44 - Hunger, Bread and Cheese

History of the Netherlands

The weariness that comes from decades of instability, war, economic turmoil and hardship really began to exact its toll on the Low Countries in the early 1490s. The last of the Hook uprisings had been quashed in Holland, but there was no stability anywhere, especially as the last flames of the wider Flemish revolt still flickered in Ghent, Bruges and Sluis. Albert of Saxony and Engelbert of Nassau, ruling in place of the now absent Maximilian, were faced with the fearsome obstinacy of Philip of Cleves and, with the seas blockaded, people across the region were underfed and unable to work. In the summer and autumn of 1490, this would result in the desperate lower classes of Bruges erupting into violence against the ducal regime once more, whereas in far-north Holland a large group of very angry, very broke and very hungry farmers, workers and servants decided that enough was enough, and refused to pay the taxes that the ducal government was demanding so that they could keep paying for it all. Welcome to History of the Netherlands. Today, everyone is starving and everything is revolting.

With thanks to Laurens Hoek, Cynthia VanDyke, Enrique Gutierrez, James the Czech, and Jan Engelen for their Patreon support.

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