DOCSLIB.ORG

Bastards in the Belgian Manuscript

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Bastards in the Belgian Manuscript Bastards in the Belgian Manuscript Catherine Emerson Have you ever met French, German or Dutch people who insist that they are bastards? Their fellow countrymen would put them away. Belgians, on the other hand, have elevated bastardy to a way of life while also downplaying some of the rather unpleasant aspects associated with nationalism.1 This observation is incidental to Piet van de Craen’s analysis of Belgian national sentiment, and so the author does not pause to explain what it is about bastardy that makes it a more attractive self-image for Belgians than for other nationalities. Of course, part of the explication is linguistic: a bâtard (or a bastaard) is not exactly the same thing as a bastard, as the particular example of the mongrel dog (chien bâtard or bastaardhond) illustrates. A Belgian who proudly proclaims bastardy as a national ideal is probably not referring to the associated ideas of illegitimacy and roguishness that the term would suggest in English, but rather to ideas of hybridity and liminality as suggested by its use in animal husbandry. Such ideas are perhaps better suited to Belgian national identities than to those of the other countries mentioned by Van de Craen. As a bilingual society in a Europe where nation-states define themselves with reference to national languages, Belgium is certainly a hybrid society. This is particularly true in Brussels, an officially bilingual territory in a country otherwise divided into monolingual regions. The adoption of the zinneke, or mongrel, as a symbol of Brussels, is testimony to this feeling that Brussels is a mixed society belonging to both of the national linguistic cultures and thereby distinct from each of 1. Piet van de Craen, ‘What, If Anything, Is a Belgian?’, Yale French Studies, 102 (2002), 24–33 (p. 24). IJFrS 13 (2013) 2 EMERSON them. The biennial Zinneke Parade, which celebrates the artistic culture of Brussels, describes this relationship between the mongrel dog and the hybrid culture of the city on its website: Zinneke désigne en bruxellois à la fois la petite Senne, la rivière qui contournait Bruxelles pour éviter des inondations et un chien bâtard qui parfois terminait son existence dans la Senne. Par extension, le Zinneke est celui qui a des origines multiples, symbole du caractère cosmopolite et multiculturel de Bruxelles.2 One of the ironies of this national self-image is that the association between the Belgian and the bastard appears to predate the foundation of Belgium as a nation-state in 1830. Or rather, the nationalists who argued in favour of a coherent and enduring Belgian nation selected a period dominated by bastards as one of the founding moments of the national past. Although Belgium emerged out of the nationalist movements of the early nineteenth century, its existence had always proved a challenge to nationalism because of the linguistic diversity of its people and the absence of a unified history.3 One response to this, famously espoused by the father of Belgian historiography Henri Pirenne in 1900, was to argue that the nation had been on a trajectory towards unification from the end of the classical period, gradually coming together politically and culturally.4 A key moment in this journey was the unification of the territories that were to become Belgium and the Netherlands under the government of the French Valois Dukes of Burgundy in the fifteenth century.5 Although the dukes of Burgundy did not govern a territory 2. Zinneken Parade, ‘Zinneke, c’est quoi?’ (2012) <http://www.zinneke.org/-C-est-quoi- Zinneke-?lang=fr> [accessed 18 September 2012] (para. 3 of 3). 3. See Jo Tollebeek, ‘Historical Representation and the Nation-State in Romantic Belgium (1830–1850)’, Journal of the History of Ideas, 59.2 (1998) 329–53. 4. Louis Vos, ‘Reconstructions of the Past in Belgium and Flanders’, in Secession, History and the Social Sciences, ed. by Bruno Coppieters and Michel Huysseune (Brussels: Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 2002), pp. 179–206 (p. 185). 