Transcript Belgium: Flemings and Walloons - SawyerEthnonationalismProject

Belgium: Flemings and Walloons
By:
Riley Duncan
Brielle Jamar
Jackie Bates
Belgium
• Belgium is a country in northwest Europe.
• Capital city- Brussels
• Located between Netherlands and France,
causing a language conflict.
• The majority of the population
is Roman Catholic.
• Belgium became independent
in 1830.
Flemings
• Flemings are the Dutch speakers of
Belgium.
• They live in the northern part of the country.
• Make up about 60% of Belgian population.
Walloons
• Walloons are the French speakers of
Belgium.
• They live in the southern part of Belgium.
• Make up about 35% of Belgian population.
Flemings and Walloons
• In 1993, Belgium’s constitution was
amended, and the Walloons and Flemings
became self-governing regions within
Belgium.
• The Walloons were the dominant group for
along time, but after World War II, the
Flemings have grown to be more dominant
and have a better economy than Walloons.
Brussels
•
•
•
•
Brussels is the capital city of Belgium.
It is located in the Flemish part of Belgium.
However, Brussels is 85% French-speaking.
Brussels is a political center for the
European Union.
• Brussels is also the headquarters for NATO.
History
• Around the 4th Century, the Franks
established control over modern day
Belgium.
• The Netherlands had a lot of influence on
the north, so people in the north spoke
Dutch.
• France had influence on the south, so the
people spoke French.
History
• The “Austrian Netherlands” came in to
power in 1713
• They provided Belgium with autonomy.
• The country grew and flourished under the
rule.
• However, in 1795, France took over the
country.
History
• France governed Belgium directly, taking
away its autonomy.
• In 1815, a coalition of European powers
defeated Napoleon and the French, and
Belgium became a part of the Netherlands.
• The region began to grow again, but it was
limited because of the language divide.
Belgian Revolution
• The Dutch king did not pay attention to the
Belgians, however.
• The Belgians revolted, and declared their
independence on October 4, 1830.
• The Dutch king threatened to go to war over
the issue, but France and England stopped a
war from happening, and declared Belgium
a country.
History
• Belgium’s economy continued to develop,
but once again, the language divide limited
it.
• The government and upper classes operated
in French, and the Flemings felt left out.
• The Flemings started movements in the
1850’s to make Dutch an official language.
• Dutch was not declared an official language
until 1898.
History
• In the 1960’s and 1970’s, the conflict rose
again, eventually leading to violence in
1980.
• In 1993, amendments to the Belgian
Constitution were made, which eased the
conflict, and separated the two sides
involved in the conflict.
History
• There is now a law that establishes the language
boundary.
• In the north, everything is in Dutch, and in the
south everything is French.
• The capital city Brussels is the only place where
everything has to be in both languages.
• There have been attempts to unify the country’s
language, but they have been unsuccessful.
Conflict
• Even though there are multiple tongues, the
conflict is now minimal.
• There are no major aggressive, territorial, or
communication problems.
A Suggestion to the UN
• One of our suggestions to the UN is to teach
both languages in schools.
• This would be a centripetal force that would
eliminate the boundary.
• Walloons and Flemings would be less
divided.
Another Suggestion to the UN
• Another suggestion is to declare one official
language.
• This may be hard at first, but in the long
term it would pay off.
• Belgium would be a more united country in
the future.
Bibliography
• "Belgium." Encyclopedia Americana. 2010.
Grolier Online. 18 Feb. 2010
<http://ea.grolier.com/article?id=0041050-00>.
• Murphy, Alexander B. "Belgium." Grolier
Multimedia Encyclopedia. 2010. Grolier Online.
19 Feb. 2010
<http://gme.grolier.com/article?assetid=00295300>.
• Helmreich, Jonathan E. "Belgium." Lands and
Peoples. 2010. Grolier Online. 18 Feb. 2010
http://lp.grolier.com/cgi-bin/article>.
• Clough, Shepard B. "Walloons." Encyclopedia
Americana. 2010. Grolier Online. 18 Feb. 2010
<http://ea.grolier.com/article?id=0408890-00>.
• http://www.worldhistory.abcclio.com/Search/Display.aspx?categoryid=4&
entryid=1220632&searchtext=belgium&type
=simple&option=all&searchsites=1,3,4,5,6,7,
• "Belgium." World History: The Modern
Era. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 18 Feb. 2010.
<http://www.worldhistory.abc-clio.com>.
• "Brussels." World History: The Modern
Era. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 18 Feb. 2010.
<http://www.worldhistory.abc-clio.com>.
• CIA World Factbook. 20 Jan 2010. Web. 18
Feb 2010.
<https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/theworld-factbook/geos/be.html>.
• find.galegroup.com.waldo.library.nashville.org/gtx
/retrieve.do?content=Flemings
• find.galegroup.com.waldo.library.nashville.org/gtx
/retrieve.do?content=Flemings%and%Walloons
• find.galegroup.com.waldo.library.nashville.org/gtx
/retrieve.do?content=Walloons%Flemings
• find.galegroup.com.waldo.library.nashville.org/gtx
/retrieve.do?content=Belgium%Walloons
• find.galegroup.com.waldo.library.nashville.org/gtx
/retrieve.do?content=Flemings%Belgium
• find.galegroup.com.waldo.library.nashville.org/gtx
/retrieve.do?content=Brussels
• find.galegroup.com.waldo.library.nashville.org/gtx
/retrieve.do?content=Belgium%Brussels
• find.galegroup.com.waldo.library.nashville.org/gtx
/retrieve.do?content=Flemings%Conflict
• find.galegroup.com.waldo.library.nashville.org/gtx
/retrieve.do?content=Flemings%Walloons%Histor
y
• find.galegroup.com.waldo.library.nashville.org/gtx
/retrieve.do?content=History%Belgium
• http://www.everyculture.com/Europe/WalloonsHistory-and-Cultural-Relations.html
• http://www.everyculture.com/Europe/WalloonsFlemings.html