Catalonia in the process of constructing the modern Spanish state (16th-18th centuries): An interpretative approach

The publication, based on the study of biographical and autobiographical information, characterizes the educational, professional artistic, and educational activities of Ukrainian artists of the middle 19th and early 20th centuries. An analysis of the role of artists as active participants in the national, cultural, intellectual, and social life of Ukrainian society is presented. The author has studied not only the artistic heritage of artists, but also their multifaceted activities, which covered educational, journalistic, and organizational spheres. The article highlights theoretical positions on the educational activities of Ukrainian artists, which are illustrated by specific examples of their experience and influence on the state of society and professional and general education in Ukraine in the 19th - 20th centuries. The author touches on the problems of the direction of the high society of the middle 19th - early 20th centuries. on the development of Ukrainian culture and education; highlights biographical and autobiographical information about Ukrainian artists of the 19th - 20th centuries; reveals the role of the educational activities of Ukrainian artists, their influence on the formation of public opinion; focuses on the relationship between artistic activity with educational and pedagogical practice, the organization of art circles, schools, the creation of studios and participation in cultural and educational societies. Their pedagogical work in schools, colleges, and academies contributed to the formation of a galaxy of famous Ukrainian artists who continued the national artistic and educational tradition of their predecessors. The work also highlights the problem of self-identification of Ukrainian artists as educators and public figures, since art is considered a powerful tool for influencing and shaping public opinion, a means of broadcasting the idea of national revival, social and cultural renewal of the state. Artists took the position not only of creators of aesthetic values, but also of leaders of the national idea, founders of an intellectual space capable of uniting society around common ideological values. The publication highlights the need to understand the heritage of Ukrainian artists of the middle 19th and early 20th centuries not only as artists, but also as outstanding figures of education, who contributed to the formation of national identity with their work.

Music and choreography interaction in the stage dances of musical theater productions of the 17th – the first half of the 18th century

The compositional features were considered and the portals of the facades of buildings of the late 19th and early 20th centuries were classified. in Kyiv. Their symbolism, structure and structural construction, stylistics and characteristic architectural and decorative features were studied. The purpose of the study: to investigate and analyze the compositional, stylistic and semantic features of the portals of the facades of buildings of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. in Kyiv, to develop the principles of classification of portals and conduct their classification. Methodology. The research was conducted on the basis of the following methods: empirical, theoretical and empirical-theoretical. The empirical method includes observation, photo-fixation, graphic sketches and constructions, comparisons and generalizations. Theoretical techniques include: going from the abstract to the concrete, abstraction, concretization, identification and separation. Most of the work was carried out using empirical and theoretical methods. The results. Photographs, graphic sketches and classification of building portals of the late 19th and early 20th centuries were carried out. in Kyiv based on the developed compositional-constructive and stylistic principles of classification. It was found that the portals are located mainly on the main compositional axes of the facades of historical buildings, namely on the main vertical divisions, which are highlighted by risalites, bay windows, attics, towers and often changed scale and shape of windows. The role of the portals in the overall composition of the building and the problem of violation of the compositional integrity of the facades due to the replacement or destruction of individual parts and elements of the portals have been revealed. In particular, as a result of unsuccessful repairs and renovations in some buildings of the historical center, the entrance doors were replaced with faceless, rough, unscaled ones, which distorted not only individual facades, but also entire sections of the urban environment. The scientific novelty and practical significance of the research lies in the identification of the compositional and semantic features of the portals of the facades of Kyiv buildings of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as in the detailed analysis of the compositional structure, constructive and stylistic components of the portals. A scientific novelty is the developed classification of the portals of the historical buildings of Kyiv. The research will contribute to the deepening of theoretical and practical knowledge about the peculiarities of Kyiv portals of the specified period, which can be used in the restoration and reconstruction of buildings of the late 19th - early 20th centuries. in Kyiv. The developed classification of portals will be a useful educational reference material for students - future architects and designers who are interested in the peculiarities of Kyiv's historical buildings.

