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| 1886 |
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| The Depression caused increasing unrest and gains in working-class movements and socialism. A meeting of anarchists in Liège (March 18) resulted in demonstrations in the street, and the miners of Charleroi went on strike and forced other workers in the city to join them (March 26). The government sent in troops and restored order. Alfred Defuisseaux published Le Catéchisme du peuple, which established the principle of universal male suffrage to right social wrongs. The government began an inquiry into the conditions of the workers. | 1 |
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| 1893, April |
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| Leaders of the Workers' Party called a general strike and demanded universal male suffrage. The assembly had rejected a bill providing such suffrage but the government introduced a pluralistic system of universal male suffrage (April 27). All men over age 24 had one vote, but those men over age 34 with a family and a ratable home received two votes or, if they also had property or professional qualifications, three votes. | 2 |
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| 1895, Aug. 30 |
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| Instruction in Catholic religion was made compulsory in all public schools. | 3 |
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| 1898 |
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| The Belgian socialist party set up a federation to coordinate and organize trade unions. This was followed by another period of strike activity (1901–5). | 4 |
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| 1899, Dec. 24 |
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| Adoption of proportional representation for the protection of political minorities. | 5 |
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| 1902 |
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| A general strike, in an effort to eliminate pluralistic voting, failed. | 6 |
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| 1903–4 |
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| The Congo scandal over labor conditions under Leopold's rule resulted in a commission of inquiry (1905). The Congo was ceded by the king to the Belgian nation (1908) (See 1906–8). | 7 |
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| 1913, April 14–24 |
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| A political general strike ended on the assurance of the government that the electoral system would be revised, but the revisions occurred after the war. | 8 |
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| Aug. 30 |
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| The Army Law was enacted. It established universal military service in place of an earlier system of drafting one son from each family. | 9 |
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