Struggling for legal primacy in the Zwin: Bruges and Sluys, 1492–1520

Summary This article examines a series of conflicts between the city of Bruges and its main outport Sluys brought before the Council of Flanders and the Great Council of Malines around the turn of the sixteenth century. Although Bruges’ commercial successes declined during this period, the previously consolidated hierarchical relationships with Sluys persisted as the courts continuously judged in Bruges’ favour. This contribution attempts to expose the underlying legal dynamics that determined Bruges’ continued primacy over its outport.