View source for Wallonia

== History ==
[[Image:Ludwigslied Manuscript Valenciennes p. 1+2.jpg|thumb|The ''[[Sequence of Saint Eulalia]]'', the oldest surviving text written in what would become [[Old French]], likely originated in or near Wallonia.<ref name="SSE" />]]
[[Image:Renier de Huy MCL3.jpg|right|thumb|[[Baptismal font]] of [[Renier de Huy]], an example of [[Mosan art]] and of medieval Walloon brass working expertise]]
{{main|History of Wallonia}}

[[Julius Caesar]] conquered [[Gaul]] in 57 BC. The [[Low Countries]] became part of the larger [[Gallia Belgica]] [[roman province|province]] which originally stretched from southwestern Germany to [[Normandy]] and the southern part of the Netherlands. The population of this territory was [[Celts|Celtic]] with a [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] influence which was stronger in the north than in the south of the province. Gallia Belgica became progressively [[Romanization (cultural)|romanized]]. The ancestors of the Walloons became [[Gallo-Roman]]s and were called the "[[Walha]]" by their Germanic neighbours. The "Walha" abandoned their [[Gaulish language|Celtic dialects]] and started to speak [[Vulgar Latin]].<ref name="YoungRegion">{{cite web
 |title       = A young region with a long history (from 57BC to 1831)
 |url         = http://www.wallonie.be/en/discover-wallonia/history/a-young-region-with-a-long-history-from-57bc-to-1831/index.html
 |work        = Gateway to the Walloon Region
 |publisher   = Walloon Region
 |access-date  = 2009-01-13
 |date        = 2007-01-22
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20080501134629/http://www.wallonie.be/en/discover-wallonia/history/a-young-region-with-a-long-history-from-57bc-to-1831/index.html
 |archive-date = 2008-05-01
}}</ref>

The [[Merovingian]] [[Franks]] gradually gained control of the region during the 5th century, under [[Clovis I|Clovis]]. Due to the fragmentation of the former [[Roman Empire]], Vulgar Latin regionally developed along different lines and evolved into several ''[[langue d'oïl]]'' dialects, which in Wallonia became [[Picard language|Picard]], [[Walloon language|Walloon]] and [[Lorrain language|Lorrain]].<ref name="YoungRegion" /> The oldest surviving text written in a ''langue d'oïl'', the ''[[Sequence of Saint Eulalia]]'', has characteristics of these three languages and was likely written in or very near to what is now Wallonia around 880 [[AD]].<ref name="SSE">{{in lang|fr}} [[Maurice Delbouille]] ''Romanité d'oïl Les origines : la langue – les plus anciens textes'' in ''La Wallonie, le pays et les hommes'' Tome I (Lettres, arts, culture), La Renaissance du Livre, Bruxelles,1977, pp.99–107.</ref> From the 4th to the 7th century, the [[Franks]] established several settlements, probably mostly in the north of the province where the romanization was less advanced and some Germanic trace was still present. The language border (that now splits Belgium in the middle) began to crystallize between 700 under the reign of the [[Merovingian]]s and [[Carolingian]]s and around 1000 after the [[Ottonian Renaissance]].<ref>Kramer, pg. 59, citing {{cite journal
| author=M. Gysseling
| title=La genèse de la frontière linguistique dans le Nord de la Gaule
| journal=Revue du Nord
| volume=44
| year=1962
| issue=173
| pages=5–38, in particular 17
| doi=10.3406/rnord.1962.2410
| language=fr
}}</ref> French-speaking cities, with [[Liège]] as the largest one, appeared along the [[Meuse]], while Gallo-Roman cities such as [[Tongeren]], [[Maastricht]] and [[Aachen]] became Germanized.
[[Image:Braine-L'Alleud - Butte du Lion dite de Waterloo.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Lion's Mound]] commemorates the [[Battle of Waterloo]], fought in present-day Wallonia. Belgium was united with the Netherlands following the [[Napoleonic Wars]].]]
The [[Carolingian dynasty]] dethroned the Merovingians in the 8th century. In 843, the [[Treaty of Verdun]] gave the territory of present-day Wallonia to [[Middle Francia]], which would shortly fragment, with the region passing to [[Lotharingia]]. On Lotharingia's breakup in 959, the present-day territory of Belgium became part of [[Lower Lotharingia]], which then fragmented into rival principalities and duchies by 1190. Literary [[Latin]], which was taught in schools, lost its hegemony during the 13th century and was replaced by [[Old French]].<ref name="YoungRegion" />

