Home / Summaries / A Concise History of the Netherlands / towns-cities-city

From the Margins to the Mainstream: Dutch History to 1384 - New States, New Lands, New Cities - The Rise of Cities

8 important questions on From the Margins to the Mainstream: Dutch History to 1384 - New States, New Lands, New Cities - The Rise of Cities

Where was the money economy strongest?

Initially it was in relatively densely populated Frisia that the existence of towns, and with them a money economy, may have been strongest. It was there that the North Sea trade went hand-in-hand with the existence of small trading towns such as Dokkum, Leeuwarden and Stavoren.

What became more central to life in the towns around 1150?

WIth the stone-built, spired churches that began to dot the landscape around 1150, religious life also became more central to life in the towns and in the villages.

How did the Netherlands compare with other European cities?

It must be emphasized that all the towns of the northern Netherlands at this time paled in significance compared with the great cities of Europe and also of Flanders - Bruges, Ghent and Ypres - which burgeoned into places ultimately harboring tens of thousands of residents each by the thirteenth century, making the southern Low Countries with northern Italy the most densely urban area of Europe.

What was a sign of economic importance? What happened to Dordrecht?

Many towns in what is now Flemish Zeeland, such as Axel, Hulst and Aardenburg, flourished as the result of trade generated by the urban centers of Flanders.
Several of them were accorded city rights at the end of the twelfth century: early for the Low Countries and a sign of their economic importance.
Around 1200, Dordrecht became the first of the Holland cities to be recognized as an opidum (city) and receive corresponding rights that were formally granted by its own count.

What did the urbanization of the south also constitute?

The urbanization of the south also constituted a model for the northern parts of the Netherlands.
It encouraged its own counts, dukes and bishops to charter towns as a way to enrich themselves and thus to expand their influence.

What function did charters have in Flemish cities?

Many Flemish cities were accorded charters in the twelfth century, which substantially reduced, if not eliminated, the obligations of their residents to the local lord.
These agreements tended to conform the cities' role as refuges where people were free from manorial and feudal bonds, and as places administered by self-government.
Property rights, so essential for trading and commerce, were widely respected in these towns.

What movements started to emerge in the thirteenth century?

Economically prosperous, politically assertive and sometimes literate, city people could be increasingly critical of the institutional Church as a mere defender of its own powerful interests or as an organization that had stayed from its spiritual purpose.
Reform movements that began to impact the region, such as the Cistercians or Premonstratensians, found support among these urban critics.
The cities were also places were new forms of inequality arose, city government lying chiefly in the hands of a patrician class that became more tightly defined and exclusive over time.

What consequence did the rise of urban centers have?

The rise of a highly urbanized culture would have long-term consequences for the future of the whole region, creating new centers of economic power, and with it, political influence.

The question on the page originate from the summary of the following study material:

A Concise History of the Netherlands | 9780521699174 | James C Kennedy

View summary

A unique study and practice tool
Never study anything twice again
Get the grades you hope for
100% sure, 100% understanding

Remember faster, study better. Scientifically proven.

From the Margins to the Mainstream: Dutch History to 1384 - New States, New Lands, New Cities - The Rise of Cities

8 important questions on From the Margins to the Mainstream: Dutch History to 1384 - New States, New Lands, New Cities - The Rise of Cities

Where was the money economy strongest?

What became more central to life in the towns around 1150?

How did the Netherlands compare with other European cities?

What was a sign of economic importance? What happened to Dordrecht?

What did the urbanization of the south also constitute?

What function did charters have in Flemish cities?

What movements started to emerge in the thirteenth century?

What consequence did the rise of urban centers have?

Summaries related to From the Margins to the Mainstream: Dutch History to 1384 - New States, New Lands, New Cities - The Rise of Cities

A Concise History of the Netherlands

Indian Economics

Global politics

Essentials of international relations

Behavioral genetics

Management and organisational behaviour

Follow Up Engels idioom 4/5 H

International Business

Marketing fundamentals

Projectmanagement, A practical Approach-Engl…

Basic Management Accounting for the Hospital…

International business