's Hertogenbosch is Brabant's capital and cultural center while the country's major
electronics undustry is centered around the High Tech Campus Eindhoven.
Brabant features an important agriculural industry that
clashes with ever increasing environmental constrains.
Humans have lived here since the end of the last Ice Age. The Romans came
in 56 BC, and when they left in 406 AC the land and the people had changed considerably, with most of the forests cut down for
wheat production.
Later, agricultural efficiency improved dramatically but deforrestation and overgrazing also led to sand drifts,
as can still be seen in the Drunense Duinen.
As part of the Dutchy of Brabant, the region became a major producer
of broadcloth and florished.
The Eighty Years War hit Brabant hard and fierce battles between the Protestant Dutch Republic and Catholic
Spain were fought here. The Dutch scored a huge win by capturing the city of 's Hertogenbosch in 1629.
To protect the Republic,
several cities along the river Meuse were fortified, among them pittoresque Heusden.
After the secession of Belgium in 1830, the Dutchy of Brabant was split up with only Noord Brabant remaining in the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Cultural differences between the Dutch Protestant "North" and Catholic Brabant are waning, but Brabant still has the name of a Bourgundian life style.
