Burgundian Netherlands

See also: Netherlands (homonymy)

The Burgundian Netherlands are the whole of the Seventeen Provinces acquired by the Ducs of Burgundy (dynasty of Valois) between the 14th century and 16th century. One then designated them as the “States of by-on this side” or the “Netherlands” to distinguish them from the “States from beyond”, the higher possessions and more Southerners of Burgundy and Franche-Comté.

Origins

The Belgian Nerviens occupy the south of the Meuse; the Germains clippings occupy is IJssel until the Ems; between the two, the germano-Celtic tribe Batavian occupies Insula Batavorum. In 57 before J. - C. César reaches the the Rhine. In 15 after J. - C. Drusus crosses the Rhine and occupies Insula Batavorum to the lake Flevo (Zuiderzee); the Bataves become socii of the Roman Empire. In 69 the Batavians are raised with Civilis, then are subjected, providing to Rome riders and sailors. Towards 250 the Francs occupy the grounds of the Batavians and amalgamate with them.

In 695 the évêché of Utrecht is founded and the christianization of the country starts with holy Willibrord. Towards 800 the Frisons are subjected by Charlemagne.

In 843 Treated of Verdun: the country becomes part of Lotharingie (then of Low-Lotharingie in 954). Between 954 and 1406 the country consists of several seigniories, including three duchies: the Brabant, Gueldre, Clèves. The September 26th 1345 Guillaume II of Hainaut and Hanover, encircled by the Frisons with Staveren is decapitated.

Territorial unification

the dukes of Burgundy will unify these countries.

The first of them, Philippe Bold the, accepted the Duché of Burgundy in prerogative (province given by a king of France to its son junior). In 1369, it married the girl of the count of Flanders.

All the policy of the dukes of Burgundy then consisted in trying to seize the areas located between Burgundy and the Flanders and to make of it a State between France and the Holy roman Empire. They proceeded by marriage, heritage or purchase (Jean without Peur and Philippe the Good) or conquest (Charles Bold the).

Seventeen Provinces

Acquisitions of the Dukes of Burgundy and Charles Quint (n˚ on the chart between brackets):

Will be added, under Charles Quint:

  • the Seigniory of Utrecht (17), the Seigniory of Plank Western and Eastern (13), as well as the Duchy of Gueldre (2)
  • of the lost provinces, then taken again: Groningue, i.e. the city and the neighborhoods ( Ommelanden ) (14), Overijssel (16), Zutphen (11)

Later, the seigniories of Turned and the Tournésis is often named like one (or two) of the Provinces. The Marquis At of Antwerp on the other hand belonged to the the Brabant and is not regarded any more as a Province. Zutphen becomes part of the Gueldre. The " cities; gallicantes" from Flanders (Lille, Orchies and Douai) behave more and more like a Province with whole share.

This territory is also known under the name of Seventeen Provinces , seventeen being the number of representatives in the General states of the Netherlands to Brussels. This number was always approximate: the General states never indicated which were precisely the seventeen States. The dukes did not indicate either in a constant way which were the seventeen titles which they had joined together in a personal Union (a Seigneurie being sometimes regarded as dependant on another). The chart attached takes again the 17 commonly allowed Provinces.

The Principality S of Liege and Stavelot-Malmedy (in green on the chart) will be plain with the Netherlands only in 1795, after the French revolution (first French empire, then the United Kingdom of the Netherlands).

Administrative unification

The administrative unification was carried out by Philippe the Good. Of all these extremely different territories, he wanted to make a powerful State.

To manage its states effectively, it created:

  1. the Council of Burgundy (the Gouvernement), with the head of which the Chancelier of Burgundy was (kind of Prime Minister)
  2. the provincial States, composed of delegated clergy, the nobility and cities, voted the taxes
  3. the General states, chosen by the provincial States, with an aim of not having to separately request subsidies of general interest from each province
  4. three Rooms of the Accounts, dealing with finances, with Lille, Brussels, $the Hague, joined together in only one by Charles Bold the with Malines
  5. the Councils of justice in each province.
The centralizing policy of the dukes of Burgundy met great resistances among the communes, jealous of their autonomy, which revolted under Philippe the Good (Ghent, Bruges), but especially under its son, Bold Charles (Dining, Liege), more demanding (subsidies for its many wars) and less diplomat that his father.

