# The place of the Habsburgs in the 17th-century society

In the 16th century, the Spanish Netherlands were dominated by the Habsburgs. In 1548, Charles V decided to unite the provinces of the Netherlands, which became the United Provinces. In 1558, Philip II inherited the Spanish throne and the Spanish Netherlands. His reign is renowned for its heavy taxes and military activity, which weighed heavily on the economy and the well-being of the population. An initial hypothesis is that, in this work, Brueghel decided to reflect popular feelings in the Netherlands by denouncing the tax levies.

The fallen wheel in the snow, placed at the geometric center of the painting, could express that the Netherlands is fading away because it no longer has the political and financial means to move forward. Furthermore, the vegetable thief at the leper's house, with his large hat, could represent a Spaniard. However, this hypothesis has also been challenged. The original painting by Pieter Brueghel the Elder was commissioned by Jan Vleminck Sebastiaensz, Lord of Wijnegem. It is therefore unlikely that someone close to power would have commissioned a critical painting. What's more, the coat of arms depicting a double-headed eagle hanging on the walls of the building on the left features the arms of the Holy Roman Empire, which was then under Habsburg rule.

In this way, the Bruegels consciously place a biblical scene in this Flemish context, and assert that Christ was born under the Habsburgs, thus legitimizing Spanish power. As the Virgin heads for the tax-collecting house, the Emperor and God face each other: a continuity between the ancient Roman Empire of Christ's time and that of the painter's is established. Was the painting intended to denounce the excessive levying of taxes? Or was it intended to legitimize the power of the Habsburgs? The truth surely lies in the paradox, with no real aim to legitimize Spanish power. The painting would surely have been manipulated by the state as a propaganda tool.