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.

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