In the mid-1600s the territories that now make up Benelux were divided into two regions, the north and south, Luxembourg falling primarily into the southern district. This territory fell under the rule of the Hapsburgs (among others) and became home to multiple battles in the 1600s and 1700s as France fought both the Austrians and Spanish. This ended in the late-1700s when France annexed much of the region under Napoleon.
After the fall of Napoleon's France in the early 1800s, Luxembourg was united with the northern section of the region to create the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. However, Belgium protested this and about 15 years later gained their independence as a monarchy. Due to the Belgium Revolution in the 1830s, Luxembourg lost much of their territory, but remained united with the Netherlands. In 1890 this union ended when the Dutch offered no male heir to rule over Luxembourg; at this point, power was passed to a Germanic family.
During both World War I and World War II (WWII) Luxembourg proclaimed neutrality, but was occupied by the Germans. However very little violence occurred, particularly during WWII as the Germans viewed Luxembourg as a Germanic state.
Since WWII, Luxembourg has been an active political state as they have joined the United Nations (UN), NATO, and was one of the founding members of the European Union (EU).