Editing Ghent (section)

===Early modern period===
The city recovered in the 15th century when Flanders was united with neighbouring provinces under the [[Duchy of Burgundy|Dukes of Burgundy]]. High taxes [[Revolt of Ghent (1449–1453)|led to a rebellion]] and eventually to the [[Battle of Gavere]] in 1453, in which Ghent suffered a terrible defeat at the hands of [[Philip the Good]]. Around this time the centre of political and social importance in the [[Low Countries]] started to shift from Flanders (Bruges–Ghent) to [[Duchy of Brabant|Brabant]] ([[Antwerp]]–[[Brussels]]), although Ghent continued to play an important role. With Bruges, the city led two [[Flemish revolts against Maximilian of Austria|revolts against Maximilian of Austria]], the first monarch of the [[House of Habsburg]] to rule Flanders.
[[File:Lucas de Heere - View of the city of Ghent.jpg|thumb|left|250px|''View on the city of Ghent in 1540'' by [[Lucas de Heere]]]]
[[File:Joseph_working_02.gif|thumb|15th-century Ghent miniature of the Biblical [[Joseph]], showing daily life there]]
In 1500, [[Juana of Castile]] gave birth to [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]], who became [[Holy Roman Emperor]] and King of [[Kingdom of Spain|Spain]]. Although native to Ghent, he punished the city after the 1539 [[Revolt of Ghent (1539)|Revolt of Ghent]] and obliged the city's nobles to walk in front of the Emperor barefoot with a noose (Dutch: ''"strop"'') around the neck; since this incident, the people of Ghent have been called "''Stroppendragers''" (noose bearers). St. Bavo's Abbey (not to be confused with the nearby St. Bavo's Cathedral) was abolished, torn down, and replaced with a fortress for [[Kingdom of Spain|Royal Spanish]] troops. Only a small portion of the abbey was spared demolition.

[[File:Engelbert Van Siclers - De Kouter in Ghent in 1763.jpg|250px|thumb|''De Kouter in Ghent in 1763'' by [[Engelbert van Siclers]]]]
[[File:Ghent, Ferraris Map, 1775.jpg|thumbnail|250px|right|Ghent in 1775 on the [[Ferraris map]]]]

The late 16th and 17th centuries brought devastation because of the [[Eighty Years' War]]. The war ended the role of Ghent as a centre of international importance. In 1745, the city [[Fall of Ghent|was captured]] by French forces during the [[War of the Austrian Succession]] before being returned to the [[Austria|Empire of Austria]] under the [[Habsburgs|House of Habsburg]] following the [[Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748)|Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle]] in 1748. This part of [[Flanders]] became known as the [[Austrian Netherlands]] until the exile of the French Emperor [[Napoleon Bonaparte|Napoleon I]], the end of the French Revolutionary and later [[Napoleonic Wars]], and the peace treaties arrived at by the [[Congress of Vienna]] in 1815.