HAPSBURG AND BURGUNDY
The disaster of Nancy naturally provoked a strong reaction in the
Belgian provinces. We have seen that the large towns bore only with
great reluctance the centralized rule of Philip the Good, in spite of
the moderation and the diplomatic talents of this prince. In the latter
part of his reign, Charles the Bold had completely disregarded local
privileges and relentlessly crushed every attempt at rebellion. He
raised taxes for his foreign expeditions which weighed heavily on the
people. More and more absorbed by his struggle against Louis XI, he
neglected internal affairs, and the Belgians were loath to support an
expensive policy of foreign adventures which could only be detrimental
to their own interests. Mary of Burgundy was thus left alone, in 1477,
to confront, on one side the exigencies of the towns and States, and on
the other the intrigues of Louis XI. The latter had not only
confiscated the duke's French dominions, as soon as the news of his
death reached him, but he proposed, with the support of the disaffected
towns, to appropriate as well his Northern provinces. Fearing English
interference, he thought of striking a bargain with the King of England
and offered to conquer Brabant for him. Very wisely, Edward IV retorted
that the province would be too difficult to hold and that "a war with
the Netherlands would not be popular in England owing to the active
trade between the two countries." Left to his own devices, Louis
succeeded in persuading the Flemings that a marriage between Mary and
the dauphin would be the most profitable solution of the crisis. On the
refusal of the princess, who was already affianced to the Archduke
Maximilian of Austria, the French king dropped the mask of friendship
and invaded Hainault and Artois.
[_THE "GREAT PRIVILEGE"_]
By that time, Mary had given full satisfaction to the particularist
demands by granting the "Great Privilege," which practically restored
all provincial and urban liberties and brought to nought the patient
work of centralization accomplished by the dukes. Under the threat of
foreign invasion, the people rallied around her to the cry of "Vive
Bourgogne!" and identified the cause of their national dynasty with
that of their own independence. Arras was obliged to open its gates to
the French armies, but Valenciennes and St. Omer made a desperate
resistance. It was, however, evident that, under the circumstances, the
Low Countries could not oppose the French advance without foreign help.
The States therefore agreed to the marriage of Mary with Maximilian of
Austria, who entered the country at the head of a small army.
This marriage proved fatal to the independence of the Low Countries, by
bringing them more and more under the sway of the Hapsburg dynasty. In
spite of their French possessions, the Burgundian princes had
maintained a national policy, or, to speak more accurately, had, with
the exception of Charles's last adventures, furthered their own
interests to the greater benefit of the Belgian provinces. As far as
foreign politics were concerned, they succeeded in remaining neutral
between the three Powers surrounding them and in interfering in
European affairs only when their possessions were directly threatened.
There was no conflict between the economic and political interests of
Belgium and those of the Burgundian dynasty. The dukes remained in the
country and the welfare of the country was the essential condition of
their own prosperity. Owing to the union of Maximilian with Mary of
Burgundy, this situation was entirely altered. From the end of the
fifteenth century to the time of the French Revolution, the Netherlands
were more and more sacrificed to the interests of their masters,
whether belonging to the Austrian or the Spanish branch of the
Hapsburgs. They lost the benefit of the presence of their national and
"natural" princes, who were absorbed in far more important affairs and
spent most of their life out of the country. They were administered by
regents or governors, who generally did not enjoy sufficient
independence and authority to pursue a Netherlandish policy. They
constituted a sort of outpost of the Power to which they were attached,
and were, in consequence, first exposed to the attacks of the enemies
of this Power. This is one of the main causes of the sixteenth-century
revolution and the subsequent partition of the country, and of the
decadence of the Southern provinces which became so evident during the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
For some time, however, the Hapsburg policy did not prevail, and it
even appeared, at certain moments, as if a national dynasty might be
restored. The Belgian States, and more especially the Belgian
aristocracy, succeeded in influencing the princes and their governors,
who, from time to time, reverted to a national policy. The story of the
fifteenth and the sixteenth centuries in Belgium is composed of the
struggle of the two opposing principles: the national Burgundian
policy, based on peace and neutrality in European conflicts, and the
Hapsburg policy, drawing the provinces in the wake of Hapsburg
ambitions and rivalries.
