Belgian Americans are people in theUnited States who can trace their ancestry to immigrants fromBelgium. While the first natives of the then-Southern Netherlands arrived in America in the 17th century, most Belgian immigrantsarrived during the 19th and the 20th centuries.

According to the 2019 U.S. census, there are 339,512 Americans who identify themselves as partially or fully of Belgian ancestry.^[2] Others may identify as "Flemish Americans".

During the 17th century, colonists from theSouthern Netherlands (now Belgium) lived in several of theThirteen Colonies ofNorth America. Settlements already existed inNew York inWallabout (Brooklyn), onLong Island andStaten Island and inNew Jersey (Hoboken,Jersey City,Pavonia,Communipaw, andWallkill). Later, other settlers moved into theMid-Atlantic States. Many names are derived from theWalloon Reformed immigrants who settled there and the Dutch versions ofWalloon words that were used to describe locales. There were also Southern Netherlands colonies inConnecticut,Delaware, andPennsylvania established primarily by Walloons, many of whom arrived with theDutch West India Company (founded byWillem Usselincx, a Fleming).^[3]

During this era, most Belgians coming to the United States were farmers, farm workers, or miners; craftsmen (such as masons, cabinetmakers or carpenters); or other persons engaged in commerce (such as lace-makers or glass blowers). During the 20th century, many Belgians arrived in the United States to work in spaces such as universities, laboratories and industry. This is especially true after the world wars ended. Several Dutch-language newspapers were published by Belgian immigrants, including theGazette van Moline (1907–1940) and theGazette van Detroit (1914–2018). From 1820 to 1970, about 200,000 Belgians immigrated to the United States. Since 1950, about 1,350 Belgians migrate to the United States each year.

According to the2000 U.S. census, there were 360,642 Americans whose ancestors came from Belgium. The states with the largest Belgian communities are:

• Wisconsin: 57,808 (out of 5,363,675 = 1.08%)
• Michigan: 53,135 (out of 9,938,444 = 0.53%)
• Illinois: 34,208 (out of 12,419,293 = 0.28%)
• California: 26,820
• Minnesota: 15,627 (out of 4,919,479 = 0.32%)
• Florida: 14,751
• New York: 12,034
• Indiana: 11,918
• Texas: 10,595
• Ohio: 9,651

Also, some middle-sized communities are inWashington,^[4]Tennessee,Kentucky,Missouri andIowa.

Popular foods among Belgian Americans are roast chicken,selarus, veal, sausages, and beef served as stew, meatloaf or meatballs, shellfish and fish such as smoked herring or fried perch with a sauce made of the fond and vegetables such as potatoes, root crops, leeks, and cabbage, breads, pies,Belgian waffles, and beer. Fruits such as apples and cherries, locally grown in the Upper Midwest are included in pies and other cooked Belgian sweets. Urban Belgian American cuisine are mussels, frites andchocolate imported from Belgium.^[5]

The majority of Belgian Americans areRoman Catholic although some arePresbyterians andEpiscopalians. By 1900, Belgian religious orders were present in 16 states. TheSisters of Notre Dame de Namur established bilingual schools in 14 of those states, and the Benedictines built missions in theWest. The Jesuits foundedSt. Louis University in 1818, expanding the university's influence with Belgian teachers and benefactors. Belgian immigrants do not usually have churches of their own and attend Catholic churches that were founded by other ethnic Catholics. However, two more-homogeneous groups (inDoor County,Wisconsin, andDetroit,Michigan) established churches of their own.

Since then, Belgians have established several churches in the United States. In 1853, a Belgian missionary, Father Edward Daems, joined with a group of immigrants to establish a community inBay Settlement, Wisconsin known asAux premiers Belges (Naar de eerste Belgen) ("to the first Belgians"). By 1860, St. Hubert's Church had been built in Bay Settlement and St. Mary's inNamur. Also built in the 19th century were St. Michael's, St. John the Baptist, and St. Joseph's in Door County; the French Presbyterian Church inGreen Bay; and small roadside chapels for people who lived too far away to attend parish churches regularly.

