Unlike much nationalist historiography, Pirenne's history did not trace the emergence of a "
Volksgeist" (national spirit) but argued that Belgium had developed naturally as a
cosmopolitan society to serve as a mediator between
Latin and
Germanic Europe. Pirenne did, however, believe in the existence of a distinctly "Belgian
civilisation" (
civilisation belge) reflecting a unique combination of external influences and which had changed over time without losing its distinctiveness, significantly pre-dating Belgium's independence in 1830. He sought to evidence this argument by examining the history of Belgium since the
Roman era.
Histoire de Belgique received widespread popular acclaim within Belgium, transcending political differences between
Liberals and
Catholics. According to the historian
Ernst Kossmann: Publication began in 1900 and ended in 1932 after being disrupted for several years during the
German occupation of Belgium (1914–18) in which Pirenne had been held as a political prisoner. The seventh volume was awarded the
Francqui Prize in 1933. According to modern historians, Pirenne's 1928 publication
La Belgique et la Guerre Mondiale (
Belgium and the World War) could be considered a chronological sequel, covering the period after the end of volume seven. The series appeared in Dutch (
Geschiedenis van België) and, encouraged by Pirenne's friend
Karl Lamprecht, in German (
Geschichte Belgiens) before World War I. Indeed, the first volume of the German translation was first published in 1899, before the appearance of the original French version in print. It has never been translated into English. ==Volumes==