Editing Belgium (section)

===Burgundian and Habsburg Netherlands===
[[File:Karte-Haus-Burgund 4-FR.png|thumb|upright|The [[Burgundian Netherlands|Burgundian State]] of [[Charles the Bold]] in the 15th century]]

In the 15th century, the [[Duke of Burgundy]] in France took control of Flanders, and from there [[Burgundian inheritance in the Low Countries|proceeded to unite]] much of what is now the Benelux, the so-called [[Burgundian Netherlands]].<ref name="Wl7Nu">{{cite web|title=Chapter I: The Burgundian Netherlands.|work=History of Holland|author=Edmundson, George|publisher=The University Press, Cambridge. Republished: Authorama|year=1922|url=http://www.authorama.com/history-of-holland-3.html|access-date=15 December 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110428094602/http://www.authorama.com/history-of-holland-3.html|archive-date=28 April 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> "Burgundy" and "Flanders" were the first two common names used for the Burgundian Netherlands which was the predecessor of the Austrian Netherlands, the predecessor of modern Belgium.<ref>{{citation|last=Van Der Essen|first=Leon|title=Notre nom national|journal=Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire|volume=4|issue=1|year=1925|pages=121–131|doi=10.3406/rbph.1925.6335|url=http://www.persee.fr/doc/rbph_0035-0818_1925_num_4_1_6335|access-date=18 May 2024|archive-date=20 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240320145715/https://www.persee.fr/doc/rbph_0035-0818_1925_num_4_1_6335|url-status=live}}</ref> The union, technically stretching between two kingdoms, gave the area economic and political stability which led to an even greater prosperity and artistic creation.

Born in Belgium, the [[House of Habsburg|Habsburg]] Emperor [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles&nbsp;V]] was heir of the Burgundians, but also of the royal families of [[House of Habsburg|Austria]], [[Crown of Castile|Castile]] and [[Crown of Aragon|Aragon]]. With the [[Pragmatic Sanction of 1549]] he gave the [[Seventeen Provinces]] more legitimacy as a stable entity, rather than just a temporary [[personal union]]. He also increased the influence of these Netherlands over the [[Prince-Bishopric of Liège]], which continued to exist as a large semi-independent enclave.<ref name="3kmvZ">{{cite web|title=Chapter II: Habsburg Rule in the Netherlands|work=History of Holland|author=Edmundson, George|publisher=The University Press, Cambridge. Republished: Authorama|year=1922|url=http://www.authorama.com/history-of-holland-4.html|access-date=9 June 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926224357/http://www.authorama.com/history-of-holland-4.html|archive-date=26 September 2007|url-status=live}}</ref>