List of stadtholders in the Low Countries

This is a list of stadtholders (Dutch: stadhouders, German: Statthalter) or governors (French: gouverneurs) in the Low Countries, or historical Netherlands region. This includes all the territories in the Low Countries that were acquired by the House of Habsburg in the 15th and 16th century and were politically united as the Habsburg Netherlands, then known as the "Seventeen Provinces". It also includes non-Habsburg territories, 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).

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.

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.

Prince-Bishopric of Cambrai

Although the Prince-Bishopric of Cambrai (Dutch: Kamerijk) or Cambrésis was not formally part of the Habsburg Netherlands but was sovereign and directly under the emperor, the emperor was also always from the House of Habsburg, and the city of Cambrai had had a Spanish garrison as its occupation since 1543. The Spanish Habsburgs therefore appointed governors (stadtholders) over Cambrai who were not answerable to the prince-bishop residing in Le Cateau-Cambrésis.

In Habsburg service
  • 1566–1574: Philip of Noircarmes[6][7]
  • 1574–1576: Philip of Récourt, baron of Licques (Liques), viscount of Lens. Taken captive and deposed by Baudouin de Gavre in 1576.[8][7]
In States-General service
  • 1576–1581: Baudouin de Gavre, lord of Inchy, conquered Cambrai and was appointed commander/governor/stadtholder of Cambrai in the service of the States-General.[9][10]
  • 1589: Cambrai conquered by the French[11]
In French service
  • 1594–1595: Jean de Moltluc, lord of Balagny (on behalf of the king of France)[11]
  • 1595: Siege of Cambrai (1595), Balagny capitulated on 9 October 1595 and the city fell back into Spanish hands.[11]
In Habsburg service
In French service
  • 168?–168?: François de Montbion[13]
  • 1741–1750?: Lodewijk Pieter Engelbert van der Marck[14]

County of Drenthe
In Habsburg service
In States-General service

County of Flanders
In Habsburg service
  • 1490–1506: Engelbert II of Nassau, count of Nassau-Breda
  • 1506–1513: James II of Luxemburg-Fiennes, lord of Fiennes[1]
  • 1513–1517: ?
  • 1517–1532: James II of Luxemburg-Fiennes, lord of Fiennes[1]
  • 1532–1540: Stadtholderless period (office temporarily suspended due to concerns of political power)[18]
  • 1540–1553: Adrian of Croÿ, count of Roeulx
  • 1553–1558: Pontus of Lalaing, lord of Bugnicourt[3]
  • 1559–1568: Lamoral, Count of Egmont, prince of Gavre[4]
  • 1568–1572: none (?)[19]
  • 1572–1577: Jean de Croÿ, Count of Rœulx
  • 1577–1584: none (?); province in States-General control (Calvinist Republic of Ghent)

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 Jülich

Only one Habsburg stadtholder was ever appointed over the Duchy of Jülich, when that country was occupied in 1543 at the end of the Guelders Wars. However, it soon became clear that Jülich would not become part of the Habsburg Netherlands, but remained in the possession of the House of La Marck. The stadtholdership was abolished the same year.

