the centre of Europe, halfway between the North and the South, whither
Spaniards, Portuguese, and Italians, as well as French, English, Germans,
Swedes, and Russians, could resort with equal facility as to a perpetual
mart for all the commodities exchanged between the Old and the New
World.[1]

A few years before the commencement of the religious wars which proved so
disastrous to the country, Antwerp was in a most flourishing condition.
Thousands of ships of every form and size covered its broad river like a
forest of masts, whose many-colored flags indicated the presence of
traders from all the commercial nations of the globe.

Portuguese gallions carried thither the gems and spices of the East;
Spanish gallions the gold and silver of America; Italian vessels were
laden with the delicate fruits and rich stuffs of the Southern countries;
German vessels with grains and metals; and all returned to their own
countries heavily freighted with other merchandise, and made way for the
ships which were continually arriving, and which, according to
contemporary chronicles, were often obliged to wait six weeks before they
succeeded in approaching the wharf.[2]

Small craft, such as _hers_, ascended the Scheldt, and even ventured out
to sea in order to trade with the neighboring people. Transportation into
the interior of the country was effected by means of very strong wagons,
several hundred of which daily left Antwerp. The heavy vehicles which
conveyed merchandise through Cologne to the heart of Germany were called
_Hessenwagens_.[3]

This extraordinary activity induced many foreigners to establish
themselves in a city where gold was so abundant, and where every one might