Belgian poet and essayist Emile Cammaerts wrote this spirited national history during the First World War, when Belgium’s resistance to German invasion had captured the sympathy of the world. He sweeps from Caesar’s encounter with the Belgae through Burgundian rule, Spanish and Austrian domination, the Belgian Revolution of 1830, and the trauma of 1914 — tracing the roots of Belgian identity and national tenacity across two millennia.
Compact and passionately written, the book serves as both historical introduction and patriotic testimony. Readers interested in Low Countries history or the cultural dimensions of the First World War will find it rewarding.