During the 19th and early 20th centuries in the Arkhangelsk North, sea fishing and hunting were exercised by artels (collective associations). It can be explained by the region’s severe climate and difficult conditions for fishing and hunting, which make working by oneself impossible. This paper is relevant due to the almost complete lack of studies on the internal organization and legal status of sea fishing and hunting artels on Novaya Zemlya and Spitsbergen in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Moreover, studies on these associations are necessary for further research into the Russian experience of sea bioresource exploitation in the Arctic during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The paper aimed to examine the structure and legal status of sea fishing and hunting artels on Novaya Zemlya and Spitsbergen throughout the aforementioned period. The materials included legal acts that regulated the work of artels in the 19th and early 20th centuries, published sources about fishing and hunting artels on Novaya Zemlya and Spitsbergen, as well as documents kept in the State Archives of the Arkhangelsk Region. To perform the analysis, the author utilized the historical-systematic and historicalgenetic methods. The article dwells on the rules and customs that existed in Novaya Zemlya and Spitsbergen artels during the period under study, revealing how the structure of these associations had been changing. In conclusion, the author identified the applicable area of law for these artels in the 19th and early 20th centuries as well as the principles that contributed to their preservation.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, periodic outbreaks of plague occurred in South Asia. Plague epidemics covered the territories of India, China, Iran (Persia), Afghanistan and the Russian Empire. At the turn of the 19th – 20th centuries, the Russian government developed special comprehensive programs to protect the border from the penetration of the terrible infectious disease in the territory of the Turkestan region. Special attention within the framework of those programs was paid to the solution of international political, economic and medical problems related to the sanitary and epidemiological situation. The main objective of the article is to assess the role of the Russian government and scientific community in the development of sanitary and prophylactic measures to combat plague on the border of the Russian Empire with Iran and Afghanistan. Analyzing the documents deposited in the fonds of the Russian State Military History Archive, the author of the study concludes that the measures taken by the government of the Russian Empire to control the plague were generally effective and contributed to the prevention of major outbreaks of the disease in the territory of the Turkestan region in the late 19th – early 20th century

Can the 16th and early 17th centuries in Poland‐Lithuania and some other east‐central European countries be characterized as a “Golden Age” in human capital? We trace the development of a specific human capital indicator during this period: numeracy. We draw upon new evidence for Poland and Russia from the early 17th century onwards; and for Belarus, Ukraine, and Lithuania from the 18th century onwards; controlling for potential selectivity issues. Poland had quite high levels of numeracy during the early 17th century, but these levels subsequently fell below those of even southern Europe. As in other countries in the area, numeracy levels in Poland were lower than those of western Europe during the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries. This finding might support the hypothesis that the second serfdom process, which gained momentum during the 17th century, was one of the core reasons why human capital accumulation was delayed in eastern Europe. The major wars in the region also had devastating effects on numeracy levels. (KEYWORDS: Central‐Eastern Europe; historical Demography; Eastern Europe; Human Capital; Numeracy; Age‐Heaping; census microdata)