In 1834, Father Florimond Bonduel, fromCommnes, was the first priest to be ordained in Detroit. The first Catholic college (1836) was operated by Flemish Belgian priests, and the first school for girls was founded in 1834 by an order of Belgian nuns. By 1857, Catholics in Detroit were a sizable group, and in 1884, the first Belgian parish was established. However, many Belgian Catholic parishes have disappeared or merged with other parishes because of the shortage of priests.

Belgian Americans fought in theAmerican Revolutionary War, bothworld wars and theKorean andVietnam Wars. DuringWorld War I, Belgian Americans gave generously to the aid of children who were victims of the war, which resulted in an official delegation from Belgium to the United States honoring their efforts in 1917.

• Jessé de Forest
• Belgian Canadians
• Belgium–United States relations
• European Americans
• Dutch Americans
• French Americans
• German Americans
• Luxembourgish Americans

• Bayer, Henry G.The Belgians: First Settlers in New York and in the Middle States with a Review of the Events which led to their Immigration. New York: Devin-Adair Co., 1925.
• Cook, Bernard A. (2007).Belgians in Michigan. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press.ISBN 978-0870138126.
• Cook, Jane Stewart (2014). "Belgian Americans". In Riggs, Thomas (ed.).Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America (3rd ed.). Gale. pp. 275–287.
• Coolsaet, Rik (2024).Voyage to America. Brussels, April
• Fones-Wolf, Ken (August 1, 2004). "Transatlantic Craft Migrations and Transnational Spaces: Belgian Window Glass Workers in America, 1880–1920".Labor History.45 (3):299–321.doi:10.1080/002365604200026216.S2CID 154628365.
• Holand, Hjalmar (1933).Wisconsin's Belgian Community(PDF). Sturgeon Bay: Door County Historical Society.
• Hume, Susan E. (2003)."Belgian Settlement and Society in the Indiana Rust Belt".Geographical Review.93 (1):30–50.doi:10.1111/j.1931-0846.2003.tb00019.x.ISSN 0016-7428.JSTOR 30033888.S2CID 162454416.
• Laatsch, William G.; Calkins, Charles F. (1992)."Belgians in Wisconsin". In Noble, Allen G. (ed.).To Build in a New Land: Ethnic Landscapes in North America. Baltimore:Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 195–210.ISBN 0-8018-4188-7.
• Martin, Xavier (1895)."The Belgians of Northeast Wisconsin".Collections of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin.13:375–96.
• The Belgian Texans. San Antonio: University of Texas Institute of Texan Cultures at San Antonio. 1994.
• Van Ecke, Yolanda (2007).Attachment and Immigrants: Emotional Security among Dutch and Belgian Immigrants in California, U.S.A. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.ISBN 978-9056294809.
• Musschoot, Dirk (2002).Wij gaan naar Amerika: Vlaamse landverhuizers naar de Nieuwe Wereld, 1850-1930. Tielt: Lannoo.ISBN 9789020948103.
• Stengers, Jean (1978).Emigration et immigration en Belgique aux XIXe et XXe siècles. Brussels: Royal Academy for Overseas Sciences.
• Dellisse, Daniel (2017).Les Belges du Wisconsin: l'odyssée des émigrants belges au Wisconsin au milieu. Brussels: Le Cri.ISBN 9782871065777.
• Stynen, Andreas, ed. (2014).Boer vindt land: Vlaamse migranten en Noord-Amerika. Leuven: Davidsfonds.ISBN 9789059085497.

• Media related toBelgian diaspora in the United States at Wikimedia Commons
• Belgian-American Research CollectionArchived 2019-04-20 at theWayback Machine
• Belgians atEncyclopedia of Chicago

Archived 2019-04-20 at theWayback Machine at Cofrin Library, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay

• American people of Belgian descent
• Belgian diaspora in the United States
• European diaspora in the United States
• Belgian diaspora

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