Duchy of Luxemburg

Lordship of Overijssel

Duchy of Limburg
  • 1473–1477: Guy of Brimeu, stadtholder-general
  • 1542–1572: Johan I of East Frisia
  • 1574–1578: Arnold II Huyn van Amstenrade, Lord of Geleen and Eijsden
  • 1578–1579: Cristóbal de Mondragón
  • 1579–1597: Claude van Wittem van Beersel
  • 1597–1612: Gaston Spinola
  • 1612–1620: Maximilian of Saint-Aldegonde
  • 1620–1624: Charles Emanuel of Gorrevod
  • 1624–1626: Hermann of Burgundy
  • 1626–1632: Hugo of Noyelles
  • 1632–1635: Occupation by the Dutch
  • 1635–1640: Willem Bette, baron of Lede
  • 1640–1647: Jan van Wiltz
  • 1649–1665: Lancelot Schetz of Grobbendonk
  • 1665–1684: Johan Frans Desideratus of Nassau–Siegen,
  • 1685–1702: Henri, 4th Prince of Ligne
  • 1702–1703: Franz Sigismund of Thurn und Taxis
  • 1703–1705: Ludwig von Sinzendorf
  • 1705–1707: Jan Peter de Goës
  • 1707–1709: Ferdinand Bertrand de Quiros
  • 1709–1710: Johann Wenzel von Gallas
  • 1710–1713: Frans Adolf of Sinzerling
  • 1713: Ludwig von Sinzendorf
  • 1713–1714: George of Tunderfeld
  • 1714–1723: Franz Sigismund of Thurn und Taxis
  • 1725–1728: Otto of Vehlen
  • 1728–1754: Wolfgang Willem of Bournonville

Lordship of Mechelen

County of Namur

In Habsburg service:

Tournaisis
In Habsburg service
  • 1555–1556: Perre de Barbançon, lord of Werchin[21]
  • 1559–1570?: Floris of Montmorency, baron of Montigny
  • 1581–1588?: Philippe de Récourt, baron de Licques (Liques), castellan of Lens, from 1574 to 1576 governor of Cambrésis[7]
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. Gorter-Van Royen 1995, p. 369.
  2. Gorter-Van Royen 1995, p. 366.
  3. Louis-Prosper Gachard, Relations des ambassadeurs vénitiens sur Charles-quint et Philippe II (1847) 86.
  4. 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. Anton van der Lem. "Noircarmes, Philip of Saint-Aldegonde, lord of". dutchrevolt.leiden.edu. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  7. Société de l'histoire de Belgique (1872). "Collection de mémoires relatifs à l'histoire de Belgique". Google Books. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  8. "Lodovico Guicciardini, Description of the entire Netherlands, also called Nederduitsland, Dutch-language edition of 1612" (PDF). museumplantinmoretus.be. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  9. Bloembergen, Auke (1860). De intrede en huldiging van Frans, Hertog van Anjou, Alençon, Berry, enz. als Hertog van Braband en Markgraaf van Antwerpen, binnen Antwerpen den 19den Februarij 1582: benevens geschiedkundige bijzonderheden over de voornaamste personen die daarbij tegenwoordig waren [The entry and inauguration of Francis, Duke of Anjou, Alençon, Berry, etc., as Duke of Brabant and Margrave of Antwerp, within Antwerp on the 19th of February 1582: together with historical details of the principal persons who were present at the event]. Hazenberg. p. 114.
  10. S.P. Haak (1918). "Nieuw Nederlandsch biografisch woordenboek. Volume 4". DBNL. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  11. "Coins - Southern Netherlands - Kamerijk - Munthandel G. Henzen". henzen.org. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  12. "Hugo de Groot, Correspondence of Hugo Grotius. Volume 5 - dbnl". DBNL (in Dutch). 1966. Retrieved 19 July 2022. Carlos de Coloma
  13. Henri Moreau (2020). Eglise, gens d'Eglise et identité comtoise. ISBN 9782204118552. Retrieved 19 July 2022 – via Google Books.
  14. A. J. van der Aa (1852). "Biographical Dictionary of the Netherlands". resources.huygens.knaw.nl. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  15. 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.
  16. Lucas Oldenhuis Gratama, De Stadhouders van Drenthe, hunne magt en staatsregterlijke verhouding tot de landschap (1867) 4-6.
  17. 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.
  18. Willem Pieter Blockmans, Bourgondië voorbij: De Nederlanden 1250-1650 (2010) 211–214. Uitgeverij Verloren.
  19. 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.
  20. Tracy 2008, p. 157.
  21. Gorter-Van Royen 1995, p. 371.
  22. Berlaymont, Charles, graaf van. Universiteit Leiden.
  23. Jean Coenen, Baanderheren, boeren en burgers (2004) 145.

Bibliography
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