5. Henri Pirenne, Histoire de Belgique, 7 vols (Brussels: Lamertin, 1902–32), II (2nd edn, 1903), p. 156: ‘C’est au moment où les diverses principautés des Pays- Bas viennent d’atteindre à leur pleine autonomie politique qu’on les voit, par une BASTARDS IN THE BELGIAN MANUSCRIPT 3 that was identical to modern Belgium, the fact that their government gathered together many of the territories that later made up that country was considered significant by those seeking to argue that Belgium had a natural political and cultural existence. The policies pursued by the Valois dukes of Burgundy bolster an argument that Belgium is naturally unaligned to either France or Germany, since the dukes held territory from both overlords and at times were in confrontation with both. In this reading, therefore, contemporary Belgium is shaped by relations defined in the fifteenth century. Accepting for a moment that this is the case, we must recognize that the period was a particular moment in European history, distinct from the eras that preceded or followed it, and that this was particularly true when it came to the question of bastards. If Belgium is a country that accords bastardy a particular regard, the fifteenth century has been considered the golden age of the medieval bastard.6 In straight contravention of rules and laws that hindered children born outside of marriage from entering the church, Mikhaël Harsgor has noted an increasing tendency to appoint bastards to leading ecclesiastical positions from the late fourteenth century and throughout the fifteenth century. This tendency was mirrored by a growing number of illegitimate sons receiving high office in royal and ducal governments, to the extent that by the second half of the fifteenth century, Harsgor documents on average one bastard a year rising to a position of temporal or spiritual authority in Burgundy and Northern France. Harsgor comments that this presence of bastards in the highest ranks of society is emblematic of a social tendency found throughout the aristocracy, and that many more bastards were appointed to more minor roles. In Valois Burgundy in particular the bastard sons of the brusque transformation, passer sous le pouvoir d’une même dynastie, s’unir en une solide fédération monarchique et constituer, entre l’Allemagne et la France, cet État intermédiaire que les royaumes de Belgique et de Hollande représentent encore aujourd’hui sur la carte de l’Europe. Avec le début de la période bourguignonne se clôt la première partie de leur histoire et s’ouvre une ère nouvelle. Par la superposition de l’unité du souverain et du gouvernement à la multiplicité des régimes constitutionnels, elles sortent du moyen âge pour entrer dans l’époque moderne.’ 6. See Mikhaël Harsgor, ‘L’Essor des bâtards nobles au XVe siècle’, Revue Historique, 253 (1975), 319–54. 4 EMERSON dukes were so prominent in leading the administration that the historian has referred to the region in the fifteenth century as ‘une véritable bâtardocratie’.7 The reasons for this development are complex. Firstly, it should be recognized that intolerance of children born outside of marriage was itself a change from an earlier position and that this change had been fostered by a church anxious to exert its own authority on the social customs of marriage.8 Thus, the social ascendancy of bastards is in inverse proportion to the proselytizing power of Christianity. Consequently, the Reformation sees a reduction in both the recorded number and social prominence of illegitimate children as heightened religious morality made such evidence of relationships outside marriage less acceptable.9 Secondly, we should recognize that in the fifteenth century, the acknowledgement of a bastard in a family did not, as one might think, represent a rejection of marriage and traditional family ties. On the contrary, bastards played a role in securing the influence of their family in a world where the nobility saw their status threatened by an ascendant urban bourgeoisie. Officially recognized by their fathers, bastard children frequently took their fathers’ name and arms and were, therefore, able to represent the family in dynastic marriages.10 Noble families were thus able to multiply their alliances beyond the 7. Harsgor, ‘L’Essor des bâtards nobles’, p. 341. 