^a U.S. population census does not differentiate betweenWalloons and Flemish, therefore the number of the latter is unknown. ^b In 2011, 13,840 respondents stated Flemishethnic origin. Another 176,615 reportedBelgian. SeeList of Canadians by ethnicity
Flemish was historically a geographical term, as all inhabitants of the medievalCounty of Flanders in modern-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands were referred to as "Flemings" irrespective of theirethnicity or language.[5] The contemporary region of Flanders comprises a part of this historical county, as well as parts of the medievalDuchy of Brabant and the medievalCounty of Loon, where the modern national identity andculture gradually formed.
The sense of "Flemish" identity increased significantly after theBelgian Revolution. Prior to this, the term "Vlamingen" in the Dutch language was in first place used for the inhabitants of the former County of Flanders.[citation needed] Flemish, however, had been used since the 14th century to refer to the language and dialects of both the peoples of Flanders and theDuchy of Brabant.[6][7]
In 1830, the southern provinces of theUnited Netherlands proclaimed their independence. French-dialect speaking population, as well as the administration and elites, feared the loss of their status and autonomy under Dutch rule while the rapid industrialization in the south highlighted economic differences between the two. UnderFrench rule (1794–1815), French was enforced as the only official language in public life, resulting in aFrancization of the elites and, to a lesser extent, the middle classes. The Dutch king allowed the use of both Dutch and French dialects as administrative languages in the Flemish provinces. He also enacted laws to reestablish Dutch in schools.[8] The language policy was not the only cause of the secession; theRoman Catholic majority viewed the sovereign, the ProtestantWilliam I, with suspicion and were heavily stirred by the Roman Catholic Church which suspected William of wanting to enforceProtestantism. Lastly, Belgian liberals were dissatisfied with William for his allegedly despotic behaviour.[citation needed]
Following the revolt, the language reforms of 1823 were the first Dutch laws to be abolished and the subsequent years would see a number of laws restricting the use of the Dutch language.[9] This policy led to the gradual emergence of theFlemish Movement, that was built on earlieranti-French feelings of injustice, as expressed in writings (for example by the late 18th-century writer,Jan Verlooy) which criticized the SouthernFrancophile elites. The efforts of this movement during the following 150 years, have to no small extent facilitated the creation of thede jure social, political and linguistic equality of Dutch from the end of the 19th century.[citation needed]
After theHundred Years War many Flemings migrated to theAzores. By 1490 there were 2,000 Flemings living in the Azores.Willem van der Haegen was the original sea captain who brought settlers from Flanders to the Azores. Today many Azoreans trace their genealogy from present day Flanders. Many of their customs and traditions are distinctively Flemish in nature such aswindmills used for grain,São Jorge cheese and several religious events such as the imperios and the feast of theCult of the Holy Spirit.
Within Belgium, Flemings form a clearly distinguishable group set apart by their language and customs. Various cultural and linguistic customs are similar to those of the Southern part of the Netherlands.[10] Generally, Flemings do not identify themselves as being Dutch and vice versa.[11]
There are popular stereotypes in the Netherlands as well as Flanders which are mostly based on the 'cultural extremes' of both Northern and Southern culture.[12] Alongside this overarching political and social affiliation, there also exists a strong tendency towardsregionalism, in which individuals greatly identify themselves culturally through their nativeprovince, city,region ordialect they speak.
Flemings speakDutch (specifically itssouthern variant, which is often colloquially called 'Flemish'). It is themajority language in Belgium, being spoken natively by three-fifths of the population. Its various dialects contain a number of lexical and a few grammatical features which distinguish them from the standard language.[13] As in the Netherlands, the pronunciation of Standard Dutch is affected by the native dialect of the speaker. At the same timeEast Flemish forms a continuum with bothBrabantic andWest Flemish. Standard Dutch is primarily based on theHollandic dialect (spoken in the northwestern Netherlands) and to a lesser extent on Brabantic, which is the most dominant Dutch dialect of the Southern Netherlands andFlanders.