Today Vasyuchyn is a small village with about one thousand inhabitants. The settlement had urban status and was one of the famous craft centers in the past. There was a quarry here, where high-quality natural alabaster stone was mined and processed. Vasyuchyn alabaster had a snow-white color and was famous as a beautiful material for decorating walls, carving sculptures, tombstones and decorative architectural details. Actually, Vasyuchyn alabaster was called in the 17th century "Ruthenian marble" and products made from it were exported abroad. A small alabaster industry operated here at the beginning of the 20th century. The ancient history of the manufactory is unknown to current residents. In this regard, the publication aims to reveal the history of the settlement and perform a hypothetical reconstruction of its architectural and planning structure at the time of the 17th century. A special task is to determine the location of the former Vasyuchyn alabaster manufactory, whose activities were associated with famous sculptors and entrepreneurs of the late 16th and early 17th centuries - Herman van Hutte and Heinrich Horst. The quarry and workshop for the production of alabaster stone sculptures have probably been operating in Vasyuchyn for a long time, but the Dutch masters are responsible for raising it to a new artistic level. Vasyuchyn is one of the lost towns of Galicia. In the 14th-17th centuries, it was a private town with a very rich history. Although the history of Vasyuchyn was quite short from 1444 to 1620, its urban structure was developed and did not differ from neighboring settlements with a city rights - Knyahynychi, Khodoriv, Zhuriv, etc. In the western part of the settlement there was a midtown with a small square market square and a church. A feature of Vasyuchyn was that a mill was located next to the market square. The midtown of Vasyuchyn was surrounded by water obstacles on all sides. The water wheel created natural favorable conditions for defense. The system of defensive ramparts covered the midtown from the western and southern sides. Assessing the remains of the ramparts, which have survived only in the western part of the settlement, we attribute them to the bastion system of fortifications of the Old Dutch school. The mid was probably fortified at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, when an alabaster factory operated here. The urban structure of the city belonged to the so-called conjugated type of cities, when the castle and the midtown formed a combined defense system. Vasyuchyn Castle had two phases of development. The older defensive yard was located on an artificial island in the middle of a swampy Swirzh river valley.The remains of earthen ramparts have survived from this object. The new castle was located in the southern part of the midtown. Unfortunately, no buildings or fortifications have survived from it. A palace complex with a manor house was planned on the site of this object at a later time. Its planning structure reflected in the draft plan of the settlement from 1846. In order to reconstruct the architectural and spatial structure of the castle, which probably had a Renaissance character, it is necessary to conduct deeper historical and cartographic studies. The town of Vasyuchyn in the 16th-17th centuries should be attributed to the conditional artistic capitals of the Renaissance in Galicia. The products of the alabaster workshop exported to the many cities of Eastern and Central Europe. Artistic works made of Vasyuchyn alabaster noted in Kraków, Warsaw, Poznan, Wroclaw, Czarnów, Rymanów, etc. Many works made for local shrines - in the cities of Lviv, Sambir, Felshtyn, Uniw, etc. The revival of the alabaster industry, especially in the direction of using alabaster stone in an artistic aspect, can be the foundation of a new economic progress of the community.

Introduction. The article considers the trends in the development of Soviet historiography of Russian anti-war thought in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Analysis. The interrelation of the evolution of the views of Soviet researchers on pre-revolutionary pacifism with socio-political changes in the USSR is revealed. The negative assessments of “bourgeois pacifism” expressed by V.I. Lenin had a significant impact on the study of peacekeeping in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Methods and materials. In the existing historiography, only certain aspects of the problem are considered. Among the most important methods and approaches used in writing this work are the historical-systemic and historical-comparative methods. The source base of the study was primarily scientific works, reference and encyclopedic publications, and journalistic materials. Results. The authors propose to single out three stages in the history of the study of Russian anti-war thought in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries in Soviet times. The most distinct features of the first stage (lack of significant research on the topic, harshness, and categorical assessments) emerged in the mid-1920s and were traced until the mid-1950s. Against the background of political changes in the USSR and the growth of public interest in the problem of maintaining peace, there was a serious increase in research interest in the history of Russian anti-war thought. Peacekeeping ideas were considered during this period primarily within the framework of legal, historical, and philosophical studies. The third stage became noticeable at the end of the 1980s, which manifested itself in a significant increase in works on the history of domestic pacifism and its terminological “rehabilitation.” Authors’ contribution. N.Yu. Nikolaev revealed the trends in the development of Soviet historiography of Russian anti-war thought in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. S.P. Ramazanov analyzed methodological approaches and carried out general scientific editing of the article.

