingdom of the Franks, Burgundy maintained a semi-autonomous existence, with the Burgundians maintaining their own law code, however, southern Burgundy was pillaged by the Saracen invasion of the 8th century. When Charles Martel drove the invaders out, he divided Burgundy into four commands, Arles-Burgundy, Vienne-Burgundy, Alamanic Burgundy and he appointed his brother Childebrand governor of Frankish Burgundy. Under the Carolingians, Burgundian separatism lessened and Burgundy became a geographical term. As a vital military defender of the West Frankish border, Guerin was sometimes known by the Latin term for leader – Dux or Duke, by the time of Richard the Justiciar, the Duchy of Burgundy was beginning to emerge. Richard was officially recognised by the king as a duke, he stood as individual count of each county he held. As Duke of Burgundy, he was able to wield an increasing amount of power over his territory, to the collective body of his territory there came to be applied the term ducatus. Included in the ducatus of Richard were the regions of Autunais, Beaunois, Avalois, Lassois, Dijonais, Memontois, Attuyer, Oscheret, under Richard, these territories were given law and order, protected from the Normans, and served as a haven for persecuted monks. It was from his territories in Burgundy that he drew the resources needed to fight those who challenged his right to rule, under Hugh the Black came the beginning of what would be a long and troubled saga for Burgundy. His neighbours were the Robertian family, who held the title of Duke of Francia and this family, wanting to improve their standing in France and against the Carolingian kings, attempted to subject the duchy to the suzerainty of their own duchy. They failed, eventually, when they appeared close to success, they were forced to scrap the scheme, two brothers of Hugh Capet, the first Capetian King of France, took up the rule of Burgundy as duke
41.
Habsburg
–
The House of Habsburg, also called House of Hapsburg, or House of Austria, was one of the most influential royal houses of Europe. The throne of the Holy Roman Empire was continuously occupied by the Habsburgs between 1438 and 1740, from the sixteenth century, following the reign of Charles V, the dynasty was split between its Austrian and Spanish branches. Although they ruled distinct territories, they maintained close relations. The House takes its name from Habsburg Castle, a built in the 1020s in present-day Switzerland, in the canton of Aargau, by Count Radbot of Klettgau. His grandson Otto II was the first to take the name as his own. The House of Habsburg gathered dynastic momentum through the 11th, 12th, by 1276, Count Radbots seventh generation descendant Rudolph of Habsburg had moved the familys power base from Habsburg Castle to the Duchy of Austria. Rudolph had become King of Germany in 1273, and the dynasty of the House of Habsburg was truly entrenched in 1276 when Rudolph became ruler of Austria, which the Habsburgs ruled until 1918. A series of dynastic marriages enabled the family to expand its domains to include Burgundy, Spain and its colonial empire, Bohemia, Hungary. In the 16th century, the separated into the senior Habsburg Spain and the junior Habsburg Monarchy branches. The House of Habsburg became extinct in the 18th century, the senior Spanish branch ended upon the death of Charles II of Spain in 1700 and was replaced by the House of Bourbon. It was succeeded by the Vaudemont branch of the House of Lorraine, the new successor house styled itself formally as the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, although it was often referred to as simply the House of Habsburg. His grandson Radbot, Count of Habsburg founded the Habsburg Castle, the origins of the castles name, located in what is now the Swiss canton of Aargau, are uncertain. There is disagreement on whether the name is derived from the High German Habichtsburg, or from the Middle High German word hab/hap meaning ford, the first documented use of the name by the dynasty itself has been traced to the year 1108. The Habsburg Castle was the seat in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries. The Habsburgs expanded their influence through arranged marriages and by gaining political privileges, in the 13th century, the house aimed its marriage policy at families in Upper Alsace and Swabia. They were also able to high positions in the church hierarchy for their members. Territorially, they often profited from the extinction of other families such as the House of Kyburg. By the second half of the 13th century, count Rudolph IV had become one of the most influential territorial lords in the area between the Vosges Mountains and Lake Constance
42.
