clear the debris. People of all classes were forced to help; they were forced to provide wagons and horses, and some were recruited for labour. To speed reconstruction, restrictions were lifted and foreign workers were allowed to come to the city and freely work in reconstruction for a period of two years, although all workers were forbidden to demand higher wages than they had received before the bombardment. The governor ordered free entry into the city of building supplies, and the prices were to be frozen for two years. By opening Brussels to the outside commercially, the guilds' monopoly was renounced and opportunities for profiting from the disaster were reduced, in order to bring the city back to normal as quickly as possible. Two proposals A few months following the bombardment, two opposing visions for the city emerged. The governor, Maximilian II Emanuel, elector of Bavaria, an ambitious and enlightened prince, envisioned using the reconstruction as an opportunity to modify the layout and architectural style of the city. Unlike the numerous transient Spanish nobles which had preceded him in the unprestigious post of Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, Max Emanuel actually became quite involved in the assignment. Backed by Emperor Leopold I, he dreamt of making the Spanish Netherlands his own hereditary state. His plan was to transform the medieval city into a city of the new baroque style, having been influenced by his numerous trips to the imperial court in Vienna, and in his travels to Milan and Turin. Turin in particular was characterized by its logical street layout, with straight avenues offering long, uninterrupted views flanked by buildings of a uniform size. Max Emanuel advised in the reconstruction plans that buildings and streets be built in uniform proportions so as to improve the aesthetics of the city. He also insisted on this point when dealing with the Magistracy, saying "..we strongly hope that some order and uniformity has been observed in the buildings, and ... for the beauty and convenience of the city, that the streets which were formerly too narrow have now been enlarged." For the residents of Brussels, however, the priorities were completely different. A rapid reconstruction was vital to allow economic activities to resume and to prevent an exodus of the population. The city's authorities, who had few resources, did not have the means to finance grandiose proposals. No financial aid from Spain or the