Approximately 75% of the Flemish people are by baptism assumedRoman Catholic; however, a still-diminishing minority of less than 8% attendsMass on a regular basis and nearly half of the inhabitants of Flanders areagnostic oratheist. A 2006 inquiry in Flanders showed 55% chose to call themselves religious and 36% believe that God created the universe.[14]
The official flag and coat of arms of theFlemish Community represents a black lion with red claws and tongue on a yellow field (or a lion rampantsable armed and languedgules).[15] A flag with a completely black lion had been in wide use before 1991 when the current version was officially adopted by the Flemish Community. That older flag was at times recognized by government sources (alongside the version with red claws and tongue).[16][17] Today, only the flag bearing a lion with red claws and tongue is recognized by Belgian law, while the flag with the all-black lion is mostly used by Flemish separatist movements. The Flemish authorities also use two logos of a highly stylized black lion which show the claws and tongue in either red or black.[18] The first documented use[19] of the Flemish lion was on theseal ofPhilip d'Alsace,count of Flanders of 1162. As of that date the use of the Flemish coat of arms (or a lion rampant sable) remained in use throughout the reigns of the d'Alsace, Flanders (2nd) andDampierredynasties of counts. The motto "Vlaanderen de Leeuw" (Flanders the lion) was allegedly present on the arms ofPieter de Coninck at theBattle of the Golden Spurs on July 11, 1302.[20][21][22] After the acquisition of Flanders by theBurgundian dukes the lion was only used in escutcheons. It was only after the creation of theUnited Kingdom of the Netherlands that the coat of arms (surmounted by a chief bearing theRoyal Arms of the Netherlands) once again became the official symbol of the new provinceEast Flanders.
The first sizeable wave of Flemish migration toCanada occurred in the 1870s, whenSaint Boniface proved a popular destination for work in local flour mills, brick yards and railway yards. Similarly, Flemish were drawn to smaller villages inManitoba, where jobs in farming were available.[23] In the early 20th century, Flemish settled in significant numbers acrossOntario, particularly attracted by the tobacco-growing industry, in the towns ofChatham,Leamington,Tillsonburg,Wallaceburg,Simcoe,Sarnia andPort Hope.[24][25]
There were migrations of Flemish people to medieval and early modern Poland. The Flemming noble family of Flemish origin first settled inPomerania and modern Poland in the 13th century with the village ofBuk becoming the first estate of the family in the region.[26] The family reached high-ranking political and military posts in Poland in the 18th century, and Polish PrincessIzabela Czartoryska and statesmanAdam Jerzy Czartoryski were their descendants. There are several preserved historical residences of the family in Poland.
Flemish architectsAnthonis van Obbergen andWillem van den Blocke migrated to Poland, where they designed a number ofmannerist structures, and Willem van den Blocke also has sculpted multiple lavishly decorated epitaphs and tombs in Poland.[27]
Flemish people also emigrated at the end of the fifteenth century, when Flemish traders conducted intensive trade withSpain andPortugal, and from there moved to colonies inAmerica andAfrica.[28] The newly discoveredAzores were populated by 2,000 Flemish people from 1460 onwards, making thesevolcanic islands known as the "Flemish Islands".[29][30][31] For instance, the city ofHorta derives its name from Flemish explorerJosse van Huerter.[32]
Prior to the 1600s, there were several substantial waves of Flemish migration to theUnited Kingdom. The first wave fled to England in the early 12th century, escaping damages from a storm across the coast of Flanders, where they were largelyresettled inPembrokeshire byHenry I. They changed the culture and accent in south Pembrokeshire to such an extent, that it led to the area receiving the nameLittle England beyond Wales.Haverfordwest[33] andTenby consequently grew as important settlements for the Flemish settlers.[34]
Demand for Flemish weavers in England occurred again in both the 15th and 16th centuries, but this time particularly focused on towns close to the coastline ofEast Anglia andSouth East England. Many from this generation of weavers went toColchester,Sandwich[44] andBraintree.[45] In 1582, it was estimated that there could have been around 1,600 Flemish in Sandwich, today almost half of its total population.[46]London,Norwich andNorth Walsham, however, were the most popular destinations, and the nickname forNorwich City F.C. fans, Canaries, is derived from the fact that many of theNorfolk weavers kept pet canaries.[47][48] The town ofWhitefield, near Bury, also claims to owe its name to Flemish cloth weavers that settled in the area during this era, who would lay their cloths out in the sun to bleach them.[49]
These waves of settlement are also evidenced by the common surnamesFleming, Flemings, Flemming and Flemmings.
In theUnited States, the cities ofDe Pere andGreen Bay inWisconsin attracted many Flemish and Walloon immigrants during the 19th century.[50][51] The small town ofBelgique was settled almost entirely by Flemish immigrants, although a significant number of its residents left after theGreat Flood of 1993.
