The First King of the Belgians
Born into European royalty , The first King King of the Belgians, Leopold I , reigned for more than 30 years from 1831 until his death in 1865.
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Belgium
Leopold the 2nd and the Nightmare of the Belgian Congo
Lepold spent long winters in luxurious quarters on the French Riviera, and was estranged from two of his three daughters. Moreover, he had a well-known penchant for teenaged girls, and, when he was age 65, he began a liaison with a teenaged former prostitute who bore him two additional children.
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Beguinalle houses of Bruges
These communities were rather large court béguinages, a collection of simple houses centered on a church, chapel and/or garden and enclosed by a ditch or wall. These béguinages evolved to eventually contain everything from bakeries, hospitals, farms and even breweries. They offered the béguines, who were unmarried or widowed women, a free and independent life dedicated to religion.
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Bruges: The Venice of Northern Europe
A wool market, a woollens weaving industry, and the cloth market all profited from the shelter of city walls, where surpluses could be safely accumulated. The city’s entrepreneurs reached out to make economic colonies of England and Scotland’s wool producing districts.
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Dutch Golden Age
This was a period in the history of the Netherlands, roughly spanning the 17th century, in which Dutch trade, science, military, and art were among the most acclaimed in the world.
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