22 - [HISTORY - FLANDERS] - [ZAMAN, Jan Pieter]

[HISTORY - FLANDERS] - [ZAMAN, Jan Pieter] "Exposition of the Three Estates of the Country and County of Flanders, namely: the Clergy, the Nobility, and the Commons" S. l. [Ghent], s.n., 1711 In-8°. Full contemporary calfskin. Spine with 5 raised bands decorated with gilded floral panels. Title label. Normal wear and tear. First edition of the major work by the Flemish writer and jurist Jan Pieter Zaman, Lord of Ten Berghen. Published anonymously during the War of the Spanish Succession, this important historical, political, and legal study analyzes the representative structures, privileges, and functioning of the provincial estates of the County of Flanders. The author’s rigorous argument demonstrated the need to rebalance power in favor of the castellanies and small towns, which led directly to a reform of the composition of local governing bodies. An indispensable reference work for the history of the political and fiscal institutions of the Southern Netherlands. References: Barbier, II, 394; Bibliotheca Belgica, Z-12 Included: COLLECTIVE WORK "Collection of Regulations of the Estates of the Province of East Flanders" Ghent, Widow of A. J. S. Stéven, n.d. 8vo. Contemporary green half-maroquin (c. 1820–1830). Smooth spine decorated along its entire length with gilt fleurons and arabesques. Normal wear and tear. First edition of this official collection of provincial public law printed under Dutch rule, during the era of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. This technical and legal document is of paramount historical interest for the detailed study of territorial reorganization, issues of local jurisdiction, and fiscal dynamics imposed by King William I’s centralizing policy in the Belgian provinces (here, East Flanders). References: Ghent Bibliography, VI, 461. Provenance: from the Library of Philippe de Volkaersbeke (ex-libris) for both volumes