8. Henri Regnault, La Condition juridique du bâtard au moyen âge (Pont-Audemer: Lescuyer, 1922), pp. 1–3. 9. Niethard Bulst, ‘Illegitimate Kinder – viele oder wenige? Quantitative Aspekte der Illegitimität im spätmillelalterlichen Europa’, in Illegitimität im Spätmittelalter, ed. by Ludwig Schmugge, Schriften des Historischen Koleggs Kolloquien, 29 (Munich: Oldenbourg, 1994), pp. 21–39. On page twenty-seven, the author cites a figure of 1–3% of children born outside of marriage in France in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, though he points out that there are problems with underrecording of the phenomenon due to failure of parents to report the circumstances of their child’s birth and also to infanticide. Jean Meyer suggests, however, that this low figure represents a real drop in the number of children born, since there is no corresponding growth in the number of abandoned children. See Jean Meyer, ‘Illegitimates and Foundlings in Pre- Industrial France’, in Bastardy and its Comparative History: Studies in the History of Illegitimacy and Marital Nonconformism in Britain, France, Germany, Sweden, North America, Jamaica and Japan, ed. by Peter Laslett, Karla Oosterveen and Richard M. Smith (Colchester: Edward Arnold, 1980), pp. 249–64. 10. Claude Grimmer, La Femme et le bâtard (Paris: Presses de la Renaissance, 1983), p. 151. BASTARDS IN THE BELGIAN MANUSCRIPT 5 avenues which legitimate marriage afforded them. Bastards — that is, illegitimate children recognized by their fathers — became a social phenomenon of the upper classes: Plus une famille se dit d’ancienne chevalerie, moins elle se limite dans le nombre de ses bâtards.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Born out of Rebellion: the Netherlands from the Dutch Revolt to the Eve of World War I: Ulrich Tiedau | University College London
    09/25/21 DUTC0003: Born out of Rebellion: The Netherlands from the Dutch Revolt to the Eve of World War I: Ulrich Tiedau | University College London DUTC0003: Born out of Rebellion: The View Online Netherlands from the Dutch Revolt to the Eve of World War I: Ulrich Tiedau Arblaster P, A History of the Low Countries, vol Palgrave essential histories (Palgrave Macmillan 2006) Blom, J. C. H. and Lamberts, Emiel, History of the Low Countries (Berghahn Books 1999) Boogman JC, ‘Thorbecke, Challenge and Response’ (1974) 7 Acta Historiae Neerlandicae 126 Bornewasser JA, ‘Mythical Aspects of Dutch Anti-Catholicism in the 19th Century’, Britain and the Netherlands: Vol.5: Some political mythologies (Martinus Nijhoff 1975) Boxer, C. R., The Dutch Seaborne Empire, 1600-1800, vol Pelican books (Penguin 1973) Cloet M, ‘Religious Life in a Rural Deanery in Flanders during the 17th Century. Tielt from 1609 to 1700’ (1971) 5 Acta Historiae Neerlandica 135 Crew, Phyllis Mack, Calvinist Preaching and Iconoclasm in the Netherlands, 1544-1569, vol Cambridge studies in early modern history (Cambridge University Press 1978) Daalder H, ‘The Netherlands: Opposition in a Segmented Society’, Political oppositions in western democracies (Yale University Press 1966) Darby, Graham, The Origins and Development of the Dutch Revolt (Routledge 2001) Davis WW, Joseph II: An Imperial Reformer for the Austrian Netherlands (Nijhoff 1974) De Belder J, ‘Changes in the Socio-Economic Status of the Belgian Nobility in the 19th Century’ (1982) 15 Low Countries History Yearbook 1 Deursen, Arie Theodorus van, Plain Lives in a Golden Age: Popular Culture, Religion, and Society in Seventeenth-Century Holland (Cambridge University Press 1991) Dhont J and Bruwier M, ‘The Industrial Revolution in the Low Countries’, The emergence of industrial societies: Part 1, vol The Fontana economic history of Europe (Fontana 1973) Emerson B, Leopold II of the Belgians: King of Colonialism (Weidenfeld and Nicolson) Fishman, J.