Illustration: MARY OF BURGUNDY.
From the mausoleum in the Church of Notre Dame, Bruges.
[_DEATH OF MARY_]
If Maximilian, after his victory at Guinegate, had limited his aims to
the defence of the country and managed to conclude an early peace with
Louis, the attitude of the people would no doubt have remained
friendly. But, before being Mary's husband and the successor of the
Burgundian dukes, he was an Austrian archduke, bound to pursue the
policy of his House against France, whether it was to the interest of
the Netherlands or not, and to oppose any local liberties which
hampered his action. It is in this light that the intricate conflicts
which arose between the archduke and the towns, more especially Ghent,
must be viewed. The latter town rose against him, and even went as far
as to re-enter into negotiations with France, far more to guard
municipal liberties than from any friendly feeling towards that
country. Mary died in 1482, leaving two children, Philip and Margaret,
who had been entrusted to the care of Ghent. On the archduke's refusal
to conclude peace, the Ghent deputies, reverting to the project of the
French marriage, negotiated at Arras a treaty with Louis XI, according
to which the young Princess Margaret was to marry the dauphin.
Maximilian succeeded in defeating the Ghent militias, and transferred
Philip from Ghent to Malines. But the Communes were not yet daunted. A
rising occurred in Bruges and the citizens took Maximilian prisoner,
obliging him, before restoring him to liberty, to abolish all the
monarchical reforms which he had introduced since the granting of the
Great Privilege. Bruges, however, was finally defeated, in 1490, and
Ghent, which had allied itself with Charles VIII of France, in 1492.
The next year peace was concluded at Senlis between Maximilian and
Charles, who was compelled to restore Artois and Franche Comte. This
date marks, for the time, the end of the stubborn fight waged by the
towns against the central authority of the monarch and the triumph of
the modern principle of the State against the mediaeval principle of
local privilege.
Illustration: MAXIMILIAN I. From a portrait by Ambrozio de Predis
(Imperial Museum, Vienna).
[_THE "JOYOUS ENTRY"_]
With the accession of Maximilian to the Empire (1493) and of his son
Philip the Handsome, then sixteen years old, to the governance of
Belgium, we witness a return to the traditional Burgundian policy on
strictly national lines. The enthusiasm provoked by the change and the
professions of loyalty made to Belgium's "natural prince" show how deep
was the attachment for the Burgundian policy and how much Maximilian's
foreign origin had counted against him. The new prince, who had never
left his Belgian provinces and whose education had been entrusted to
Belgian tutors, became the symbol of national independence, and all the
restrictions which had been exacted from Mary of Burgundy and from
Maximilian were allowed to lapse in his favour. He was not asked to
ratify the Great Privilege nor the various promises made by
Maximilian. His "Joyous Entry of Brabant" was very much on the same
lines as those sworn previously by Philip the Good and Charles the
Bold. The prince's commissaries were restored to their offices and had
again the power to choose communal magistrates, thus removing them from
the direct influence of the corporations. The Ducal Council was
reappointed, and a special ordinance of 1495 provided for the
reconstitution of the prince's estates. The Parliament of Malines was
re-established under the name of "Grand Council." In fact, all the
ground lost by centralization since the death of Charles the Bold was
rapidly reconquered without any opposition, and the States General made
no difficulty in granting the taxes. Such an extraordinary
transformation can only be explained if we remember that almost all
foreigners had been excluded from the Council of the prince. Out of
fourteen councillors, two only were Germans and three of Burgundian
origin. Philip himself did not even know German and had become
estranged from his father. The readiness with which he accepted the
counsels of his Belgian advisers, the Princes of Croy and the Counts of
Berg and Lalaing, had gained for him the nickname of "Take-advice"
(Croit-conseil).
