The
Catholic University of Leuven
University of Leuven or University of Louvain (french: Université de Louvain, link=no; nl, Universiteit Leuven, link=no) may refer to:
* Old University of Leuven (1425–1797)
* State University of Leuven (1817–1835)
* Catholic University of ...
was one of
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
's major universities. It split along linguistic lines after a period of civil unrest in 1967–68 commonly known as the Leuven Affair (''Affaire de Louvain'') in
French and Flemish Leuven (''Leuven Vlaams''), based on a contemporary slogan, in
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
. The crisis shook
Belgian politics and led to the fall of the government of
Paul Vanden Boeynants
Paul Emile François Henri Vanden Boeynants (; 22 May 1919 – 9 January 2001) was a Belgian politician.
Rulers. Retrieved 30 August 2014.< ...
. It marked an escalation of the linguistic tension in Belgium after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and had lasting consequences for other bilingual institutions in Belgium within
higher education
Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...
and politics alike. In 1970 the first of
several state reforms occurred, marking the start of Belgium's transition to a
federal state
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-governi ...
.
Background
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
became independent in 1830 with
a population divided roughly equally between
French and
Dutch speakers. However, French was privileged as the ''
lingua franca
A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...
'' of the
upper class
Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status, usually are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper class is gen ...
es and
high culture
High culture is a subculture that emphasizes and encompasses the cultural objects of aesthetic value, which a society collectively esteem as exemplary art, and the intellectual works of philosophy, history, art, and literature that a society con ...
. This was reflected in the
Catholic University of Leuven
University of Leuven or University of Louvain (french: Université de Louvain, link=no; nl, Universiteit Leuven, link=no) may refer to:
* Old University of Leuven (1425–1797)
* State University of Leuven (1817–1835)
* Catholic University of ...
, founded in 1835, which for most of its existence taught classes in French only, despite being situated in Dutch-speaking
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
. Leuven, in particular, was an élite university favoured by Belgians from the
Catholic "pillar" and closely associated with
Catholic politics
The Catholic Church and politics concerns the interplay of Catholicism with religious, and later secular, politics. Historically, the Church opposed liberal ideas such as democracy, freedom of speech, and the separation of church and state und ...
and the
Church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* C ...
itself.
During the nineteenth century, the
Flemish Movement
The Flemish Movement ( nl, Vlaamse Beweging) is an umbrella term which encompasses various political groups in the Belgian region of Flanders and, less commonly, in French Flanders. Ideologically, it encompasses groups which have sought to promo ...
had emerged in Flanders to demand an enhanced status for the Dutch language. Provision of Dutch language higher education had been a major demand, especially at
Ghent University
Ghent University ( nl, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium.
Established before the state of Belgium itself, the university was founded by the Dutch King William I in 1817, when the ...
where "
Flamingant
The term ''flamingant'', in both Dutch and French, refers to an adherent of the Flemish Movement. Originating as a pejorative term use by Belgian nationalists, it may be equally used as an adjective or substantive and the term ''flamingantisme'' ...
s" even collaborated with the
German occupiers to create
a Dutch-language university in 1916. From 1930 teaching at Leuven was provided separately in French or Dutch.
The Flemish Movement made significant advances after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, especially in the early 1960s. Their objective increasingly switched from
bilingualism
Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...
to regional unilingualism, a principle recognised by the
Gilson laws of 1962. This made the French and Dutch sections in Leuven effectively autonomous but Flamingants demanded that the university be formally split. These demands became increasingly vocal after 1967.
The 1960s were also a time of unrest among the youth across Europe and the world, characterised by
student protests and "
counterculture
A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Hou ...
". In France, this would culminate in
student unrest in May 1968. Student dissatisfaction was also facilitated by the rapid expansion of the number of students in many universities without an accompanying increase in facilities.
Crisis, November 1967–June 1968
The Leuven issue was raised on 5 November 1967 when about 30,000 Flemish activists marched in
Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, to demand that the Catholic University become monolingual. They were supported by some parliamentarians from the Flemish wing of the
Christian Social Party (CVP). Following the success of the Antwerp demonstration, Flemish students marched in
Leuven
Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...
to advocate similar demands. They carried banners reading "Walloons out" (''Walen buiten'') and "Flemish Leuven" (''Leuven Vlaams'') which shocked many French-speaking conservatives. In response, many French-speaking students travelled to the tiny hamlet of
Houte-Si-Plou in French-speaking
Wallonia
Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...
to create a
satirical
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...
"University of Houte-Si-Plou". Violent demonstrations continued in Leuven.
The government of
Paul Vanden Boeynants
Paul Emile François Henri Vanden Boeynants (; 22 May 1919 – 9 January 2001) was a Belgian politician.