    [Show full text]
  • Belgian Identity Politics: at a Crossroad Between Nationalism and Regionalism
    University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Masters Theses Graduate School 8-2014 Belgian identity politics: At a crossroad between nationalism and regionalism Jose Manuel Izquierdo University of Tennessee - Knoxville, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes Part of the Human Geography Commons Recommended Citation Izquierdo, Jose Manuel, "Belgian identity politics: At a crossroad between nationalism and regionalism. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2014. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/2871 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Jose Manuel Izquierdo entitled "Belgian identity politics: At a crossroad between nationalism and regionalism." I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Master of Science, with a major in Geography. Micheline van Riemsdijk, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Derek H. Alderman, Monica Black Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) Belgian identity politics: At a crossroad between nationalism and regionalism A Thesis Presented for the Master of Science Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Jose Manuel Izquierdo August 2014 Copyright © 2014 by Jose Manuel Izquierdo All rights reserved.
    [Show full text]
  • The Lion, the Rooster, and the Union: National Identity in the Belgian Clandestine Press, 1914-1918
    THE LION, THE ROOSTER, AND THE UNION: NATIONAL IDENTITY IN THE BELGIAN CLANDESTINE PRESS, 1914-1918 by MATTHEW R. DUNN Submitted to the Department of History of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for departmental honors Approved by: _________________________ Dr. Andrew Denning _________________________ Dr. Nathan Wood _________________________ Dr. Erik Scott _________________________ Date Abstract Significant research has been conducted on the trials and tribulations of Belgium during the First World War. While amateur historians can often summarize the “Rape of Belgium” and cite nationalism as a cause of the war, few people are aware of the substantial contributions of the Belgian people to the war effort and their significance, especially in the historical context of Belgian nationalism. Relatively few works have been written about the underground press in Belgium during the war, and even fewer of those works are scholarly. The Belgian underground press attempted to unite the country's two major national identities, Flemings and Walloons, using the German occupation as the catalyst to do so. Belgian nationalists were able to momentarily unite the Belgian people to resist their German occupiers by publishing pro-Belgian newspapers and articles. They relied on three pillars of identity—Catholic heritage, loyalty to the Belgian Crown, and anti-German sentiment. While this expansion of Belgian identity dissipated to an extent after WWI, the efforts of the clandestine press still serve as an important framework for the development of national identity today. By examining how the clandestine press convinced members of two separate nations, Flanders and Wallonia, to re-imagine their community to the nation of Belgium, historians can analyze the successful expansion of a nation in a war-time context.
    [Show full text]
  • Determinants of Ethnic Retention As See Through Walloon Immigrants to Wisconsin by Jacqueline Lee Tinkler
    Determinants of Ethnic Retention As See Through Walloon Immigrants to Wisconsin By Jacqueline Lee Tinkler Presented to the Faculty of Graduate School of The University of Texas at Arlington in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy In History THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON May 2019 Copyright © by JACQUELINE LEE TINKLER All Rights Reserved ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to express my gratitude to Kenyon Zimmer who firs supported this research idea as head of my Thesis Committee. When I decided to continue my research into the Walloon immigrants and develop the topic into a Dissertation project, he again agreed to head the committee. His stimulating questions challenged me to dig deeper and also to broaden the context. I also want to thank David Narrett and Steven Reinhardt for reading the ongoing work and offering suggestions. I am also deeply indebted to the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Texas at Arlington for the financial support which enabled me to make research trips to Wisconsin. Debora Anderson archivist at the University of Wisconsin Green Bay, and her staff were an invaluable help in locating material. Janice Zmrazek, at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction in Madison, was a great help in locating records there. And I want to give special thanks to Mary Jane Herber, archivist at the Brown County Library in Green Bay, who was a great help in my work. I made several research trips to Wisconsin and I was privileged to be able to work among the Walloons living in the settlement area.