Needless to say his foreign policy was entirely directed towards peace.
In vain did Maximilian endeavour to lure him into his intrigues against
France. Philip established the most cordial relations with Charles
VIII. Henry VII of England, who had alienated Maximilian's sympathies
since his reconciliation with France (the archduke having even
encouraged the pretender Perkin Warbeck against him), and who had
retaliated by transferring the staple of English cloth from Antwerp to
Calais and by forbidding all trade with the Low Countries, was also
pacified by Philip after some negotiations. In 1496, the two sovereigns
signed the "Intercursus Magnus," which re-established commercial
relations between the two countries. It is characteristic of the
intimate economic connection between England and Belgium that they were
the first to sign the most liberal treaty of commerce of the time.
In 1498, after a new attempt by Maximilian to enlist his support
against Louis XII, Philip appealed to the States General, which
strongly supported his pacific attitude. By the treaty of Paris,
concluded in the same year, the Belgian prince went as far as
renouncing his rights on Burgundy in order to maintain friendly
relations and to keep the advantages granted by the treaty of Senlis.
Philip the Handsome, in so doing, went farther than the dukes
themselves: he deliberately sacrificed his dynastic interests to the
welfare of the Northern provinces.
Illustration: PHILIP THE FAIR. JUANA OF CASTILE. Portraits by an
unknown Flemish painter of the sixteenth century.
[_PHILIP THE HANDSOME_]
This uncompromising attitude with regard to Belgian interests was
unhappily not destined to be adhered to much longer by Philip. In 1495
he had been married to Juana of Castille, daughter of his father's
allies, Ferdinand and Isabella. Through a series of deaths in the
family, Juana became, in 1500, heiress to the throne of Spain. From
this moment Philip's line of conduct changed, and the interests of the
Low Countries were sacrificed to his dynastic ambitions. This brought
about a reconciliation with Maximilian, who had at last succeeded in
enlisting his son's support. On the death of Isabella, in 1504,
Philip took the title of King of Castille in order to forestall the
intrigues of his father-in-law, Ferdinand. With a view of securing the
support of England, which had been somewhat estranged owing to the new
policy followed by Philip, the latter concluded in 1506 a new treaty of
commerce, very unsatisfactory from the Belgian point of view, and which
was therefore called by the people the "Intercursus Malus." The new
King of Spain died the same year, in Burgos, having lost a great deal
of the popularity which he had so largely enjoyed during the first part
of his reign.
The crisis which followed was not so severe as that of 1477, but was
very similar to it. While protesting his friendship for the young
Prince Charles of Luxemburg, then only six years old, Louis XII won the
support of Erard de la Marck, Bishop of Liege, and endeavoured to
influence the towns in order to exclude Maximilian from the Regency.
Under the threat of French ambition, the States General, however, took
the same line as after the death of Charles the Bold and sent a
deputation to Germany. The Emperor chose his daughter, Margaret of
Austria, aunt of Charles, to govern the Low Countries. This princess
had not forgotten the affront she had suffered during her youth: when
first affianced to Charles VIII she had been abducted by the French and
subsequently restored to her father. Her hostility was, however,
directed far more against the Valois than against France. Widow of
Philibert of Savoy, she was the type of the great princess of the
Renaissance, and combined an intense interest in Art and Letters with
great diplomatic acumen. During the twenty-three years that she
governed Belgium, she remained a foreigner to the people. She did not
know either Flemish or German, and her culture as well as her
surroundings remained entirely French. Devoted to her nephew, her first
aim was to further his dynastic interests, but, being very independent
of her father, whose Austrian policy she succeeded in checking several
times, she was intelligent enough to realize that Charles's interests
were also, at the time, those of the Netherlands. Her rule therefore
struck a balance between the Hapsburg and the dynastic tendencies.
