Managing the Crisis? The Resilience of Local Networks and Institutions within the Low Countries during the Napoleonic Period

Wars and crises have profound destabilizing effects on societies. Nevertheless, most communities continue to function. How, and to what extent they are able to do so, depends upon the resilience of local institutions and networks above all. This project investigates the ability of the merchant communities to survive the Napoleonic wars through a comparative study of the flexibility of their networks in the Northern and Southern Netherlands. Our central hypothesis is that networks were more rigid in the north than in the south, whereas the impact was also larger because of the dominance of Amsterdam's maritime networks throughout. In-depth studies for Rotterdam, Antwerp, Twente and Ostend will reveal how local institutions interacted with central regulations and how divergent mechanisms arose among the merchant communities.

Keywords:LOW COUNTRIES

Disciplines:History