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| c. The Low Countries |
| 1. Belgium |
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(See 1847)| Monarchs: Leopold I (r. 1831–65), Leopold II (r. 1865–1909), and Albert I (r. 1909–34). | 1 |
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| 1850 Ff |
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| Doctrinaire liberalism gained control in the government under Charles Rogier. François Laurent became the major theorist and argued that progress toward individualism was directed by God. L'Économiste belge served as the major periodical for the movement. | 2 |
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| 1850 |
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| An education bill increased the number of state grammar and secondary schools, but allowed priests to offer religious instruction in these schools. Nonetheless, the bill met increasing opposition from the Catholics, and priests generally refused to offer such instruction. | 3 |
| National Bank founded. | 4 |
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| 1852 |
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| Walther Frère-Orban adopted a strategy of free trade implemented through a series of bilateral trade treaties and by reducing duties on a number of items. | 5 |
| The Rogier cabinet resigned as a result of domestic crisis and the growing hostility of Napoleon III. Leopold I proved unable to establish a stable conservative government. The doctrinaire Liberals returned in 1857. | 6 |
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| 1854 |
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| L'Affranchissement established. Along with Les Solidaires (1857), it combined atheism with socialist ideas. Atheist organizations provided groundwork for socialism in Belgium throughout the 19th century. | 7 |
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| 1860, July 21 |
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| Frère-Orban abolished cities' rights to impose duties on wares brought into towns and established the Crédit communal, which provided state loans to municipalities on favorable terms. | 8 |
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| 1870, Aug. 9, 11 |
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| Treaties concluded among Britain, Prussia, and France guaranteed Belgian neutrality during the Franco-Prussian War. | 9 |
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| 1879, July 1 |
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| An education act secularized primary education. No public support was to be given to “free” or Catholic schools. The measure passed with Liberal support but estranged the Clericals. | 10 |
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| 1880, June |
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| Clericals won a majority in the elections and replaced the Liberals in power until World War I. | 11 |
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| 1884, Sept. 10 |
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| A new education law gave public support for church schools in Catholic districts. | 12 |
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| 1885 |
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| The Workers' Party founded. It soon replaced the Liberals as the primary opposition to the Clericals. | 13 |
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