CHARLES THE BOLD

(1433-1477)

   Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy, ruled Brussels as duke of Brabant. As count of Charolais, the future duke laid the foundation stone of the right wing of the Hôtel de Ville on 4 March 1444. Charles made his Joyeuse Entrée into Brussels on 24 October 1467. He maintained a tense relationship with residents. Disliking the city, in 1473 he transferred the Chamber of Accounts of Brabant to Mechelen, which became the financial and judicial capital. Charles attempted to impose French as the exclusive administrative language, and he decreed a severe taxation policy to finance the wars he waged in pursuit of his goal to reestablish the kingdom of Lotharingia. Resentment over onerous exactions contributed to the rising of 1477, the year he died in a battle against the Swiss at Nancy, France.

   See also Burgundian Regime.