^"Structuur van de bevolking – België / Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest / Vlaams Gewest / Waals Gewest / De 25 bevolkingsrijke gemeenten (2000–2006)" [Structure of the population - Belgium / Brussels-Capital Region / Flemish Region / Walloon Region / The 25 populated municipalities (2000-2006)] (in Dutch). Belgian Federal Government Service (ministry) of Economy – Directorate-general Statistics Belgium. 2007. RetrievedMay 23, 2007.— Note: 59% of the Belgians can be considered Flemish, i.e., Dutch-speaking: Native speakers of Dutch living inWallonia and of French in Flanders are relatively small minorities which furthermore largely balance one another, hence counting all inhabitants of each unilingual area to the area's language can cause only insignificant inaccuracies (99% can speak the language). Dutch: Flanders' 6.079 million inhabitants and about 15% of Brussels' 1.019 million are 6.23 million or 59.3% of the 10.511 million inhabitants of Belgium (2006); German: 70,400 in the German-speaking Community (which haslanguage facilities for its less than 5% French-speakers), and an estimated 20,000–25,000 speakers of German in the Walloon Region outside the geographical boundaries of their official Community, or 0.9%; French: in the latter area as well as mainly in the rest of Wallonia (3.414 - 0.093 = 3.321 million) and 85% of the Brussels inhabitants (0.866 million) thus 4.187 million or 39.8%; together indeed 100%[dead link]
^abcd"Vlamingen in de Wereld". Vlamingen in de Wereld, a foundation offering services for Flemish expatriates, with cooperation of the Flemish government. Archived fromthe original on 2007-02-05. Retrieved2007-03-01.
^E.H. Kossmann,De lage landen 1780/1980. Deel 1 1780-1914, 1986, Amsterdam, p. 128
^Jacques Logie,De la régionalisation à l'indépendance, 1830, Duculot, 1980, Paris-Gembloux, p. 21
^National minorities in Europe, W. Braumüller, 2003, page 20.
^Nederlandse en Vlaamse identiteit, Civis Mundi 2006 by S.W Couwenberg.ISBN90-5573-688-0. Page 62. Quote: "Er valt heel wat te lachen om de wederwaardigheden van Vlamingen in Nederland en Nederlanders in Vlaanderen. Ze relativeren de verschillen en beklemtonen ze tegelijkertijd. Die verschillen zijn er onmiskenbaar: in taal, klank, kleur, stijl, gedrag, in politiek, maatschappelijke organisatie, maar het zijn stuk voor stuk varianten binnen één taal-en cultuurgemeenschap." The opposite opinion is stated by L. Beheydt (2002): "Al bij al lijkt een grondiger analyse van de taalsituatie en de taalattitude in Nederland en Vlaanderen weinig aanwijzingen te bieden voor een gezamenlijke culturele identiteit. Dat er ook op andere gebieden weinig aanleiding is voor een gezamenlijke culturele identiteit is al door Geert Hofstede geconstateerd in zijn vermaarde boekAllemaal andersdenkenden (1991)." L. Beheydt, "Delen Vlaanderen en Nederland een culturele identiteit?", in P. Gillaerts, H. van Belle, L. Ravier (eds.),Vlaamse identiteit: mythe én werkelijkheid (Leuven 2002), 22-40, esp. 38.(in Dutch)
^Dutch Culture in a European Perspective: Accounting for the past, 1650-2000; by D. Fokkema, 2004, Assen.
^G. Janssens and A. Marynissen,Het Nederlands vroeger en nu (Leuven/Voorburg 2005), 155 ff.
^Inquiry by 'Vepec', 'Vereniging voor Promotie en Communicatie' (Organisation for Promotion and Communication), published in Knack magazine 22 November 2006 p.14 [The Dutch language term 'gelovig' is in the text translated as 'religious'; more precisely it is a very common word for believing in particular in any kind of God in amonotheistic sense, and/or in someafterlife.
^(in Dutch)Flemish Authorities - coat of armsArchived 2003-12-04 at theWayback MachineDe officiële voorstelling van het wapen van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap, in zwart - wit en in kleur, werd vastgesteld bij de ministeriële besluiten van 2 januari 1991 (BS 2 maart 1991), en zoals afgebeeld op de bijlagen bij deze besluiten.- flagArchived 2007-02-04 at theWayback Machine
^Samples of the black lion without red tongue and claws for the province of East andWest Flanders before the regionalization of Belgian provinces:Prof. Dr. J. Verschueren; Dr. W. Pée & Dr. A. Seeldraeyers (1 December 1997).Verschuerens Modern Woordenboek (6th revised ed.). N.V. Brepols, Turnhout. volume M–Z, plate "Wapenschilden" left of p. 1997. This dictionary/encyclopaedia was put on the list of school books allowed to be used in the official secondary institutions of education on March 8, 1933 by the Belgian government.
^Armorial des provinces et des communes de Belgique, Max Servais: pages 217-219, explaining the 1816 origin of the Flags of the provinces of East and West Flanders and their post 1830 modifications
.jpg)
