Treaty of Kortrijk

1820 treaty between France and the Netherlands

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The border between the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and France as laid down in the Kortrijk treaty.

The Treaty of Kortrijk (Dutch: Verdrag van Kortrijk) was signed the 28 March 1820 in the current Museum of Arts Broelmuseum in the Belgian city of Kortrijk. This treaty laid out the boundaries between France and the United Kingdom of the Netherlands (under the reign of King William I of the Netherlands).[1] Belgium inherited the border upon its independence from the Netherlands in 1830. Nowadays, these boundaries still stand, with some minor corrections, as the official boundaries between Belgium and France and between Luxembourg and France.[1][2]

Prior to the treaty, border markers were set up on the French-Nederland border in 1819.[3] The Treaty stipulates that if a debate on boundaries is needed, a committee of representatives from France and Belgium will discuss it, [1] but meetings have not been held since 1930.[4]

In 2021, the treaty was inadvertently violated when a disgruntled Belgian farmer moved one of the border markers seven feet (2.2 metres) into French territory, enlarging not only his land but the entire country of Belgium. The mayors of the neighbouring French and Belgian villages took the encroachment good-naturedly,[5] and the farmer was issued with a letter ordering that the stone be moved back to its original position.[6]

## See also

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* Congress of Vienna (1814/15)
* Austrian Netherlands

## References

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1. ^ a b c "Questions et Réponses" (in French). Sénat de Belgique. 21 December 1999. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
2. ^ ベルギー人男性、知らぬうちに国土拡大 フランス領奪う [Belgian man unknowingly expands territory, seizes French territory]. AFPBB News (in Japanese). 5 May 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
3. ^ ベルギー農家がフランスとの国境石を移動、国土面積広くしちゃった [Belgian farmers moved the border stone with France, widening the land area]. CNN.co.jp (in Japanese). 5 May 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
4. ^ "Belgian farmer accidentally moves French border". BBC News. 4 May 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
5. ^ ベルギーの農家、うっかり領土「拡大」 国境の標石動かす [Belgian farmer inadvertently "expands" territory, moves border marker]. BBC News (Japan) (in Japanese). 5 May 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
6. ^ Schaverien, Anna (5 May 2021). "A Farmer Moved a 200-Year-Old Stone, and the French-Belgian Border". New York Times. Vol. 170, no. 59053\. p. A13. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 9 May 2021.