Editing History of Belgium (section)

=== Linguistic conflict ===
The majority of those in the north of the country spoke Dutch and other [[Low Franconian languages]] while those in the south spoke [[Langues d'oïl]] such as [[French language|French]], [[Walloon language|Walloon]] and [[Picard language|Picard]]. French became the official language of government after the separation from the Netherlands in 1830 and Belgian cultural life was especially dominated by the French influence,<ref>Rondo E. Cameron, ''France and the economic development of Europe, 1800–1914'' (2000) p. 343</ref><ref>Louis Vos, "Nationalism, Democracy and the Belgian State" in Richard Caplan and John Feffer, ''Europe's New Nationalism: States and Minorities in Conflict'' (Oxford, 1966) pp.89–90</ref> reinforced by economic domination of the industrial south. Flemish was "reduced to the tongue of a second-class culture."{{Sfn|Cook|2004|page=81}} Parts of the Flemish population reacted against this. This was partly due to a sense of growing Flemish identity. Flemish victories, like the [[Battle of the Golden Spurs]] in 1302 were celebrated and a Flemish cultural movement, led by figures like [[Hendrik Conscience]] was born. About the same time a Walloon Movement emerged, led by [[Jules Destrée]] and based on loyalty to the French language. Universal suffrage meant the Francophones were a political minority, so the Walloon Movement concentrated on protecting French where it had a majority, and did not contest the expanded use of Dutch in Flemish areas.{{Sfn|Deprez|Vos|1998|pages=10–11, 139–152}}

The Flemish goal of linguistic equality (especially in schools and courts) was finally achieved by a series of laws in the 1920s and 1930s. Dutch became the language of government, education, and the courts in the northern provinces of East and West Flanders, Antwerp, Limburg, and eastern Brabant. French remained the official language in Wallonia; Brussels, which had seen a major [[Francization of Brussels|language shift to French]], became an officially bilingual region. Meanwhile, a small separatist Flemish movement had emerged; the Germans had supported it during the war, and in the 1930s it turned fascist. In the Second World War it collaborated with the Nazis.{{Sfn|Deprez|Vos|1998|pages= 10–12, 83–95}}