ment, to give
way to the spirit of centralization. Thus in time the sovereign claimed
the right of nominating all the higher clergy. In some instances he
appointed the judges of the provincial courts; and the supreme tribunal
of Mechlin was so far dependent on his authority, that all the judges
were named and their salaries paid by the crown. The sovereign's
authority was even stretched so far as to interfere not unfrequently
with the rights exercised by the citizens in the election of their own
magistrates,--rights that should have been cherished by them as of the
last importance. As for the nobles, we cannot over-estimate the
ascendancy which the master of an empire like that of Charles the Fifth
must have obtained over men to whom he could open such boundless
prospects in the career of ambition.[371]

But the personal character and the peculiar position of Charles tended
still further to enlarge the royal authority. He was a Fleming by birth.
He had all the tastes and habits of a Fleming. His early days had been
passed in Flanders, and he loved to return to his native land as often
as his busy life would permit him, and to seek in the free and joyous
society of the Flemish capitals some relief from the solemn ceremonial
of the Castilian court. This preference of their lord was repaid by the
people of the Netherlands with feelings of loyal devotion.

[Sidenote: THEIR COMMERCIAL PROSPERITY.]

But they had reason for feelings of deeper gratitude in the substantial
benefits which the favor of Charles secured to them. It was for Flemings
that the highest posts even in Spain were reserved, and the marked
preference thus shown by the emperor to his countrymen was one great
source of the troubles in Castile. The soldiers of the Netherlands
accompanied Charles on his military expeditions, and their cavalry had
the reputation of being the best appointed and best disciplined in the
imperial army. The vast extent of his possessions, spreading over every
quarter of the globe, offered a boundless range for the commerce of the
Netherlands, which was everywhere admitted on the most favorable
footing. Notwithstanding his occasional acts of violence and extortion,
Charles was too sagacious not to foster the material interests of a
country which contributed so essentially to his own resources. Under his
protecting policy, the industry and ingenuity of the Flemings found
ample scope in the various departments of husbandry, manufacture