This study explores Wirid Hidayat Jati, a composition by Raden Ngabehi Ranggawarsita finalized in 1862, and its role in shaping Javanese Islam during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The text incorporates Sufi doctrines, particularly the principle of manunggaling kawula Gusti (the union of humanity with the Divine), which is closely related to the concept of martabat tujuh (seven dignities) in Sufi tradition. Employing a historical research design and textual analysis, this study collected data from primary sources, namely the Wirid Hidayat Jati manuscript, as well as secondary sources such as historical records, pesantren archives, and scholarly works. The data were analyzed using content analysis and historical interpretation to identify core mystical and ethical themes and to examine their influence on the religious practices of Javanese Islam. The findings reveal that Wirid Hidayat Jati, through its reading, teaching, and interpretation by santri and Ranggawarsita’s followers, contributed to the dissemination of Sufism and reinforced practices that harmonized Islamic principles with Kejawen values. As a spiritual guide, the text not only influenced devout Muslims (santri) but also adherents of Kejawen, and its impact continued into the early 20th century. In conclusion, Wirid Hidayat Jati reflects Ranggawarsita’s Sufi philosophy and demonstrates the formation of a distinct Javanese Islamic identity characterized by adaptability and cultural syncretism.

The paper discusses the Białowieża bison (Bison bonasus bonasus) as a museum exhibit in the 18th – early 20th centuries, basing on the analysis of archival documents, mainly from St. Petersburg. One of the last remnants of extinct megafauna once roaming through Europe, by the Early Modern time it had been eliminated in the most part of its previous range. In the 16th–18th century, it had the status of a natural curiosity and an exclusively royal game. In the 18th century, the carcasses of the European bison from the imperial menageries went into the cabinets of curiosities where they became the objects of study for naturalists. By the late 18th century, the last population of the European lowland bison had survived in Białowieża Primeval Forest, which became a part of the Russian Empire with the Third partition of Poland. The attention of the Imperial family, which preserved the system of protection of the European bison and the forest where they lived, ensured the survival of the species till WWI. The development of zoology and zoological collections provided a new status to the Białowieża bison – the status of a valuable gift of the Russian Tsar to a scientific community. To receive such a precious gift, a scientific community had to use its diplomatic and bureaucratic channels, to recruit a naturalist willing to travel to Białowieża, to organize a hunt, to process the skin and bones, and finally, to deliver this massive package to a museum. Nevertheless, throughout the second half of the 19th century, most requests made by European and Russian naturalists were granted and the majority of zoological museums received the European bison from Białowieża, either in form of a stuffed animal, a skeleton, or at least a skull. The transformation of the 17–18th century Kunstkammern into research zoological institutions and the development of taxidermy went in parallel with the transformation of the European bison as a museum exhibit. Stuffed animals became anatomically accurate; new expositions included habitat groups, and some institutions amassed extensive collections for comparative study. The presence of the European bison almost in every major European museum made them well known for wider public. In 1919, the last Białowieża bison was killed in the wild, but the popularity of this species helped the restitution of the animal. Nowadays, the “old” specimens are of interest not only from a historical point of view, but also as a source of samples for genetic research.

Purpose of the study: This paper attempts to analyze the theme of journey in The Lunchbox in the context of the varied strains of Romantic journey motifs present in 19th Century and early 20th Century Romanticisms prevalent in England, Germany, France, and America in the said period.
 Methodology: It is primarily a revisionist study. I have attempted to place The Lunchbox in the context of Romantic literature, predominantly of the 19th Century and early 20th Century and meticulous textual analysis is the basic procedure for this venture.
 Main Findings: The findings of this study indicate that the theme of the journey is a signature mark of Romanticism has been used in The Lunchbox for remapping geo-cultural imaginaries of contemporary Mumbai, one of the representative cities of South Asia. Journey to some exotic locale has always been considered as an added advantage to the fundamental narrative of a film.
 Applications of this study: This study will be really helpful to those who want to have a clear idea of the common theme of journey present in different kinds of Romanticisms (Lovejoy, 1924) prevalent in England, Germany, France, and America in the 19th Century and early 20th Century. However temporally and spatially specific, this theme can transcend all the boundaries of time, space, and art form and can be traced in The Lunchbox.
 Novelty/Originality of this study: The way this paper has attempted to place The Lunchbox in the context of the Romantic literature, predominantly of the 19th Century and early 20th Century, is quite unique, in my opinion. I have not come by any such venture especially relating this movie and the flourish of different Romantic philosophies prevalent in the mentioned segments of the globe in the said period.

