The Flemish or Flemings ( nl, Vlamingen ) are a
Germanic ethnic group
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
native to
Flanders,
Belgium, who speak
Dutch. Flemish people make up the majority of
Belgians, at about 60%.
"''Flemish''" was historically a geographical term, as all inhabitants of the medieval
County of Flanders in modern-day Belgium, France, and the Netherlands were referred to as "Flemings", irrespective of their
ethnicity
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
or language. The contemporary region of Flanders comprises a part of this historical county, as well as parts of the medieval
duchy of Brabant and the medieval
county of Loon, where the modern national identity and
culture gradually formed.
History
The sense of "Flemish" identity increased significantly after the
Belgian Revolution
The Belgian Revolution (, ) was the conflict which led to the secession of the southern provinces (mainly the former Southern Netherlands) from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium.
T ...
. Prior to this, the term "Vlamingen" in the Dutch language was in first place used for the inhabitants of the former County of Flanders. Flemish, however, had been used since the 14th century to refer to the language and dialects of both the peoples of Flanders and the
Duchy of Brabant. The modern Belgian province of
Limburg was not part of the
Treaty of London The Treaty of London or London Convention or similar may refer to:
*Treaty of London (1358), established a truce between England and France following the Battle of Poitiers
*Treaty of London (1359), which ceded western France to England
*Treaty of ...
that followed the Belgian Revolution, and only came to be considered "Flemish" in the 19th century.
In 1830, the southern provinces of the
United 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. Under
French rule (1794–1815), French was enforced as the only official language in public life, resulting in a Frenchification 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. The language policy was not the only cause of the secession; the
Roman Catholic majority viewed the sovereign, the Protestant
William I, with suspicion and were heavily stirred by the Roman Catholic Church which suspected William of wanting to enforce
Protestantism. Lastly, Belgian liberals were dissatisfied with William for his allegedly despotic behaviour.
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. This policy led to the gradual emergence of the
Flemish Movement, that was built on earlier
anti-French
Anti-French sentiment (Francophobia or Gallophobia) is fear or antagonism of France, the French people, French culture, the French government or the Francophonie (set of political entities that use French as an official language or whose French-s ...
feelings of injustice, as expressed in writings (for example by the late 18th-century writer,
Jan Verlooy) which criticized the Southern
Francophile elites. The efforts of this movement during the following 150 years, have to no small extent facilitated the creation of the ''
de jure'' social, political and linguistic equality of Dutch from the end of the 19th century.
After the
Hundred Years War
The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantagen ...
many Flemings migrated to the
Azores. 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 as
windmills used for grain,
São Jorge cheese
São Jorge Cheese ( pt, Queijo São Jorge) is a semi-hard to hard cheese, produced on the island of São Jorge, in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores, certified as a ''Região Demarcada do Queijo de São Jorge'' (''Demarcated Region of the ...
and several religious events such as the imperios and the feast of the
Cult of the Holy Spirit.
Identity and culture
Within Belgium, Flemings form a clearly distinguishable group set apart by their language and customs. However, when compared to the Netherlands most of these cultural and linguistic differences quickly fade, as the Flemish share the same language, similar or identical customs and (though chiefly with the southern part of today's Netherlands) traditional religion with the
Dutch. However, the popular perception of being a single polity varies greatly, depending on subject matter, locality and personal background. Generally, Flemings will not identify themselves as being Dutch and vice versa, especially on a national level.
This is partly caused by the popular stereotypes in the Netherlands as well as Flanders which are mostly based on the 'cultural extremes' of both Northern and Southern culture. But also in great part because of the history of emancipation of their culture in Belgium, which has left many Flemings with a high degree of national consciousness, which can be very marked among some Dutch-speaking Belgians. Alongside this overarching political and social affiliation, there also exists a strong tendency towards
regionalism
Regionalism may refer to:
* Regionalism (art), an American realist modern art movement that was popular during the 1930s
* Regionalism (international relations), the expression of a common sense of identity and purpose combined with the creation a ...
, in which individuals greatly identify themselves culturally through their native
province, city,
region or
dialect they speak.
Language
Flemings speak
Dutch (specifically its
southern variant, which is often colloquially called '
Flemish'). It is the
majority 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. As in the Netherlands, the pronunciation of Standard Dutch is affected by the native dialect of the speaker. At the same time
East Flemish forms a continuum with both
Brabantic and
West Flemish. Standard Dutch is primarily based on the
Hollandic dialect (spoken in the northwestern Netherlands) and to a lesser extent on Brabantic, which is the most dominant Dutch dialect of the Southern Netherlands and
Flanders.
Religion
Approximately 75% of the Flemish people are by baptism assumed
Roman Catholic, though a still diminishing minority of less than 8% attends
Mass on a regular basis and nearly half of the inhabitants of
Flanders are
agnostic
Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable. (page 56 in 1967 edition) Another definition provided is the view that "human reason is incapable of providing sufficient ...
or
atheist
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
. A 2006 inquiry in Flanders showed 55% chose to call themselves religious and 36% believe that God created the universe.
