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List of stadtholders in the Low Countries

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Map of the Low Countries between 1566 and 1648. Territories in blue were ecclesiastical lands not part of the Habsburg Netherlands (Seventeen Provinces).
This article is about governors (stadtholders) of individual provinces. For governors-general (landvoogden), see List of governors of the Habsburg Netherlands.

This is a list of stadtholders (Dutch: stadhouders, German: Statthalter) or governors (French: gouverneurs) in the historical Netherlands region. This includes all the territories in the Low Countries that in the mid-16th-century were part of the Habsburg Netherlands, and then known as the "Seventeen Provinces". It excludes territories which were never owned by the House of Habsburg, such as the Prince-Bishopric of Liège (until 1794), the Princely Abbey of Stavelot-Malmedy (until 1794), the Prince-Bishopric of Cambrésis and the Imperial City of Cambray (until 1678), the Principality of Sedan (until 1651), the Duchy of Bouillon (until 1795), and the Duchy of Jülich (until 1795).

Background

The stadtholders or governors were appointed from the ranks of the high nobility, and acted as deputies of a monarch, such as the dukes of Burgundy, Saxony and Guelders, the kings of Spain, or the archdukes of Austria. During the Eighty Years' War, the States(-General) of provinces which rebelled against the Spanish crown started appointing their own stadtholders, establishing a symbiotic relationship between States and stadtholders in what would become the Dutch Republic. Throughout the war, some areas had two stadtholders: those appointed by the Habsburgs, and those appointed by the States in revolt.

By county, duchy, and lordship

County of Artois

The County of Artois (Dutch: Artesië) was a province of France, held by the Dukes of Burgundy from 1384 until 1477/82, and a state of the Holy Roman Empire from 1493 until 1659. Through the Burgundian treaty of 1548, it was made part of the Habsburg Netherlands (Seventeen Provinces) until 1659, when it was reincorportated into France.

In Habsburg service:

Duchy of Brabant

The Duchy of Brabant had no stadtholder, since the governor-general administered this region directly from Brussels. William of Orange once proposed to appoint a kind of stadtholder (he called it superintendent) to be able to persuade the States of Brabant to obey, because without the stadtholder the States could act too independently. He implied that he himself would be a good candidate for the office. However, his proposal was rejected by Granvelle.[5] At the Entry of William of Orange to Brussels in September 1577, Orange did receive the medieval title of ruwaard from the hands of the States of Brabant, which came down to a stadtholdership, but mainly had symbolic value.

County of Drenthe

In Habsburg service
In States-General service

County of Flanders

In Habsburg service

In States-General service:

Lordship of Frisia

Lordship of Groningen

Duchy of Guelders

Upper Guelders

County of Hainaut

County of Holland, Zeeland, and Utrecht

The stadtholdership of Holland and Zealand has always been combined. Since the office was instituted there in 1528, the stadtholder of Utrecht has been the same as the one of Holland, with one exception. In 1572, William of Orange was elected as the stadtholder, although Philip II had appointed a different one.

During the First Stadtholderless Period, the provinces of Holland, Zealand and Utrecht were governed by their States free from autocratic intervention. The Second Stadtholderless Period in Holland ended when the Frisian stadtholder became hereditary stadtholder for all provinces of the Dutch Republic.

Duchy of Luxemburg

Lordship of Overijssel

Duchy of Limburg

Namur

In Habsburg service:

Tournaisis

In Habsburg service
In States-General service

See also

The Low Countries in 1560.
  Habsburg Netherlands
  Prince-Bishopric of Liège
  Principality of Stavelot-Malmedy
  Prince-Bishopric of Cambrésis

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Gorter-Van Royen 1995, p. 369.
  2. ^ Gorter-Van Royen 1995, p. 366.
  3. ^ a b Louis-Prosper Gachard, Relations des ambassadeurs vénitiens sur Charles-quint et Philippe II (1847) 86.
  4. ^ a b Soen, Violet (2012). Vredehandel : Adellijke en Habsburgse verzoeningspogingen tijdens de Nederlandse Opstand (1564-1581). Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. p. 40. ISBN 9789089643773. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  5. ^ Robert Fruin, Het voorspel van den tachtigjarigen oorlog (1859).
  6. ^ After the 'Treason of Rennenberg' (3 March 1580), Orange became de facto stadtholder of the northern regions on behalf of the States-General; in fact, however, the States had no authority over Groningen and Drenthe in these years.
  7. ^ a b Lucas Oldenhuis Gratama, De Stadhouders van Drenthe, hunne magt en staatsregterlijke verhouding tot de landschap (1867) 4-6.
  8. ^ After Coevorden was captured from the Spanish government troops in 1592, the plenipotentiary Drenthe nobles appointed William Louis on 5 January 1593 in Kampen as stadtholder of the County of Drenthe. This was not confirmed by the States-General in The Hague until 24 August 1596.
  9. ^ Willem Pieter Blockmans, Bourgondië voorbij: De Nederlanden 1250-1650 (2010) 211–214. Uitgeverij Verloren.
  10. ^ After Egmont's execution, Flanders (probably) temporarily had no stadtholder. Jean de Croÿ (the Count of Rœulx) is mentioned as his successor, but he did not receive his appointment until 3 July 1572.
  11. ^ a b Gorter-Van Royen 1995, p. 371.
  12. ^ Berlaymont, Charles, graaf van. Universiteit Leiden.
  13. ^ Jean Coenen, Baanderheren, boeren en burgers (2004) 145.
  14. ^ Société de l'histoire de Belgique (1872). "Collection de mémoires relatifs à l'histoire de Belgique". Google Books. Retrieved 19 July 2022.

Bibliography

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