The article presents the results of a study of the previously unexplored history of land ownership in the volosts of Belaya – an important region on the Russian-Lithuanian border in the 14th to 17th centuries. The subject of the research is the geography of land ownership, including its distribution, sizes, ratio of different types, and developed land. The sources of the study were the census books of the Belsky district from the second half of the 17th century and the act materials from the first half of the 17th century – the Polish period in the history of Belaya. These sources contain information not only about landowners of this period but also from the earlier Moscow period (the second half of the 16th – early 17th centuries). In the work on localizing the toponyms of the 17th-century sources, cartographic materials from the General Survey of the 18th century were used. Geoinformation technologies were applied in the study. The geoinformation project developed in the NEXTGIS environment allowed processing a large volume of historical and geographical information. The integration of data from various sources enabled a retrospective analysis of the dynamics of land ownership in the Belsky volosts in the 16th-17th centuries for the first time. The boundaries of land allotments allowed for the visualization of the limits of land holdings in the 16th-17th centuries. The geography of palace and noble land ownership was characterized. Formed from confiscated lands, mainly from the Vitebsk Jesuit college, palace land ownership in the Belsky district in the 1650s to 1670s was only slightly inferior in size to that of the nobility and the Cossacks. The continuity of a number of land holdings is traced in two aspects. Firstly, this is the continuity of the borders of land holdings of the Russian nobility in the second half of the 16th – early 17th centuries and the estates of the nobility in the 17th century. In particular, the holdings of the Tatev, Travin, and Temirev families from the 16th century remained within their borders for the nobility both during the Polish period and after Belaya was incorporated into the Russian state. Secondly, there is continuity in the holdings of the nobility in the first and second halves of the 17th century. The ownership of the same estates by representatives of noble families, such as the Poplonsky, Rachinsky, and others, is traced. The continuity of the geographical boundaries of land ownership likely accompanied the preservation of the parameters of land development. A significant factor in the preservation of archaic features was the presence of extensive forest and wetland areas. The data obtained significantly enrich our understanding of the historical geography of the Russian borderlands.