    [Show full text]
  • At a Glance General Information NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES POPULATION CAPITAL Brussels 11.099.554 Inhabitants
    at a glance General information NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES POPULATION CAPITAL Brussels 11.099.554 inhabitants POPULATION DENSITY OFFICIAL LANGUAGES France Dutch Germany The Netherlands 363 inhab./km² Luxembourg French SURFACE AREA CURRENCY German 30.528 km² € Euro 1 3 4 6 1. St. Peter’s Church, Leuven 2. Citadel of Dinant 3. Bruges 4. Belfry, Tournai 5. Bouillon 6. Rue des Bouchers, Brussels 2 5 Belgium - a country of regions 1 2 Belgium is a federal state made up of three Communities (the Flemish Community, the French Community and the German- speaking Community) and three regions (the Brussels-Capital Region, the Flemish Region and the Walloon Region). The main federal institutions are the federal government and 3 the federal parliament, and the Communities and Regions also have their own legislative and executive bodies. The principal powers of the three Communities in Belgium, which are delimited on linguistic grounds, relate to education, culture, youth support and certain aspects of health policy. The three Regions have powers for ‘territorial issues’, such as public works, agriculture, employment, town and country 4 planning and the environment. 6 5 1. Flemish Region 2. Brussels-Capital Region 3. Walloon Region 4. Flemish Community 5. French Community 6. German-speaking Community The Belgian monarchy Belgium is a constitutional monarchy. King Philippe, the current monarch, is the seventh King of the Belgians. In the political sphere the King does not wield power of his own but acts in consultation with government ministers. In performing his duties, the King comes into contact with many representatives of Belgian society. The King and Queen and the other members of the Royal Family also represent Belgium abroad (state visits, eco- nomic missions and international meetings), while at home fostering close relations with their citizens and promoting public and private initiatives that make a contribution to improving society.
    [Show full text]
  • A Short History of Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg
    A Short History of Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg Foreword ............................................................................2 Chapter 1. The Low Countries until A.D.200 : Celts, Batavians, Frisians, Romans, Franks. ........................................3 Chapter 2. The Empire of the Franks. ........................................5 Chapter 3. The Feudal Period (10th to 14th Centuries): The Flanders Cloth Industry. .......................................................7 Chapter 4. The Burgundian Period (1384-1477): Belgium’s “Golden Age”......................................................................9 Chapter 5. The Habsburgs: The Empire of Charles V: The Reformation: Calvinism..........................................10 Chapter 6. The Rise of the Dutch Republic................................12 Chapter 7. Holland’s “Golden Age” ..........................................15 Chapter 8. A Period of Wars: 1650 to 1713. .............................17 Chapter 9. The 18th Century. ..................................................20 Chapter 10. The Napoleonic Interlude: The Union of Holland and Belgium. ..............................................................22 Chapter 11. Belgium Becomes Independent ...............................24 Chapter 13. Foreign Affairs 1839-19 .........................................29 Chapter 14. Between the Two World Wars. ................................31 Chapter 15. The Second World War...........................................33 Chapter 16. Since the Second World War: European Co-operation:
    [Show full text]
  • The People of Belgium
    THE PEOPLE OF BELGIUM. BY THE EDITOR. BELGIUM is the borderland between the Teuton and the Gaul. The population is mixed. The northern provinces are Flemish and the southern districts are inhabited by the Walloons, who are neither 'l>utons nor Gauls, but a remnant of a more primitive population which held the country before the arrival of the Celts. 'I'he blemish arc a Teutonic race and speak a dialect belonging to the (iermanic languages, one almost identical with the Dutch. It holds a middle ])osition between English and IvOw (jerman, whicJi is on the \erge of extinction, and in fact the Dutch and the Flemish ha\e preserved more faithfully than any other Teutonic tribes the traditional language of northern Germany as it was spoken centuries ago before the rise of High German. Low German was spoken all over northern Germany until the Reformation, but then the literary language, which was High German, began to crowd Low German out of the pulpit and also out of the school. The language of Luther's translation of the Bible, a literary dialect which was the official intertribal language of Germany, became generally recognized and gradually replaced the popular dialects of Low German speech. The process of this change has been slow but irresistible. Some of the present gen- eration in such northern cities as Bremen and Hamburg may still remember having talked in their childhood to the servants in the house in Low German, while in school the accepted language was High German. In this sense we may say that both the Flemish and the Dutch have remained better Germans than the Prussians, Hanoverians and other northern Germans.
