War, Taxes, and Borders: How Beer Created Belgium

[akr71]

Lunch time reading:

http://wine-economics.org/workingpapers/AAWE_WP104.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In this paper we argue that Belgium’s borders, and arguably even the origin of the
country itself, were determined by beer. However, somewhat paradoxically, it was not “Belgian
beer” which played an important role, but rather beer consumed by what is now its northern
neighbor, the Netherlands. The fiscal revenues from beer taxes gave this region the military
power to break away from the Spanish-occupied Low Countries in the course of the Dutch
Revolt (ca. 1568-1648), leaving the territory of present-day Belgium behind as the remainder of
the Spanish Low Countries.1 The border established by this separation today still forms the
division between Belgium and the Netherlands.

[derek]

Fascinating idea. The Netherlands split on religious lines (the current Netherlands is protestant, the "Spanish Netherlands", now Belgium, is largely Catholic) - but I can easily see how taxation could have been a major impetus. After all, nobody in the US would claim that taxation was the whole reason for the war of independence, but "no taxation without representation" and the Boston Tea Party were huge triggers.

[akr71]

Further into the paper they make the point (with historical evidence) that those protestants and catholics caught on the wrong side of the border eventually just moved to the other side of the border to live in like minded communities. The 1648 Treaty of Munster drew the border to reflect military positions and hasn't really changed since.

It seems a more civilized way to conduct oneself. Instead of demanding that your neighbors adopt your point of view, just move somewhere that folks think like you. More civilized except for the 80 year revolution, I guess.

[derek]

Further into the paper they make the point (with historical evidence) that those protestants and catholics caught on the wrong side of the border eventually just moved to the other side of the border to live in like minded communities. The 1648 Treaty of Munster drew the border to reflect military positions and hasn't really changed since.

It seems a more civilized way to conduct oneself. Instead of demanding that your neighbors adopt your point of view, just move somewhere that folks think like you. More civilized except for the 80 year revolution, I guess.

More civilized... except that the same thing happened in Yugoslavia, and we call it ethnic cleansing. I don't imagine anybody left the homes they and their ancestors had lived in for centuries without a lot of encouragement.

And just imagine having to give up Belgian beer for Dutch...