Not until the period of the States-General ( 1632-1794) did Maastricht gain international fame as the "Bulwark of the Netherlands". The medieval enceinte, since known as the "capital wall", remained of importance for the placement of ordnance and as a last line of defence, but in the forefield a system of outworks was constructed such as is unknown- as to extent and diversity- for any other city in the Netherlands.The outworks, a reply to the dominating role of the artillery, were paid for by the States-General and were originally constructed on teh principles of the old Dutch fortification system, which, principally, comprised the erection of an easily surveyabele ensemble of rather low earthworks flanking each other. Compared tot the stone wall-bastions, these earthworks offered the advantage of arresting the enemy's projectiles and, by accommodating ordnance in the open, freeing the defenders of the gunsmoke which they had to endure in the vaulted casemates. In its orginal form the systen releid basically on protection by the water, and made little use of masonry. The situation around Maastricht, wher in the sector between Tongersepoort and Lindenkruispoort- the so-called Hoge Fronten ( high fronts)- there were no water-filled moats, often compelled the engineers to deviate from the design common in the northern Netherlands: they made use of masonry on a much lager scale, and sometimes resorted to almost random extension of the ring of fortifications. The large rectangular hornworks were entirely constructed as earthworks, but the pentagonal earthwork bastions had marlstone, brick-clad walls. Tey were protected by a dry moat, the fieldsite bank of wich - the counterscarp- was at a larger stage also fortified with masonry in many places. Afterwards the lunettes - smaller, advanced strongpoints- likewise recieved a brick cladding. Other earthworks were rarely clad, such as the counterguards with a salient, and the tenailles with a re-entrant angle, which were sometimes linked up in a zig-zag pattern to form a continuous protection. The outermost line of defence was formed by a covered way with a parapet, the outside of which, the glacis, sloped gently into the forefield.