Transcriber’s note Variable spelling and hyphenation have been retained. Minor punctuation inconsistencies have been silently repaired. A list of the changes made can be found at the end of the book. Formatting and special characters are indicated as follows: _italic_ A SHORT HISTORY OF BELGIUM THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS CHICAGO, ILLINOIS THE BAKER & TAYLOR COMPANY NEW YORK THE CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS LONDON THE MARUZEN-KABUSHIKI-KAISHA TOKYO, OSAKA, KYOTO, FUKUOKA, SENDAI THE MISSION BOOK COMPANY SHANGHAI A SHORT HISTORY OF BELGIUM BY LÉON VAN DER ESSEN, PH.D., LL.D. _Professor of History in the University of Louvain Member of the Royal Academy of Archaeology of Belgium_ Second Revised and Enlarged Edition with a Special Chapter on “Belgium During the Great War” [Illustration] THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS CHICAGO, ILLINOIS COPYRIGHT 1916 AND 1920 BY THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO All Rights Reserved Published January 1916 Second Impression April 1916 Second Edition January 1920 Second Impression July 1920 Composed and Printed By The University of Chicago Press Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. TO ALBERT I KING OF THE BELGIANS THE KNIGHT WITHOUT FEAR AND WITHOUT REPROACH CONTENTS PAGE INTRODUCTION 1 PREFATORY NOTE TO THE SECOND EDITION 7 CHAPTER I. THE PERIOD OF FORMATION 8 II. THE PERIOD OF FEUDALISM 17 III. THE RISE AND INFLUENCE OF THE COMMUNES 36 IV. THE POLITICS AND STRUGGLES OF THE TIME OF THE COMMUNES 55 V. THE UNION OF THE BELGIAN PRINCIPALITIES UNDER THE DUKES OF BURGUNDY 74 VI. BELGIUM UNDER CHARLES V (1506-55) AND THE BEGINNINGS OF THE HOUSE OF HAPSBURG 94 VII. PHILIP II AND THE REVOLT OF THE NETHERLANDS AGAINST SPANISH RULE (1555-96) 101 VIII. THE REIGN OF THE ARCHDUKE ALBERT AND ISABELLA (1598-1633) 120