The starting point of this study concerns the origins of the polycentric nature of contemporary cities in the western area of the Netherlands, commonly known as ‘the Randstad’. Within the disciplines of planning and urban design the Randstad is considered a textbook example of a polycentric urban hierarchy. Yet, although quite a popular topic, very little is actually known about the driving forces that have given shape to existing urban hierarchies throughout the world. Moreover, the Randstad has also been dubbed ‘Holland’s paradox’ because of its assumed reversed evolution from a primate city hierarchy focused on Amsterdam in early modern times, to a polycentric hierarchy in the 19th century. Why do urban hierarchies change over time and which factors were decisive for the rise of the polycentric Randstad? This study consists of two parts and six chapters. Part I explores the determining factors of change within urban hierarchies. The first chapter gives an assessment of the usefulness of existing theory and ends in confusion: firstly, historiography turns out to be a medley of explanations that are heterogeneous and sometimes even contradictive. Secondly, comparisons of the long-term development of multiple towns are lacking, which makes it difficult to come up with a theoretical approach. In order to make such comparisons and ascertain the impact of certain factors on urban hierarchies over time, it’s necessary to look at the development of a group of towns over a long time-span. Therefore, in the second chapter, simple statistics are compared with existing theory and literature. To do so, demographic data for the nine towns of Amsterdam, Haarlem, Leiden, Delft, The Hague, Rotterdam, Dordrecht, Gouda and Utrecht were compared from their first appearance in the 13th century until the end of the 20th century by projecting their demographic hierarchy in a graph and on a map. In this manner explanations were measured on their applicability for the case of the Randstad. This explorative exercise results in both a description of long-term change in hierarchy in the Randstad and a theoretical approach. Long-term change in the urban hierarchy of the Randstad roughly proceeded in three phases. In the Middle Ages there was a polycentric hierarchy wherein the oldest cities, Utrecht and Dordrecht, were dominant. Although all towns in Holland grew rapidly in the 14th century, by the 1560s one of the youngest and smallest towns, Amsterdam, suddenly took the lead. In the second phase, between 1560 and 1795, a monocentric hierarchy developed with Amsterdam as a primate city. In this dynamic period, where many towns changed ranks, severe growth followed by shrinkage occurred simultaneously with sharpening inequality between towns. In the third phase, between 1795 and 2000, the hierarchy became polycentric once more, with a group of large towns taking the lead. This was mostly due to the extraordinary growth of Rotterdam and The Hague. In contrast with the second phase, the parallel appearance of sharp growth and inequality did not coincide with change in ranks. As a conclusion of part I, in chapter 3 the three determining factors for change in urban hierarchies over time are identified. Urban hierarchy is interpreted as a functional division of tasks between multiple centres, which is the result of differences in the towns’ competitive positions over time. The potency of a town’s competitive position is primarily determined by the interaction of (1) its properties on the one hand and (2) the conditions on the international market on the other. Additionally this interaction is structurally influenced by (3) contribution of a sovereign government. Governments can stimulate or disadvantage towns, but have done so in different ways. Part II further concretizes this approach by further investigation of the third factor. Here, governmental contribution to long-term change in urban hierarchies is given priority over the other two determining factors. Chapters 4, 5 and 6 focus successively on the constitutional periods of the Middle Ages (1200-1560), the Early Modern Age (1560-1795) and the Modern Age (1795-2000). These periods correspond to the three phases in long-term change in the demographic hierarchy from chapter 2. The aim of part II is twofold. Firstly, to identify and compare the manner in which sovereign government has been able to influence the towns’ competitive positions from the 13th until the end of the 20th century. Which trends are discernable in the toolbox of competitive advantages and their distribution by the sovereign government? How can governmental influence on change in urban hierarchies best be characterized? Secondly, if possible, to point out which governmental measures presumably contributed to change in urban hierarchy in general and, specifically, to the rise of the polycentric Randstad. Which measures show the most plausible correlation with change within the urban hierarchy? In order to identify competitive advantages for each constitutional period, a further look at the functional division of tasks, the economic context, and the governmental organization is taken in chapters 4, 5 and 6. Subsequently an impression of the distribution of so-called competitive advantages over the nine Randstad towns is sketched. At the end of each chapter the competitive advantages of a period are summed up, and their distribution is compared to the demographic hierarchy of chapter 2, to assess their impact. My research has resulted in the following conclusions to the aforementioned questions. During the Middle Ages a town’s competitive position could be stimulated with (1) international trade policy (safe conducts, trade agreements), (2) national economic policy (protectionist measures, staple- and minting policy), (3) exceptions of generally applied restrictions (town charters, toll exceptions), (4) distribution of governmental institutions, (5) donations of land property and kingly privileges, (6) granting of infrastructural concessions and awarding (7) urban autonomy. Heavy taxing and prolonged warfare were competitive disadvantages. In the early modern era (1) international trade policy, (2) distribution of governmental institutions and (3) infrastructural concessions were part of the