Flemish immigration to Wallonia

Flemish immigration to Wallonia was an important phenomenon in the History of Belgium. Kas Deprez wrote: Flanders was poor and backward in the 19th century. It hardly took part in the first industrial revolution. Flemings migrated to Wallonia (amongst other areas), to escape from the poverty at home.[1]

Yves Quairiaux published the figures of the census from 1866 to 1910 which allow to understand the importance of this phenomenon.[2]

Figures of the Flemish immigration
Census Arrondissements ([Provinces]) Ath [Hainaut] Charleroi [Hainaut] Mons [Hainaut] Soignies [Hainaut] Thuin [Hainaut] Tournai [Hainaut] Huy [Liège] Liège [Liège] Verviers [Liège] Waremme [Liège] Walloon Brabant Luxemburg Namur
1866 Total population of Flemings 88.811 1.877 2,11% 212.446 9.044 4,26% 189.168 1.575 0,83% 100.869 7.890 7,91% 96.283 485 0,50% 176.653 6.342 3,59% 80.874 433 0,54% 284.668 20.399 7,17% 128.041 6.300 4,92% 49.130 2.500 5,09% 150.162 2.960 5,09% 199.910 ..... 645 .... 0,32% 302.778 2.100 0,69%
1880 Total population of Flemings 90.080 1.738 1,93% 212.466 9.044 4,26% 189.168 1.575 0,83% 118.227 8.905 7,51% 108.823 6.342 3,59% 184.177 9.380 5,09% 89.969 431 0,48% 351.860 23.984 6,79% 151.238 6.021 3,98% 55.444 2.338 4,21% 147.889 3.127 2,11% 209.118 ... 916 ........ 0,44 322.654 2.606 0,81%
1890 Total population of Flemings 88.554 2.638 2,98% 347.179 15.912 4,58% 227.835 2.921 1,28% 129.323 11.526 8,91% 114.496 1.078 0,94% 183.751 17.901 9,74% 98.847 753 0,76% 419.163 39.537 9,43% 166.996 5.818 3,48% 57.361 3.359 5,86% 162.571 6.397 3,93% 211.711 ... 842 ..... 0,40% 333.471 4.198 1,26%
1900 Total population of Flemings 88.658 3.556 4,01% 377.590 21.267 5,63% 245.244 3.968 1,62% 143.702 15.114 10,52% 125.298 1.806 1,44% 200.900 25.626 12,76% 100.387 876 0,87% 475.624 40.829 8,58% 169.780 4.976 2,93% 50.090 3.670 6,21% 169.219 7.243 4,28% 219.210 ... 1.225 ... 0,56% 346.512 4.035 1,16%
1910 Total population of Flemings 87.707 2.958 3,37% 421.024 26.986 6,41% 260.780 4.070 1,56% 156.484 15.044 9,61% 137.522 3.327 2,42% 215.860 33.455 15,50% 103.385 971 0,94% 528.728 41.848 7,91% 168.893 4.914 2,89% 63.842 4.441 6,96% 178.697 8.372 4,69% 231.215 ... 1.546 ... 0,67% 362.846 5.169 1,42%

These figures correspond to the figures of the book (translated in French) of a Flemish journalist Pascal Verbeken.[3] Both authors agree that this phenomenon was very important in the nation building or in any case of the identity building of the two greatest Belgian population, the Walloons and the Flemings. Among the industrial areas along the Sillon industriel, the Borinage (in the West of Wallonia) and the region of Verviers (in the East) are less concerned by the phenomenon. The most important area of the Flemish immigration are three basins of the industrial Wallonia: Charleroi, Liège and the Centre around La Louvière. In the period of the census published by Quairiaux, almost 500,000 Flemings came in Wallonia to find a job in the industry.

The Belgian census calculate the number of Belgians who speak French, Flemish (now Dutch), and German. Quairiaux estimates the number of the Flemings in Wallonia on the basis that in Wallonia in this period only the Flemings were Flemish-speaking or bilingual (Flemish-French). They quickly adopted the regional culture and the regional language (more Walloon or Picard than French in any case in the beginning).

Reception of the Flemings by the Walloons

Walloon literature (as a regional language), did have its golden age during the peak of the Flemish immigration: That period saw an efflorescence of Walloon literature, plays and poems primarily, and the founding of many theaters and periodicals.[4] And that is mainly in the plays that the Flemish people has been shown. Quairiaux learned more than 200 plays[5] where he tried to describe the image of the Flemish people for Walloons. In this period plays were almost the only popular show in Wallonia.

Notes
  1. Simposi Pompeu Fabra: Jornades Científiques de l'Institut d'Estudis Catalans, Secció Filològica, Volum 19, Volum 7 de Sèrie Jornades científiquesSimposi Pompeu Fabra: Jornades Científiques de l'Institut d'Estudis Catalans, Secció Filològica, Joan A. ArgenterEditorJoan A. Argenter Editor Institut d'Estudis Catalans, 2000 ISBN 84-7283-524-3, ISBN 978-84-7283-524-5 Llargada 318 pàgines, p.304.
  2. Yves Quairiaux, L'image du Flamand en Wallonie, Essai d'analyse sociale et politique (1830-1914), Labor, Bruwxelles, 2006, p. 126. ISBN 2-8040-2174-2
  3. La Terre promise; Flamands en Wallonie, Le Castor astral, Bruxelles, 2010 ISBN 978-2-85920-801-1 translated from the Dutch Arm Wallonië, een reis door het beloofde land, ISBN 978-90-8542-072-9
  4. Switching Languages, Translingual Writers Reflect on Their Craft, Edited by Steven G. Kellman Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2003, p. 153. ISBN 978-0-8032-2747-7
  5. The New York Public Library possesses a surprisingly large collection of literary works in Walloon, quite possible the largest outside Belgium, and its holding are representative of the output. Out of nearly a thousand twenty-six were published before 1880. There after the numbers rise gradually year by year, reaching a peak of sixty-nine in 1903, and then they fall again, down to eleven in 1913. See 'Swwitching Languages', p. 153. Quairiaux counted 4800 plays for 1860-1914, published or not.
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