Eighty Years' War
–
The Eighty Years War or Dutch War of Independence was a revolt of the Seventeen Provinces against the political and religious hegemony of Philip II of Spain, the sovereign of the Habsburg Netherlands. After the initial stages, Philip II deployed his armies and regained control over most of the rebelling provinces, under the leadership of the exiled William the Silent, the northern provinces continued their resistance. They eventually were able to oust the Habsburg armies, and in 1581 they established the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, after a 12-year truce, hostilities broke out again around 1619 which can be said to coincide with the Thirty Years War. An end was reached in 1648 with the Peace of Münster, in the decades preceding the war, the Dutch became increasingly discontented with Habsburg rule. A major cause of discontent was heavy taxation imposed on the population, while support. At that time, the Seventeen Provinces were known in the empire as De landen van herwaarts over, the presence of Spanish troops, under the command of the Duke of Alba, brought in to oversee order, further amplified this unrest. Spain also attempted a policy of religious uniformity for the Catholic Church within its domains. The Reformation meanwhile produced a number of Protestant denominations, which gained followers in the Seventeen Provinces and these included the Lutheran movement of Martin Luther, the Anabaptist movement of the Dutch reformer Menno Simons, and the Reformed teachings of John Calvin. This growth lead to the 1566 Beeldenstorm, the Iconoclastic Fury which saw many churches in northern Europe stripped of their Catholic statuary, in October 1555, Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire began the gradual abdication of his several crowns. The balance of power was heavily weighted toward the local and regional governments, Philip did not govern in person but appointed Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy as governor-general to lead the central government. When Philip left for Spain in 1559 political tension was increased by religious policies, not having the liberal-mindedness of his father Charles V, Philip was a fervent enemy of the Protestant movements of Martin Luther, John Calvin, and the Anabaptists. Towards the end of Charles reign enforcement had become lax. Philip, however, insisted on rigorous enforcement, which caused widespread unrest, the new hierarchy was to be headed by Granvelle as archbishop of the new archdiocese of Mechelen. The reform was unpopular with the old church hierarchy, as the new dioceses were to be financed by the transfer of a number of rich abbeys. Granvelle became the focus of the opposition against the new governmental structures, after the recall of Granvelle, Orange persuaded Margaret and the Council to ask for a moderation of the placards against heresy. Philip delayed his response, and in this interval the opposition to his religious policies gained more widespread support, Philip finally rejected the request for moderation in his Letters from the Segovia Woods of October 1565. This Compromise of Nobles was supported by about 400 nobles, both Catholic and Protestant, and was presented to Margaret on 5 April 1566, impressed by the massive support for the compromise, she suspended the placards, awaiting Philips final ruling. The first half of the Eighty Years War between the Spanish Empire and the Dutch Republic was fought between 1566 and 1609, when the Twelve Years Truce was signed in 1609, ending this first phase of war, the northern Netherlands had achieved de facto independence
43.
Southern Netherlands
–
The Southern Netherlands, also called the Catholic Netherlands, was the part of the Low Countries largely controlled by Spain, later Austria, and occupied then annexed by France. The Southern Netherlands were part of the Holy Roman Empire until the area was annexed by Revolutionary France. As they were wealthy, the Netherlands in general were an important territory of the Habsburg crown which also ruled Spain. But unlike the other Habsburg dominions, they were led by a merchant class and it was the merchant economy which made them wealthy, and the Habsburg attempts at increasing taxation to finance their wars was a major factor in their defence of their privileges. This, together with resistance to penal laws enforced by the Habsburg monarchy that made heresy a capital crime, liège, Stavelot-Malmédy and Bouillon maintained their independence. The Habsburg Netherlands, passed to the Austrian Habsburgs after the War of the Spanish Succession in 1714, the Austrian Netherlands were ultimately lost to the French Revolutionary armies, and annexed to France in 1794. Following the war, Austrias loss of the territories was confirmed, the southeastern third of Luxembourg Province was made into the autonomous Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, because it was claimed by both the Netherlands and Prussia. In 1830 the predominantly Roman Catholic southern half became independent as the Kingdom of Belgium, in 1839 the final border between the kingdom of the Netherlands and Belgium was determined and the eastern part of Limburg returned to the Netherlands as the province of Limburg. The autonomy of Luxembourg was recognised in 1839, but an instrument to effect was not signed until 1867. The northwestern two-thirds of the original Luxembourg remains a province of Belgium, the Spanish Netherlands was a portion of the Low Countries controlled by Spain from 1556 to 1714, inherited from the Dukes of Burgundy. They often used the term Burgundy to refer to it, until 1794, when part of the Netherlands separated from Spanish rule and became the United Provinces in 1581 the remainder of the area became known as the Spanish Netherlands and remained under Spanish control. This region comprised modern Belgium, Luxembourg as well as part of northern France, in the early 17th century, there was a flourishing court at Brussels, which was under the government of King Philip IIIs half-sister Archduchess Isabella and her husband, Archduke Albert of Austria. Among the artists who emerged from the court of the Archdukes, by the Treaty of the Pyrenees of 1659 the French annexed Artois and Cambrai, and Dunkirk was ceded to the English. By the Treaties of Aix-la-Chapelle and Nijmegen, further territory up to the current Franco-Belgian border was ceded, including Walloon Flanders, later, in the War of the Reunions and the Nine Years War, France annexed other parts of the region. However, the Austrians themselves generally had little interest in the region, the area had, in fact, been given to Austria largely at British and Dutch insistence, as these powers feared potential French domination of the region. However the agreement was unimplemented and revoked by the Third Treaty of Versailles, however, the Emperors stance was far from militant, and he called off hostilities after the so-called Kettle War, known by that name because its only casualty was a kettle. The people of the Austrian Netherlands rebelled against Austria in 1788 as a result of Joseph IIs centralizing policies, the different provinces established the United States of Belgium. In the course of the French Revolution, the region was overrun by French armies after they won the Battle of Sprimont in 1794
44.