National symbols
The official flag and coat of arms of the
Flemish Community
The Flemish Community ( nl, Vlaamse Gemeenschap ; french: Communauté flamande ; german: Flämische Gemeinschaft ) is one of the three institutional communities of Belgium, established by the Belgian constitution and having legal responsibilitie ...
represents a black lion with red claws and tongue on a yellow field (''
or a lion rampant
sable
The sable (''Martes zibellina'') is a species of marten, a small omnivorous mammal primarily inhabiting the forest environments of Russia, from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, and northern Mongolia. Its habitat also borders eastern Kaza ...
armed and langued
gules
In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple).
In engraving, it is sometimes depict ...
''). 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). 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. The first documented use of the Flemish lion was on the
seal of
Philip d'Alsace,
count of Flanders
The count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders, beginning in the 9th century. Later, the title would be held for a time, by the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. During the French Revolution, in 1790, the co ...
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) and
Dampierre dynasties of counts. The motto "Vlaanderen de Leeuw" (Flanders the lion) was allegedly present on the arms of
Pieter de Coninck at the
Battle of the Golden Spurs
The Battle of the Golden Spurs ( nl, Guldensporenslag; french: Bataille des éperons d'or) was a military confrontation between the royal army of France and rebellious forces of the County of Flanders on 11 July 1302 during the Franco-Flemis ...
on July 11, 1302. After the acquisition of Flanders by the
Burgundian dukes the lion was only used in escutcheons. It was only after the creation of the
United Kingdom of the Netherlands that the coat of arms (surmounted by a chief bearing the
Royal Arms of the Netherlands
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal, Iowa, a ...
) once again became the official symbol of the new province
East Flanders.
Diaspora
Brazil
Canada
The first sizeable wave of Flemish migration to
Canada occurred in the 1870s, when
Saint Boniface
Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictines, Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organised significant ...
proved a popular destination for work in local flour mills, brick yards and railway yards. Similarly, Flemish were drawn to smaller villages in
Manitoba, where jobs in farming were available. In the early 20th century, Flemish settled in significant numbers across
Ontario, particularly attracted by the tobacco-growing industry, in the towns of
Chatham,
Leamington,
Tillsonburg,
Wallaceburg,
Simcoe Simcoe may refer to:
Geography Canada
* Simcoe, Ontario, a town in southwestern Ontario, near Lake Erie, Canada
* Simcoe County, a county in central Ontario, Canada
* Lake Simcoe, a lake in central Ontario, Canada
* Simcoe North, a federal and pro ...
,
Sarnia and
Port Hope.
France and the Netherlands
The original County of Flanders encompassed areas which today belong to
France and the
Netherlands, but are still host to people of Flemish descent and some continued use of Flemish Dutch. Namely, these are
Zeelandic Flanders and the
Arrondissement of Dunkirk
The arrondissement of Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque, nl, Duinkerke) is an arrondissement of France in the Nord department in the Hauts-de-France region. It has 111 communes. Its population is 377,294 (2016), and its area is .
It roughly correspon ...
(historically known as
French Westhoek). The people of
North Brabant also share related ancestry.
South Africa
United Kingdom
Prior to the 1600s, there were several substantial waves of Flemish migration to the
United Kingdom. Today, numerous towns in
England and
Wales boast large or majority populations with Flemish ancestry as a result. The first wave fled to England in the early 12th Century, escaping damages from a storm across the coast of Flanders, where they were largely resettled in
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The count ...
by
Henry I. They changed the culture and accent in south Pembrokeshire to such an extent, that it led to the area receiving the name
Little England beyond Wales
Little England beyond Wales is a name that has been applied to an area of southern Pembrokeshire and southwestern Carmarthenshire in Wales, which has been English in language and culture for many centuries despite its remoteness from England. ...
.
Haverfordwest and
Tenby consequently grew as important settlements for the Flemish settlers.
In the 14th Century, encouraged by
King Edward III and perhaps in part due to his marriage to
Philippa of Hainault, another wave of migration to England occurred when skilled cloth weavers from Flanders were granted permission to settle there and contribute to the then booming cloth and woollen industries. These migrants particularly settled in the growing
Lancashire and
Yorkshire textile towns of
Manchester,
Bolton,
Blackburn,
Liversedge,
Bury,
Halifax and
Wakefield.
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 of
East Anglia
East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
and
South East England. Many from this generation of weavers went to
Colchester,
Sandwich and
Braintree. In 1582, it was estimated that there could have been around 1600 Flemish in Sandwich, today almost half of its total population.
London,
Norwich and
North Walsham, however, were the most popular destinations, and the nickname for
Norwich City F.C. fans, Canaries, is derived from the fact that many of the
Norfolk weavers kept pet canaries. The town of
Whitefield, 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.
These waves of settlement are also evidenced by the common surnames
Fleming, Flemings, Flemming and Flemmings.
United States
In the
United States, the cities of
De Pere and
Green Bay in
Wisconsin attracted many Flemish and Walloon immigrants during the 19th Century.
''The Flemish In Wisconsin'', Jeanne and Les Rentmeester, 1985. The small town of Belgique, Missouri, Belgique was settled almost entirely by Flemish immigrants, although a significant number of its residents left after the Great Flood of 1993.
See also
* De Vlaamse Leeuw
* Greater Netherlands
* Flemish Movement
* Flemish Region
* French Flemish
Notes and references
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flemish People
Flanders
Germanic ethnic groups
Ethnic groups in Belgium