The Antwerp International Exposition (, ) was a

world's fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...

held in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

, Belgium, between 2 May and 2 November 1885. It covered , attracted 3.5 million visits and broke even after spending 4 million

Belgian franc The Belgian franc was the currency of the Kingdom of Belgium from 1832 until 2002 when the euro was introduced. It was subdivided into 100 subunits, each known as a in Dutch, or in French and German. History The ''gulden'' (guilder) of 20 ''st ...

s There were 25 official participating nations including: Austria, Canada, France, Germany,

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

, the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, Spain,

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, the United States and some South American states. Australian wool growers sent exhibitions and won prizes. Taking place 20 years after the accession of King Leopold II, and the same year of the creation of the

Congo Free State The Congo Free State, also known as the Independent State of the Congo (), was a large Sovereign state, state and absolute monarchy in Central Africa from 1885 to 1908. It was privately owned by Leopold II of Belgium, King Leopold II, the const ...

, the fair was the first in which a Congolese village was displayed, a feature that also appeared in the later 1897 Brussels fair.

References

World's fairs in Antwerp 1885 in Belgium 1885 in international relations 19th century in Antwerp {{Belgium-stub

See also

References