French Revolution
–
Through the Revolutionary Wars, it unleashed a wave of global conflicts that extended from the Caribbean to the Middle East. Historians widely regard the Revolution as one of the most important events in human history, the causes of the French Revolution are complex and are still debated among historians. Following the Seven Years War and the American Revolutionary War, the French government was deeply in debt, Years of bad harvests leading up to the Revolution also inflamed popular resentment of the privileges enjoyed by the clergy and the aristocracy. Demands for change were formulated in terms of Enlightenment ideals and contributed to the convocation of the Estates-General in May 1789, a central event of the first stage, in August 1789, was the abolition of feudalism and the old rules and privileges left over from the Ancien Régime. The next few years featured political struggles between various liberal assemblies and right-wing supporters of the intent on thwarting major reforms. The Republic was proclaimed in September 1792 after the French victory at Valmy, in a momentous event that led to international condemnation, Louis XVI was executed in January 1793. External threats closely shaped the course of the Revolution, internally, popular agitation radicalised the Revolution significantly, culminating in the rise of Maximilien Robespierre and the Jacobins. Large numbers of civilians were executed by revolutionary tribunals during the Terror, after the Thermidorian Reaction, an executive council known as the Directory assumed control of the French state in 1795. The rule of the Directory was characterised by suspended elections, debt repudiations, financial instability, persecutions against the Catholic clergy, dogged by charges of corruption, the Directory collapsed in a coup led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1799. The modern era has unfolded in the shadow of the French Revolution, almost all future revolutionary movements looked back to the Revolution as their predecessor. The values and institutions of the Revolution dominate French politics to this day, the French Revolution differed from other revolutions in being not merely national, for it aimed at benefiting all humanity. Globally, the Revolution accelerated the rise of republics and democracies and it became the focal point for the development of all modern political ideologies, leading to the spread of liberalism, radicalism, nationalism, socialism, feminism, and secularism, among many others. The Revolution also witnessed the birth of total war by organising the resources of France, historians have pointed to many events and factors within the Ancien Régime that led to the Revolution. Over the course of the 18th century, there emerged what the philosopher Jürgen Habermas called the idea of the sphere in France. A perfect example would be the Palace of Versailles which was meant to overwhelm the senses of the visitor and convince one of the greatness of the French state and Louis XIV. Starting in the early 18th century saw the appearance of the sphere which was critical in that both sides were active. In France, the emergence of the public sphere outside of the control of the saw the shift from Versailles to Paris as the cultural capital of France. In the 1750s, during the querelle des bouffons over the question of the quality of Italian vs, in 1782, Louis-Sébastien Mercier wrote, The word court no longer inspires awe amongst us as in the time of Louis XIV
45.
