Although Belgium has only been an independent state since the 1830s, it has a long and complex past. This history is essential for understanding the complexities of issues that led to a devolution of the unitary Belgian state into a federation of linguistically based regions. In addition to the elements that contributed to Belgium’s particular political evolution, the history which is traced in this book is a composite of many themes of broad historical interest and importance. Belgium: A History covers the gamut of Belgian history through dramas of religious and cultural conflict, intense localism, state building, uneven development, divergent class interests, war and domination, and finally, integration into a larger European community.

The Author: Bernard A. Cook is Professor of History at Loyola University in New Orleans. After studying at the Gregorian University in Rome and at the University of Marburg on a Fulbright Fellowship, he received his Ph.D. in modern European history from Saint Louis University. Since 1993, he has been codirector of Loyola University’s summer study program in Leuven, Belgium. In addition to writing numerous scholarly articles, he is editor of Europe since 1945: An Encyclopedia (2001).