    [Show full text]
  • State of Health in the EU Belgium BE Country Health Profile 2019 the Country Health Profile Series Contents
    State of Health in the EU Belgium BE Country Health Profile 2019 The Country Health Profile series Contents The State of Health in the EU’s Country Health Profiles 1. HIGHLIGHTS 3 provide a concise and policy-relevant overview of 2. HEALTH IN BELGIUM 4 health and health systems in the EU/European Economic 3. RISK FACTORS 7 Area. They emphasise the particular characteristics and challenges in each country against a backdrop of cross- 4. THE HEALTH SYSTEM 9 country comparisons. The aim is to support policymakers 5. PERFORMANCE OF THE HEALTH SYSTEM 12 and influencers with a means for mutual learning and 5.1. Effectiveness 12 voluntary exchange. 5.2. Accessibility 15 The profiles are the joint work of the OECD and the 5.3. Resilience 18 European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, 6. KEY FINDINGS 22 in cooperation with the European Commission. The team is grateful for the valuable comments and suggestions provided by the Health Systems and Policy Monitor network, the OECD Health Committee and the EU Expert Group on Health Information. Data and information sources The calculated EU averages are weighted averages of the 28 Member States unless otherwise noted. These EU The data and information in the Country Health Profiles averages do not include Iceland and Norway. are based mainly on national official statistics provided to Eurostat and the OECD, which were validated to This profile was completed in August 2019, based on ensure the highest standards of data comparability. data available in July 2019. The sources and methods underlying these data are To download the Excel spreadsheet matching all the available in the Eurostat Database and the OECD health tables and graphs in this profile, just type the following database.
    [Show full text]
  • Cross-Border Local Mobility Between Luxembourg and the Walloon Region: an Overview Samuel Carpentier
    Cross-Border Local Mobility between Luxembourg and the Walloon Region: an Overview Samuel Carpentier To cite this version: Samuel Carpentier. Cross-Border Local Mobility between Luxembourg and the Walloon Region: an Overview. European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research, Delft University of Technology, 2012, 12 (2), pp.198-210. halshs-01132393 HAL Id: halshs-01132393 https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-01132393 Submitted on 17 Mar 2015 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Issue 12(2), 2012 pp. 198-210 ISSN: 1567-7141 EJTIR www.ejtir.tbm.tudelft.nl Cross-Border Local Mobility between Luxembourg and the Walloon Region: an Overview Samuel Carpentier 1 CEPS/INSTEAD The strong differentials on both sides of the Belgian-Luxembourger border, both in terms of salaries and housing prices, have stimulated for more than two decades the cross-border links between the two countries. Thus, whereas in 2008 nearly 40,000 residents of Belgium crossed the border each day to work in the Grand Duchy, between 2001 and 2007, more than 2,600 residents of Luxembourg went to live in Belgium, though they remained employed in Luxembourg.
    [Show full text]
  • REVOLT in the NETHERLANDS the Eighty Years War, 1568–1648
    REVOLT IN THE NETHERLANDS The Eighty Years War, 1568–1648 ANTON VAN DER LEM Translation by Andy Brown reaktion books Published by Reaktion Books Ltd Unit 32, Waterside 44–48 Wharf Road London n1 7ux, uk www.reaktionbooks.co.uk First published in English 2018 English-language translation © Reaktion Books 2018 Translation by Andy Brown This book was first published in 2014 by Uitgeverij Vantilt, Nijmegen, under the title De Opstand in de Nederlanden 1568–1648: De Tachtigjarige Oorlog in woord en beeld by Anton van der Lem © Anton van der Lem and Uitgeverij Vantilt, Nijmegen, 2014 This publication has been made possible with financial support from the Dutch Foundation for Literature All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers Printed and bound in China A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library isbn 978 1 78914 086 6 Contents Foreword to the English-language Edition 8 Introduction 11 1 The ‘Lands Over Here’ 17 The Netherlands under Burgundian and Habsburg Rule until 1555 2 The Troubles 35 Loyal Opposition against Philip II: 1555–1567 3 Loyalty Tested 69 Under Alba’s Repression: 1567–1573 4 The Netherlands, or Belgium Nostrum 95 From War to Pacification: 1573–1576 5 The Netherlands Divided 117 The Short-lived Success of the Moderate Centre: 1576–1584 6 An Offensive War 135 The North against the South: 1584–1609 7 The Twelve Years Truce 161 Division in the North, Recovery in the South: 1609–1621 8 The Long Road from Truce to Peace 177 The North Victorious, the South between Hammer and Anvil: 1621–1648 Epilogue: By Way of Conclusion 203 chronology of main events 209 maps 214 references 219 bibliography 237 list of illustrations 255 acknowledgements 259 index 261 opposite: 1 Daniel van den Queecborn (attrib.), William, Prince of Orange, donated to Leiden University in 1598 by his son Maurice.
