The Flemish Movement

As a reaction to Francophone supremacy a Flemish Movement began to develop in 1840. It was mainly promoted by Flemish writers and intellectuals. The Flemish Movement aimed to establish the rights of the Flemish-speakers to the full enjoyment of their language and culture, also in administrative matters, and thus put an end to the social discrimination they were suffering.

The Flemish gradually gained their linguistic and cultural equality: step by step the Dutch language became acceptable in courts and administrative offices. From 1883 it was also authorized for use in schools. In 1898 the Dutch language was granted parity with French for the writing of legal texts and laws. National Belgian symbols, such as postage stamps and currency were all “bilingual” by the end of the century.

In 1893 the law of suffrage by census (a system of suffrage whereby access to the vote depended on whether or not one paid taxes and how much) was replaced by majority suffrage. The privileges of the Francophone bourgeoisie were thereby significantly diminished in favour of a more influential role for Flemish-speaking citizens within the nation’s ruling institutions.