Editing History of Belgium (section)

=== French control ===
[[File:Bataille de Fleurus 1794.JPG|thumb|French soldiers fight at [[Battle of Fleurus (1794)|Fleurus]] in Belgium during the [[French revolutionary wars|Revolutionary Wars]], 1794]]
<!-- [[Le Botanique]] links to this section -->Following the [[French Revolutionary Wars: Campaigns of 1794|Campaigns of 1794]] of the French Revolutionary Wars, [[Austrian Netherlands|Belgium Austriacum]] was invaded and annexed by France in 1795, ending Habsburg rule. [[Southern Netherlands]] and the territory of Liège was divided into nine united ''[[département]]s'' and became an integral part of France. The [[Prince-Bishopric of Liège]] was dissolved and divided over the ''départements'' [[Meuse-Inférieure]] and [[Ourte]]. The [[Holy Roman Emperor]] confirmed the loss of [[Southern Netherlands]], by the [[Treaty of Campo Formio]], in 1797.

New rulers were sent in by Paris. Belgian men were drafted into the French wars and heavily taxed. Resistance was strong in every sector, as Belgian nationalism emerged to oppose French rule. The French legal system, however, was adopted, with its equal legal rights, and abolition of class distinctions. Belgium now had a government bureaucracy selected by merit, but it was not at all popular.{{Sfn|Kossmann|1978|pages=65–81}} Until the establishment of the [[French Consulate|Consulate]] in 1799, Catholics were heavily repressed by the French. The first [[Old University of Leuven|University of Leuven]] was closed in 1797 and churches were plundered.

During this early period of the French rule, the Belgian economy was completely paralyzed as taxes had to be paid in gold and silver coin while goods bought by the French were paid for with worthless [[assignat]]s. During this period of systematic exploitation, about 800,000 Belgians fled the Southern Netherlands.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ganse |first=Alexander |title=Belgium under French Administration, 1795–1799 |url=http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/lowcountries/bel17951799.html |access-date=3 April 2008 |publisher=[[Korean Minjok Leadership Academy]]}}</ref> The French occupation in Belgium led to further suppression of the Dutch language across the country: French became the only accepted language in public life as well as in economic, political, and social affairs.{{Sfn|Kossmann|1978|pages=80–81}} The measures of the successive French governments and in particular the 1798 massive [[Levée en masse|conscription]] into the French army were unpopular everywhere, especially in Flemish regions, where it sparked the [[Peasants' War (1798)|Peasants' War]].{{Sfn|Kossmann|1978|pages=74–76}} The brutal suppression of the Peasants' War marks the starting point of the modern [[Flemish movement]].<ref name="KLMA">{{Cite web |last=Ganse |first=Alexander |title=The Flemish Peasants War of 1798 |url=http://www.zum.de/whkmla/military/napwars/boerenkrijg.html |access-date=2 April 2008 |publisher=[[Korean Minjok Leadership Academy]]}}</ref>
France promoted commerce and capitalism, paving the way for the ascent of the bourgeoisie and the rapid growth of manufacturing and mining. In economics, therefore, the nobility declined while the middle class Belgian entrepreneurs flourished because of their inclusion in a large market, paving the way for Belgium's leadership role after 1815 in the [[Industrial Revolution]].{{Sfn|Cook|2004|pages=49–54}}<ref>Samuel Clark, "Nobility, Bourgeoisie and the Industrial Revolution in Belgium",  ''Past & Present'' (1984) # 105 pp. 140–175; [https://www.jstor.org/stable/650548 in JSTOR]</ref> Godechot finds that after the annexation, Belgium's business community supported the new regime, unlike the peasants, who remained hostile. Annexation opened new markets in France for wool and other goods from Belgium. Bankers and merchants helped finance and supply the French army. France ended the [[Barrier Treaty|prohibition against seaborne trade on the Scheldt]] that had been enforced by the Netherlands. Antwerp quickly became a major French port with a world trade, and Brussels grew as well.<ref>Janet Polasky, ''Revolutionary Brussels, 1787–1793'' (Brussels, 1984).</ref><ref>Godechot, "The Business Classes and the Revolution Outside France", ''American Historical Review'' (1958) 64#1 pp. 1–13 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1844853 in JSTOR]</ref>
In 1814, the Allies drove out Napoleon and ended French rule. The plan was to join Belgium and the Netherlands, under Dutch control. Napoleon returned to power briefly during the [[Hundred Days]] in 1815, but on his way to recapturing Brussels as his intended power base, was finally defeated at the [[Battle of Waterloo]], 12 miles (19&nbsp;km) south of that city.