Croats of Belgium

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor had settled Croats in Flanders around the Dunkerque (then Duinkerken) to serve him as soldiers.

In year 1662 town of Dunkerque became part of France as King of England, Charles II sold it to the French.

[citation needed] As Belgium was one of the most developed states in Europe in the early 20th century, part of Croats emigrated in it searching for better life.

[citation needed] After the assassination of Stjepan Radić and of Yugoslav King Alexander I in 1928-1929, and the consequent repression against Croatian nationalism, the number of Croats in Belgium increased, including many members of the Ustaše movement, secretly active also in Belgium, among which the Herzegovinian Croat general Rafael Boban, later US Army officer.

[citation needed] In 1932, under the influence of the brothers Antun and Stjepan Radić, Belgian Croats founded the first branch of the Croatian Peasant Party abroad in Jemeppe-sur-Sambre near Liège.

[citation needed] Before World War II only a small number of Croats had university degrees - among them dr. Ivan Puljić and economist Ante Klarić.

In time of World War II most of Croats had stayed in Belgium, only the members of Ustaše left the country for Croatia.

Oton Orešković, in cooperation with Delonoy published a comprehensive study in the review Historia on Ante Pavelić's rise to power until his life in exile.

[citation needed] A further wave of immigration started after the quelling of the Croatian Spring by the Yugoslav communist regime in 1971.

Most of them Croats soon left Belgium for Canada and Australia, smaller part went in United States, New Zealand and South America.

After the 1970s and the death of communist dictator Josip Broz Tito, only Croats who worked for Yugoslav companies arrived in Belgium.

With sequence of events, Croats of Belgium founded branches of Croatian Democratic Union (in 1990 and 1991) in Antwerp, Brussels and Liège.

[citation needed] It is difficult to determine with certainty the number, age structure of Croats in Belgium, their economic status and level of national identity, especially among the descendants of the first settlers.

[citation needed] Later, most Croatian immigrants settled around the area of Brussels and Antwerp in Flanders where the economic situation is nowadays better.

The Croatian national identity is still strong, even with the third generation of immigrants, even though there is a small number of those who know they are Croats, but Croatia doesn't mean much to them.