This fine manuscript map from 1751 shows the fortress of Philippine, centrally located in Zeelandic Flanders. The map was probably made by a military engineer, as a plan for strengthening part of the local fortification. Hence the title at the top of the map: 'Philippine with the projected works'. What is special is the way those projected works are shown: foldaway paper 'overlays' on the left and right show the desired fortification improvements, while below them is the existing situation. In this way, decision-makers could easily test their decision-making against reality.
The town of Philippine was not so long ago located on the south side of the Braakman, a large tributary of the Westerschelde. The Braakman was created during the storm surge of 1375. As a result of further dike breaches in the following decades, the sea hole reached its largest size at the end of the 15th century. After that, people made every effort to reclaim land through embankments. In 1505, the Flemish count Philip the Handsome gave Jeronymus Lauereijn permission to reclaim land on the south side of the Braakman. The foundation of a closed town named Philippine was also part of this agreement. The Philippine polder was reclaimed in 1506, but it was flooded during a storm surge in 1532. Only in 1566 was the polder re-dammed. A real town would not come. Instead, Parma had an entrenchment built here called Sint Philip.
After almost seventy years of Spanish rule, the entrenchment came into State hands in 1633. Because of its strategic location - as a base and outpost in Flanders - the State government drastically expanded the fortification. In addition to a garrison, a civilian population gradually began to populate the fortress. The original name Philippine returned. The place now became part of State Flanders. From then on, reclamation work was resumed and the Sint-Pieterspolder was reclaimed on the east side. Given its favourable position on the Braakman, the construction of a harbour was a logical step. From here, the States controlled shipping on the waterway.
At the time, a strategic location required the necessary defences. Over time, Philippine was given various fortifications, each time adapted to the latest military insights and requirements. In the Spanish era, for instance, there was originally a triangular fortress with bastions. Philippine was then part of a Spanish defence belt along the northern coast of Flanders, protecting this area from Staatse invasions. Eventually, the entrenchment was given a quadrangular shape and it was in this capacity that Count William of Nassau (1592-1642) managed to capture the work in 1633.
As mentioned, the fortress was expanded after the State conquest. The additional land needed for this purpose became available through the embankment of the Sint-Pieterspolder. The fortress was now given a trapezoidal shape with two full bastions and a ravelin on the south side and two half bastions on the north side. A gateway was also built on the north side, providing access to the harbour outside the dikes. Next to it was the original Spanish entrenchment, which was fully integrated into the new fortress and designated 'castle' or 'High-Philippine'. All new works were designated as 'Low-Philippine'. The fortress was enclosed by a wet moat. To defend the south side of Philippine, an inundation system was set up, with 'accesses' or defensible entrances to the fortification.
After the peace of Münster in 1648, Philippine remained free of war for a long time. Only a century later, in 1747, the fortress again became the scene of skirmishes. French troops commanded by Von Löwenthal then took Philippine during the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748) without too much resistance. The Peace of Aachen in 1748 ensured that the place was reattached to the Republic in January 1749.
The French conquest of Philippine in 1747 was the immediate reason for producing the map presented here. Indeed, the fortifications shown turned out to be necessary because it was difficult to defend the fortress properly in these places during the French siege. Especially the half bastion Meijland on the northeast side proved to be a weak point. The map therefore shows proposals to improve the defences at this location. Among other things, some bastion- and ravelin-like structures were to be added here. The west side of the fortress also needed to be reinforced in this way, to defend the local access.
In the end, the modernisation of Philippine was not nearly as rigorous as this plan map suggests. At the level of the half bastion Meijland, the northern rampart on the east side was indeed extended a bit, but less than the map suggests. The same applies to the reinforcement of the access to the half bastion Meijland. On the west side of the fortress of Philippine, the adjustments were even smaller. Here, only the flèche - a small defensive work open on one side - was reinforced on the south side of the access. So this plan map probably played a role in the decision-making process regarding the reinforcement of the fortress, but did not make it to the implementation map.
How did things continue in the history of the fortress of Philippine? In 1795 Philippine fell into French hands and the fortress' military function eventually faded away. Only during the Belgian Revolt in 1830 would a small garrison remain stationed in Philippine for a short time. Today, not much remains of the original fortress. However, aerial and satellite photos still show various contours of the southern part of the former fortification. Various street names such as Bastionstraat and Ravelijnstraat also recall the former glory as a fortified town.
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