he region has been central to many territories, countries, and empires, forming a natural invasion route. Combatants have fought history-changing battles on this land. The land has often found itself as a ‘buffer zone’ between more powerful states, true from Roman times onwards, when it was a frontier state against the ‘barbarii’ of Germania. Large fortified cities rich from trade grew up, Antwerp, Tournai, and Liège amongst them. The breakup of the Carolingian Empire saw ongoing battles between the Frisian lands and the Frankish Empire. The Vikings fought and settled along the coast in the ninth century, using the area as a stepping stone to further conquests. The country of Flanders fought against the growing power of the French monarchy, notably in the Franco-Flemish War (1297–1305). England allied with Flanders in the Hundred Years War, using it as a stepping stone for the early campaigns of
