17th and 18th Centuries
During the 17th century, Antwerp was a major European center for commerce, industry and art. The Brueghels, Peter Paul Rubens and Van Dyck's baroque paintings were created during this period. See also:
- Gerardus Mercator
- Jodocus Hondius
- War of Devolution, Franco-Dutch War, War of the Reunions, Nine Years War, War of the Spanish Succession
The Belgian and Luxembourgish territories (except the Bishopric of Liège) were transferred to the Austrian Habsburgs (1713–1794) after the War of the Spanish Succession when the French Bourbon Dynasty inherited Spain at the price of abandoning many Spanish possessions. They were thus called the Austrian Netherlands from 1713 to 1794.
Read more about this topic: History Of Belgium
Famous quotes containing the word centuries:
“What is history? Its beginning is that of the centuries of systematic work devoted to the solution of the enigma of death, so that death itself may eventually be overcome. That is why people write symphonies, and why they discover mathematical infinity and electromagnetic waves.”
—Boris Pasternak (1890–1960)