Duchy of Burgundy

• Coat of arms/Flag
• Status – Vassal of the Kingdom of France
• Capital City- Brussels
• Other Settlements –
• Languages – Dutch, Low Saxon, Frisian, Walloon, Luxembourgish, French
• Religion(s) –
• Government – Monarchy
• Legislature –
• Current Ruler – Philip the Good (Count of Holland)
• Other Notable residents –

In past centuries there was endemic conflict between the principalities of the Low Countries, which became part of a wider struggle for dominance between the kings of England and France. Finally, at the battle of the Golden Spurs, Flanders secured its independence, and confirmed its position of leadership within the Low Countries.

Marriage brought the the county of Flanders under the duke of Burgundy, a scion of the French royal family. Further wars and marriage alliances brought the other principalities of the Low Countries under Burgundian control. By this time, Flanders is the centre of a large-scale cloth industry, and one of the wealthiest regions in Europe; this mades it an ideal base upon which to build a new independent state, as the dukes of Burgundy are seeking to do.

This wealth had caused towns to expand, and some, particularly Ghent, Brugge and Ypres, had become independent centres of political power under powerful urban aristocracies.