History, Wonder Tales, Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends The Flemish | Page 48
Flemish pioneer land drainers were known in various parts of Europe (eg, in
France, Italy, Russia) as well as in Eastern England. Smiles (1887) credits a
Flemish vanguard of about 200 families with the early drainage near the Isle of
Axholme in North Lincolnshire/Yorkshire beginning in 1626.
Skilled Flemish agricultural laborers, textile workers and craftsmen also
established themselves in the Northern Netherlands, Germany, France, and in
North America during the 16th to 18th C. As usual, their migration was often
encouraged by war and economic hardships induced by religious bias.
Perhaps Wilson (1959) has best summarized the place of Flemish immigrants
in the long history of newcomers to England: "Our first immigrants (except for a
handful of Jews) were Flemish… Until the great Huguenot inrush of the 1680's
our refugees (sic) came mainly from the Low Countries and the majority of
them were Flemings."
Peters (1985) has described in detail the three significant waves of Flemish
immigration to England, particularly for individuals from the area once known as
'Walloon Flanders.' These periodic surges in migration occurred during (1)
1560-1575, (2) 1580-1600, and (3) 1625-1635.
Additional Reading:
Text origin : http://pacificcoast.net/~deboo/flemings/pages/Migrations.html
Annexion Français. The annexation of Flemish territory by France 1659-1713.
Interactive maps. www.cr-npdc.fr/reperes/france/histoire/05/05-04.htm
BBC Legacies. Immigration and Emigration. The Flemish colonists in Wales.
www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/immig_emig/wales/w_sw/index.shtml
Cox, R. 2005. Our kinsfolk in the Netherlands - always closely associated with
Britain. www.ensignmessage.com/archives/kinsfolk.html.
Embassy of Belgium in the United Kingdom. About Belgium. Anglo-Belgian relations.
www.diplobel.org/uk/pages/country/anglo-belgian%20relations.htm
Fiske, J. 1902 (2004). The Dutch and Quaker colonies in America. II Dutch influence
upon England. HTML by Dinsmore Documentation. www.dinsdoc.com/fiske-2-2.htm
Flanders. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/flanders
Hardie-Stoffelen, A. 2005. The Flemish influence in Scotland.
http://amg1.net/scotland/fleminfl.html
History of the Low Countries. The Netherlands before the Burgundians, 1340 - 1536.
(NB map of Flanders) www.zum.de/whkmla/region/lowcountries/nethpreburg.html
History of the Spanish Netherlands, 1600-1713. (NB series of maps 1648 - 1699)
www.zum.de/whkmla/region/lowcountries/spanneth.html
McConnachie. A. 2002. A history of immigration to Britain.
www.sovereignty.org.uk/features/articles/immig.html
West Flanders Genealogical Records: http://www.vrijwilligersrab.be
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