Revolt of Ghent
Encyclopedia
The Revolt of Ghent was an uprising by the citizens of Ghent
against the regime of the Holy Roman Emperor and Spanish King Charles V
in 1539. The revolt was a reaction to high taxes, which the Flemish felt were only used to fight wars abroad, in particular the Italian War of 1536–1538. The rebels surrendered without a fight when Charles marched his army into the city the following year. Charles humiliated the rebels by parading them in white undershirts with hangman nooses around their necks. Since then Ghent citizens informally call themselves "noose bearers".
was part of the Spanish Empire. Ghent
and the Low Countries in general were an international centre of trade and industry and therefore an important source of revenues for Spain. It was subject to the rule of the Holy Roman Emperor and Spanish King Charles V
, though it was his sister, Mary of Austria, who actually governed the region as his regent. Ghent had a population between 40,000 to 50,000 people.
In 1515, Charles imposed upon Ghent the Calfvel treaty, which, among other things, prevented the guild
s from selecting their own deans. Needless to say, this was very unpopular with the guild
s.
In 1536, Charles V
went to war with the French king Francis I
for control of northern Italy (the Italian War of 1536–1538). Charles asked Mary to raise money and conscripts from the Dutch provinces. In late March 1537, Mary declared a levy of 1.2 million guilders and an army of 30,000 conscripts along with munitions and artillery. Flanders would have to pay a third of this. Ghent was already deep in debt due to fines imposed by its rulers in the previous century.
s. They tore up the calfskin upon which the unpopular 1515 treaty was signed. They also invited 50 day laborers (known as creesers) to sit on the council. The council cited a 1477 treaty (the Great Privilege), no new tax could be imposed on the provinces if they did not unanimously accept it. The other provinces, however, did not join Ghent in rebellion.
Mary tried haggling with the rebels, but to no avail. Mary ordered the arrest of any Ghent citizen found in Brussels
or Antwerp.
Charles, in Spain at the time, decided to intervene personally. The French king Francis I
, hoping to better his relations with Charles, allowed his army free passage through French territory. Charles moved through France during the winter of 1539. He met with Francis at Loches
on December 12, who escorted him to Paris
. Moving on, he reached Valenciennes
in January, where he met with his sister Mary as well a delegation from Ghent. Charles warned them that he would make an example of Ghent.
Charles reached Ghent on February 14, 1540 with an army of nearly 5,000 soldiers. The city had not expected him to come personally with an army, and offered him no resistance whatsoever as he entered. The leaders of the revolt were arrested, of whom 25 were executed. The rest were to be humiliated: on May 3, they were marched through the streets from the town hall towards Charles' palace, the Prinsenhof
. The procession consisted of all the city's sheriffs, clerks, officials, and 30 noblemen dressed in black robes and barefoot; 318 guild
members and 50 weavers, they too dressed in black robes; and the 50 day laborers dressed in white shirts with hangman's nooses around their necks. The hangman's noose symbolized that they deserved the gallows. At the Prisenhof, they were made to beg Charles and Mary for mercy.
A fine of 8,000 guilders was imposed on the city. Charles decreed a new constitution, the Caroline Concession, that stripped Ghent of all it's medieval legal and political freedoms, as well as all its weapons. The weavers and 53 other crafts guilds were merged into 21 corporations, and the privileges of all guilds save the shippers and butchers were stripped. The old abbey of Saint Bavo's and its church of the Holy Savior were demolished to make way for a new fortress. Eight of the city's gates were permanently closed, and parts of its walls were demolished. The city's aldermen would henceforth be selected by magistrates of the House of Habsburg (Charles' family). Charles also ordered the scaling back of festivals that fostered the city's civic pride.
Stroppendragers (noose bearers). Every summer during the Ghent Festivities, the Guild of Noose Bearers commemorates the revolt by parading through the streets dressed in white shirts with nooses around their neck. The noose has also become an informal symbol of Ghent itself.
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Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
against the regime of the Holy Roman Emperor and Spanish King Charles V
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
in 1539. The revolt was a reaction to high taxes, which the Flemish felt were only used to fight wars abroad, in particular the Italian War of 1536–1538. The rebels surrendered without a fight when Charles marched his army into the city the following year. Charles humiliated the rebels by parading them in white undershirts with hangman nooses around their necks. Since then Ghent citizens informally call themselves "noose bearers".
