Belgian civil war in 1879? + other timeline ideas

Sternberg

Banned
I've had some experiences in my life best left for private conversation two weeks ago, and I'd like to be able to reinvigorate my interest in alternate history, specifically an older timeline idea I had, in order to keep my mind active. Keep in mind though that I'm only 17 and therefore only have a basic knowledge of things, but I like to learn more so that I have more material to imagine things with.

So without further ado, let me present my thoughts.

In the not-too-distant past, I think I presented a scenario involving a POD of Belgium being torn apart between the Flemish and Walloons in 1879. It originally used a mass murder of the Belgian royal family, including King Leopold II, by Flemish revolutionaries, but since I am no longer happy with the idea, I'd like to probe new ideas.

So here are my questions to get some thinking going: what sort of POD in 1879 (specifically one that would be on August 17th, 1879, which I want to use for the POD's date) could have lead to a disastrous revolution and/or civil war that ultimately results in the end of not just the Belgian monarchy, but the nation of Belgium itself? What sort of repercussions could it have on Europe and the rest of the world, going up to the year 1885? For example, how is the colonization of Africa affected with Leopold II and Belgium out of the picture? The latter question is assuming that what's described in the former question is able to happen.

Before anyone makes any complaints against me, I am not anti-Belgian. More than anything, alternate history is where all the world and its history is a moral grey sandbox to me, and all the nations and other things are the toys. I'm not for or against any nation, race, etc.
 
I nice idea, but why 1879?
Direct after the Belgian independence a movement called ''orangisme'' emerged.
It was not an organised movement and the resons there were various origins and not particulair related to language.
Most important resons were econimcal. Gent and Antwerp expereinced an enormous economical growth under King William I and due to the overseas trade netowrk of the North Nehterlands ( colonies etc). After 1830 this growth abruptly ended and even declined.
Others thoughed a (con) federation under the crown of Orange would be better. And at last the new Belgian rulers were very pro French and acted accordingly since most of them came from Franche or from the French speaking provinces.
If you want to succeed the (French speaking) Flemish elite have to meet the Orangist and came to a conlcusion that it would be better for their purse to be independend or (partly) linked to the Netherlands.
Please bare in mind that the higher classes, or who ever counted it self as elite, in Belgium spoke French at home. Also the language border as we know now was more south and Brussel was a Dutch speaking city and not a French speaking city as it is now.
 

Sternberg

Banned
The reason why I chose 1879 is because, um... I'm actually wanting to do a timeline that, as fate would have it, has a World War II happening between the same dates in 1939 and 1945, but reversed in a way. Russia ends up becoming the genocidal fascist state, and Germany ends up becoming the communist giant, among other things.

To get the POD and the date I'd cover the timeline until, I did a bit of math. There are 2193 days from September 1st, 1939 to September 2nd, 1945, which is what I define as the time period that WWII took place. To get the POD, I subtracted 2193 days x 10 and got August 17th, 1879. For the date I want to cover it until, I added 2193 days x 10 and got September 17th, 2005. This gives me a total of 21 parts I can divide the timeline into, each with a period of roughly 2193 days. Hence why I asked what sort of things could happen until 1885, because from the POD until then, that's the first part.

So about Orangism in Belgium... it doesn't seem to me that it lasted past the 1830s, from what I've read so far, but is it possible that it could have ended up becoming some sort of secret movement in the late 1870s to topple the French monarchy in Belgium and re-unite it (or at least the Flemish north) with the Netherlands? That, or an independent Flemish state at least.
 

Sternberg

Banned
I hate bumping threads, but I think I need more information before I feel confident in starting a reversed WWII TL.

Though now that I think of it, would making up a reversed WWII be better in a thread of its own?
 
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