"Macht in de Metropool. Politieke elitevorming tijdens de demografische en economische bloeifase van Antwerpen (ca. 1400-1550)", proefschrift Vrije Universiteit Brussel-Universiteit Antwerpen (summary) (original) (raw)
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Urban History
Current historiography endorses a narrative that the political elite of pre-industrial gateway cities became more ‘open’ in the wake of efflorescence and that their city councils became populated with merchants. Yet, according to the existing literature, Antwerp challenges this narrative, as the influx of merchants was very limited during late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries when Antwerp transformed from a medium-sized Brabantine city into the leading economic centre in western Europe. Moreover, scholars disagree on whether the economic expansion had any impact at all on the composition and profile of Antwerp's political elite. By analysing the social composition of the city council and how this evolved from the beginning of Antwerp's commercial expansion around 1400 until its apogee around 1550, I revisit the question whether Antwerp constitutes an exception to the established pattern of elite formation in gateway cities and, if so, why.
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2007
The government of pre-modern European cities had a broad range of functions, which it fulfilled in a relatively autonomous way. They had to provide jurisdiction, regulations of economic life, administration maintain the public order and to organize the public space, that is the streets, squares bridges and public buildings. By and by it increasingly provided services to the urban community, including the provision of economic infrastructure, poor relief, teaching, and health services. The city was, however not the exclusive provider of such services. Many remained in private hands or were managed by ecclesiastic organisations, craft guilds or fraternities. Hence, poor relief was generally in the hand of ecclesiastic organisations, while craft guilds provided social security for their members and their families. The city government regularly sustained these associations by means of subsidies, and provided regulations, without however mingeling with the actual work of the providers. T...
Running the big city: the Dutch prewar mayoralty under construction
European Review of History-revue Europeenne D Histoire, 2009
This article discusses the development of the mayoralty in the Netherlands during the first decades of the twentieth century. It will be argued that during the interwar years the mayors' position was in transition, with mayors developing new ways to exert public influence – a development that until now has been associated with the postwar mayor-managers. A case study of mayors in Amsterdam – in particular interwar mayor Willem de Vlugt (1921–1941) – Rotterdam and The Hague during the interwar years will show how changes and shifts in the local and national political constellations and power relations as well as socioeconomic developments both curbed and opened up possibilities for the mayor to adjust his position. At the same time, it will be shown how the mayoralty itself was transformed through the emergence of mayors whose personal and political background differed from their early twentieth-century predecessors.