Luxembourg - History
Despite its small size - 2,586 km2 and home to 476,000 inhabitants - the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is a sovereign state with a rich history. Nestled between France, Belgium and Germany in the heart of Europe, it has been involved in the great European developments. The turbulent past of the Grand Duchy is a true mirror of European history. During the Middle Ages, its princes wore the crown of the Holy Roman Empire. In Early Modern Times, its fortress was a major bone of contention in the battle between the great powers. Before obtaining its independence during the 19th century, Luxembourg lived under successive Burgundian, Spanish, French, Austrian and Dutch sovereignty. During the 20th century, this wealthy and dynamic country acted as a catalyst in the unification of Europe.
The first written account of this country and people is found in the fifth book of Cæsar's "Commentarii de Bello Gallico". On the Lower Moselle and its tributaries dwelt at that time (53 B.C.) the powerful race of the Treviri, who, in alliance with the people under their protection (for example the Eburones under Ambiorix), at first gave the Romans great trouble, but they were soon compelled to yield to superior numbers and gradually attained the highest civilization. Under Emperor Constantine (323-337) Trier (Augusta Trevirorum) became the capital of the province Belgica prima, and later the residence of the prefects of Gaul.
The Christian Faith was introduced at a very early period. Since 316 the town was the see of a bishop. As more than half of the subsequent Duchy of Lorraine belonged for centuries to the Diocese of Trier, it is a logical conclusion that the Christianization of the Ardennes proceeded principally from there. During the Germanic migration the north-eastern provinces of the Roman Empire suffered greatly. Devastated and depopulated, they were occupied by the victorious Franks. In the division of Charlemagne's empire (843) the provinces in question fell to the share of the Emperor Lothair.
In the middle of the tenth century (963?) the feudal lord, Siegfried, who held rich possessions in the Forest of Ardennes, acquired the Castellum Lucilini (supposed to have been built by the Romans) with the lands in its vicinity, and styled himself Graf von Lützelburg.
The last of Siegfried's male descendents, Conrad II, died about 1126. His dominions passed first to the counts of Namur and subsequently to Ermesinde, who reigned from 1196 to 1247. She was especially noted for the impulse she gave to religious life by the foundation of monasteries. Her son and successor, Henry V (1247-81), showed the influence of his noble mother. He took part in Saint Louis's crusade against Tunis. His successor, Henry VI, remained until nearly 1288 at war near Woringen. His wife, Beatrice, had borne him two sons, both of whom attained the highest honours and excellence: Baldwin, afterwards Archbishop of Trier, and Henry, who obtained the Roman imperial crown as Henry VII (1309).
The advancement of the reigning family brought no advantage to the country, as the counts wandered farther and farther from home, and concerned themselves only with the affairs of the Empire or the Kingdom of Bohemia. They endeavored to compensate for this in a measure by raising Luxemburg to a duchy, but could not prevent part of it from crumbling away and the whole (1444) falling to Burgundy by conquest.
During Early Modern Times, the Netherlands changed sovereignty according to dynastic and political hazards. From the House of Valois, which became extinct on the death of Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy, in 1477, the country passed to the Habsburgs of Austria. During the 16th and 17th centuries (1556-1714), the Duchy of Luxembourg, along with the other provinces that made up the territory of the Netherlands, belonged to the Spanish Habsburgs ; then to the German Habsburgs (1714-95), and finally to the French (until 1814).
Luxembourg occupied an important strategic position on the European chessboard. From the 16th century onwards, the country was drawn into the numerous wars fought for the hegemony in Europe by the Spanish Habsburgs and the Valois, and finally the Bourbons of France. The city of Luxembourg was progressively transformed into one of the most renowned fortresses of Europe, a true "Gibraltar of the North". In 1659, the Treaty of the Pyrenees, which put a provisional end to the Franco-Spanish conflict, dismembered the entire southern part of the Duchy to the advantage of France. In 1684, the fortress of Luxembourg was besieged by the armies of Louis XIV. After capturing the city, the French engineer Vauban, who led the siege operations, carried out extensive fortification works. During a short period, from 1684 to 1697, the Duchy of Luxembourg remained under French rule. In 1715, following the War of the Spanish Succession, the southern Netherlands passed to the Austrian branch of the Habsburgs.
In contrast to the two preceding centuries, the 18th century was marked by a period of peace in Luxembourg. The reigns of Charles VI (1715-1740), Maria Theresa (1740-1780) and Joseph II (1780-1790) brought about a revival in several areas. The Austrian reforms, such as the Theresian Land Register introducing fiscal equality and the Edict of Toleration granting non-Catholics the freedom of religion, already signalled the innovations of the French Revolution.
In 1795, the French revolutionary troops conquered the fortress and Luxembourg was annexed to France as the Département des Forêts (Forests Department). The introduction of conscription, a system of compulsory military recruitment, triggered a peasant uprising in 1798, known as the "Klëppelkrich" (cudgel war). Under Napoleon, the more moderate French regime gained more widespread acceptance among the population. This rule was attended with pernicious results, especially as regards religion and morals, the brutalities of the French to the Church and her servants left sad memories. Even the worship of the goddess of reason prevailed for a time in place of the Catholic religion. After the overthrow of Napoleon, better times began for Luxemburg.
Luxembourg historiography had for a long time described the regimes that succeeded one another from the 15th to the 18th century as periods of "foreign domination". This suggests a simple interval from the autonomy of the Middle Ages, when Luxembourg had its own dynasty, to when it regained its independence during the 19th century. In this interpretation, the periods of Burgundian, Spanish and Austrian rule become periods of occupation with Luxembourg falling into the hands of foreigners. The men and women of the Ancien Régime, however, did not share this sentiment. They recognised the sovereign, whether Spanish or Austrian, as their natural prince, the legitimacy of whom had been acknowledged by the assembly of the estates of the Duchy at the time of accession. Within the Duchy, the wheels of the administration were driven in particular by men of the law and noblemen, originating from the province. And of course, Madrid and Vienna were far away. While a local and provincial sense of identity was very much present under the Ancien Régime, a national sentiment is but a 19th-century invention.
After 400 years of domination by various European nations, Luxembourg was granted the status of Grand Duchy by the Congress of Vienna on June 9, 1815. Although Luxembourg considers 1835 (Treaty of London) to be its year of independence, it was not granted political autonomy until 1839 under King William I of the Netherlands, who also was the Grand Duke of Luxembourg. In 1867, Luxembourg was recognized as independent and guaranteed perpetual neutrality. After being occupied by Germany in both World Wars, Luxembourg abandoned neutrality and became a charter member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949. It is also one of the six original members of the European Union, formed in 1951 as the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC).
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