SOUTH-EAST-FLANDERS ----- ZUID-OOST-VLAANDEREN
FLEMISH ARDENNES ----- VLAAMSE ARDENNEN
FLANDERS - BELGIUM ----- VLAANDEREN - BELGIE
Next Page Historical Overview Homepage Created 2001/03/17 |
1918 - 1965 After the First World War, the society changed fundamentally in Belgium. The introduction of the general single vote system (one man, one vote) made an end to the overall majority of the Catholic Party that had lasted for 35 years, resulting in various coalition governments whith relatively short lifes. Working hours were restricted to 8 hours a day and 48 hours a week. Pensions laws were proclaimed. The Vandervelde Law, prohibiting liquor to be served in pubs, put a strong curb on alcoholism. The National Society for Cheap Housing (Nationale Maatschappij voor Goedkope Woningen) realised social housing projects on a large scale. After 10 years of political battles, the University of Gent (Ghent) was dutchified and officially proclaimed to be a Dutch speaking institution (before 1930, it was French speaking, though located in the Dutch speaking region of Flanders). Language Laws reshaped the administrative, judicial and educational systems in Belgium. During the first half of the 1930's, a severe financial-economic crisis hit the world, resulting in rising unemployment figures. Communists and extreme right parties (VNV in Flanders ; Rex in Wallonia) gained support in Belgium. The workforce in the primary sector decreased from 16% to 12% of the total labour population. Many farmers did their field work still by horse, and sowed and harvested by hand, though tractors, machines for dispersing fertilizers and manure, mowing, haying, and threshing got introduced gradually. Productivity was further improved by doubling the usage of fertilizers and by improving cultivation methods. Various clusters of traditional industries came into existence in cities and larger towns. Labour conditions in the industrial sector remained hard. The number of self-employed people (shopkeepers) rose. Stores became more receptive for fashionable trends. Shops selling colonial products, such as exotic vegetables and fruits, came into vogue. The decreasing working hours created a new market for leisure activities. Movies became very popular and the radio (NIR and Radio Vlaanderen in Belgium) conquered the hearts of the people. Sports, in particular soccer and cycling, gained increasingly popularity. Social life was still mainly organized in a corporatistic way. Unions of farmers and farmers' wifes plaid a leading role in the village society. Electric trams replaced the steam trams, and motorized vehicles took over the street. In Belgium, the number of cars, buses, and lorries increased from 20,000 in 1921 to 160,000 in 1930 and to 240,000 in 1939. Source: Koenraad DE WOLF, Architectuurgids Zuid-Oost-Vlaanderen. Art Deco en Modernisme (1918-1965), Zottegem, 2000, p. 7. (English translation: Architectural Guide of South-East-Flanders. From Art Deco to Modernism (1918 - 1965). |
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