Editing Seventeen Provinces

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{short description|Union of states in the 16th-century Low Countries}}
{{refimprove|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox country
|native_name = {{native name|nl|Zeventien Provinciën}}
|common_name = Netherlands<!-- Used for sorting, do not use 'the'. -->
|conventional_long_name = Seventeen Provinces
|era         = [[Early modern period]]
|status      = Vassal
|status_text = [[Personal union]] of [[Holy Roman Empire|Imperial]] [[fief]]s
|year_start  = 1549
|date_start  = 
|event_start = [[Pragmatic Sanction of 1549]]
|event1      = 
|date_event1 =
|event2      = 
|date_event2 =
|event3      = 
|date_event3 =
|event_end   = Dutch [[Act of Abjuration]]
|year_end    = 1581
|date_end    = 
|event_post  = 
|date_post   =
|p1          = Habsburg Netherlands
|flag_p1     = Flag of Cross of Burgundy.svg
|s1          = Dutch Republic
|flag_s1     = Statenvlag.svg
|s2          = Spanish Netherlands
|flag_s2     = Flag of Cross of Burgundy.svg
|flag        = Cross of Burgundy
|flag_type   = Cross of Burgundy
|image_flag  = Flag of Cross of Burgundy.svg
|image_coat  = Coat of Arms of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor as Heir of Philip the Handsome.svg
|image_map   = Map of the Habsburg Netherlands by Alexis-Marie Gochet.png
|image_map_caption = Map of the Seventeen Provinces, 1581 secession outlined in red
|government_type   = [[Monarchy]]
|capital           = [[Brussels]]
|common_languages  = {{ubl|[[Dutch language|Dutch]]|[[West Low German|Low Saxon]]|[[West Frisian language|Frisian]]|[[Walloon language|Walloon]]|[[Luxembourgish language|Luxembourgish]]|[[French Language|French]]}}
|religion          = {{ubl|[[Catholic Church|Catholic]] (official)|[[Protestantism|Protestant]]}}
}}
The '''Seventeen Provinces''' were the [[Imperial state]]s of the [[Habsburg Netherlands]] in the 16th century. They roughly covered the [[Low Countries]], i.e., what is now the [[Netherlands]], [[Belgium]], [[Luxembourg]], and most of the [[France|French]] [[Departments of France|departments]] of [[Nord (French department)|Nord]] ([[French Flanders]] and [[French Hainaut]]) and [[Pas-de-Calais]] ([[Artois]]). Also within this area were semi-independent fiefdoms, mainly ecclesiastical ones, such as [[Prince-Bishopric of Liège|Liège]], [[Cambrésis|Cambrai]] and [[Principality of Stavelot-Malmedy|Stavelot-Malmedy]].

The Seventeen Provinces arose from the [[Burgundian Netherlands]], a number of fiefs held by the [[House of Valois-Burgundy]] and inherited by the [[House of Habsburg]] in 1482, and held by [[Habsburg Spain]] from 1556. Starting in 1512, the Provinces formed the major part of the [[Burgundian Circle]]. In 1581, the Seven United Provinces seceded to form the [[Dutch Republic]].

== Composition ==
[[File:Die Niederlande Nach denen XVII Provincien Eingetheilet (Zeventien Provinciën der Nederlanden, 17 Provinces) Gabriel Bodenehr.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Seventeen Provinces map by Gabriel Bodenehr]]

After the Habsburg emperor [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] had re-acquired the Duchy of [[Guelders]] from Duke [[William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg|William of Jülich-Cleves-Berg]] by the 1543 [[Italian War of 1542–1546|Treaty of Venlo]], the Seventeen Provinces comprised:

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Seventeen Provinces<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9F4MAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA65 |title=A Manual of the History of the Political System of Europe and Its Colonies |author=Arnold Hermann Ludwig Heeren |year= 1834 |page=65}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |website=Engelfriet |title=De namen van de Zeventien Provinciën (image) |url=http://www.engelfriet.net/Alie/Aad/17provincieslijst.jpg |access-date=July 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220405033737/http://www.engelfriet.net/Alie/Aad/17provincieslijst.jpg |archive-date=April 5, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.engelfriet.net/Alie/Aad/raad.htm |title=Ruzie met de Raad van State leidde tot de 80-jarige oorlog |date=January 13, 2005 |access-date=July 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529113519/http://www.engelfriet.net/Alie/Aad/raad.htm |archive-date=May 29, 2023}}</ref><ref name="wzp">{{cite web |website=Rijksmuseum |title=Wapens van de Zeventien Provinciën, Abraham de Bruyn (mogelijk), naar Chrispijn van den Broeck, 1582 |url=https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/nl/collectie/RP-P-1982-1234(R) |access-date=July 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230712141509/https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/nl/collectie/RP-P-1982-1234%28R%29 |archive-date=July 12, 2023}}</ref>
|-
! style="text-align:left;" |Coat of arms
! style="text-align:left;" |Name
! style="text-align:left;" |Developments
|-
|[[File:Counts of Holland Arms.svg|30px]] || [[County of Holland]]|| bgcolor="#F8ECE0" | Territory integrated into the United Provinces in 1581.
|-
|[[File:Coatofarmszeeland.PNG|30px]] || [[County of Zeeland]]|| bgcolor="#F8ECE0" | Linked to the [[County of Holland]]. Territory integrated into the United Provinces in 1581.
|-
|[[File:Blason Nord-Pas-De-Calais.svg|30px]] || [[County of Flanders]]||Including [[Walloon Flanders]] ([[Kasselrij|kasselrijen]] [[Kasselrij Rijsel|Rijsel]], [[Douai]] and [[Orchies]]) the [[Burgrave|burgraviates]] of [[Lille]], the [[Tournai and the Tournaisis|Lordship of Tournai and the Tournaisis]] (since 1521) nominally part of Flanders.
|-
|[[File:Arms of Robert dArtois.svg|30px]] || [[County of Artois]]|| bgcolor="#EFEFFB" | Definitively ceded to France in 1659 by the [[Treaty of the Pyrenees]]. Except [[Aire-sur-la-Lys|Aire]] and [[Sint-Omaars]], ceded with the [[Treaties of Nijmegen]].
|-
|[[File:Blason fr Hainaut ancien.svg|30px]] || [[County of Hainaut]]||
|-
|[[File:Namur Arms.svg|30px]] || [[County of Namur]]||
|-
|[[File:Escudo de Zutphen 1581.png|30px]] || [[County of Zutphen]]|| bgcolor="#F8ECE0" | Since 1543.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |url=https://dutchrevolt.leiden.edu/dutch/begrippen/staatsinstellingen/Pages/Karel%20102%20verhouding.aspx |title=2. Verhouding tot het Rijk van de Zeventien Provinciën |author=[[Johan Rudolf Thorbecke]], Robert Jacobus Fruin en [[Herman Theodoor Colenbrander]] |date=1922 |accessdate=December 19, 2019 |work=Geschiedenis der staatsinstellingen in Nederland tot de dood van Willem II |publisher=Universiteit Leiden |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191219092949/https://dutchrevolt.leiden.edu/dutch/begrippen/staatsinstellingen/Pages/Karel%2520102%2520verhouding.aspx |archive-date=2019-12-19}}</ref> Linked to the Duchy of Gelre. Territory integrated into the [[Dutch Republic|United Provinces]] in 1581 and reintegrated in 1591.
|-
|[[File:Wapenschild van Brabant.svg|30px]] || [[Duchy of Brabant]]|| Including the [[Breda|Lordship of Breda]], the counties of [[Leuven]] and of [[Brussels]], and the advocacy of the Abbey of [[Nivelles]] and of [[Gembloux]], and the "[[:nl:Landen van Overmaas|Overmaas]]" lands of Brabant ([[Dalhem]], [[Valkenburg aan de Geul|Valkenburg]] and [[Herzogenrath]]). Part of the territory was transferred to the [[Dutch Republic|United Provinces]].
|-
|[[File:Arms of the Count of Luxembourg.svg|30px]] || [[Duchy of Luxembourg]]||
|-
|[[File:Modern Arms of Limburg.svg|30px]] || [[Duchy of Limburg]]|| Linked to the [[Duchy of Brabant]].
|-
|[[File:Armoiries Gueldre.svg|30px]] || [[Duchy of Guelders]]|| bgcolor="#F8ECE0" | With the [[Lordship of Drenthe]], [[Lingen]], [[Wedde]], and [[Westerwolde (region)|Westerwolde]]. Since 1543.<ref name=":0" /> Territory integrated into the United Provinces in 1581; except one part.
|-
|[[File:Small coat of arms of Overijssel.svg|30px]] || [[Lordship of Overijssel]]|| bgcolor="#F8ECE0" | Includes [[Drenthe|Drente]] [[:nl:Bestand:Seven_United_Netherlands_Janssonius_1658.jpg|(map of 1658)]]. County of Lingen, [[Wedde (Groningen)|Wedde]] and [[Westerwolde (region)|Westwoldingerland]] (since 1528). Territory integrated into the United Provinces in 1591.<ref>{{cite web |title=De munt van Overijssel |website=De Kopergeld pagina |date=27 October 2004 |url=http://www.duiten.nl/overijssel.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080407013139/http://www.duiten.nl/overijssel.htm |archive-date=April 7, 2008}}</ref>
|-
|[[File:Escudo de Groniga 1581.svg|30px]] || [[Lordship of Groningen]]|| bgcolor="#F8ECE0" | Including the [[Ommelanden]]. Since 1536. Territory fully integrated into the United Provinces in 1594.<ref>{{cite web |title=De munt van Groningen |website=De Kopergeld pagina |date=19 October 2004 |url=http://www.duiten.nl/groningen.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080310150309/http://www.duiten.nl/groningen.htm |archive-date=March 10, 2008}}</ref>
|-
|[[File:Small coat of arms of Friesland.png|30px]] || [[Lordship of Frisia]]|| bgcolor="#F8ECE0" | Since 1524. Territory integrated into the United Provinces in 1581.
|-
|[[File:Utrecht - coat of arms.png|30px]] || [[Lordship of Utrecht]]|| bgcolor="#F8ECE0" | Since 1528. Territory integrated into the United Provinces in 1581.
|-
|[[File:Escudo de Malinas 1581.svg|30px]] || [[Lordship of Mechelen]]|| Linked to the [[Duchy of Brabant]]. Territory of the United Provinces between 1581-1585.<ref name="Lafuente">{{cite book |author=Modesto Lafuente |year= 1862 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sMACAAAAYAAJ&dq=malinas+farnesio&pg=RA2-PA401 |title=Historia general de España, Volume 7 |page=401 |access-date=July 12, 2023}}</ref>
|-
|[[File:Blason be Marquisat d Anvers.svg|30px]] || [[Margraviate of Antwerp]]|| Linked to the Duchy of Brabant. Lost by the United Provinces in 1585.<ref name="Lafuente" />
|}

Each province had a distinct Coat of Arms. The [[States General of the Netherlands]] had itself its coat, a red shield with an armed golden lion.

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. The Lordship of Drenthe is sometimes considered part of the Lordship of Overijssel. On the other hand, the French-speaking cities of Flanders were sometimes recognised as a separate province. Therefore, in some lists Zutphen and Drenthe are replaced by 
*[[Burgrave|burgraviates]] of [[Lille]], [[Douai]], [[Orchies]] (also called [[Walloon Flanders]])
*[[Tournai and the Tournaisis]]

There were a number of [[fiefdom]]s in the Low Countries that were not part of the Seventeen Provinces, mainly because they did not belong to the Burgundian Circle, but to the [[Lower Rhenish-Westphalian Circle]]. The largest of these were the [[Prince-Bishopric of Liège]], including the [[County of Horne]], and the [[Cambrésis|Bishopric of Cambrai]]. The ethnically and culturally Dutch duchies of [[Duchy of Cleves|Cleves]] and [[Duchy of Jülich|Julich]] did not join either. In the north, there were also a few smaller entities like the island of [[Ameland]] that would retain their own lords until the [[French Revolution]].

Historians came up with different variations of the list, but always with 17 members. This number could have been chosen because of its Christian connotation.<ref name="lu07" />

==History==
{{History of the Low Countries}}
[[File:Map Burgundian Netherlands 1477-en.png|thumb|upright=1|Map of the Low Countries in 1477]]
The Seventeen Provinces originated from the [[Burgundian Netherlands]]. The [[Duke of Burgundy|dukes of Burgundy]] systematically became the lords of different provinces. [[Mary of Burgundy|Mary I of Valois, Duchess of Burgundy]] was the last of the [[House of Burgundy]].

Mary married Archduke [[Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor|Maximilian]] in 1477, and the provinces were acquired by the [[House of Habsburg]] on her death in 1482, with the exception of the [[Duchy of Burgundy]] itself, which, with an appeal to [[Salic law]], had been reabsorbed into [[Kingdom of France|France]] upon the death of Mary's father, [[Charles the Bold]]. Maximilian and Mary's grandson, [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor]] and king of Spain, eventually united all 17 provinces under his rule, the last one being the [[Duchy of Guelders]], in 1543.

Most of these provinces were fiefs of the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. Two provinces, the County of Flanders and the County of Artois, were originally French fiefs, but sovereignty was ceded to the Empire in the [[Treaty of Cambrai]] in 1529.

On 15 October, 1506, in the palace of Mechelen, the future Charles V was recognized as ''Heer der Nederlanden'' ("Lord of the Netherlands"). Only he and his son ever used this title. The [[Pragmatic Sanction of 1549]] determined that the Provinces should remain united in the future and inherited by the same monarch.

After Charles V's abdication in 1555, his realms were divided between his son, [[Philip II 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 [[Dutch Republic|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 Guelders|upper quarter]]) and the County of Zutphen
*the Prince-Bishopric, later Lordship of Utrecht
*the County of Holland
*the County of Zeeland

The southern provinces, Flanders, Brabant, Namur, Hainaut, Luxembourg and the others, were restored to Spanish rule due to the military and political talent of the [[Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma|Duke of Parma]], especially at the [[Siege of Antwerp (1584–1585)]]. Hence, these provinces became known as the [[Spanish Netherlands]].

The County of Drenthe, surrounded by the other northern provinces, became ''de facto'' part of the Seven United Provinces, but had no voting rights in the [[Union of Utrecht]] and was therefore not considered a province.

The northern Seven United Provinces kept parts of Limburg, Brabant, and Flanders during the [[Eighty Years' War]] (see [[Generality Lands]]), which ended with the [[Treaty of Westphalia]] in 1648.

Artois and parts of Flanders and Hainaut ([[French Flanders]] and [[French Hainaut]]) were ceded to France in the course of the 17th and 18th centuries.

==Economy==
By the mid-16th century, the [[Margraviate of Antwerp]] (Duchy of Brabant) had become the economic, political, and cultural centre of the Netherlands after its capital had shifted from the nearby Lordship of Mechelen to the city of [[Brussels]].

[[Bruges]] (County of Flanders) had already lost its prominent position as the economic powerhouse of northern Europe, while Holland was gradually gaining importance in the 15th and 16th centuries.

However, after the [[Dutch revolt|revolt]] of the seven [[Dutch Republic|northern provinces]] (1568), the [[Sack of Antwerp]] (1576), the [[Fall of Antwerp]] (1584–1585), 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 centre of prosperity moved from cities in the south such as Bruges, [[Antwerp]], [[Ghent]], and Brussels to cities in the north, mostly in Holland, including [[Amsterdam]], [[The Hague]], and [[Rotterdam]].

==Netherlands==
{{main|Netherlands (terminology)}}
[[File:Sitting Leo Belgicus - Visscher.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|[[Leo Belgicus]] map]]
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 the singular for the current country and of ''de Nederlanden'' in the 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 ''[[Franco-Flemish School|Dutch School]]'' (''Nederlandse School''). Although they themselves would not have objected to that term at that time, nowadays it may wrongly create the impression that they were from the current Netherlands. In fact, they were almost exclusively from current Belgium.

== Flanders ==
The same confusion exists around the word ''Flanders''. Historically, it applied to the [[County of Flanders]], corresponding roughly with the present-day provinces of [[West Flanders]], [[East Flanders]] and [[French Flanders]]. However, when the Dutch-speaking population of Belgium sought more rights in the 19th century, the word ''Flanders'' was reused, this time to refer to the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, which is larger and contains only part of the old county of Flanders (see [[Flemish Movement]]). Therefore, the territory of the County of Flanders and that of present-day Flanders do not fully match:
*[[French Flanders]] belonged to the County of Flanders, but is today part of France.
*[[Zeelandic Flanders]] belonged to the County of Flanders, but is today part of the Netherlands.
*[[Tournai and the Tournaisis]] was some period considered as part of the County of Flanders, but is today part of Wallonia.
* The present-day Belgian province of [[Flemish Brabant]] belongs to present-day Flanders, but was part of the [[Duchy of Brabant]].
* The [[Antwerp (province)|present-day Belgian province of Antwerp]] belongs to present-day Flanders, but was part of the [[Duchy of Brabant]].
* The [[Limburg (Belgium)|present-day Belgian province of Limburg]] belongs to present-day Flanders, but was part of the [[Prince-Bishopric of Liège]].

This explains, for instance, why the province of [[East Flanders]] is not situated in the east of present-day Flanders.

==See also==
*[[Governors of the Habsburg Netherlands]]
*[[The Netherlands (disambiguation)]]
*[[Burgundian Netherlands]]
*[[Pan-Netherlands]]
*[[French Flemish]]
*[[Benelux]]

==References==
{{reflist |refs=
<ref name="lu07">{{cite web |title=The invention of the Dutchman |url=http://www.leidenuniv.nl/en/researcharchive/index.php3-c=297.htm |date=2007-03-20 |publisher=Leiden University |access-date=2020-08-09 |archive-date=17 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110517065602/http://www.leidenuniv.nl/en/researcharchive/index.php3-c=297.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>
}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Seventeen Provinces}}
* [http://www.wazamar.org/Nederlanden/zeventien-prov.htm Map of the Seventeen Provinces (1555)]

{{Burgundian Circle}}
{{Belgium topics}}
{{Netherlands topics}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Seventeen Provinces| ]]
[[Category:Habsburg Netherlands|.]]
[[Category:Former states in the Low Countries]]
[[Category:Early modern history of Luxembourg]]
[[Category:Historical regions]]
[[Category:States of the Holy Roman Empire]]
[[Category:1540s in the Habsburg Netherlands]]
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[[Category:States and territories established in 1549]]
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[[Category:1549 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire]]
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