    [Show full text]
  • Irregular Migrants in Belgium and the Netherlands
    15 mm back 153 mm 8 14,4 mm 8 front 153 mm 15 mm 15 mm IMISCOE RESEARCH IMISCOE RESEARCH Van Meeteren Van Van Meeteren takes irregular migrants’ aspirations as a starting point of analysis, proposing an empirically grounded theoretical critique of the dominant research practice that focuses on ‘survival strategies’. Drawing on participant observation and more than 200 in-depth interviews, she develops much-needed contextualised insights and sheds new light on this top-of the-agenda subject area. Masja van Meeteren is an assistant professor in the Department of Criminology at Leiden University, the Netherlands. Her research interests include intersections of migration, migration policy, informal social structures, crime and criminalization. She has published in journals such as Current Sociology, Global Networks, International Migration Review and Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. A full overview of her publi- cations is available at www.masjavanmeeteren.nl. Irregular Migrants in Belgium and the Netherlands “In this ground-breaking study, Masja van Meeteren shows how the focus of previous research on structures and control has led to misleading views on Masja van Meeteren irregular migration. She proposes instead a focus on migrants’ aspirations, and her original research shows how this helps to explain the persistence of irregular migration as a global reality.” Irregular Migrants in Belgium — Stephen Castles, University of Sydney 240 mm and the Netherlands “A solid and valuable book, a major addition to the literature of a topic which commands increasing attention in Western societies.” — Joaquín Arango, Complutense University of Madrid “Van Meeteren develops an unusual typology of irregular migrants based Aspirations and Incorporation on their aspirations ..
    [Show full text]
  • The Ultimate Guide to the More Than Five Famous Belgians a Journey
    The ultimate guide to the more than five famous Belgians A journey across Brussels & the South of Belgium – Episode 1 Rue St André, Brussels © Jeanmart.eu/belgiumtheplaceto.be When a Belgian arrives in the UK for the delighted to complete in the near future first time, he or she does not necessarily (hence Episode I in the title). We Belgians expect the usual reaction of the British when are a colourful, slightly surreal people. they realise they are dealing with a Belgian: We invented a literary genre (the Belgian “You’re Belgian? Really?... Ha! Can you name strip cartoon) whose heroes are brilliant more than five famous Belgians?.” When we ambassadors of our vivid imaginations and then start enthusiastically listing some of of who we really are. So, with this Episode 1 our favourite national icons, we are again of Did you say Famous Belgians!? and, by surprised by the disbelieving looks on the presenting our national icons in the context faces of our new British friends.... and we of the places they are from, or that better usually end up being invited to the next illustrate their achievements, we hope to game of Trivial Pursuit they play with their arouse your curiosity about one of Belgium’s friends and relatives! greatest assets – apart, of course, from our beautiful unspoilt countryside and towns, We have decided to develop from what riveting lifestyle, great events, delicious food appears to be a very British joke a means and drink, and world-famous chocolate and of introducing you to our lovely homeland. beer - : our people! We hope that the booklet Belgium can boast not only really fascinating will help you to become the ultimate well- famous characters, but also genius inventors informed visitor, since..
    [Show full text]