The early days of the country however, date considerably further back with history telling us that the Romans led by Julius Caesar arrived there to find the Celtic tribe known as the Belgae already settled. Caesar subsequently settled the area himself, naming it Gallia Belgica but a Roman presence remained only until the arrival of the Franks in the 5th century. Gallia Belgica, which had formerly been a part of Gaul, was later reunited with the latter by Charlemagne who added it to his already extensive empire. France wanted in on the prosperity of Flanders and sought to extend its control to the north of Belgium however the English took exception and the Hundred Years war subsequently ensued. The end was seen in 1384 with Burgundy taking control of the Flanders region. The Burgundy period hence followed and was marked a time of great cultural development and an extension of influence over the southern region of the country. An era of instability came however in the mid 16th century with the rise of Protestantism in the Low Countries which resulted in violent Spanish intervention, an interference not tolerated well by those targeted. In 1713, the French were pressured into signing the Treaty of Utrecht which stated that it would leave Belgium under control of Austria’s Habsburg Dynasty; peace was short lived however as Napoleonic forces later took control of Belgium once again and battles for independence again ensued. Napoleon was later defeated and European powers decided that Belgium should be merged with the Netherlands to create a single more powerful state. This decision was however met with a revolt which led to Belgium gaining completely autonomy on 20 January 1831. | 