Background
At this time, GhentGhent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
was part of the Spanish Empire. Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
and the Low Countries in general were an international centre of trade and industry and therefore an important source of revenues for Spain. It was subject to the rule of the Holy Roman Emperor and Spanish King Charles V
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
, though it was his sister, Mary of Austria, who actually governed the region as his regent. Ghent had a population between 40,000 to 50,000 people.
In 1515, Charles imposed upon Ghent the Calfvel treaty, which, among other things, prevented the guild
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
s from selecting their own deans. Needless to say, this was very unpopular with the guild
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
s.
In 1536, Charles V
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
went to war with the French king Francis I
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
for control of northern Italy (the Italian War of 1536–1538). Charles asked Mary to raise money and conscripts from the Dutch provinces. In late March 1537, Mary declared a levy of 1.2 million guilders and an army of 30,000 conscripts along with munitions and artillery. Flanders would have to pay a third of this. Ghent was already deep in debt due to fines imposed by its rulers in the previous century.
The revolt
Of the four Dutch provinces, Ghent was the only one to reject the new taxes. The tax was rejected by Ghent's Broad Council, the representative forum for the city's nobles and major guildGuild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
s. They tore up the calfskin upon which the unpopular 1515 treaty was signed. They also invited 50 day laborers (known as creesers) to sit on the council. The council cited a 1477 treaty (the Great Privilege), no new tax could be imposed on the provinces if they did not unanimously accept it. The other provinces, however, did not join Ghent in rebellion.
Mary tried haggling with the rebels, but to no avail. Mary ordered the arrest of any Ghent citizen found in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
or Antwerp.
Charles, in Spain at the time, decided to intervene personally. The French king Francis I
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
, hoping to better his relations with Charles, allowed his army free passage through French territory. Charles moved through France during the winter of 1539. He met with Francis at Loches
Loches
Loches is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France.It is situated southeast of Tours by railway, on the left bank of the Indre River.-History:...
on December 12, who escorted him to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. Moving on, he reached Valenciennes
Valenciennes
Valenciennes is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.It lies on the Scheldt river. Although the city and region had seen a steady decline between 1975 and 1990, it has since rebounded...
in January, where he met with his sister Mary as well a delegation from Ghent. Charles warned them that he would make an example of Ghent.
Charles reached Ghent on February 14, 1540 with an army of nearly 5,000 soldiers. The city had not expected him to come personally with an army, and offered him no resistance whatsoever as he entered. The leaders of the revolt were arrested, of whom 25 were executed. The rest were to be humiliated: on May 3, they were marched through the streets from the town hall towards Charles' palace, the Prinsenhof
Prinsenhof (Ghent)
The Prinsenhof in Ghent was the normal residence of the Counts of Flanders in Ghent starting in the 15th century.-History:The Prinsenhof was used by the counts of Flanders since at least 1366. Before that, the site was the home of the financier Simon de Mirabello, and had chapels tied to the abbey...
. The procession consisted of all the city's sheriffs, clerks, officials, and 30 noblemen dressed in black robes and barefoot; 318 guild
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
members and 50 weavers, they too dressed in black robes; and the 50 day laborers dressed in white shirts with hangman's nooses around their necks. The hangman's noose symbolized that they deserved the gallows. At the Prisenhof, they were made to beg Charles and Mary for mercy.
A fine of 8,000 guilders was imposed on the city. Charles decreed a new constitution, the Caroline Concession, that stripped Ghent of all it's medieval legal and political freedoms, as well as all its weapons. The weavers and 53 other crafts guilds were merged into 21 corporations, and the privileges of all guilds save the shippers and butchers were stripped. The old abbey of Saint Bavo's and its church of the Holy Savior were demolished to make way for a new fortress. Eight of the city's gates were permanently closed, and parts of its walls were demolished. The city's aldermen would henceforth be selected by magistrates of the House of Habsburg (Charles' family). Charles also ordered the scaling back of festivals that fostered the city's civic pride.
Legacy
Since this incident the people of Ghent have taken on the sobriquetSobriquet
A sobriquet is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another. It is usually a familiar name, distinct from a pseudonym assumed as a disguise, but a nickname which is familiar enough such that it can be used in place of a real name without the need of explanation...
Stroppendragers (noose bearers). Every summer during the Ghent Festivities, the Guild of Noose Bearers commemorates the revolt by parading through the streets dressed in white shirts with nooses around their neck. The noose has also become an informal symbol of Ghent itself.
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