toolkit. Heavy taxing was once more a disadvantage. During the modern era simulative measures were (1) funding of infrastructure, (2) industrial policy, (3) distribution of governmental institutions, (4) national spatial planning and (5) popular housing policy. Building restrictions were a negative for a town’s competitive position. The toolbox of sovereign government in general consists of three basic types of competitive advantages. Firstly, instruments that were aimed at the competitive position of one town exclusively, like staple rights, town charters, toll exemptions, donations of property and rights, urban autonomy and the distribution of governmental institutions. Secondly, instruments that were aimed at the region as a whole, like national and international economic policy. Third are side effects or collateral damage of other governmental policies, like prolonged warfare, heavy taxing and building restrictions stemming from spatial planning policy. The last category often turns out to be disadvantageous for towns’ competitive positions. Sovereign government didn’t apply the same variety of measures at every period. The overall package moved from a rather versatile toolbox in the 13th and 14th centuries to an increasingly limited one in the early modern period. In the 15th and 16th centuries, a discernable trend towards diminishing the variation in competitive advantages sets in, resulting in a rather limited toolbox in the 17th and 18th centuries. After a short expansion of instruments in the first half of the 19th century and a subsequent phase in the second half of the same century, where the number of instruments again strongly declined, the 20th century once again showed a governmental toolbox of various nature. On the long term, infrastructure and the distribution of governmental institutions were permanently part of the competitive advantages-toolbox; although before the 19th century sovereign government virtually never initiated the construction of infrastructure. Throughout most of the investigated period international economic policy and taxing played a role. Local exceptions like town charters and urban autonomy were exclusively medieval phenomena while spatial planning and popular housing policy are only found in the modern period. During the Middle Ages exclusive competitive advantages and common measures were both applied. Almost all nine towns seem to profit from this, although Dordrecht was generally more privileged than others. From the 15th century on exclusive privileges gradually disappear and more collective measures are taken, from which Amsterdam seems to profit. In the early modern era, the overall majority of measures taken were collective ones aimed at the common interest of towns or the region. Nonetheless, somehow Amsterdam seems to have profited above average without exception. In the modern era so many ‘collective’ stimulating measures were taken that this resulted in rather different competitive positions spatially. The distribution can best be characterized as a continuous strive for balance. Looking at the distribution of competitive advantages, governmental activity was variable throughout the entire period. Lots of competitive advantages were distributed in the 13th, 14th, early 17th and early 19th centuries. Subsequently governmental involvement gradually increased and in the 20th century government had its hands full continuously. In sharp contrast, distribution in the 16th and in particularly the second half of the 17th and 18th centuries was rather sparse. Strikingly, other measures than instruments that were explicitly aimed at the towns’ interests show the biggest correlation with change in the demographic hierarchy as shown in chapter 2. In the Middle Ages structural warfare coincided with the marked rise of Amsterdam and recession in the others; tax pressure in early modern times correlated with the decline of towns with industrial profiles; and 20th century demographic decline related to building restrictions in modern times. In general, the governmental role to change in urban hierarchy can best be understood as a facilitative one. The abovementioned centers of gravity in the distribution of competitive advantages coincided with periods of economic expansion and demographic growth in towns. This was the case in periods of urban expansion in the 13th-14th centuries and the 17th century. Only in the 19th century did governmental action precede urban growth. Although side effects in general seem to have been decisive, there’s one marked exception to the rule. The head start of the three biggest towns, and the catching up of Rotterdam and The Hague, does correlate with the construction of (inter)national infrastructure and the distribution of governmental institutions between the 1850s en 1950s. This means that the rise of the polycentric Randstad, exceptionally, was created by conscious use of aimed governmental instruments! This study concludes with a striking hypothesis. Via the description of the governmental organization in each period, by accident attention is drawn to the fact that by bargaining over tax funds, towns themselves gathered political influence in the 15th and even power in the 17th-18th centuries. The rise of urban power coincides with stagnation in the distribution of competitive advantages and the disappearance of exclusive instruments out of the governmental toolkit. This, firstly, gave rise to the suspicion that, once in power, urban representatives preferably avoid the stimulation of opponents’ competitive positions. When combined with the fact that, after disabling towns financially and politically, sovereign government in the second half of the 19th century pursued a policy wherein they kept aloof of dominant Amsterdam and stimulated other large towns, a second hypothesis can be formulated. Could it be that the rise of the polycentric Randstad wasn’t coincidence, and that Holland’s paradox was the result of a deliberate reckoning with an old political elite?

De wortels van de Randstad. Overheidsinvloed en stedelijke hiërarchie in het westen van Nederland tussen de 13de en 20ste eeuw

De wortels van de Randstad. Overheidsinvloed en stedelijke hiërarchie in het westen van Nederland tussen de 13de en 20ste eeuw