- Although the country known today as Belgium is a relatively recent creation, the region of Flanders has long had connections with Britain. When the Normans conquered England, many Flemings accompanied them, and southwestern Wales came to be one area known for its large Flemish colony. With the increased demand for wool in the textile mills of medieval Flanders, Britain's prosperity from international trade grew. Not surprisingly, the region has also loomed large in British foreign policy from medieval to modern times. For example, the British decision to enter the First World War was partly due to the German invasion of Belgium.
During the Middle Ages and later on, Flemish merchants migrated to Edinburgh and other towns in Scotland as well as in England, and contributed much to the growth of British cities. Conversely, many Britons made Bruges and other Flemish towns their home: one of the most famous of these was the first English printer,William Caxton (1422?-1491), and later came many dissident Catholics after the rise of Protestantism in Britain. Bruges has also figured in the history of American Catholicism, as it was one of the places where the Irish-American patriot John Carroll (1735-1815) taught.