History, Wonder Tales, Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends The Flemish | Page 271

important European port during the last quarter of the nineteenth century, mainly
thanks to the rapid increase of grain imports from America and Russia.
Although the Belgian farming area (crop and pasture) increased slightly up to the
First World War. But this was mostly marginal land and industry gradually pushed
agriculture aside as the most important activity between 1856 an 1870. The
technical progress and the important expansion of the access roads were
responsible for a concentration and localisation of the agricultural industry in the
vicinity of the large cities, instead of being spread across the countryside where it
belonged.
The social problems which accompanied this economic upheaval were legion. In
1830 the majority of the Belgian working population was employed in agriculture,.
However, by 1880 only 32% remained and by 1910 this figure had dropped to
24.6%.
Home Industry
The family-run small land holdings received a ridiculously low income from
farming. At home they tried to earn extra by processing local raw materials such
as flax, rape, tobacco or hops. Cottage industries such as knitting, gloves, the
making of clogs or baskets, rope twining or lace making - introduced as early as
1837 to replace flax working - provided a meagre extra income which was often
partially paid in kind, i.e., not in cash.
During the last half of 1800's the cottage industries declined as a result of the
technical progress and the arrival of machines, which brought about specialisation
and replaced home labour by factory work. Nevertheless here still remained some
120,000 active home workers in 1896. Of this group which represented
approximately 17% of the working population the lace workers were the more
numerous group with 47.500. They worked about sixteen hours per day for a
meagre 1 or 1.20 Fr.
The flax crisis
In 1840 over 350,000 people were employed as weavers or spinners in the flax
industry in the provinces of East and West Flanders. The majority lived in the
countryside and combined this activity along with agriculture. A number of factors
were responsible for the slow death of the home linen (flax) industry during the
second half of the nineteenth century. Some of these were the arrival of American
cotton which replaced flax as a raw material, the mechanisation of the industry
and the springing up of small industrial companies, the heavy import duties which
were imposed abroad, especially in France, the importation of cheap flax from
Russia and the export of the Belgian-produced quality flax for manufacturing
elsewhere. By 1900 only 10,185 home weavers were still active in Belgium, of
which 84% in West Flanders.

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