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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ive been asking myself that for so long. THANK YOU!

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

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

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

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

One of the greatest questions "Why is Belgium?"

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

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

Very informative!

Short Answer: The Netherlands preferred pancakes over waffles

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

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

Hello from Belgium. Thank your for this video ;)

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

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

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

The way you talk is very helpful to improve my English level, thanks you

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yugoslavia: Outrageous! How are you still in one piece? Belgium: Waffles, waffles waffles Yugoslavia: OK I give up

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

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

Philip II didn't gain control of the region. His father Charles Quint who was an Haspsburg prince was born in a bigger than today's Belgium (Called at the time ... Netherlands). He became Emperor of Spain, the Nertherlands of this time (Belgium), Burgundy and part of Italy. So Belgium was a part of the Empire from the beginning.

Interestingly my family from my Dad's side came from Cerfontaine in the South of Belgium in the 1800s, one of the oldest towns in Belgium. They came to South Africa. Proud of my heritage.

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

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

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

Your correct in everything your saying but you glossed over Charlemagnes empire. When Charlemagne died his Empire was divided between his three sons. West Frankia, Middle Frankia, and East Frankia. West Frankia became France, East Frankia became The Holy Roman Empire(Germany), and Middle Frankia was Mostly absorbed between East and West. Belgium, Netherlands, Alsace, Lorraine, Luxembourg, and Switzerland to a certain extant are all Relic Nations of what was Middle Frankia.

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

Germans wake up from nightmares asking this exact question.

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

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

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

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

Very pleasant to watch.

I have my lights named on my Alexa (yes I'm too lazy to use the switches). One used to be called France and the other Canada. Alexa kept mishearing Canada for 'corridor' so I renamed it the next closest thing... Belgium. For some mysterious reason, Alexa has no issue distinguishing Belgium from 'bedroom' - which I believe are more similar than 'Canada' and 'corridor'.

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

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

Thank you from Indonesia.this explain a lot

a very important thing that was totally forgotten as they said that the borders of what became Belgium later were set much much earlier, was that the country got some territory given over by Germany mandatory after losing the war, and that in the south east of the country (an exemple: Eupen and Sankt Vith used to be Germany before the World War, it was of course more than that but in generall it was not a big territory) i truly think that was an important lapse (error or mistake) considering the importance they gave to the borders of Belgium in this video, even mentioning the World Wars with Germany makes the lapse even bigger in my opinion

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

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

Hello, you refer to the partition plan of Belgium called Talleyrand plan. Given the context at that time, Talleyrand is the one who emitted the idea of an independent free state. Actually the context is that the new French king (Louis-Philippe) who was more liberal than the old European monarchy (central Europe) was creating a feeling of fear amongst that courts because it could lead to a coalition against France (similarly to what happened with Napoleon). Talleyrand (the man who saved France in Vienna) was again commissioned to solved this situation. At that time few of the inhabitant of Belgium wanted the independence, the French speakers was even requesting to join France.

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

Kisses from Belgium 🇧🇪

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

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

As an American, Belgium is still my favorite country to have visited of the twenty or so I’ve been to. It was beautiful, the people were incredibly kind and, of course, they have the best beer in the world. Also get along well with the Belgian researchers I’ve met/had as colleagues over the years.

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

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

Great video, love it. Although in minute 8:00 the speaker is slightly dyslexic: 21 July 1813 should be 21 july 1831.... :-)

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

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

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

I too visited Belgium twice. Once Brugge and secondly to Gent. From my perception Belgium is much technosavvy than that of Germany. The country has adopted the modern technology and at the same time they love and have deep respect about their history. They have maintained very well the ancient and historical monuments , Churches which have become their asset now to boost the economy .

It could be divided between France (Wallonie) Netherlands (Flandern) and Germany (Eupen/Malmedy)

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

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

Love the title.

I love your channel keep up the great stuff!

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

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

As a dutch person, I know alot of it, Basically The netherlands belgium and luxemburg were merged together, To fight with france since nobody fought up north, (This land is basically Benelux)

Thanks

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

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

How do you make videos like this?

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

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

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

Belgium became independent thanks to the November Uprising in Poland. What's more, Polish diplomacy saved Belgium from a civil war, led to a compromise on border issues in the National Congress, which agreed to establish a conference five powers on borders and to appoint Leopold as king of the Belgians. The ten months of the November Uprising paralyzed any counter-revolutionary initiative by Russia, strengthened Belgium's independence, allowed the Belgians to organize a new constitutional-monarchical state, and formation of a national army.

As a Belgian myself, I still have no clue how my country works.

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

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

belgium maybe isn't always in his best, but which coutry is? I'm still proud to be an Belgian. To say Belgium is my country. Sometimes I just wish people outside knows the good things about this lovely country.

So I watched the video. I am left with the question posed in the title of the video. But more in an amazed confused manner

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

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

One correction: There is no King of Belgium. Instead he's King of the Belgians. Also, the whole Congo thing: Congo was considered the King's personal property, and smooth sailing... let's just say it was about as smooth sailing as they do today to create a government after elections.

I also often ask myself that question