Living a secluded life in her palace of Malines, and taking no part in
the festivities so dear to the heart of the people, she governed the
Netherlands without sympathy, but with enough wisdom for her ability to
be recognized, on several occasions, both by the people and the
nobility.
This was soon made apparent during the first year of her governance.
She had to contend with the suspicions of the Belgian nobles, headed by
Guillaume de Croy, Lord of Chievres, whom Philip had appointed governor
on leaving the country. The people of Ghent again became restive,
while, owing to the intrigues of Louis XII, Robert de la Marck and the
Duke of Gelder caused serious trouble in Luxemburg and in the North.
The States General, on their side, clamoured for peace. While ordering
the tax to be levied for war, in spite of the opposition of the States,
Margaret managed to conclude with France the treaty of Cambrai. This
caused great satisfaction all over the country. Chievres was recalled
to the court, where he acted as tutor to the prince. Again, in 1513,
Margaret, who had been one of the principal agents in the League
against France, which, besides the Emperor, included the Pope, the King
of Aragon and the King of England, succeeded in maintaining the
neutrality of the Low Countries, which, though benefiting from the
allies' victory at Guinegate and from the taking of Tournai, had not to
suffer from the military operations.
The opposition between Chievres and the gouvernante was nevertheless
constant. It had been embittered by a project of marriage between
Charles and Princess Mary of England, which Margaret furthered for
dynastic reasons, and which Chievres opposed for fear of alienating
France. The reconciliation which took place in 1514 between Louis XII
and Henry VIII, and the marriage which followed between the French king
and the English king's sister, Mary, were therefore a great
disappointment to Margaret. Chievres followed his advantage by
estranging Maximilian from his daughter and by urging the States
General to demand the emancipation of Charles, which was finally
granted by the Emperor for a money consideration. Margaret, who had
been kept in ignorance of these intrigues, though deeply hurt in her
pride, could do nothing but accept the accomplished fact.
[_OF CHARLES V_]
The accession of Charles, which took place on January 5, 1515, was a
triumph for Chievres. The situation was exactly similar to that which
prevailed when Philip the Handsome came into power. The youth of the
prince, who, like his father, had received a Belgian education and was
ignorant of German and Spanish, his veneration for Chievres and his
friendship for his Belgian counsellors, brought about a return to a
purely national policy, to the exclusion of any dynastic tendencies.
All foreigners were excluded from the Council, the confidants of
Margaret and Maximilian became suspect, and a rapprochement was brought
about with Francis I of France. A new commercial treaty was signed with
Henry VIII, favouring, at the same time, relations with England.
This policy was not altered when, in 1516, through the death of
Ferdinand and owing to the disability of Juana to succeed him, Charles
took the title of King of Spain. Instead of countering Francis I's
intrigues and his claims to the kingdom of Naples by military measures,
Charles, still bent on maintaining peace with France, negotiated the
treaty of Noyon, and succeeded in persuading Maximilian to agree to
this treaty, in spite of the opposition of England. A few months later,
the young king and his Belgian courtiers left for Spain (1517), Charles
having meanwhile consented to become a candidate for the Empire.
Illustration: CHARLES V.
From a contemporary engraving.
Illustration: MARGARET OF AUSTRIA. From a picture by Van Orley
(1493-1542).
These events were bound to cause the same reaction towards a dynastic
policy which had been provoked by the accession of Philip the Handsome
to the throne of Spain. Once more Belgium lost her national prince and
her interests were sacrificed to foreign ambitions. But Charles was so
thoroughly Belgian in his sympathies and tastes that he succeeded,
nevertheless, in retaining the friendship of the Belgian nobles.
