ANTWERP (in French, the capital of the province which bears its name, and the chief commercial city of Belgium, is situate on the river Scheldt. Pop. '76, 150,650. Its chief public institutions are—the Academy of Sciences, Academy of Paint ing and Sculpture, formerly known as the Academy of St. Mark, a medical and surgical school, naval arsenal, museum, and zoological gardens. The cathedral, one of the noblest gothic structures in Europe, is 500 ft. in length by 240 in breadth, with a roof supported by 125 pillars, and a very lofty spire. The interior is enriched by the two greatest of all the pictures of Rubens, the Elevation of and the Descent from the Cross. The church of St. James contains the monument of the Rubens family. The new forti fications, recently erected, render the commercial capital of Belgium one of the most strongly fortified places in Europe. The trade and manufactures of A. have recently greatly extended, and the large dock and quay accommodation having been found too limited, steps have been taken for making a new quarter of the town, with ample harbor-room, on the opposite side of the Scheldt. The manufactures consist chiefly of sugar, white-lead, cotton goods. point-lace, linen thread, carpets, gold and silver lace. It is still celebrated for its sewiag-silk, black silk stuffs, and printer's ink, as it was in former times for its velvets, damasks, and satins. There are also to be mentioned
tobacco-manufacture, the cutting of diamonds and other precious stones, and ship building.
A. is mentioned as early as the 8th c.; in the 12th and 13th it gave signs of consid erable prosperity, and in 1550 numbered more than 200,000 inhabitants. The union of Belgium with Holland in 1815 was very favorable to the commerce and general pros perity of A. By the revolution of Aug., 1830, it was linked to the destiny of Belgium. When the revolutionary party gained possession, the commandant, gen. Chasse, retreated to the citadel, and, exasperated by the breach of truce, commenced a bom bardment, which destroyed the arsenal and about thirty houses. In 1832, a French army of 50,000 men, under marshal Gerard, appeared before A., to demand the sur render of the citadel, which gen. Chasse refused. After the interior of the citadel had been reduced to ruins by the French artillery, gen. Chasse capitulated; the Flemish for tification, and the forts Burght, Zwindrecht, and Austroweel were surrendered to the Belgian troops, and the Dutch troops were taken to France, as hostages for the surren der of the forts Lino and Liefkenshoek, according to an article in the negotiation of Nov. 15, 1831, which stipulated that the five citadels held by the Dutch troops in Belgium should be surrendered.