History

Painting of the Belgian Revolution

Belgium used to be a Roman province of northern Gaul which was a mix of Celtic and Germanic people. It was part of the Merovingian Kingdom which turned into the Carolinian Empire during the 8th century. The Belgian Revolution made an independent Catholic neutral government in 1831. In 1908 it owned the Belgian Congo in Africa under Leopold II for resources. In 1960 the Congo gained its independence and after War War II, Belgium because one of the founders of NATO which is headquartered in Brussels.