Partition of Belgium Belgian identity was not defined on racial, ethnic or linguistic lines, but in the civilizational community of the Belgian people. Supporters of a partition of Belgium argue that the synchronized attempts to forge a national identity and culture have been unable to forestall ethno-linguistic rivalries. French was the only official language of Belgium until 1898, even though Flanders was and still is predominantly Dutch-speaking. The government's long refusal to acknowledge Dutch as an official language led to hostilities between Flanders and the French-speaking bourgeoisie who held both political and economic power. These hostilities gave rise to the Flemish movement, which
Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts created and from then on until 1971 Flemish scientists were either member of the Dutch-language Flemish academy or member of the officially bilingual ARB. This situation created confusion sometimes. As a consequence of the first state reform in Belgium in 1970, the officially bilingual Royal Academy was dissolved in 1971 and replaced by a solely French-speaking academy, ARB, for the French speaking community and a solely Dutch-speaking academy, KAWLSK, for the Flemish community. Almost 30 years later on, KAWLSK was renamed KVAB ("Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie van België voor Wetenschappen en Kunsten") in 1999. Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science