Rulers. Retrieved 30 August 2014.< ...
and the Catholic Church opposed the split and attempted to find a compromise, but this became impossible once the attitudes of both sides hardened. Negotiations between the two factions over January and February 1968 collapsed when the
Bishop of Bruges
The Diocese of Bruges (in Dutch Bisdom Brugge) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Belgium. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels, which ...
, Emiel Jozef De Smedt, gave a public speech advocating a split. This appeared to mark a break in the Church's position. On 6 February, the Vanden Boeynants coalition government collapsed as a result of the crisis.
The
general elections which followed in March 1968 brought the government of
Gaston Eyskens
Gaston François Marie, viscount Eyskens (1 April 1905 – 3 January 1988) was a Christian democratic politician and prime minister of Belgium. He was also an economist and member of the Belgian Christian Social Party (CVP-PSC).
He served t ...
to power. He released a government declaration on 24 June, announcing that the French section would move out of Leuven. The French section demanded that the Flemish section fund its relocation, since it had not demanded it. A plan was agreed for its relocation to a
planned town
A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...
in Wallonia, dubbed "New Leuven" (
Louvain-la-Neuve
Louvain-la-Neuve (, French for ''New Leuven''; wa, Li Noû Lovén) is a planned town in the municipality of Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, Wallonia, Belgium, situated 30 km southeast of Brussels, in the province of Walloon Brabant. The town was ...
). The university's split was formalised soon afterwards, creating two new universities: the
Université catholique de Louvain
The Université catholique de Louvain (also known as the Catholic University of Louvain, the English translation of its French name, and the University of Louvain, its official English name) is Belgium's largest French-speaking university. It ...
(UCL) and the
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
KU Leuven (or Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Belgium. It conducts teaching, research, and services in computer science, engineering, natural sciences, theology, humanities, medicine, l ...
(KUL).
Aftermath
Work on the construction of Louvain-la-Neuve begun in 1971. UCL relocated to the town soon afterwards, and it remains there to this day.
The Leuven affair marked the start of a series of institutional splits along linguistic lines. The
Free University of Brussels University of Brussels may refer to several institutions in Brussels, Belgium: Current institutions
* Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), a French-speaking university established as a separate entity in 1970
*Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), a D ...
, founded in 1834, split along linguistic lines in 1969, creating the
Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) () is a Dutch and English-speaking research university located in Brussels, Belgium.The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is one of the five universities officially recognised by the Flemish Community, Flemish gov ...
(VUB). In politics, the Leuven affair revealed a split between French- and Dutch-speaking factions within the Christian Social Party, especially in the 1968 elections where both factions had campaigned on different manifestos. The split was formalised in 1972 when the old party split along linguistic lines into the
Parti social chrétien and
Christelijke Volkspartij
Christian Democratic and Flemish (, , CD&V) is a Flemish Christian-democratic political party in Belgium. The party has historical ties to both trade unionism ( ACV) and trade associations (UNIZO) and the Farmer's League. Until 2001, the party wa ...
. Similar trends were reflected in other major parties, including the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
which had divided in 1961 and formally split in 1972. The
Belgian Socialist Party nl, Belgische Socialistische Partij
, logo = Logo of the Belgian Socialist Party.png
, caption = The fist and rose emblem used by the party from 1973.
, leader1_title = President
, leader1_name = Achille Van Acker (first)André Cools (last)
...
survived intact until 1978 when it also split. The Leuven crisis also led to the rapid rise of regionalist political parties, such as the
Volksunie
People's Union ( nl, Volksunie, VU) was a Flemish nationalist political party in Belgium, formed in 1954 as a successor to the Christian Flemish People's Union.
The Volksunie defined itself as a big tent and catch-all party that combined suppor ...
in Flanders and the
Front Démocratique des Francophones in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
.
In 1970, the Eyskens government passed the
first state reform marking the start of Belgium's move towards a
federal state
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-governi ...
. The reforms created three autonomous "communities" with responsibility for cultural issues such as public broadcasting.
See also
*
Second School War (1950–59), a Belgian political crisis over the issue of religion in education.
*
Belgian general strike of 1960–61
*
Congo Crisis
The Congo Crisis (french: Crise congolaise, link=no) was a period of political upheaval and conflict between 1960 and 1965 in the Republic of the Congo (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo). The crisis began almost immediately after ...
(1960–65)
*
List of split up universities
This is a list of universities which were split into more than one new institution. Over the history numerous higher education institutions were split up or some scholars left already established institutions and established new ones. Some of the ...
Further reading
*
{{Universities of Louvain, state=collapsed
1967 in Belgium
1968 in Belgium
Political history of Belgium
Catholic University of Leuven
Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968)
History of Leuven