Other Definitions
flanders (dict)
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Flanders Definitions Care should be taken with the use of the term Flanders: different people often mean different things when they use it. Usually, the term Flanders (French: Flandre or Flandres) is normally taken to refer to a geographical area, one of the three regions in Belgium; the precise geographical area denominated by this word has changed a great deal over the centuries. In the past, the term Flanders was applied to an area in western-Europe, spread over: Contemporary Flanders Today, Flanders can be seen in a geographic sense, the current Flemish region. Political Flanders Flanders is one of the federal units of the Kingdom of Belgium. Its area is defined on the map opposite. The Federal Unit of Flanders has a population of over 6 million. Its official language and principal language spoken is Dutch. Minorities speak French, Yiddish, Italian, Polish, Turkish, Berber, Arabic and other languages. The Flemish Region covers 13,522 km² and contains over 300 municipalities). It is divided into 5 provinces: - Antwerp (Dutch: Antwerpen)
- Limburg (Limburg)
- East Flanders (Oost-Vlaanderen)
- Flemish Brabant (Vlaams-Brabant)
- West Flanders (West-Vlaanderen)
Independently from the provinces, Flanders also has its own local institutions in the Brussels region, being the 'Vlaamse GemeenschapsCommissie' (VGC), and its municipal antennae ('gemeenschapscentra', community centers for the Flemish community in Brussels). History Middle Ages During the later Middle Ages Flanders trading towns (notably Ghent (Gent), Bruges (Brugge) made it one of the most urbanised parts of Europe, weaving the wool of neighbouring lands into cloth for home consumption and export. Increasingly powerful from the 12th century, the territory's autonomous urban communes were instrumental in defeating a French attempt at annexation (1300-1302), finally defeating the French in the Battle of the Golden Spurs (July 11, 1302), near Kortrijk. Flemish prosperity waned in the following century, however, owing to widespread European population decline following the Black Death of 1348, the disruption of trade during the Anglo-French Hundred Years' War (1338-1453), and increased English cloth production. Flemish weavers had gone over to Worstead and North Walsham in Norfolk in the 12th century and established the woollen industry. Created in the year 862, the county of Flanders was divided when its western districts fell under French rule in the late 12th century. The remaining parts of Flanders came under the rule of the counts of neighbouring Hainaut in 1191. The entire area passed in 1384 to the dukes of Burgundy, in 1477 to the Habsburg dynasty, and in 1556 to the kings of Spain. The western districts of Flanders came finally under French rule under successive treaties of 1659 (Artois), 1668, and 1678. Spanish, Austrian and French Occupation The period of Spanish rule was marked by the division of the Low Countries between the northern United Provinces and the southern Netherlands, approximating to today's Belgium and including most of Flanders. The southern Spanish half passed to the Austrian Habsburgs in 1714 as a reward for their acceptance of a Bourbon succession to the Spanish throne following the extinction of the Spanish Habsburg line. Although arts remained at an impressive level for another century with Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640, returned to Antwerp at age 6), Flanders experienced a loss of its former economic and intellectual power under Spanish, Austrian, and French rule, with heavy taxation and rigid imperial political control compounding the effects of industrial stagnation and Spanish-Dutch and Franco-Austrian conflict. Conquered by revolutionary France in 1794 and annexed the following year as the dpartements of Lys and Scheldt, Flanders was attached to the United Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815 but became a part of the kingdom of Belgium in 1831 following the revolution of the previous year. Dutch Period After the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1814 (confirmed the following year at the Battle of Waterloo near Brussels), sovereignty over the Southern Netherlands -- Belgium -- was given by the Congress of Vienna (1815) to the rulers of the Northern provinces of the "Low Countries". The Protestant King of the Netherlands, William I succeeded in rapidly starting the industrialisation of the Southern Netherlands, but failed to maintain good relations with the larger and rebellious Catholic provinces. The Belgian bourgeoisie was not only Catholic, as opposed to the Protestant north, but they also spoke French, instead of Dutch. Resentment grew both among Catholics and among the powerful liberal bourgeoisie. In 1830, a street revolution in Brussels led to the splitting up of the two countries. Belgium was confirmed as an independent state by the London Conference of 1831, but deprived of the military strongholds of Maastricht and Givet (explaining those surprising indentations in the Belgian border) Sovereignty over Zeeuws Vlaanderen, south of the Scheldt river delta, was left with the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which closed this river for any sea traffic to and from Antwerp harbour until 1863. World War I Flanders saw some of the greatest losses of life of the First World War including the battles of Ypres and the Somme. Due to the hundreds of thousands of casualties and the poppies that sprang up on Flanders Fields, they have both become an emblem of human life lost in war. Flemish feeling of identity and consciousness grew through the events and experiences of war. The German occupying authorities had taken several Flemish-friendly measures. More importantly the experiences of the Flemish speaking soldiers on the front lead by French speaking officers catalysed Flemish emancipation. Their suffering is still remembered by Flemish organizations during the yearlyYser pilgrimage and Wake of the Yser in Diksmuide at the monument of The Yser tower. Flanders- Language The standard language used in Flanders is the same as in the Netherlands, i.e., Dutch. The Dutch dialects spoken in Belgium are often referred together as Flemish (Vlaams in Dutch), Using Flemish to refer to dialectic language may be confusing as there are many different Flemish dialects that are sometimes mutually incomprehensible. At first sight, Flemish culture is defined by its language. However, a distinctive Flemish literature as such does not exist. Books written by Flemings and by Dutchmen are read all over the Dutch-speaking areas, though most readers are able to distinguish the fine differences in vocabulary. Many new political parties during the last half century were founded in Flanders and most often in Antwerp: "Daensisme," progressive Christian-Democrats; Frontpartij & Volksunie, moderate Flemish; Agalev, alternative/Green; Vlaams-Belang: far-right; and ROSSEM, a short-lived anarchistic spark). See also External links
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