That was Antwerp too: A history of the little man. About poverty and political impotence

This monumental work focuses on the little man throughout the history of Antwerp: the poor, foundlings, orphans, the disabled and other people in need of help. The 'A' of the glorious Antwerp is known far and wide, but what about the history of the little man in the city of the lords? The seemingly so glorious Antwerp, world port and centre of diamonds, was once a city of the poor. The classic Antwerp city histories have mainly focused on the political and ecclesiastical aspects of the past, and on the institutional and art history. That too was Antwerp focuses on the social events of the city. Gustaaf Asaert studies the place of the little man in the history of Antwerp: the poor, foundlings, orphans, the disabled and other people in need of help. What did poor relief look like in the ancien régime, during the Middle Ages and the modern era? How did it evolve? What did it mean to be poor in that time? What were the provisions against diseases such as the plague and cholera, and how did the institutions of the city of Antwerp deal with poverty?