Publication
Title
Power in the metropolis : the impact of economic and demographic growth on the Antwerp City Council (1400-1550)
Author
Abstract
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.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Urban history. - Cambridge, 1992, currens
Publication
Cambridge : 2020
ISSN
0963-9268 [print]
1469-8706 [online]
DOI
10.1017/S096392681900066X
Volume/pages
47 :4 (2020) , p. 589-609
ISI
000589030200002
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 05.01.2021
Last edited 10.11.2024
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