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Description:This large magnificent original copper-plate engraved antique map of Belgium and parts of Northern France made up of the provinces of Flanders, Artois, Hainaut, Picardy was engraved in 1777 - the date is engraved in the title cartouche - after Rigobert Bonne in 1771 and was published by Francois Santini (active 1776-84) in his 2 volume edition of Atlas Universal 1776-84.. (Ref: Tooley; M&B)
General Definitions:Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stablePaper color : - off whiteAge of map color: - OriginalColors used: - Blue, pink, red, green, yellowGeneral color appearance: - AuthenticPaper size: - 30in x 21in (760mm x 535mm)Plate size: - 23in x 18in (585mm x 460mm)Margins: - Min 2in (50mm)
Imperfections:Margins: - NonePlate area: - NoneVerso: - None
Background: Belgium officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Western Europe bordered by France, the Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg.Historically, Belgium was part of an area known as the Low Countries, a somewhat larger region than the current Benelux group of states that also included parts of northern France and western Germany. Its name is derived from the Latin word Belgica, after the Roman province of Gallia Belgica. From the end of the Middle Ages until the 17th century, the area of Belgium was a prosperous and cosmopolitan centre of commerce and culture. Between the 16th and early 19th centuries, Belgium served as the battleground between many European powers, earning the moniker the Battlefield of Europe, a reputation strengthened by both world wars. The country emerged in 1830 following the Belgian Revolution when it seceded from the Netherlands.The Eighty Years War (1568–1648) divided the Low Countries into the northern United Provinces (Belgica Foederata in Latin, the Federated Netherlands) and the Southern Netherlands (Belgica Regia, the Royal Netherlands). The latter were ruled successively by the Spanish (Spanish Netherlands) and the Austrian Habsburgs (Austrian Netherlands) and comprised most of modern Belgium. This was the theatre of most Franco-Spanish and Franco-Austrian wars during the 17th and 18th centuries.Following the campaigns of 1794 in the French Revolutionary Wars, the Low Countries—including territories that were never nominally under Habsburg rule, such as the Prince-Bishopric of Liège—were annexed by the French First Republic, ending Austrian rule in the region. The reunification of the Low Countries as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands occurred at the dissolution of the First French Empire in 1815, after the defeat of Napoleon.