Answer

In spite of the pioneering work by Flamingants like Julius Vuylsteke in the mid-nineteenth century, it was not until the 1890s and 1900s before the ideology and programme of the Flemish Movement was reformulated. Inevitably, this is related to the fact that the lower middle class – where since its birth the Movement had recruited its most loyal supporters – gained political clout as a result of the introduction of universal plural suffrage. It is this class´s concerns and preoccupations that were given voice by pro-Flemish intellectuals such as MacLeod and de Raet. The Flemish lower middle class was interested in creating greater professional opportunities for Dutch-speakers; in high-quality, modern education which used Dutch as the language of instruction; in the industrialization of Flanders; and in Dutch-speaking industrial entrepreneurs. In the 1900s, when Socialists won their first parliamentary seats in the Flemish part of the country, there emerged for the first time also within the Socialist camp a Flamingant tendency. It approached the Flemish Question from a Social-Democratic perspective, arguing the case for the Dutchification of public life in Flanders on the ground that it contributed to the emancipation of the working class.

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