Luxembourg💝


Luxembourg

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, or simply Luxembourg, became an independent country of its own in 1890 with a population of roughly 620,000 people and a landmass amounting to a meager 998 square miles. The tiny European nation's mere existence begs the question: Why is Luxembourg a country, tightly fitted between Belgium, Germany, and France?

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg houses an interesting ethnic makeup of around 52 percent native people, with the rest of its population being made up of Portuguese, French, Italians, and other nationalities. The country's roots stretch all the way back to ancient times, even including the likes of the Roman dictator Julius Caesar. In 53 BC, the Romans defeated the Trivedi people, who were a Belgic tribe that lived along the lower valley of the Moselle River, which ran through modern-day Luxembourg. Another tribe also inhabited the region until the Roman invasion, and after the Romans came the Franks in the 5th century CE.

In the 7th century, Christianity was introduced to the area, and Saint Willibrord became a deeply influential figure in doing so. The Benedictine Abbey of Echternach was founded by Saint Willibrord during this time, and after his death, he later went on to become the patron saint of Luxembourg. During these first centuries, the region remained a possession passed along between the entities of the Franks, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Kingdom of Lotharingia. Then, in 963, the Count of the Ardennes, Siegfried, completed a trade with Saint Maximum’s Abbey that swapped his lands for a Roman castle along the Alzette River. The castle, which had been named Lucilinberhuc, became the center of a new independent county and was passed down to Siegfried's successors, who expanded their territory farther through marriage treaties and conquests.

Although Siegfried was already a count when he took Lucilinberhuc and began the creation of Luxembourg, the first to actually take the title of Count of Luxembourg was one of the original descendants. This first Count, Conrad, took the title in roughly 1060. As their dynasty came to an end, giving the Holy Roman Empire the power to choose the next count, the title and lands eventually fell to Henry IV, who became Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII in 1308. After him, a House of Luxembourg line continued to claim the throne of the Holy Roman Empire, and in 1354, Emperor Charles IV decided to turn the County of Luxembourg into a duchy.

Not long after, in the first half of the 15th century, the Duchess of Luxembourg, Elizabeth Gorlitz, sold the duchy to Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy. Following the sale of the Duchy of Luxembourg, the entire Burgundian inheritance was transferred to the Habsburg dynasty in 1477. After the Habsburg territories were split following the abdication of Emperor Charles V in 1555 through 1556, the Spanish Habsburgs took control of Luxembourg, and it was eventually joined by today's Belgium as part of the Spanish Netherlands.

The Duchy remained fairly untouched for some time, even though the beginning of the 30 Years' War between the European nations. Woefully, Luxembourg's luck eventually ran out, and they were dragged into a dark period beginning in 1635 when France finally entered the war. The Duchy of the Spanish Netherlands was met with a wave of famine, war, and disease, as well as an extended time of unrest. As the conflict for Luxembourg did not actually end with the Peace of Westphalia treaties in 1648, the Franco-Spanish War, which stretched on past the 30 Years' War, kept Luxembourg trapped in strife due to its position as a possession of the Spanish Habsburgs. This continued discord persisted until the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659.

 

Peace lasted for a short period after the treaty, but France eventually decided that they were not finished interfering with their Habsburg rivals, and by 1684, Louis XIV of France had completed a five-year conquest to capture the Duchy of Luxembourg. In 1688, France was brought into a new war known as the Nine Years' War, which ended with a series of treaties the Treaties of Ryswick in 1697 and resulted in the return of Luxembourg to the Spanish.

After the passing of Charles II of Spain, who had no heir in 1700, the War of Spanish Succession broke out and ended with the Duchy of Luxembourg changing hands again, this time going to the Habsburgs of Austria alongside Belgium. The Austrians kept the duchy for roughly 95 years before Napoleon's France took Luxembourg yet again. Napoleon's defeat in 1814, however, complicated matters, and the fate of the duchy had to be determined at the Congress of Vienna.

In 1815, Luxembourg was essentially upgraded to the title of Grand Duchy and split between the Netherlands and Prussia. At this time, the Grand Duchy was intended to stand as an independent state. In addition, Luxembourg was also part of the German Confederation, and the Fortress of Luxembourg, which stood in the capital city, was manned by a Prussian military garrison. During this time, the duchy was basically ruled as if it were a Dutch province, not an independent state, which, for one, brought heavy taxes to the citizens of Luxembourg as the standard of living of the locals began to deteriorate.

Disapproval of the king grew when it came time for the Belgian Revolution in 1830. The people of Luxembourg unsurprisingly supported their neighbors' stance, and the Belgian government eventually decided to claim the Grand Duchy as part of its own nation. In direct opposition, the king asserted that Luxembourg was still his possession and Belgium had no authority over it.

In an attempt to prevent any further disputes, the great powers of Europe namely Britain, France, Austria, Prussia, and Russia came together to solve the issue of territorial ownership. In 1831, an agreement was made that would transfer the French-speaking portion of Luxembourg to Belgium, and King William would keep the remainder. Initially, the king was displeased with the arrangement and declined it. It was not until 1839 that he finally joined the agreement, which became known as the First Treaty of London.

This new Grand Duchy of Luxembourg remained as an autonomous state under the King of the Netherlands, and its independence was reasserted at the Second Treaty of London in 1867. After the Luxembourg Crisis in 1866, which was a political crisis between Prussia and France and nearly led to another full-blown war, the Prussian garrison from the Fortress of Luxembourg withdrew. At this time, as well, the fort was to be dismantled as the Grand Duchy subsequently became a truly sovereign nation of its own.

Luxembourg had also been confirmed as a neutral state along with its independence, but Germany was apparently unbothered by this declaration. By the time of World War I in August 1914, the Germans made a clear violation of Luxembourg's neutrality by invading and occupying the Grand Duchy for roughly four years. Luxembourg did maintain a fair amount of its independence in spite of the German occupation, but Germany ultimately took full autonomy over the railways in order to utilize them for itself while.


Written by Sanjula kavinda.