In the 15th century, the [[Dukes of Burgundy]] took over the [[Low Countries]]. The death of [[Charles the Bold]] in 1477 raised the issue of succession, and the [[Prince-Bishopric of Liège|Liégeois]] took advantage of this to regain some of their autonomy.<ref name="YoungRegion" /> From the 16th to the 18th century, the Low Countries were governed successively by the [[Habsburg]] dynasty of Spain (from the early 16th century until 1713–14) and later by Austria (until 1794). This territory was enlarged in 1521–22 when [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor]] gained the [[Tournai]] region from France.<ref name="YoungRegion" />

Present-day Belgium was conquered in 1795 by the [[French First Republic|French Republic]] during the [[French Revolutionary Wars]]. It was [[annexed]] to the Republic, which later became the [[French First Empire|Napoleonic Empire]]. After the [[Battle of Waterloo]] and the [[Congress of Vienna]], Wallonia became part of the [[United Kingdom of the Netherlands|Kingdom of the Netherlands]] under King [[William I of the Netherlands|William of Orange]].<ref name="YoungRegion" /> The Walloons played an active part in the [[Belgian Revolution]] in 1830. The [[Provisional Government of Belgium]] proclaimed Belgium's independence and held elections for the [[National Congress of Belgium|National Congress]].<ref name="YoungRegion" />

===Belgian period===
[[File:Canal du Centre, l'Ascenseur No. 3.jpg|thumb|The [[lifts on the old Canal du Centre|boat lifts on the old Canal du Centre]] were first opened in 1888 and are now a [[World Heritage Site]].]]
[[Image:Bardouxha Mont 1893-mw-c.jpg|thumb|left|Mons fusillade on 17 April 1893]]
In the 19th century, the area began to industrialize, and Wallonia was the first fully industrialized area in [[continental Europe]].<ref name = "Atlas" /> This brought the region great economic prosperity, which was not mirrored in poorer Flanders and the result was a large amount of [[Flemish immigration in Wallonia|Flemish immigration to Wallonia]]. Belgium was divided into two divergent communities. On the one hand, the very [[Flemish people|Catholic Flemish society]] was characterized by an economy centred on agriculture; on the other hand, Wallonia was the centre of the continental European [[Industrial Revolution]], where classical liberal and socialist movements were rapidly emerging.<ref name="RegionAsserts">{{cite web
| title=The region asserts itself (from 1840 to 1970)
| url=http://www.wallonie.be/en/discover-wallonia/history/the-region-asserts-itself-from-1840-to-1970/index.html
| work=Gateway to the Walloon Region
| access-date=2009-01-14
| date=2007-01-22
| archive-date=2008-05-01
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080501134642/http://www.wallonie.be/en/discover-wallonia/history/the-region-asserts-itself-from-1840-to-1970/index.html
| url-status=dead
}}</ref> Major strikes and [[general strike]]s took place in Wallonia, including the [[Walloon jacquerie of 1886]], the [[General strikes in Belgium|Belgian general strikes]] of [[Belgian general strike of 1893|1893]], 1902, 1913 (for [[universal suffrage]]), 1932 (depicted in ''[[Misère au Borinage]]''), and 1936. After [[World War II]], major strikes included the [[general strike against Leopold III of Belgium]] (1950), and the [[1960-1961 Winter General Strike]] for autonomy for Wallonia.

The profitability of the heavy industries to which Wallonia owed its prosperity started declining in the first half of the 20th century, and the centre of industrial activity shifted north to Flanders. The loss of prosperity caused social unrest, and Wallonia sought greater autonomy in order to address its economic problems. In the wake of the [[1960-1961 Winter General Strike]], the process of [[state reform in Belgium]] got underway. This reform started partly with the [[Language legislation in Belgium|linguistic laws of 1962–63]], which defined the four language areas within the [[Constitution of Belgium|constitution]]. But the strikes of 1960 which took place in Wallonia more than in [[Flanders]] are not principally linked with the four language areas nor with the Communities but with the Regions. In 1968, the conflict between the communities burst out. French speakers in Flanders (who were not necessarily Walloons) were driven out of, most notably the Leuven-based [[Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968)|Catholic University]] amid shouts of "''Walen buiten''!" ("Walloons out!"). After a formal split of the university in two and the creation of a [[Université catholique de Louvain|brand new campus]] in Wallonia,<ref name="RegionAsserts" /> a wider series of [[State reform in Belgium|State reforms was passed in Belgium]], which resulted in the federalisation of the nation and the creation of the Walloon Region and the [[French Community of Belgium|French Community]] (comprising both Wallonia and Brussels), administrative entities each of which would gain various levels of considerable autonomy.