LOW COUNTRIES, HISTORY OF

Among the many territorial principalities of the Low Countries, Flanders, Brabant, Hainaut-Holland, and Gelderland (Guelders) in the mid-14th century had a dominating military and diplomatic position. Flanders had already arrested the course of French domination, and its feeling of territoriality was strengthened by this and by many minor wars between the principalities as well as by three major revolts of large segments of the population against the principality's count. This antagonism displayed some early expressions of Flemish nationalism against the count and the nobility, who were backed by France and were French-speaking. In Brabant, national feelings were similarly fostered by fears of foreign invasions in the 1330s. In many respects, Flanders was the real territorial leader during the late Middle Ages. Its population was by far the largest of the principalities, its economic development the strongest, and its institutions the most elaborate. The extraordinary size of the largest cities made it impossible to rule the county without their collaboration. Thus during the 13th century, the scabini Flandriae, uniting delegations from the governments of the main cities, intervened in various political matters of the principality, especially concerning economic policy. During the 14th century, the three largest cities, Brugge, Ghent, and Ypres, formed a nearly permanent consultation committee called the three members of Flanders on which was bestowed decisive powers in most political matters, including taxation, legislation, and justice; it wielded as well a strong influence in international relations. During the repeated periods of revolt or absence of the count, the three members automatically extended their functions to the overall exercise of power. This experience explains why in Flanders, in contrast to Brabant and Hainaut, a system of representation by three estates (clergy, nobility, and the burghers) did not develop spontaneously. The power of the cities proved so overwhelming that they did not have to share control with the clergy and the nobility. It was the duke of Burgundy who introduced assemblies of three estates from 1385 onward, as a means to contain the cities, just as he imposed the addition of a fourth member to the consultation committee, which provided rural representation. These moves, however, did not profoundly alter the balance of power, which remained intact until the prince expanded his territory during the 15th century. In the county of Holland, power relations were balanced between the count, the nobility, and the burghers; the clergy played almost no role, since there were few important abbeys. The cities were much smaller than those of Flanders; a group of the six largest cities (Dondrecht, Leiden, Haarlem, Amsterdam, Gouda, and Delft) wielded the greatest influence and power. From 1349 onward a deep cleavage among the Dutch nobility over the succession to the throne led to the formation of two parties, the Kabeljauwen (Cods) and the Hoeken (Hooks); most cities were also divided along these party lines. Feuds on a local basis took the shape of the party antagonisms, which during certain periods of crisis spread over the whole county and over neighbouring Zeeland and Utrecht as well. During the years after 1392, the periods from 1419 to 1427, 1440 to 1445, and again in the 1470s and '80s, there was a high degree of discord in which the prince and his high officials saw their prerogatives seriously challenged. The relatively small size of the cities, close links between noble and partrician families, a weak administrative organization, and dynastic rivalries for the throne contributed to the ongoing party strife until the end of the 15th century. Gelderland was later in its development, partly because the powerful Duke William (ruled 13791402) of that principality had his own financial resources as a result of his military activities in the service of the English and, later, French kings; under William's successors, however, the knights and the towns became more powerful and finally gained permanent representation as estates. In Utrecht, too, there was cooperation between the prince (the bishop) and the estates; and the clergy, particularly the collegiate churches of the town of Utrecht, played an important part: the Land Charter of Bishop Arnold in 1375 was inspired by the Joyeuse Entre of Brabant. In the prince-bishopric of Lige, cooperation between prince and estates had to be won by violent conflicts between the towns and the bishop and, within the towns, between the patriciate and the crafts. It was mainly to these territorial estates that the princes had to turn for financial help, which was often voted to them only on limiting conditions. The Burgundians In the second half of the 14th century, the dukes of Burgundy (princes of the French royal house of Valois) began to penetrate these territorial principalities in the Low Countries, whose feelings of territoriality made them regard the dukes of Burgundy with suspicion. The marriage in 1369 of Philip II the Bold of Burgundy to the heiress of the count of Flanders (Margaret) signified the beginning of this Burgundian infiltration, which was repeatedly furthered by marriages, wars, and such tricks of fate as inheritances. Through his