Note that Belgium and the area around it is the Spanish Netherlands, which in our period are the Austrian Netherlands. That's because of this war!

Oh heh, I knew it used to be the Spanish Netherlands because (of course) of Don Carlos, where you may remember it is a major plot point that Posa is really into Flanders and its mistreatment under Philip II. But it never occurred to me to question how it became not-the-Spanish-Netherlands, whoops. :)

(just a heads up that I might not be super around in salon for the next, uhh, month or two, but I am still definitely reading!)