Flanders

By drawing two lines from the bloody field of Waterloo, one in an easterly direction to the point where the Meuse quits the Belgian territory, between Liege and Maestricht, the other westward to the place where the Lys, an affluent of the Scheldt, enters Belgium, the kingdom is divided into Flanders and Wallonia. Like the Dutch language, from which it scarcely differs, the Flemish is harsh, unsonorous, and devoid of brilliancy; but it is full, vigorous, plastic and poetic, and abounds in songs, sayings, and proverbs.

Flanders nearly equals Wallonia in extent, and is much more densely peopled; it comprises West Flanders, East Flanders, the greater part of Brabant, Limbourg, and the province of Antwerp; it stretches from the sands of the North. Sea, the delta of the Scheldt, and the Campine moors to the hills of Wallonia, and from the lowlands of France to those of Holland. The surface is very level, except on the Brabantine hills, but the Flemings till this ancient "pitiless forest "iin a marvellous fashion. Left to itself, the soil is sterile, and it is only by patient toil that it is forced to produce anything but woods, heaths, dune-grass, and fen-plants; it is for the most part sandy, and resembles to a certain extent the French Landes. In the east is an extensive dune district called the Campine; this tract comprises parts of the provinces of Antwerp, Limbourg, and Brabant, and is continued into Holland; it has an impervious subsoil of sand cemented together by the tannin from the heaths.

By the late 19th Century the Fleming is slowly dotting the Campine with oases; they succeeded in making Flanders fruitful, although it was originally covered with dunes and swamps, and was almost as valueless as the Campine itself; they has even transformed it into one of the chief agricultural countries of the world; and, what is to be deplored, he has made it one of the most crowded industrial centres of the globe. In Flemish Belgium, the cities prolong their streets to other cities or enormous villages, these villages blend with still other cities, with burgs and hamlets and clusters of factories. And twenty, fifty, one hundred hamlets make a small "Manchester."

Fields cultivated like gardens; old cities proud of their hotels de villa, their belfry towers, their churches, their splendid museums, and their colossal factories; smoking chimneys and brick villages; navigable canals, and draining trenches, with dunes along the shores, — such is Flemish Belgium. The clumsy, commonplace scenery was relieved by the trees, the verdure, and here and there enchanting sea-views. Nature is lavish with all her gifts, save the sunlight, social life is gay, and the rich live here in comfort; the poor drag out a hard existence under the cold fogs; their life is made up of excessive and destructive toil, vitiated air, no sunlight, little sleep, and bad food; it is varied with drunkenness, strikes, and shut-downs, all of which take the bread out of their mouths.

Flander's formerly robust economy was all but destroyed by the ravages of war and particularly by the terms of the Peace of Westphalia (1648), which ended the Spanish war against the northern provinces and closed the Schelde River, effectively strangling the port of Antwerp. It took more than three centuries for Flanders to regain its economic health.

The Dutch-speaking Belgians did not protest independence in 1830, but they gradually realized that history had relegated them to the status of second-class citizens in a country where they formed the majority. French had been the language of government and culture since the days of Spanish rule, and the constitution of 1831 did nothing to ensure equal treatment for the Dutch languages. Laws recognizing biligualism in Flanders (1873), making Dutch an official language (1898), and establishing separate Dutch and French administrations in Flanders and Wallonia (1932) were too long in the making. The political elite, even that of Flemish parentage, was French-speaking. The situation was exacerbated by the Industrial Revolution, which touched down in the coalfields and ironworks of Wallonia before spreading elsewhere in Europe, leaving much of Flanders to languish in relative poverty.

By the early 20th Century Wallonia was the chief center of those industries (metallurgy, mines and quarries, glass works) in which high wages and relatively short hours obtained. Flanders was the center of those industries (textiles) in which long hours and low wages obtained. This fundamental inequality could only be remedied by augmenting the productivity of the Flemish population, and thereby raising the general standard of living.

Although a number of prominent Flemings demanded equal recognition of Dutch throughout the nineteenth century, the language question was placed on the political agenda during World War I, owing to Flemish militancy and the threat of mutiny among Flemish soldiers at the front. Throughout the 1920s the issue simmered, gaining strength among Flemings and prompting a reaction from the Walloons and other French speakers. After World War II, as the socioeconomic issue was settled, the language issue took center stage and dominated Belgian politics into the 1980s.

The regional distribution of economic activity has been of particular concern since the 1970s. The advanced technological and service-related industries located in the Antwerp-Brussels area and elsewhere in Flanders have grown, while the aging heavy industries of Wallonia have stagnated or declined. Many Flemings felt that their hard-earned money was unfairly taxed to bail out the inefficient industries of Wallonia.

Despite the stunning victory of the New Flemish Alliance in Belgian elections in June 2010, it fell far short of a majority, winning only 27 out of 150 seats in the lower house. The party is calling for greater autonomy for Flemish speaking Flanders in the north and wants the region to eventually secede, raising fears that long-standing calls for permanently splitting Belgium along linguistic lines may eventually be realized. Two smaller Flemish parties backing independence for Flanders won a smaller number of seats.

The Flanders Field American Cemetery and Memorial in Belgium occupies a 6.2-acre site. Masses of graceful trees and shrubbery frame the burial area and screen it from passing traffic. At the ends of the paths leading to three of the corners of the cemetery are circular retreats, with benches and urns. At this peaceful site rest 368 American military dead, most of whom gave their lives in liberating the soil of Belgium in World War I. Their headstones are aligned in four symmetrical areas around the white stone chapel that stands in the center of the cemetery.