Treaty of Paris (1815)
–
Treaty of Paris of 1815, was signed on 20 November 1815 following the defeat and second abdication of Napoleon Bonaparte. In February, Napoleon had escaped from his exile on Elba, he entered Paris on 20 March, four days after Frances defeat in the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon was persuaded to abdicate again, on 22 June. King Louis XVIII, who had fled the country when Napoleon arrived in Paris, the 1815 treaty had stronger punitive terms than the treaty of the previous year. France was ordered to pay 700 million francs in indemnities, France was to pay additional money to cover the cost of providing additional defensive fortifications to be built by neighbouring Coalition countries. These were listed by the British Foreign office as, The 1815 peace treaties were drawn up entirely in French, there were four treaties, between France and each of the four major Seventh Coalition powers, Austria, Great Britain, Prussia and Russia. All four treaties were signed on the day, had verbatim stipulations. France lost the gains of the Revolutionary armies in 1790–92, which the previous treaty had allowed France to keep. The Constitutional Charter that is referred to so hopefully, was the Constitution of 1791 and its provisions for the government of France would rapidly fall by the wayside, notwithstanding the paternal intentions of her King as the treaty remarks. The first Treaty of Paris, of 30 May 1814, on the same day, in a separate document, Great Britain, Russia, Austria, and Prussia renewed the Quadruple Alliance. An additional article appended to the Definitive Peace Treaty, addressed the issue of slavery and it reaffirmed the Declaration of the Powers, on the Abolition of the Slave Trade, of 8th of February 1815 and added that the governments of the contracting parties should without loss of time. The most effectual measures for the entire and definitive abolition of a Commerce so odious, the convention on pecuniary indemnity regulated the mode of liquidating the indemnity of 700 millions francs to be paid by France, in conformity to the fourth article of the treaty. The sum was to be paid, day by day, in portions, in the space of five years. Thus, France had to pay on account of convention,383,251 francs every day for five years. For this daily quota, the French government had to give assignations on the French treasury, payable to bearer, day by day. France was to pay to the allies 50 millions francs per annum during the five-year occupation, the direct expense entailed upon France by this convention greatly exceed the amount of the indemnity of 700 million. This issue was contentious and had been subject to secret articles in both of the 1814 Convention for a suspension of hostilities with France and the 1814 Paris Peace Treaty. The matter was settled when the French government agreed to pay compensation in a convention signed by the parties on 27 October 1816. An additional article to the convention covers the payment of a claim of upwards of forty million francs to the Counts of Bentheim
46.
Grand duchy
–
A grand duchy is a country or territory whose official head of state or ruler is a monarch bearing the title of grand duke or grand duchess. During the 19th century there were as many as 14 grand duchies in Europe at once, in the 21st century, only Luxembourg remains a grand duchy. The only grand duchy still extant is Luxembourg and it regained its independence from Napoleonic France and became a sovereign grand duchy in 1815 by decision of the Congress of Vienna which dealt with the political aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars. Luxembourg remained in personal union with the crown of the Netherlands until 1890 when William III, King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg, as a consequence, William III was succeeded as grand duke by a distant male cousin, Adolphe from the elder branch of Nassau-Weilburg. The current monarch is Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg since 2000, the contemporary independent republics of Finland and Lithuania have been grand duchies during certain eras of their history. The same is true for the state of what would ultimately become the Russian Empire. As a consequence, a new title was needed to make the difference between important and unimportant regional powers, the grand duke was born. The first monarchy ever officially titled a grand duchy was the Medici sovereignty over Tuscany under suzerainty of the Holy Roman Emperors, Tuscany remained a grand duchy until 1860, when it was annexed by the Kingdom of Sardinia which succeeded in establishing a united Kingdom of Italy. In the early century, Napoléon I occasionally used the title grand duchy for several French satellite states given to his relatives or generals. Other allies abandoned the orbit of the Holy Roman Empire to join Napoleons nominally independent Confederation of the Rhine. The elevation of these vassals to the title of duke was usually accompanied by an expansion of their realms with additional territory gathered at the expense of subdued powers such as Prussia. As a result, the 19th century saw the creation of a new group of duchies in central Europe, such as the grand duchies of Hesse, Baden. The correct form of address is Royal Highness, in several Balto-Slavic languages, the term often translated in English as grand duke is literally grand prince. In some western European languages, the grand prince was rare or non-existent. In German and Scandinavian languages, both titles co-exist, Großherzog and Großfürst, and are used to distinguish, respectively, a grand duke. Within Germany, use of the title expanded after 1815, although grand prince is found in historical references, since the reign of Catherine the Great, the Russian Veliky Knyaz has usually been translated into English as grand duke. Since the 18th century it has used to refer to cadets of the imperial House of Romanov who were children or patrilineal grandchildren of a Russian emperor. More remote descendants of emperors were titled prince, the Polish kings of the Swedish House of Vasa also used this grand-princely title for their non-Polish territories
.svg){kind=small}
