Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Bruges becomes a major weaver of textiles, and
Brussels becomes a minor trading town along the
Germany-Bruges highway.
c. 1300
Italian and Portuguese sailors forge a coast-
hugging trade route from the Mediterranean to
the North Sea, with Bruges as the final stop.
1302
In Bruges, Flemish rebels drive out French rulers
at the Battle of the Golden Spurs.
1345
Amsterdam experiences the Miracle of the Host,
when a flame-resistant communion wafer causes
miracles and attracts pilgrims.
1384
The discovery of a process to cure herring with
salt makes Amsterdam a major fish exporter (to
augment its thriving beer trade).
1384
Mary of Flanders marries Duke Philip the Bold
of Burgundy, turning Holland and Belgium into
part of a Burgundian empire that eventually
stretches from Amsterdam to Switzerland.
c. 1400
Bruges is Europe's greatest trade city, the
middleman between North and South.
1433
Burgundy's empire peaks when Duke Philip the
Good takes over the titles of the local counts. His
cultured court makes the Low Countries a center
of art, literature, ideas, and pageantry.
1482
Mary of Burgundy, the last heir to the
Burgundian throne, falls from a horse and
dies. Her possessions (including Holland
and Belgium) pass to her Austrian husband,
Maximilian, and get swallowed up in his family's
large Holy Roman Empire, ruled from Austria
and later Spain.
1492
Columbus' voyage demonstrates the potential
wealth of New World trade.
1517
The German Martin Luther's 95 theses inspire
Protestantism, which becomes popular in the
Low Countries (especially Holland). Later,
refugees of religious persecution, including
Calvinists and Anabaptists (such as the Amish
and Mennonites), find a home in tolerant
Amsterdam.
1519
King Charles V (1500-1558), the grandson of
Mary of Burgundy and Maximilian, inherits all
of his family's combined possessions. Charles
rules Holland and Belgium, as well as Austria,
Spain, Germany, Spain's New World colonies,
and much more. A staunch Catholic, Charles
