A short history of Belgium

by Léon van der Essen

Political centralization would, however, never have been achieved by the dukes if they had not enjoyed the support of certain classes of the people. They had, indeed, the help of the noblemen, who were despised and ignored by the communes, and were therefore ready to help all the enemies of the cities. Moreover, the dukes succeeded in destroying the feudal character of the nobility, in softening it, and in converting it into a body of courtiers. They attracted the noblemen by making them royal allowances, by granting them gifts of land or money, offices at court, etc. A golden chain soon bound all the feudalists, once so independent; and life at court soon robbed them of their former spirit of freedom. Before long, the favor of the prince constituted the only chance of success in political and social life. In order to keep the nobles loyal to his person, Philip the Good founded at Bruges, in 1480, the famous and privileged order of the Golden Fleece.

Only the Burgundian and Picardian nobles, however, were to be found at court, occupying the public offices, and entirely submissive to their sovereign. The Belgian nobles could not forget that the rights of the prince, according to national tradition, were not without limits; they desired a guaranty against the dangers of personal government. They desired a government in which the duke would not be able to declare war without the consent of the states, in which he would regulate his expenses in accordance with the income of his domain, and in which he would act only after having taken the advice of his council.

The dukes were also supported in their efforts toward centralization by the clergy. Philip the Good had abolished exemption from taxation till that time enjoyed by the clergy, asserting that the common law was opposed to such privileges. Following the example of the King of France, the Duke limited the temporal power of the clergy, narrowed their jurisdiction, and imposed upon the church his candidates for bishoprics and monasteries. On the other hand, the Duke extended the political power of the clergy, giving them the first place in the States-General and in the councils. The States-General was a new institution, also introduced by the Burgundian dukes. Before the existence of the States-General, the prince was compelled, whenever a levy of taxes was desired, to deliberate separately with the delegates of each Belgian province and to obtain their consent. Philip the Good thought it more expedient to gather them all together in his presence at the same time. That meeting was called the meeting of the States-General. As the States-General did not meet except at the express order of the sovereign, and for his own advantage, this institution served as an instrument for weakening provincial individualism and strengthening the central government.

In the States-General the clergy were granted the first place; they, as well as the nobles, therefore became supporters of the policy of the dukes. By such methods, by persuasion, by distribution of money, and even by violence, the Burgundian dukes succeeded in transforming the institutions of the Belgian principalities into a monarchical rule.

Most of the new institutions were modeled after those existing in France, but adapted to the local situation and needs of Belgium. No principality lost its own autonomy, its own constitution, or its privileges. The Burgundian state was an agglomeration of states, a juxtaposition of territories. There was no universal power; the dukes were not “princes of Belgium” or “princes of the Netherlands”; they ruled every principality separately and were dukes of Brabant, counts of Flanders, dukes of Luxemburg, counts of Hainaut, Namur, etc. But their power was as vast as their wealth. When Philip the Good died in 1467, he left a personal fortune whose annual income nearly equaled that of the republic of Venice and was as much as four times that of the republic of Florence, three times that of the King of Naples, twice that of the Pope and of the Duke of Milan. No wonder that he was called “the Grand Duke of the West.”

THE MASTERPIECE OF MATHIEU DE LAYENS: TOWN HALL OF LOUVAIN
(It escaped destruction during the conflagration of August 26, 1914)

What about the Belgian civilization in the time of the Burgundian dukes?

We know that, toward the end of the fourteenth century, Flanders suffered a decline after the bloody civil war: the German merchants left Bruges, Ghent lost a part of its population, Ypres was half destroyed, Ostend became a sandy waste. The “polders” were inundated; wolves and wild boars infested the country.

Fifty years later, during the reign of the Burgundian dukes, Belgium had again become the richest country in Europe. That revival was, of course, not attributable to the dukes alone. It must be remembered that the Belgians are an industrious people and that the geographical position of the country is highly favorable. But the political union of all the provinces, peace, and a good administration contributed largely to the revival of the nation. The political work of the Burgundian dukes brought about the unification of coinage, the free relations between the different principalities, the order and safety necessary for the development of trade and industry. From an economic point of view, the dukes endeavored to conserve and to enlarge the resources of the country. They took prohibitive measures against the English cloth industry in favor of the Flemish manufacture. Charles the Bold endeavored to dredge the sand out of the harbor of Bruges and to save that city from disaster. In the fifteenth century Antwerp, supported by the dukes, became the largest market of the north. In Luxemburg the gold and silver mines began to be operated, employing the mine-workers of the region of Liège.