- Seventeen Provinces
Infobox Former Country
native_name = "Zeventien Provinciën"
"Diecisiete Provincias"
"Siebzehn Provinzen"
"Dix-sept Provinces"
The Seventeen Provinces
common_name = Netherlands
continent = Europe
region = Low Countries
country = Netherlands
era = Middle Ages
year_start = 1482
date_start =
event_end =Dutch Revolt
year_end = 1581
date_end = July 26
p1 = Burgundian Netherlands
flag_p1 = Blason fr Bourgogne.svg
s1 = Dutch Republic
flag_s1 = Prinsenvlag.svg
flag_type =
image_map_caption = Map of the Provinces
government_type = Monarchy
capital =
common_languages = Dutch, FrenchThe Seventeen Provinces were a
personal union of states in theLow Countries in the 15th century and 16th century, roughly covering the currentNetherlands ,Belgium ,Luxembourg , a good part of the North ofFrance (Artois , Nord), and a small part of the West ofGermany .The Seventeen Provinces were originally held by the
Dukes of Burgundy of theHouse of Valois and later by the Habsburgs, first by the Spanish and then by the Austrian line. From 1512 the Provinces formed the major part of theBurgundian Circle .Composition
The map corresponds to the following provinces:
#the
County of Artois
#theCounty of Flanders , including the burgraviates ofLille ,Douai ,Orchies , the Lordship of Tournai and theTournaisis
#theLordship of Mechelen
#theCounty of Namur
#theCounty of Hainaut
#the County ofZeeland
#theCounty of Holland
#theDuchy of Brabant , including the Margraviate ofAntwerp , the counties ofLeuven and ofBrussels , and the advocacy of the Abbey ofNivelles and ofGembloux
#theDuchy of Limburg , including the counties ofDalhem andValkenburg and the Lordship ofHerzogenrath
#theDuchy of Luxembourg
#the Prince-Bishopric, later Lordship of Utrecht
#the Lordship of West-Frisia
#the Duchy ofGuelders and the County of Zutphen
#the Lordships of Groningen
#theOmmelanden
#the Lordship ofDrenthe ,Lingen ,Wedde , andWesterwolde
#the Lordship ofOverijssel It was not always the same "Seventeen" Provinces represented at the
Estates-General of the Netherlands . Sometimes one delegation was included in another.In later years the county of Zutphen became a part of the
Duchy of Guelders , and the Duchy of Limburg was dependent on the Duchy of Brabant. On the other hand the French-speaking cities of Flanders were sometimes recognised as a separate province.In addition, there were a number of
fiefdom s in this region that were not part of the Seventeen Provinces. The largest of these was thePrince-Bishopric of Liège , the green area on the map, including theCounty of Horne .It was not a member-province of the
Burgundian Circle . It was part of theLower Rhenish-Westphalian Circle . In the north, there were also a few smaller entities like the island ofAmeland that would retain their own lords until theFrench Revolution .Historians came up with different variations of the list. The number could have been chosen because of its Christian connotation. [http://research.leidenuniv.nl/index.php3?c=297]
History
The Seventeen Provinces originated from the
Burgundian Netherlands . The dukes of Burgundy systematically became the lord of different provinces. Mary I of Valois, Duchess of Burgundy was the last of theHouse of Burgundy .When she married Maximilian I of Habsburg, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, the provinces were acquired by the
House of Habsburg in 1482. His grandson and successor, Charles V of Habsburg, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and Duke of Burgundy, eventually united all seventeen provinces under his rule, the last one being theDuchy of Guelders , in 1543.Most of these provinces were fiefs of the
Holy Roman Empire . Two provinces, the County of Flanders and County of Artois, were originally French fiefs, but sovereignty was ceded to the Empire in theTreaty of Cambrai in 1529.The
Pragmatic Sanction of 1549 determined that the Provinces should remain united in the future and inherited by the same monarch. Therefore, Charles V introduced the title of "Heer der Nederlanden" ("Lord of the Netherlands"). Only he and his son could ever use this title.After Charles V's abdication in 1556, his realms were divided between his son, Philip II of Habsburg, King of Spain, and his brother,
Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor . The Seventeen Provinces went to his son, the king of Spain.Conflicts between Philip II and his Dutch subjects led to the
Eighty Years' War , which started in 1568. The seven northern provinces gained their independence as a republic called the Seven United Provinces. They were:#the Lordship of Groningen and of the Ommelanden
#the Lordship of Friesland
#the Lordship of Overijssel
#the Duchy of Guelders (except its upper quarter) and the County of Zutphen
#the Prince-Bishopric, later Lordship of Utrecht
#the County of Holland
#the County of ZeelandThe southern provinces, Flanders, Brabant, Namur, Hainaut, Luxembourg a.o., were restored to Spanish rule thanks to the military and political talent of the Duke of Parma, especially at the Siege of Antwerp (1584–1585). Hence, these provinces became known as the Spanish Netherlands or
Southern Netherlands .The northern Seven United Provinces kept parts of Limburg, Brabant, and Flanders during the
Eighty Years' War (seeGenerality Lands ), which ended with theTreaty of Westphalia in 1648.Artois and parts of Flanders and Hainaut were ceded to
France in the course of the 17th and 18th century.Economy
.
Bruges (County of Flanders) had already lost its prominent position as economic powerhouse of northern Europe. And Holland was gradually gaining importance in the 15th and 16th centuries.However after the independence of the seven northern provinces and the resulting closure of the
Scheldt river to navigation, a large number of people from the southern provinces emigrated north to the new republic.The center of prosperity moved from cities in the south such as
Bruges ,Antwerp ,Ghent , andBrussels to cities in the north, mostly Holland, includingAmsterdam ,the Hague , andRotterdam .Netherlands
To distinguish between the older and larger Low Countries of the Netherlands from the current country of the Netherlands, Dutch speakers usually drop the plural for the latter. They speak of "Nederland" in singular for the current country and of "de Nederlanden" in plural for the integral domains of Charles V.
In other languages, this has not been adopted, though the larger area is sometimes known as the
Low Countries in English.The fact that the term "Netherlands" has such different historical meanings can sometimes lead to difficulties in expressing oneself correctly. For example,
composer s from the 16th century are often said to belong to the "Dutch School" ("Nederlandse School"). Although they themselves would not have objected to that term at that time, today it may wrongly create the impression that they were from the current Netherlands. In fact, they were almost exclusively from current Belgian.Coats of arms
ee also
*
Governors of the Habsburg Netherlands
*The Netherlands (disambiguation)
*Burgundian Netherlands
*Greater Netherlands
*French Flemish
*Benelux External links
* [http://www.wazamar.org/Nederlanden/zeventien-prov.htm Map of the Seventeen Provinces (1555)]
* contemporary map [http://www.riesa-efau.de/forum/elemente/bilder_teilnehmer/1Dlugaiczyk%20Leo%20Belgicus_2.jpgLeo Belgicus]
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