marriage Philip gained possession, after the death of his father-in-law in 1384, of the counties of Flanders, Artois, Rethel, Nevers, and the free county of Burgundy (Franche-Comt), the latter being within the Holy Roman Empire. He thus not only gained a large and powerful part of the Low Countries but was also able to extend his Burgundian property. Though it seemed at first that French power might again become the dominant force in the Low Countries, it soon became clear that the Burgundian dukes, while happy to continue taking part in French politics, were extremely independent and more interested in forging a single powerful empire out of the Low Countries and Burgundy. Duke John the Fearless succeeded to all his father's lands in 1404, while his younger brother Anthony was given Brabant, where the childless Duchess Joanna had named him as her successor, which was accepted by the estates. Anthony's branch of the Burgundians died out as early as 1430, so that Brabant fell to the other branch under Philip III the Good (ruled 141967), who also gained possessionthrough war, family relations, and purchaseof Hainaut-Holland, Namur, and Luxembourg. This Burgundian power structure was not a state but was founded on a personal union among the various principalities, each of which jealously guarded its own freedom and institutions. The Burgundian dukes did, however, attempt to set up central organizations to bridge the differences among the principalities and to keep the various regions under stricter control by appointing governors (stadtholders). Regional courts and exchequers increasingly enforced the central government's control in administrative, political, and judicial fields. Some principalities, such as Brabant and Hainaut, claimed that their privileges disallowed any foreign interference in their territories; in Flanders and Holland, however, the dukes introduced officials from their Burgundian homeland. In the long term, this policy of bringing in foreign administrators raised serious resistance against the central government, especially because it tended to make French the only administrative language, while the majority of the population in the Low Countries was Dutch-speaking. To further central control, Duke Philip extended his court in order to incorporate regional nobilities, and in 1430 he created The Order of the Golden Fleece, to which he brought the highest nobles from his principalities. In addition, the judicial tasks of his Great Council were entrusted from 1435 to a special group of councillors who steadily increased the weight of the central jurisdiction over local and regional customs and privileges. The ambitions of the Burgundian dukes finally ran aground on the forced and overly hasty centralization and expansion of power carried out by Charles the Bold (ruled 146777), who was able, nevertheless, to annex Gelderland. Charles imposed increasingly high financial demands, which were put before the States-Generalan assembly that united the delegates from the various states at meetings called by the duke and held at regular intervals; he tried to constitute a kingdom in the Low Countries with himself as regent, an endeavour that failed in 1473. Charles did manage, however, to elevate the central law court to the rank of the royal Parliament of Parisan obvious defiance of the king of France's prerogatives. After his defeat and death in battle to French-supported forces, a movement for regional and local rights arose and won a series of privileges from his daughter Mary (ruled 147782) that halted the previous centralization movement. Moreover, the duchy of Burgundy itself was taken over by the French crown, so that the Burgundian union, as it was reformed by the States-General from 1477, became a union without Burgundy. The pressure of French incursions brought the members of the States-General into closer collaboration. While ensuring their loyalty to the Burgundian dynasty and organizing a defense against France, they obtained the first written constitution for the whole of the principalities in the Low Countries. It recognized extensive rights to the States-General, such as control over the waging of war, currency, taxation, and tolls; furthermore, it prescribed the use of the legal language to be used in the courts. This text remained for centuries a point of reference for the rights of the subjects, granting to individuals the right of resistance in cases where tenets of the document were seen to be violated. history of the Low Countries from prehistoric times to 1579. For historical purposes, the name Low Countries is generally understood to include the territory of what is today The Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, as well as parts of northern France. However, Belgium, although it was not constituted as an independent kingdom until 1831, became a distinct entity after 1585, when the southern provinces were definitively reconquered by Spain and separated from the northern sector. For a brief period, from 1814 to 1830, an attempt was made to unite the Low Countries into one kingdom again, but both regions by this time had developed cultures too different to form a single entity under a central government. Here, therefore, the history of the Low Countries will be surveyed as a whole to the late 16th