Flamingant
Encyclopedia
The Dutch
and French
word flamingant refers to all activists of the Flemish movement
and was initially used as a pejorative
term by Belgicists
to indicate nationalist Flemish people
. It may be derived from Flamins, the Walloon
word for Flemings. The word can be equally used as an adjective
or substantive. The word wallingant is used to describe Walloon nationalists.
The flamingant movement was originally initiated by the priests in Flanders under the French occupation of 1792. The secular republic invaded the Austrian Netherlands three years later, retaining them until 1815. This was very badly received in the Catholic provinces, alarming the clergy and damaging those economic sectors which were in competition with metropolitan France
. Thus all the Walloon vineyards were ruined and the textile sector in Flanders went into decay. The French language, which had been the language of the leisured classes under feudalism
, was imposed throughout the administration.
With the fall of the French Empire
in 1815, the movement became dormant. In 1830, Belgians of the north, alongside those of the south, overthrew Dutch rule, uniting behind their common Roman Catholic religion. The choice of the French language for the young Belgian nation seemed natural, as French-speaking citizens formed the majority of the revolutionaries. The word flamingant remains a loaded term. For example, see the song Les Flamingants by Jacques Brel
criticizing the flamingants.
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
word flamingant refers to all activists of the Flemish movement
Flemish movement
The Flemish Movement is a popular term used to describe the political movement for emancipation and greater autonomy of the Belgian region of Flanders, for protection of the Dutch language, and for the over-all protection of Flemish culture and history....
and was initially used as a pejorative
Pejorative
Pejoratives , including name slurs, are words or grammatical forms that connote negativity and express contempt or distaste. A term can be regarded as pejorative in some social groups but not in others, e.g., hacker is a term used for computer criminals as well as quick and clever computer experts...
term by Belgicists
Belgian nationalism
Belgian nationalism defines an ideology that favours a strong centralised government, with less or no autonomy for the Flemish Community who constitute Flanders, the French Community of Belgium and the German-speaking Community of Belgium who constitute Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital Region...
to indicate nationalist Flemish people
Flemish people
The Flemings or Flemish are the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Belgium, where they are mostly found in the northern region of Flanders. They are one of two principal cultural-linguistic groups in Belgium, the other being the French-speaking Walloons...
. It may be derived from Flamins, the Walloon
Walloon language
Walloon is a Romance language which was spoken as a primary language in large portions of the Walloon Region of Belgium and some villages of Northern France until the middle of the 20th century. It belongs to the langue d'oïl language family, whose most prominent member is the French language...
word for Flemings. The word can be equally used as an adjective
Adjective
In grammar, an adjective is a 'describing' word; the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified....
or substantive. The word wallingant is used to describe Walloon nationalists.
The flamingant movement was originally initiated by the priests in Flanders under the French occupation of 1792. The secular republic invaded the Austrian Netherlands three years later, retaining them until 1815. This was very badly received in the Catholic provinces, alarming the clergy and damaging those economic sectors which were in competition with metropolitan France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Thus all the Walloon vineyards were ruined and the textile sector in Flanders went into decay. The French language, which had been the language of the leisured classes under feudalism
Feudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
, was imposed throughout the administration.
With the fall of the French Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
in 1815, the movement became dormant. In 1830, Belgians of the north, alongside those of the south, overthrew Dutch rule, uniting behind their common Roman Catholic religion. The choice of the French language for the young Belgian nation seemed natural, as French-speaking citizens formed the majority of the revolutionaries. The word flamingant remains a loaded term. For example, see the song Les Flamingants by Jacques Brel
Jacques Brel
Jacques Brel was a Belgian singer-songwriter who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following in France initially, and later throughout the world. He was widely considered a master of the modern chanson...
criticizing the flamingants.