Benelux

Luxembourg and the East of Belgium are a hilly area, but the rest of the Benelux is what is known as the Low Countries; this is the delta of the rivers Scheldt, Meuse, Rhine and Ems that used to be swamp land. Enterprising fishermen discovered a flair for trade when trading routes started to emerge between the grain markets of the Baltic Sea and the renaissance-bitten luxury goods markets of northern Italy. Here is where stocks were invented. Trade in all kinds of goods as well as enslaved humans made a small elite incredibly rich and the Dutch East India Company (VOC for its Dutch name) became one of the first multinational stock based companies and in its heyday controlled entire countries.  This attention to trade made Bruges one of the largest cities in Europe in its day, and the medieval old town is still well preserved. When the secession war with Spain progressed, French and Flemish alike fled to Amsterdam, which became the new world capital of trade, which is still witnessed in the many 'Houses of the Lords' lining the famous canals.