century. The later individual histories of The Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg are treated in the separate articles on those countries. Additional reading Petrus Johannes Blok, History of the People of the Netherlands, 5 vol. (18981912, reprinted 1970; originally published in Dutch, 8 vol., 18921908), is a classic history of the northern territories, although now outdated, particularly so on the history of the Middle Ages. Henri Pirenne, Histoire de Belgique, 7 vol. (190032), a brilliantly written history extending to 1914 by the famous Belgian historian, covers for the period of the Middle Ages the northern as well as the southern parts of the Low Countries, although emphasis is on the south (the post-Revolt period is covered only for the south). George Edmundson, History of Holland (1922), is an excellent general work, although better for the republican than the modern period. Ivo Schffer, A Short History of the Netherlands, 2nd rev. ed. (1973), provides a useful history of the northern Netherlands. An excellent general synthesis written by expert authors is J.A. Bornewasser et al. (eds.), Winkler Prins Geschiedenis der Nederlanden, 3 vol. (197778). Pieter Geyl, Geschiedenis van de Nederlandsche stam, rev. ed., 3 vol. (194858), is a monumental work in which the linguistic-ethnic unity of the Dutch-speaking Low Countries is emphasized. D.P. Blok et al. (eds.), Algemene Geschiedenis der Nederlanden, 15 vol. (197783), is an extensive history of both the northern and southern Low Countries from Roman times to the present day, with detailed bibliographies. The Dutch-speaking part of actual Belgium is considered in Max Lamberty et al. (eds.), Twintig Eeuwen Vlaanderen, 15 vol. (197279). Other works concerning the same area include Rene Doehaerd et al. (eds.), Histoire de Flandre: des origines nos jours (1983), an excellent and up-to-date general synthesis; and A.G.H.A. Baart and J. Louage (eds.), Culturele geschiedenis van Vlaanderen, 10 vol. (198283), a more popular version by good scholars of the general history of art, literature, and daily life. The French-speaking regions have been competently dealt with by mile Coornaert, La Flandre franaise de langue flamande (1970); Louis Trenard (ed.), Histoire des Pays-Bas franais (1972, reissued 1984); and Herv Hasquin et al. (eds.), La Wallonie: le pays et les hommes, 6 vol. (197581). The prehistory of the Low Countries is presented by Sigfrid J. de Laet, The Low Countries (1958), the only general survey in English on the topic, but now out of date in many respects; L.P. Louwe Kooijmans, The Rhine/Meuse Delta (1974), on prehistory and Holocene geology in the Dutch coastal wetlands; H.T. Waterbolk, Archaeology in the Netherlands: Delta Archaeology, World Archaeology, 13(2):24054 (1981), a short evaluation of Dutch archaeology in the last decades; and J.H.F. Blowmers, L.P. Louwe Kooijmans, and H. Sarfatij, Verleden Land: Archeologische opgravingen in Nederland (1981), a full-colour presentation of modern-day archaeology in the Netherlands, from the Middle Paleolithic up to post-medieval times. W. Jappe Alberts, H.P.H. Jansen, and J.F. Niermeyer, Welvaart in wording: sociaal-economische geschiedenis van Nederland van de vroegste tijden tot het einde van de Middeleeuwen, 2nd enlarged ed. (1977), presents a social and economic history of the northern Netherlands during the Middle Ages, with emphasis on the economic aspects. . de Moreau, Histoire de l'glise en Belgique, 5 vol. (194552), with exhaustive bibliographies, and a supplemental vol. containing maps (1948); and R.R. Post, Kerkgeschiedenis van Nederland in de Middeleeuwen, 2 vol. (1957), are extensive handbooks of the church history of, respectively, the southern and the northern Netherlands. D.P. Blok, De Franken in Nederland, 3rd ed. (1979), offers a brilliant portrayal of the early history of the northern Netherlands. P.C.J.A. Boeles, Friesland tot de elfde eeuw: zijn vr- en vroege geschiedenis, 2nd ed. (1951), is an authoritative work on early Frisian history, with a lengthy English summary. Franois-L. Ganshof, La Flandre sous les premiers comtes, 3rd ed. rev. (1949), recounts the history of the important principality of Flanders, tracing its origins and ending with the eventful crisis of 112728. Henry Stephen Lucas, The Low Countries and the Hundred Years' War, 13261347 (1929, reprinted 1976), is a reliable and richly documented account of political events. A series of books by Richard Vaughan, Philip the Bold: The Formation of the Burgundian State, rev. ed. (1979), John the Fearless: The Growth of Burgundian Power, rev. ed. (1979), Philip the Good: The Apogee of Burgundy (1970), and Charles the Bold: The Last Valois Duke of Burgundy (1973), are well-documented studies of the Burgundian dukes and the growth of their political power. J. Huizinga, The Waning of the Middle Ages: A Study of the Forms of Life, Thought, and Art in France and the Netherlands in the XIVth and XVth Centuries (1924, reprinted 1985; originally published in Dutch, 1919), is a classic work. Walter Prevenier and Wim Blockmans, The Burgundian Netherlands (1986; originally published in Dutch, 1983), is a magnificently illustrated scholarly general synthesis concerning the period 13801530. Geoffrey Parker, The Dutch Revolt (1977), analyzes the period 15651659.