Belgium is different from its neighbors, such as Britain, France, Germany and the Netherlands, which are all ethnically dominant countries.
Belgium, on the other hand, is multi-ethnic, with Dutch-speaking Flemish people making up 57 percent of the population and French-speaking Walloons 41 percent. Administratively, Belgium is divided into three parts, the Flemish region in the north, the Walloon region in the south, and the Brussels-capital region.
Due to the special status of the capital, Brussels is a bilingual district in order to balance the two languages. Yet Brussels is already overwhelmingly French-speaking. Many people start finding the best ways to learn French.
According to Belgium’s national Statistics Agency, 87 percent of the city’s more than one million people speak French, while Dutch is only 13 percent spoken.
Even more curious, Brussels was actually a Dutch-speaking city until the 18th century. So how did Brussels go from being a Dutch-dominated city, to being bilingual, to being French-dominated? ,
Belgium and the Netherlands are both located in the lowland region of Europe (the Netherlands) because of their low elevation. In the 5th century, the Netherlands became part of the Frankish Kingdom, a Christian nation.
When the Frankish kingdom was divided into three in the 9th century, the Netherlands became a transitional zone between German (Holy Roman Empire) and French (Western Frankish) cultures.
In the Middle Ages, there were Holland, Zealand, Flanders, Brabant, Burgundy and other states in the Netherlands. Flanders and Brabant, to the north, are close to the Holy Roman Empire and have deep Germanic influence. They speak Dutch, a branch of low German.
Burgundy and other states to the south are close to France and have been deeply influenced by French culture, forming the French-speaking Walloons. The city of Brussels was founded in 979 AD. By the 11th century, there were important countries such as the Duchy of Brabant and Flanders in the Netherlands, and Brussels became the capital of the Duchy of Brabant.
In the 13th century, handicraft industry and trade flourished in the Netherlands, forming two major trade centers. In the north, Holland and Zealand mainly developed ocean trade, while in the south, Flanders and Brabant mainly produced woolen cloth.
In the 16th century, royal marriages were an important means of acquiring land. In 1516, the Spanish Habsburgs acquired sovereignty over the whole of the Netherlands through a political marriage. Brussels, the capital of the Duchy of Brabant, became the capital of the Spanish Netherlands.
The Economy of the Netherlands is relatively developed and has become the “crown jewel” of Spain. In 1556, the Spanish levied heavy taxes on the Netherlands, which caused the dissatisfaction of the Netherlands bourgeoisie and the local revolution against Spain.
The Netherland Revolution coincided with the Reformation in Europe. It was also due to the relatively developed economy, especially the trade prosperity in the northern Netherlands led by The Netherlands, where a large number of emerging bourgeoisie were bred. They strongly opposed the strict control of the Catholic Church, so the Netherlands became the forefront of the religious reform.
The new bourgeoisie in the northern Netherlands became increasingly dissatisfied with the control of the church and converted to Protestantism. However, Spain was a fervent Catholic country, and religious persecution was severe in the north of the Netherlands, where resistance was the most thorough.
The Southern Netherlands, of which Brussels is the capital, remains Catholic. In the Netherland Revolution, the northern Protestant forces encroached on the southern land, causing dissatisfaction in the south. In 1579, the south made a separate peace with Spain, the metropolitan power of the same Catholic bloc, leading to the separation of the Netherlands.
In 1581, the Northern Part of the Netherlands became independent, forming a Protestant country — the Republic of the Netherlands (Netherlands). The Catholic South of the Netherlands remained under Spanish rule. 133 years later, the Netherlands south changed hands from Spain to the Habsburg Empire of Austria.
After the independence of the Northern Netherlands, Dutch, the common language of the north, became the official language of the north. The division of the Netherlands between north and south, however, was not strictly based on language. There are still large numbers of Dutch-speakers in the Netherlands south who have not converted to Protestantism.
Spain and Austria dominated the southern Netherlands, where more than half the population spoke Dutch. In the Netherlands south, however, Dutch was considered the “Protestant” language.
To distinguish themselves from the Dutch of the north, dutch-speakers in the south of the Netherlands named their language After the former Duchy of Flanders, Flemish. Brussels, the capital of the southern Netherlands, is also a Dutch-speaking city.
Priests in Brussels, the capital of the Catholic southern Netherlands, went to Neighboring France to study and brought French books to Brussels to maintain orthodoxy. In addition, In medieval Europe, French was a symbol of identity and status. The French language was gradually adopted by religious services and the upper classes of Brussels, and this was the beginning of the French-ization of Brussels.
The French Revolution broke out in the late 18th century. In 1794, France incorporated the whole of the Netherlands, north and south, and Brussels remained the capital. After the French occupation of the Netherlands, French became the only official language.
Legal documents, government language and even street names in Brussels require French to be replaced from Dutch. In 1813, the proportion of official documents written in Brussels rose to 80%, and Brussels became further French.
After the Napoleonic Wars ended in 1814. The victors, conflicted about what to do with the Netherlands, eventually decided to reunite the Netherlands, but in the form of the south joining the north, with the North (the Netherlands) in effect as the dominant force of the unified country.
After unification, the Netherlands made the Hague and Brussels its twin capitals. William I, the Dutch king, pushed the Dutch language across the country, which was opposed by the French-speaking Walloons in the south. In addition, William’s introduction of Protestantism throughout the country infuriated the Dutch-speaking Flanders in the South of the Netherlands.
1830 — Flemish and Walloons, both Catholics, rise up and declare Belgium (south of the Netherlands) independent from the Netherlands (north of the Netherlands), with Brussels as the capital of Belgium. In 1839, after nearly a decade of war, the Netherlands was forced to recognize Belgium’s independence.
Belgium (south) gained its independence from the Netherlands (north) in a war, so in order to separate itself from the Netherlands, Belgium kept the French language to itself. At independence, Dutch-speaking Flemings made up half of Belgium’s population, but the coastal, agrarian north, where they are concentrated, was poorer.
The french-speaking Walloons in the south, though inland, are rich in iron and coal, making the french-speaking part of Belgium’s industrial center and economy more developed.
In addition, considering France’s influence in Europe, Belgium made French its only official language at the beginning of independence.
