Stedelijk initiatief of hertogelijke repressie? Financiële hervormingen en kredietbeleid te Gent (1453-1495)
Wouter Ryckbosch
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Urban dynamics or Ducal repression? Financial reforms and public credit policies in Ghent (1453-1495)
Although the late-medieval Flemish towns have long been known for their uprisings against the (Burgundian) central state, a relatively small amount of research has been undertaken into the subject of differences in actual policies between the insurrectionist (‘particularist’) party on the one hand, and the pro-ducal (‘centralist’) party on the other hand. My analysis of the financial policies in the town of Ghent during the politically polarized period 1453-1495 illustrates a remarkable contrast in the financial measures taken by each political party. The particularist party, which assumes power in 1477, implemented the more dynamic and socially progressive policies, even though by the end of the fifteenth century its political options seemed increasingly constrained.

Edelen in de Vlaamse stedelijke samenleving. Een kwantitatieve benadering van de elite van het laatmiddeleeuwse en vroegmoderne Brugge
Frederik Buylaert
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Nobles in the Flemish urban network. A quantitative analysis of the urban nobility of Late Medieval and Early Modern Bruges
In this contribution, a series of lists of Flemish nobles, compiled by the princely administration for military and political purposes, is used to measure the presence of nobles in the Flemish city of Bruges and the surrounding countryside. Diachronological analysis shows that noble involvement increased considerably since the middle of fourteenth century. Next to the presence of several families from the high nobility, the state formation process offered chances to bureaucrats to join the ranks of the local nobility. From the fifteenth century onwards, a growing part of the Bruges urban patriciate also succeeded in attaining noble rank. The overlap between those different groups was modest, but the intense cultural life of Bruges provided the high nobility, state officials and urban elites with ample opportunity for social and cultural interaction. While the growing involvement of the late medieval and early modern nobility in urban networks deserves further attention, the concept of ‘urban nobility’ does not do justice to the important differences between various noble groups in Bruges, nor to the intricate interlinking of urban and rural interests of noble families.

Landtransportprijzen en de economische ontwikkeling van Brabant in de lange zestiende eeuw. Een braakliggend stuk prijzengeschiedenis
Bart Ballaux en Bruno Blondé
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Land transport prices and the economic development of Brabant during the long sixteenth century
In this article, the authors present a long-term series of land transport prices and forward some hypotheses about the role and importance of rising transport prices on the sixteenth-century urban economy of Brabant. During this period, land transport prices of bulky commodities rose remarkably primarily as a result of the ever increasing prices of horse fodder. Although historiography emphasises important changes in the organisation of carters and waggoners, as well as technological innovations and infrastructural improvements of sixteenth- century transport, they did not significantly contribute to moderating transport prices. As the provisioning of the urban population depended on the transportation of bulky commodities, e.g. agricultural products, building materials and fuel, transport prices heavily weighted upon the price development of these product categories on the urban markets. However, sixteenth-century transport in Brabant did not impede economic growth, but it did not actively contribute to it either.

Economische verandering en inkomensongelijkheid. De inkomensverdeling in de Oost-Vlaamse steden in de negentiende eeuw
Juul Hannes en Eric Vanhaute
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Economic change and income inequality. Income distribution in the cities of East-Flanders in the nineteenth century
The relationship between (economic) growth and (income) inequality is one of the perennial debates in international economic and social history. Nevertheless the outcomes remain uncertain and show a diverging picture. One of the causes is the scarcity of solid micro research. In this contribution we examine the shifts in the income distribution in eleven cities in the Belgian province of East-Flanders (Oost-Vlaanderen) in the nineteenth century. A thorough analysis of the tax files of the rentable value of dwelling houses allows the reconstruction of income groups at four different points in time: 1810, 1834, 1860, 1890. In nearly all East-Flemish cities income inequality increased during the nineteenth century, or remained stable at a high level. Explanations referring to diverging processes of industrialisation or population growth remain unsatisfactory. The causes for the persistent character of social polarisation were rooted in a growing tension between income from labour (low remunerations) and capital (profits from industry and land ownership). Particularly the transfers of capital from the countryside to the cities caused by the concentration of landed property perpetuated the dual developments in the cities and between the cities and the countryside.