Think that's exactly what I tried to explain using my "dry words" ... :-) But in my opinion, there should be worked out better one fundamental statement mentioned in the messages below: > ... > However,they are not the same as the Walloons living in present-day > Belgium (who are mostly Catholic). > ... > ... > In modern terms, Wallonia and the Walloons are the French speaking > Catholics (predominantly) of Belgium. > In terms of the Reformation and the persecution of Protestants, the > Walloons were the French-speaking Protestants of the Low Countries > (Netherlands) under Spanish control in the 16th and 17th centuries > along with the Protestant Flemings (i.e. Dutch people). > ... Surely they were/are the same Walloons! Because the *Protestant* French speaking Walloons were forced to flee, only the *Catholic* French speaking Walloons remained! The same happened to the Flemings, as well as to the French. Or is there anybody to state the Huguenots were not he same French living in current France??? Or the German emigrants to the States were not the same Germans living here today? Juergen / Georges ***************************** Jürgen Fritsche (Germany) - --------------------------- genealogy@ib-fritsche.de ***************************** > -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht----- > Von: Andrea Vogel [mailto:andreav@island.net] > Gesendet am: Sonntag, 13. August 2000 19:30 > An: HUGUENOTS-WALLOONS-EUROPE-L@rootsweb.com > Betreff: [HWE] Walloons: modern vs. historical > > Hi, everyone on the list -- > On 12 Aug, Catherine <Tverdov@aol.com> was asking clarification re: > Walloons. I thank her for bringing up this important question and also > thanks to Juergen <genealogy@ib-fritsche.de> for adding his clarifications > that same day. > > This is an important topic in terms of the focus of this list > and I have > been remiss in not posting about it myself -- I'm on "summer time" these > days <g> -- not only for the benefit of new subscribers who may also be > wondering but in particular for those who have posted lately with > inquiries > concerning Belgian research in the 1800's, eg. Jose > <mei@communique.net> who > is researching in Belgium, 1840+. > Here follows some info which, hopefully, clarifies the difference > between modern-day Walloons in Belgium (let's say, from time period > c1800's+) and the Walloons of c1500-1600's. It was first posted > to the list, > with same subject line as this one, on 13 Apr and also before > that on 7 Feb > with subject line -- Walloons: Who were they? > > It is true that there are French-speaking Walloons in present-day > Belgium. But, in discussions on this list, Walloons are viewed in the more > historical perspective of the 1500-1600's. Like the Huguenots (with which > they are often confused and/or combined), they were Protestants who were > persecuted for their beliefs. As a result, they fled their homelands to > other parts of Europe or to the UK, Ireland and/or North America. However, > they are not the same as the Walloons living in present-day > Belgium (who are > mostly Catholic). > > Because I wanted to post information that was entirely correct on this > subject, I wrote to Mr. Stephen Massil <ucylswm@ucl.ac.uk> back in > February. He is the Librarian at the Huguenot Library in London. Here is > his reply to me....... > > I thank you for your enquiry. Herewith the history lesson: > In modern terms, Wallonia and the Walloons are the French speaking > Catholics (predominantly) of Belgium. > In terms of the Reformation and the persecution of Protestants, the > Walloons were the French-speaking Protestants of the Low Countries > (Netherlands) under Spanish control in the 16th and 17th centuries along > with the Protestant Flemings (i.e. Dutch people). > You should make a distinction between those who in England > worshipped at > the Dutch churches (i.e. were Flemings) and those who worshipped at the > Walloon churches: in Norwich, Canterbury, Southampton and indeed London, > except that in London the Walloon Church was almost always cited as the > "French Church" > (Threadneedle Street). > In other words, the Walloons were amongst the earliest and initially > dominant group of refugees. In practice, the French Protestant Church of > Canterbury remains to this day a "Walloon Church" and has a pastor of > Belgian origin. > With the Edict of Nantes in 1598, the French/Walloon Churches almost > faded away in England but remained as havens for the gradually increasing > numbers of refugees, now predominantly Huguenots, leaving France (rather > than the Low Countries since from there they could migrate to "free" > Holland) during the 17th century culminating at the period of the > Revocation of the Edict. > In practical terms, the Huguenot Society of Great Britain and Ireland > makes no distinction between Walloons and Huguenots and our records do not > distinguish themand nor should you in your developments. > There is here an associated body who publish (very infrequently) a > Huguenot & Walloon Gazette but very little of their information > is distinct > from ours except in that it deals with people and descendants of those > coming from the Spanish Netherlands in the 16th century. > I shall be happy to clarify further as necessary. > S.W. Massil (Huguenot Library) > > Listers, if anyone is interested in learning more about modern-day > Walloons, > information can be found about them in reference texts (encyclopedias) and > also through search engines such as www.alltheweb.com. I also mentioned a > couple of other research sites in my post on 2 Aug with subject line: Info > re: Wallonia, BEL. > > I hope this information will clear up the confusion. If not, > please ask > more questions! Andrea > > > > > > > > > > > > > ==== HUGUENOTS-WALLOONS-EUROPE Mailing List ==== > To unsubscribe (if you are in digest mode), > type and send only the word unsubscribe to: > HUGUENOTS-WALLOONS-EUROPE-D-request@rootsweb.com > > ============================== > Search ALL of RootsWeb's mailing lists in real time. > RootsWeb's Personalized Mailing Lists: > http://pml.rootsweb.com/ >