The air of prosperity which is so apparent in Amsterdam and Antwerp is missing in Bruges, once populated by a busy multitude of craftsmen and weavers. Early in the seventh century, the city contained as many as fifty thousand weavers, and this was probably the period of its greatest splendour. For several centuries, however, Bruges held its position as a trading town, and in the fourteenth century, under the rule of the dukes of Burgundy, its market was known throughout Europe, and was visited by the wealthy merchants of Italy and Greece. If the greatness of the industrial power has long since declined, Bruges can still boast of its ancient monuments, which invite visitors from all parts of the world. The town is much visited by strangers. It is easily reached from England by way of Ostend, and ships of five hundred tons can sail up to Bruges on its wide artificial waterway. For the causes of the decay of the town, we must refer to the early wars that disturbed the country, to the penalty which the natives suffered for rebellion against the Archduke Maximilian in 1488, when the trade was transferred to Antwerp, and finally to the ravages of the Duke of Alva's army. Peter Titelmann harried the burghers in the days of religious strife to such an extent that the Catholic burgomasters and senators of the town petitioned the Duchess Regent to protect them. They complained that the Inquisitor of the Faith brought before them men and women, and forced them to confess; and that, without warrant, he dragged his victims from the church itself. In 1583 the French, under Captain Chamois, having seized Ostend and other towns, came to the gates of Bruges. The burgomaster refused to admit the fifteen hundred troops, and rallying the townsmen, he made a stand against the invading force, compelling Chamois to retire. The city was famed for its workers in tapestry, an art known early in the Netherlands, and probably borrowed from the Saracens. In 1606 Flemish artists, invited by Henri IV., introduced the working of tapestry into France, and a few years later the industry was established in England.