The French Revolution decimated freemasonry in France itself - from around 700 lodges and 30,000 masons during the ancien regime, only around 30 lodges and a few thousand masons remained. - but led to a new start for Belgian freemasonry. This was due to the new French republic's annexation of the Austrian Netherlands in 1794, and its merger into France from 1795 to 1814. From 1798, thanks to French military lodges, the "Les Amis Philanthrope" lodge was created in Brussels, giving second wind to Belgian freemasonry and forming the basis for the most important Belgian Masonic works of the following century. The military lodges also caused a massive expansion in the number of new lodges (see the list below).
