Genealogy Chat

I have ancestors who are from what is now Belgium and my Grampy's Grandfather was from Belgium. He has very dark skin for the average British person and he tans really quickly. I noticed that there are a lot of tanned Belgians or Mixed-Race-Looking people in Belgium as well as Caucasian people.

Does anybody know the history of Ethnicity in Belgium?

Have you tried googling?

DUDE! - I google EVERYTHING before I ask for community help.........

"Belgians are a relatively "new" people. The 1830 revolution led to the establishment of an independent country under a provisional government and a national congress.[9][10] The name "Belgium" was adopted for the country, the word being derived from Gallia Belgica, a Roman province in the northernmost part of Gaul that, before Roman invasion in 100 BC, was inhabited by the Belgae, a mix of Celtic and Germanic peoples.[11][12]"

So maybe descended from Romans? But could be more recent of course.

I realise who you are now...........................

In your post, you gave no indication of having done any research...............

Yes, but I never thought Romans looked much different from typical Caucasian people. I thought there may have been some Arabian or African background the Belgian area...

What about seafarers?

The port of Antwerp, in Belgium, is a port in the heart of Europe accessible to capesize ships. Antwerp stands at the upper end of the tidal estuary of the Scheldt. The estuary is navigable by ships of more than 100,000 Gross Tons as far as 80 km inland. The inland location means that the port of Antwerp enjoys a more central location in Europe than the majority of North Sea ports.

And

The city (Antwerp) first experienced an economic boom in the 12th century, when the rival port of Bruges started silting up. By the first half of the 14th century, Antwerp had become the most important trading and financial centre in Western Europe, its reputation based largely on its seaport and wool market.
http://www.visitflanders.co.uk/discover/cities/Antwerp/history/#sthash.nodN45xt.dpuf

Yes but you have to remember the Romans,...roamed lol. As the Roman Empire stretched across Europepe, the Middle East, North Africa I'm sure there would have been a mix of ethnicity.

Or it may have been a more recent ancestor, who travelled.

Possibly, but I never assumed the Roams were darker than other Europeans.