If the formation of Belgium stemmed from the dynastic maneuvering of pre-Modern Europe, so too did that of its much smaller neighbor, Luxembourg. The Belgians almost always refer to the country of Luxembourg as “the Grand Duchy” to differentiate it from Belgium’s own province of Luxembourg, which covers a larger area. The current Grand Duchy is a remnant of a once sizable and important feudal realm. Its central fortress, deemed the “Gibraltar of the North,” may have been Europe’s strongest. In time most of Luxembourg’s lands were stripped away by France, Germany, and Belgium, but its core became a sovereign state, largely because none its neighbors wanted its territory to fall into rival hands.
Independent Luxembourg is the world’s only Grand Duchy, a political designation that was once fairly common in Europe. In the pre-modern geopolitical system, some Grand Duchies were basically independent (Grand Duchy of Tuscany), whereas others were subordinate parts of larger states (Grand Duchy of Finland, under Russian domination). In terms of diplomatic precedence, however, all Grand Dukes and Duchesses occupied the same rung: below that of kings and emperors, but above that of other titled figures. Luxembourg today is a constitutional monarchy, its Grand Duke playing a strictly ceremonial role. Until 2008, however, the Luxembourgian monarch could veto proposed legislation. In that year, the reigning Grand Duke refused to ratify a provision allowing euthanasia. As a result, the country’s parliament by-passed the monarchy, deciding that new laws no longer required ducal approval. As a ceremonial institution, however, the monarchy seems to be going strong. Just last week, the 90th birthday of the former grand duke entailed a guest list of 1,400.
As a feudal remnant, the Grand Duchy is not large; its territory could fit into that of France 261 times. At 999 square miles (2,586 square kilometers) it is a bit smaller than Rhode Island and barely visible on a world map. Yet in comparison to Europe’s other micro-states, Luxembourg is a veritable giant; five and a half Andorras, 16 Lichtensteins, 42 San Marinos, 1,208 Monacos, or 5,876 Vatican Cities could fit into its territory. Demographically as well, it is not to be dismissed; its half-million people outnumber those of seven fully sovereign states by more than an order of magnitude.
Unlike Belgium, Luxembourg has been able to generate a fairly solid sense of national identity. This process was helped by the partitions of the formerly multi-lingual Grand Duchy, whose French-speaking areas were annexed by France and Belgium. The German-speaking rump-state sought to culturally differentiate itself from Germany by elevating its own local dialect to a national language after World War II. From a linguistic standpoint, Luxembourgish (Letzeburgesch, locally) is a French-influenced variant of a group of local Germanic dialects known as Moselle Franconian. The boundaries between Germanic dialects do not correspond with national boundaries anywhere in the greater Netherlands, as the 1890 German dialect map posted above shows. Local dialects, however, are in decline, gradually being replaced by national languages. Outside of Luxembourg, Moselle Franconian is yielding to standard German to the east and north and French to the south and west. Inside the country, it is thriving. Due both to its national status and to the fact that speakers of standard German cannot generally understand it, Luxembourgish is now classified as a language rather than a mere dialect. As Ethnologue describes it:
National language. Vigorous. The language of creativity for most. Modest amounts of literature…. All domains. All ages. Pride in ethnic identity and language…. German considered a foreign language, not used with others who speak Luxembourgeois.
Regardless of linguistic pride, Luxembourgish does not take one far. Luxembourg has responded to this potential dilemma with an official policy of trilingualism. German and French also have official status in the Grand Duchy, and fluency is guaranteed by the educational system. Schooling begins with classes entirely in Luxembourgish, transitions gradually to German by grade six, and then transitions again, this time to French, in secondary school. English instruction is also compulsory, making Luxembourg effectively a quatrilingual society.
Luxembourg is widely noted for its wealth. In terms of per capita GDP (PPP), the CIA ranks it third (after Lichtenstein and Qatar), and the IMF puts it second (after Qatar), but the World Bank deems its people the wealthiest in the world. Like southern Belgium, Luxembourg once relied on heavy industry, especially steel-making. Unlike southern Belgium, it successfully transitioned to a post-industrial economy founded on finance. Luxembourg today is classified as the world’s second largest “investment fund center,” trailing only the United States. Luxembourgian finance is secretive and often shady, leading to extensive criticisms. According to the Wikipedia, “Concern about Luxembourg’s banking secrecy laws, and its reputation as a tax haven, led in April 2009 to it being added to a “grey list” of nations with questionable banking arrangements by the G20.”
Luxembourg is hardly alone in allowing “questionable banking arrangements.” Many of the world’s more dubious financial practices occur in dependent territories and micro-states, where local governments take advantage of legal autonomy to attract hot money, tax dodgers, and regulation-shunning corporations. In Europe, miniscule Lichtenstein out-does Luxembourg in several respects, giving it a per capita GDP of $122,000 according to the CIA, dwarfing that of the United States (at $46,400). A recent opinion piece from India’s Express Buzz notes that “Lichtenstein … has more registered companies than citizens,” and estimates that the world’s various tax havens together “hold 26 per cent of [global] wealth (estimated deposits US$8 trillion).”
Europe’s feudal remnants, incongruous bits of territory that escaped state-building aggregation, are often viewed as quaint anachronisms. But Luxembourg and Lichtenstein can also be viewed as highly important and utterly modern geo-political formations: small places that have leveraged their anomalous sovereignty into lucrative positions in the global financial system. Whether the roles that they have carved out for themselves serve the interests of the world at large is another question.
Uundaji wa Ubelgiji ulitokana na ushawishi wa nasaba ya Ulaya ya kabla ya kisasa, na hivyo ndivyo ilivyokuwa na jirani yake ndogo zaidi, Luxemburg. Ubelgiji karibu daima kutaja nchi ya Luxembourg kama <unk> Grand Duchy <unk> kutofautisha kutoka mkoa wa Ubelgiji mwenyewe wa Luxembourg, ambayo inashughulikia eneo kubwa. Ufalme wa Grand Duchy wa sasa ni mabaki ya ufalme mkubwa na muhimu wa kifalme uliokuwapo wakati mmoja. Ngome yake kuu, iliyoonwa kuwa "Gibraltar ya Kaskazini", huenda ikawa ndiyo yenye nguvu zaidi barani Ulaya. Baada ya muda, nchi nyingi za Luxemburg ziliondolewa na Ufaransa, Ujerumani, na Ubelgiji, lakini sehemu yake ya msingi ikawa serikali yenye uhuru, hasa kwa sababu hakuna jirani yake aliyetaka eneo lake lianguke mikononi mwa wapinzani. Luxemburg huru ni ulimwengu tu Grand Duchy, jina la kisiasa kwamba mara moja ilikuwa ya kawaida kabisa katika Ulaya. Katika mfumo wa kisasa wa kijiografia, baadhi ya Grand Duchies walikuwa kimsingi huru (Grand Duchy ya Tuscany), wakati wengine walikuwa sehemu ya chini ya mataifa makubwa (Grand Duchy ya Finland, chini ya utawala wa Urusi). Hata hivyo, kwa habari ya cheo cha kwanza, Wafalme wote walikuwa na cheo sawa: chini ya wafalme na maliki, lakini juu ya watu wengine wenye vyeo. Luxemburg leo ni ufalme wa kikatiba, Grand Duke wake kucheza jukumu la sherehe kabisa. Hata hivyo, hadi mwaka wa 2008, mfalme wa Luxemburg angeweza kupiga kura dhidi ya sheria zilizopendekezwa. Katika mwaka huo, Duke Mkuu aliyekuwa akitawala alikataa kuidhinisha sheria iliyoruhusu kifo cha mtu aliyefariki. Matokeo yakawa kwamba bunge la nchi hiyo lilipita kando ya utawala wa kifalme, likichagua kwamba sheria mpya hazikuhitaji tena idhini ya mfalme. Hata hivyo, inaonekana kwamba utawala wa kifalme unaendelea kuwa na nguvu kama taasisi ya sherehe. Siku ya kuzaliwa ya Duke wa Uingereza, Duke wa Uingereza, alikuwa na wageni 1,400. Kwa kuwa eneo la Grand Duchy lilikuwa kubwa, eneo lake lilikuwa na ukubwa wa mara 261 ya eneo la Ufaransa. Kwa kuwa eneo lake ni kilomita za mraba 998, ni dogo kidogo kuliko Rhode Island na linaonekana kidogo sana kwenye ramani ya ulimwengu. Hata hivyo, ikilinganishwa na nchi ndogo za Ulaya, Luxembourg ni kubwa sana; Andorra tano na nusu, Liechtenstein kumi na sita, San Marino arobaini na mbili, Monaco mia moja na nane, au Vatikani mia tano na saba na sita zingeweza kuingizwa katika eneo lake. Kwa upande wa idadi ya watu, haipaswi kupuuzwa; watu wake nusu milioni wanazidi wale wa nchi saba zenye uhuru kamili kwa zaidi ya utaratibu wa ukubwa. Tofauti na Ubelgiji, Luxembourg imeweza kuzalisha hisia thabiti ya utambulisho wa kitaifa. Mchakato huu ulisaidiwa na mgawanyiko wa Grand Duchy ya zamani ya lugha nyingi, ambayo maeneo ya kuzungumza Kifaransa yaliunganishwa na Ufaransa na Ubelgiji. Baada ya Vita Kuu ya Pili ya Ulimwengu, nchi hiyo ya Kijerumani ilijitahidi kujitofautisha na Ujerumani kwa kuifanya lahaja yake ya kienyeji kuwa lugha ya kitaifa. Lugha ya Luxembourg (Letzeburgisch) ni lugha ya Kifaransa ya lugha ya Kifaransa ya Kifaransa ya Kifaransa ya Kifaransa ya Kifaransa ya Kifaransa. Mipaka kati ya lahaja za Kijerumani hailingani na mipaka ya kitaifa mahali popote katika Uholanzi kubwa, kama ramani ya lahaja ya Kijerumani ya 1890 iliyochapishwa hapo juu inaonyesha. Hata hivyo, lahaja za kienyeji zinapungua, zikibadilishwa hatua kwa hatua na lugha za kitaifa. Nje ya Luxemburg, lugha ya Moselle Franconian inabadilika na kuwa Kijerumani cha kawaida upande wa mashariki na kaskazini na Kifaransa upande wa kusini na magharibi. Ndani ya nchi, inaendelea kusitawi. Kwa sababu ya hali yake ya kitaifa na kwa sababu wasemaji wa Kijerumani cha kawaida kwa ujumla hawawezi kuielewa, lugha ya Luxembourg sasa imeainishwa kama lugha badala ya lahaja tu. Kama Ethnologue inavyofafanua: Lugha ya Kitaifa. Ni yenye nguvu. Lugha ya ubunifu kwa wengi. Machapisho machache... Maeneo yote. Watu wa umri wote. Kiburi katika utambulisho wa kikabila na lugha.... Kijerumani huonwa kuwa lugha ya kigeni, haitumiki pamoja na wengine wanaozungumza lugha ya Luxembourgeois. Licha ya kiburi cha lugha, Kiluxembourg haichukui mtu mbali. Luxembourg imeitikia tatizo hili linaloweza kutokea kwa sera rasmi ya lugha tatu. Kijerumani na Kifaransa pia vina hadhi rasmi katika Grand Duchy, na fluency inahakikishiwa na mfumo wa elimu. Shule huanza na madarasa ya lugha ya Luxembourg, hatua kwa hatua inageuka kwa Kijerumani katika darasa la sita, na kisha inageuka tena, wakati huu kwa Kifaransa, katika shule ya sekondari. Mafunzo ya Kiingereza pia ni ya lazima, na hivyo kufanya Luxemburg iwe jamii ya lugha nne. Luxembourg inajulikana sana kwa utajiri wake. Kwa mujibu wa PPP (Produkt ya Taifa ya Kila Mtu), nchi hiyo ni ya tatu kwa ukubwa baada ya Liechtenstein na Qatar, na ya pili baada ya Qatar, lakini Benki ya Dunia inaona watu wake kuwa matajiri zaidi duniani. Kama vile kusini mwa Ubelgiji, wakati mmoja Luxemburg ilitegemea viwanda vikali, hasa utengenezaji wa chuma. Tofauti na kusini mwa Ubelgiji, ilifanikiwa kuhamia uchumi wa baada ya viwanda ulioanzishwa juu ya fedha. Luxemburg leo ni classified kama dunia ya pili kwa ukubwa "mfuko wa uwekezaji kituo cha", nyuma tu Marekani. Fedha za Luxembourg ni siri na mara nyingi ni za kivuli, na kusababisha ukosoaji mkubwa. "Kutokana na wasiwasi kuhusu sheria za siri za benki za Luxembourg na sifa yake kama paradiso ya kodi, ilisababisha mwezi Aprili 2009 kuingizwa kwenye ""orodha ya kijivu"" ya mataifa yenye mipango ya benki yenye kutiliwa shaka na G20, na Luxembourg haipo peke yake katika kuruhusu ""mipango ya benki yenye kutiliwa shaka.""" Liechtenstein ni nchi ndogo ya Ulaya, na kwa mujibu wa CIA, ina GDP ya dola 122,000 kwa kila mtu, ikilinganishwa na ya Marekani. "Kulingana na ripoti ya gazeti la India la ExpressBuzz, ""Lichtenstein ina makampuni zaidi ya raia wake"" na ""hifadhi ya kodi ya kimataifa"" ina asilimia 26 ya utajiri wa dunia (mashamba ya takriban dola bilioni 8), na ""mabaki ya feudal ya Ulaya, sehemu zisizo na mpangilio wa eneo ambalo limeokoka kuunganishwa kwa serikali, mara nyingi huonwa kama anachronisms ya kawaida.""" Luxembourg na Liechtenstein pia zinaweza kuonekana kama muundo muhimu sana wa kisasa wa kijiografia na kisiasa: maeneo madogo ambayo yametumia uhuru wao wa kawaida katika nafasi za faida katika mfumo wa kifedha wa kimataifa. Ikiwa majukumu ambayo wamejifanyia wenyewe hutumikia maslahi ya ulimwengu kwa ujumla ni swali jingine.