Immigration of Belgians in the United States

Immigration or international migration is one of the most significant and contested forms of spatial mobility of population in the 21st century. Its most basic definition is migration of a person or group of persons across a national boundary with the intent to stay. Migrations from culture regions of origin to regions of residence and control by members of other ethnic groups have occurred for millennia, but immigration as it is understood today is a relatively recent spatial phenomenon. Immigration, as defined above, assumes two requisite conditions: first, that political states have internationally recognized boundaries, and second, that political states have the sovereign right to determine who can cross those boundaries, particularly with the intent to stay (Sante, p. 222). From the late 19th through the mid 20th century, for example, most of the African continent went through a spatial transformation from traditional settlement regions to colonization by European powers to independence with political borders approximating the colonial borders, ultimately imposing the status of “immigrant” to migrants who had maintained migration patterns that predated the borders. The same would be true of the former colonial regions of Asia. In the Western Hemisphere, “colonists” came from a variety of countries, but new migrants were not considered “immigrants” until after each country gained its independence. Similarly, immigration defined the dominant populations and cultures of United States. (Sante, p. 45)

Belgians are the Americans who migrated from Belgium to United States. According to the estimates of 2007, Belgium is a country which has a population of about 10.5 million. It also has been estimated by U.S. census of 2000 that 33,895 Belgians lived in United States, of which 53.7% have became official citizen of United States (U.S. Census Bureau). Belgian Americans have formed two ethnic groups in United States. These ethnic groups include the Walloons and the Dutch Flemings. The Dutch Flemings are also known as the Flanders and they belong to the northern parts of Belgium and are Dutch speaking. Also, the Walloons are French speaking and belongs to the southern provinces of Belgium. This shows the background of the Belgian Americans who migrated from different parts of Belgium to America. It has been said that Henry Hudson who was a Fleming was the first Belgian who came to United States by sailing through the river of New York (Gjerde, Jon, p. 77). That is main reason why the New ...