How A Roman Road Changed Belgium Forever

Why does Belgium speak two languages? The answer is a 2,000-year-old Roman road.

In this video, I explain how the Via Belgica, a highway built by the Roman empire around 50 BC, created a language border that still divides Belgium today. The road ran from Tongeren to Bavay, separating Romanized Gaul in the south from Germanic tribes in the north. That linguistic divide has persisted through the Middle Ages, Spanish rule, Austrian rule, French occupation, and Belgian independence.

Today, Dutch speakers live north of the line, French speakers live south of it, and the border is still influenced by that ancient Roman road. Even Belgium's election results are decided by this 2,000-year-old line.

🗺️ CHAPTERS:
0:00 - Why Belgium Can't Agree
0:40 - The Roman Road That Started It All
2:44 - Medieval Chaos, Stable Border
4:09 - Spanish, Austrian, and French Rule
6:30 - Belgian Independence & Language Wars
9:26 - Fixing the Border (FOR REAL THIS TIME)
13:32 - 652 Days Without a Government

*Correction: The image of Ferdinand I at 4:16 was actually Philip III, I've blurred the image now after the fact.


SOURCES:
Jona Lendering, "Chaussée Brunehaut (Via Belgica)," Livius.org
Bruce Donaldson, "Dutch: A Linguistic History of Holland and Belgium"
Canon van Vlaanderen, "Hebban olla vogala"
Luc Van Durme & Danny Lamarcq, Germanic colonization maps
Roland Willemyns, "The Dutch-French Language Border in Belgium"

Maps:
-Geolayers3, Mapbox
-Historical sources: André Ourednik Github & GeoCron

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Media Sources:
Music by Paul Krasnoshchok from Pixabay
Music by Mykola Sosin from Pixabay
Music by Viacheslav Starostin from Pixabay
Music by Dmitrii Kolesnikov from Pixabay
Music by Ashot Danielyan from Pixabay
Music by Ievgen Poltavskyi from Pixabay

-Images Canva Pro, Wikicommons

Languages in Switzerland
By Tschubby - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0

Sint-Martens-Voeren
Door Jan Pešula User:Sapfan, CC BY-SA 2.5

Comines: St. Chrysolius Church & Mouscron town hall
Door Jean-Pol GRANDMONT - Eigen werk, CC BY 2.5

Lille - Vieille bourse du travail
Jean-Pol GRANDMONT, CC BY 3.0

Hoge Mote Ronse, BE
Door User:LVan - own work (GFDL permission granted), CC BY-SA 3.0,

Hahlmann, Werner: Den Beraubten, in: Kladderdatsch 73:41, 1920, p. 567; source: Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg, http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/digl.... Creative Commons 2.0 Generic license

Library of Catholic University of Leuven
By Michielverbeek - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,

By https://www.brandsoftheworld.com/logo..., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?...

Kohlebergwerk, Blegny (Blegny-Mine) II, Belgique
Horst J. Meuter, CC BY-SA 4.0

Guidon of King Philip II of Spain.svg
Heralder, CC BY-SA 4.0

Mitteleuropa zur Zeit der Staufer.svg
Alphathon /'æɫfə.θɒn/, CC BY-SA 4.0

Election map
Furfur, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons