The Low Countries 1914 CE

What is happening in The Low Countries in 1914CE

Both Belgium and the Netherlands have adopted a neutral position in the diplomatic networks of Europe.

Overseas, both small countries have acquired enormous empires. The Dutch East Indies empire has grown substantially in the past decades, expanding in Borneo and New Guinea. Belgium’s King Leopold II (reigned 1865-1909) acquired an enormous empire in the Congo (1898), virtually as a personal estate. The territory became a byword for large-scale abuse of human rights until the Belgian government took it over (1908), and tighter controls were introduced.

Luxembourg gained its own sovereign in 1890 when the Dutch throne passed to a woman, Wilhelmena, and, according to the terms of the ancient Sallic Law, by which only a male could rule, the Grand Duchy passed to the nearest male relative, Adolf of Nassau.

Next map, the Low Countries in 1960