Juliaan or Jules Mees (1876–1937) was a Belgian professor of historical geography, a specialist on the

Portuguese discoveries Portuguese maritime exploration resulted in the numerous territories and maritime routes recorded by the Portuguese as a result of their intensive maritime journeys during the 15th and 16th centuries. Portuguese sailors were at the vanguard of Eu ...

, who in 1920 was condemned to two years in prison for collaboration during the German occupation of Belgium in World War I.

Life

Mees was born in

Hingene Hingene is a village and ''deelgemeente'' (sub-municipality) of the municipality of Bornem in the province of Antwerp, Belgium. The village is bordered to the north by the Scheldt and to the east by the Rupel. It is located about south-west of th ...

Province of Antwerp ) , native_name_lang = nl , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of Antwerp.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van de provincie Antwerpen.svg , shield_size ...

(Belgium) on 26 September 1876. After secondary education at the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwcollege in

Boom, Belgium Boom (, ; ) is a Belgian town, located in both the arrondissement and province of Antwerp. In 2021, Boom had a total population of 18,799. The total area is 7.37 km² (2.85 sq mi). Residents are known as "Boomenaren". Since 2005, Boom has hosted ...

he studied history at

Ghent University Ghent University ( nl, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium. Established before the state of Belgium itself, the university was founded by the Dutch King William I in 1817, when the ...

, graduating Ph.D. in 1899 with a thesis on the discovery of the Azores Islands. In 1900-1902 he pursued further studies in economic history and historical geography at the universities of Munich and Vienna, and in 1902-1903 taught at a state secondary school in Ghent. In 1903 he obtained a position in the

State Archives State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

. He also taught at the École Supérieure Commerciale et Consulaire in Mons. In 1917 he accepted a position at the German-sponsored Vlaamsche Hogeschool (Von Bissing university). In 1920 he stood trial as a collaborator and was sentenced to two years in prison, serving 14 months of the sentence. After his release he was unable to continue his academic career and took an office job, which he lost during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. In his final years he dedicated his time to local history, in particular of

Bornem Bornem (, old spelling: ''Bornhem'') is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the village of Bornem proper, Hingene, and Weert, and . There are also the hamlets of Branst, Buitenland, Eikevliet ...

. He died in

Jette Jette (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the north-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Ganshoren, Koekelberg, and Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, as well as the Flemi ...

(Brussels) on 27 June 1937.

Selected works

*''Histoire de la découverte des îles Açores'' (Ghent, 1901) *''L'institution consulaire en Belgique depuis 1830'' (Ronse, 1908) *"La statistique douanière de la Belgique dans la seconde moitié du XVIIIe siècle", ''Revue belge d'histoire'', 1 (1914), pp. 72-97.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mees, Jules 1876 births 1937 deaths Ghent University alumni 20th-century Belgian historians Flemish activists Historians of Portugal