Belgian Americans

Belgium is a small country in the Low Countries (with the Netherlands and Luxembourg), which border France and Germany. The modern state was created in 1830, when France assisted the region (predominantly Catholic, in contrast to the Protestant Dutch king) in gaining its independence from the Netherlands. Belgian is a nationality, not an ethnicity. The major ethnic groups of Belgium are the Flemish people, or Flemings, a Dutch-speaking people who make up about 60 percent of the country and are centered in Flanders, and the French-speaking Walloons, principally in Wallonia.

Belgium had been controlled by both France and the Netherlands in rapid succession; each side to some extent feared being replaced by a future bilingual people, so the new state adopted both French and Dutch, preserving the use of both. The term Walloon is sometimes used, especially by non-French speakers, to refer to all French-speaking Belgians, but this is a misusage; the Flemish and Walloons are the largest groups in Belgium, not the only groups, and Brussels, in Dutch-dominated Flanders, is overwhelmingly French-speaking. Because of the country's dual language groups and long cultural ties to its neighbors, both Flemish and Walloon identity are complicated matters not limited to language.

There are about 389,171 Flemish Americans and 400,000 Walloon Americans as of recent estimates.

Colonists from the region of present-day Belgium preceded the British in parts of North America, notably Dutch settlements on Long Island and Staten Island in what is now New York, and Hoboken, Jersey City, Pavonia, Communipaw, and Wallkill in what is now New Jersey. Peter Minuit, the director-general of the Dutch colony of New Netherlands from 1626 to 1633, was Walloon, and negotiated the purchase of Manhattan from the Algonquin tribe in 1626. Lord Baltimore, the English peer who was the first governor of the colony of Maryland (and governed for a lengthy 42 years, contributing significantly to the character of the early American civilization), was descended from Flemish aristocracy. Belgian Americans have fought in all major wars in which the United States was involved.

The first major wave of Belgian immigrants after the founding of the United States came in the 19th century as part of the larger wave of European immigration. From 1820, when the first Belgian immigrants arrived, until 1910, 104,000 Belgian immigrants arrived. By 1900, Belgian religious orders had been established in 16 states, and 14 of those states had bilingual schools. The number of immigrants roughly doubled between 1910 and 1970. During the 19th century, immigrants were often skilled tradespeople and settled in the places where there was a demand for their skills, especially what was then the frontier or proximate to it: Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, and West Virginia. During the 20th century, Belgian immigrants frequently came seeking an American university education, or work in the country's scientific, technical, and academic communities. Large Belgian American communities have developed in Washington, Oregon, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Florida, North Dakota, and Minnesota.

The largest Belgian American community is that of Wisconsin, spread across Brown, Door, and Kewaunee counties, in the Green Bay area. The region was originally settled by Walloons in the 1850s, and a large percentage of the population is descended from Walloons today. Though Belgian Americans assimilated in most parts of the country, their influence remains in a number of ways. Belgian place names like Brussels, Antwerp, Rosiere, and Liege are used by many towns throughout the United States. A dialect of Walloon French may still be spoken in some Belgian American communities.

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