Bursting of the Burgundian State

The king of France, Louis XI, was extremely anxious rise of the Burgundian power. He tied many intrigues against Charles Bold the (e.g. he encouraged the trades inhabitant of Li2ege to revolt against Charles the Bold one. This one repressed rising savagely and obliged Louis XI to attend the fire of the city).

Patient, Louis XI benefitted from the impulsive character of Charles the Bold one, who undertook a policy of conquests. By occupying the Lorraine , it attracted itself the hostility of the Swiss Cantons. Beaten by them on several occasions, it ends up being killed under the walls of Nancy in 1477. At once Louis XI was thrown on the Burgundian states.

The General states removed all the centralizing institutions of the dukes of Burgundy, by the Grand Privilege. They advised with Marie of Burgundy, girl of Charles the Bold one, to marry Maximilien of Austria (family of Habsbourg), in order to be able to face the French invasion.

At the end of the war, Louis XI preserved Burgundy but had to give up the Netherlands, which will then be directed by the Habsbourg of Spain: they are the Spanish Netherlands.

See also: Spanish Netherlands

Economy

Under the government of the dukes of Burgundy, the economic life knows a great prosperity in the area of Burgundian Netherlands. This is explained by the policy of the dukes and the fact why this area knows at this time (about 1400-1450) one period of peace and order.

Agriculture thrives particularly with the Comté of Flanders, where one removes the fallow by introducing the plants fouragères (they enrich the ground and make it possible to nourish the cattle)

As for industry, the cities clothiers (Ghent, Bruges, Ypres) enter during one time of decline: they are indeed competed with by cloths English and suffer from the high prices of wool. Moreover, Bruges sees its port ensabler. The dukes will take measures to help these cities (taxation of English cloths, work to free from sand the wearing of Bruges), but these measurements will remain vain, and in fact other cities will take the changing. It is the case of Antwerp as of 1442; located well at the bottom of the estuary of the the Scheldt, its port will become an important center of exchanges on a European scale .

In addition rural drapery (flax) makes beautiful great strides: it is made possible by the loss of influence of the great centers clothiers (Laine), by more flexible payments of manufacture and by lower wages.

The dukes facilitate the rise of the trade by unifying the Monnaie S and by controlling their striking. The organization of the international business becomes more liberal in new centers such as Antwerp (e.g. not of markets, which means the freedom to sell where one wants). In the old centers such as Bruges, one remains attached to a corporative organization which obstructs the commercial transactions.

Company, art and culture

The dukes like the luxury, ostentation and the richness. They organize their court consequently, are surrounded by a subjected nobility (creation about the Golden Fleece to reward the noble faithful ones), organize sumptuous festivals to divert this court.

On the vestimentary level, the fashion is with the short pourpoint, the hairstyle “out of bowl” and the shoes “with the Poulaine” for the men; the women are capped hennins and their dresses have long drags.

The dukes are large guards of arts and artists:

  1. Architecture:
  2. : The artists do not work exclusively any more for the Church, but also for particular rich person. The ogival style (or Gothic) still characterizes the {{XIVe}} and {{XVe}} centuries, but it undergoes an evolution: the forms are increasingly light (" lace of pierre"), the lines give the impression of flames (from where the name of " Gothic flamboyant"). The examples are numerous in Belgium: town halls of Brussels, Leuwen, Audenarde, cathedral of Antwerp, etc)
  3. Painting:
  4. : It supplants little by little the miniature, which is still used to illustrate the handwritten books (ex; " Very rich hours of the duke of Berry"). She experiences a particularly significant development. One paints on panels of wood and of fabric and one uses the oil-base paint (which fixes the color). The prospect is returned better and the painters show a great preoccupation with a precision (faces, fabrics…). The subjects remain primarily monk.
  5. :
  6. : Several painters originating in the Netherlands mark this time and illustrate the “Flemish Renaissance”. It is for example about Jan Van Eyck ( the mystical lamb , Vierge with the canon Van der Paele ), of Rogier van der Weyden (also called Pasture) ( the seven sacraments , Portrait of Philippe the Good ), of Dirk Bouts ( the last Cène , the justice of Othon ), of Jerome Bosch ( the last judgment ) of Hans Memling, Gerard David, etc.
  7. Sculpture:
  8. : Statues decorating the public churches, monuments and the tombs. The most known sculptor is Claus Sluter (well of Brace with Dijon in Burgundy)

See too

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