Spanish honours and titles were showered on Chievres, Lalaing, Croy,
Nassau and others, to the great annoyance of the Spanish, who had
nothing but scorn for the boisterous manners of the Belgian nobility. A
reconciliation was brought about between Chievres and Margaret, who,
after the death of Maximilian (1519), worked hard for the nomination of
Charles as emperor. His election was loudly celebrated in Brussels and
all over the country, for the people, delighted at the honour conferred
on their prince, did not realize that henceforth their country was
bound to be lost and neglected among Charles's huge possessions. It is
true that the suzerainty of the Empire was purely nominal, but the
bonds linking Belgium's destiny to Spain were far stronger, and the
country acquired gradually the situation described above: she became an
advance post, in the North, of the Spanish power, which was about the
worst position she could occupy on the map of Europe, being cut off
from Spain and isolated among her adversaries.
[_TREATY OF MADRID_]
This, however, was not yet apparent, and the protestations of
friendship of the young emperor, who declared, in 1520, to the States
General, that his heart had always been "par deca" (in the
Netherlands), together with his military successes, which resulted in
the signature of the treaty of Madrid (1525), were considered as a
happy omen for the future. By this treaty, Francis I renounced all
sovereignty over Artois and Flanders and all rights over Tournai.
It seemed as if, in his sympathy for his Belgian provinces, the emperor
had been more clear-sighted than his subjects, for we know that he
entertained, in 1527, the idea of forming the Low Countries into a
separate kingdom. If this project had been realized, Belgian
independence might have been maintained. But the very prosperity of the
Low Countries made such realization impossible. In urgent need of
money for his military expeditions, the emperor could not deliberately
sacrifice his principal source of revenue--the taxes provided by the
States General and the loans raised in Antwerp.
Since 1522, Margaret had again taken up the governorship, this time in
full accord with the Belgian nobility. From that date till the end of
the eighteenth century, with the sole exception of the short reign of
Albert and Isabella, Belgium was administered, not by its natural
princes, but by governors, most of them without power or initiative and
obeying orders received from headquarters. Charles spent only ten years
in the country until his abdication in 1555. Philip II made only a
short appearance, and until Joseph II none of the rulers who had the
responsibility of the government took enough interest in the welfare of
their Belgian subjects to visit the provinces.
Margaret, however, preserved a great deal of independence, and
succeeded in curbing the will of her nephew in the greater interests of
the Netherlands, as she had curbed the will of her father. When, in
1528, war broke out again between the emperor and an Anglo-French
coalition, she succeeded in maintaining the trade with England. In the
same way she constantly opposed Charles's project to help his relative,
Christian II of Denmark, to reconquer his throne, since such a policy
would have ruined Belgian trade with Denmark and the Hanseatic towns.
Finally, in 1529, she succeeded in negotiating the peace of Cambrai,
whose clauses bear the mark of a truly national policy. Charles
renounced all pretensions to Burgundy, while Francis gave up all
claims on the Netherlands and recognized Charles's sovereignty over
Artois, Flanders, Cambrai and Tournaisis. By inducing the two rivals to
recognize the established position and to renounce ancient dynastic
claims on each other's domains, Margaret hoped to ensure a long peace
for the greater benefit of the Netherlands. The final renunciation of
France of her rights over her old fiefs was bound also to consolidate
Belgian unity, the link binding the provinces to the Empire being
purely nominal. Thus, after a struggle of seven hundred years, the
Western Netherlands were finally detached from France. In order to
celebrate the event, Lancelot Blondeel designed the monumental
mantelpiece in carved wood which may still be admired, in the Palace of
Justice of Bruges, and where the victorious emperor is represented
having, on one side, Ferdinand and Isabella, and on the other,
Maximilian and Mary of Burgundy, his maternal and paternal ancestors.
[_DEATH OF MARGARET OF AUSTRIA_]
Margaret of Austria died in 1530, at her palace of Malines, "without
any regret save for the privation of her nephew's presence." In her
last letter to Charles, she claims that under her rule the Low
Countries were considerably enlarged, and she expresses a wish to
obtain for her work divine reward, the commendation of her sovereign
and the good will of his subjects. She utters a last recommendation
which shows how far the Burgundian tradition had been preserved by the
Belgian people. She urges Charles not to abolish the name of Burgundy,
and to leave the title to his successor in the Low Countries.