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61-675: The Imperial fiefs of the former Burgundian Netherlands had been inherited by the Austrian House of Habsburg from the extinct House of Valois-Burgundy upon the death of Mary of Burgundy in 1482. The Seventeen Provinces formed the core of the Habsburg Netherlands , which passed to the Spanish Habsburgs upon the abdication of Emperor Charles V in 1556. When part of the Netherlands separated to form

122-666: A Catholic candidate in the succession to Elizabeth I as she was a legitimate descendant of John of Gaunt (unlike the Tudors ) and her father had been jure uxoris King of England. As Infanta of Spain and Portugal, Isabella was quite eligible on the political marriage market, though she ended up marrying late for her time. At the age of two, Isabella was promised to marry her cousin Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612), son of her aunt Maria . However, Isabella had to wait for more than 20 years before

183-453: A bureaucracy of clerks, allowed the dukes to become celebrated art patrons and establish a glamorous court life that gave rise to conventions of behavior that lasted for centuries. Philip the Good (1419–1467) extended his personal control to the southeast; bringing Brussels , Namur and Liège under his control. He channeled the traditional independence of the cities through such mechanisms as

244-435: A close relationship. Their father ultimately fathered five children by Anna, all of whom died in early childhood except his heir, Philip . Isabella and Catherine were raised under the care of Margarita de Cardona , their stepmother's lady-in-waiting, and some of their mother's own ladies-in-waiting, such as Claude de Vineulx. Both sisters were described as intelligent and well aware of their high social status. Isabella had

305-533: A modest increase of the population (and thus workers) after decades of demographic losses. Industry and in particular the luxury trades likewise underwent a recovery, bringing considerable economic stability and prosperity to the Southern Netherlands . However, international trade was hampered by the closure of the River Scheldt . The archducal regime had plans to bypass the blockade with

366-643: A number of privileges to the States by the Great Privilege signed in 1477. After the government takeover by her husband Archduke Maximilian I of Austria , the States insisted on their privileges, culminating in a Hook rebellion in Holland and Flemish revolts . Maximilian prevailed with the support of Duke Albert III of Saxony and his son Philip the Handsome , husband of Joanna of Castile, could assume

427-825: A system of canals linking Ostend via Bruges to the Scheldt in Ghent and joining the Meuse to the Rhine between Venlo and Rheinberg . To combat urban poverty , the government supported the creation of a network of Monti di Pietà based on the Italian model. The archducal regime ensured the triumph of the Catholic Reformation in the Habsburg Netherlands. Most Protestants had by that stage left

488-473: A very good education. Her studies presumably included good manners, mathematics, and the languages Dutch , French and Italian besides her native Spanish. Famous artist Sofonisba Anguissola , who served as court painter at the time, influenced the Infanta's artistic works. Isabella was the only person whom King Philip permitted to help him with his work, sorting his papers and translating Italian documents into

549-725: A very young age, in 1605, 1607, and 1609. Beginning in 1601, the Archduke and Archduchess ruled the Spanish Netherlands together. Their reign is a key period in the history of the Spanish Netherlands. After Albert's death, Isabella was appointed Governor of the Netherlands on the King of Spain 's behalf. She was succeeded as Governor by Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Austria , the third son of her half-brother in 1633. The first half of Albert and Isabella's reign

610-518: The Parlement of Paris , in power of the Catholic party, gave verdict that Isabella was "the legitimate sovereign" of France. The Huguenot leader, Henry III of Navarre , the actual heir by traditional French inheritance laws, ultimately made his claim to the throne, converted to Catholicism and was crowned in 1594. Following the 1587 execution of Mary, Queen of Scots , Isabella was suggested as

671-959: The Austrian Netherlands were lost to the French Republic . The Governor-general of the Netherlands was responsible for the administration of the Burgundian inheritance in the Low Countries. Charles V was born and raised in the Low Countries and often stayed at the Palace of Coudenberg in Brussels. By the Pragmatic Sanction of 1549 , Charles V declared the Seventeen Provinces a united and indivisible Habsburg dominion. Between 1555 and 1556,

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732-594: The Battle of Guinegate in 1479. Though Maximilian was victorious, he was only able to gain the County of Flanders according to the 1482 Treaty of Arras after his wife Mary had suddenly died, while France retained Artois. In her testament, Mary of Burgundy had bequested the Burgundian heritage to her and Maximilian's son, Philip the Handsome . His father, dissatisfied with the terms of the Arras agreement, continued to contest

793-515: The Capture of Breda in 1625, with failures and setbacks, such as the losses of Den Bosch in 1629 and Maastricht in 1632. She died in Brussels in 1633. Isabella and Albert were very supportive of the arts. In their patronage, they selected artists who were able create works that would promote the chief political goals of the Archdukes: to show that their reign was a continuation of the rule of

854-692: The Lordship of Mechelen , and the Boulonnais . Up to 1464, the Duke only maintained ties with each of the provincial States separately. In principle, the provincial Estates were composed of representatives of the three traditional estates : clergy , nobility and the Third Estate, but the exact composition and influence of each estate (within the provincial Estates) could differ. Convening an Estates General in which all provincial Estates were represented

915-804: The Low Countries ruled by the Dukes of Burgundy during the Burgundian Age between 1384 and 1482. Within their Burgundian State , which itself belonged partly to the Holy Roman Empire and partly to the Kingdom of France , the dukes united these lowlands into a political union that went beyond a personal union as it gained central institutions for the first time (such as the States General ). The period began with Duke Philip

976-568: The Treaty of London . The return to peace was severely hampered by differences over religion. Events such as the Gunpowder Plot caused a lot of diplomatic tension between London and Brussels, but the relations between the two courts tended to be cordial on the whole. Anne of Denmark wore her portrait in a locket as a public token of friendship and kinship. The threat of diplomatic isolation and General Ambrogio Spínola 's campaigns induced

1037-530: The 1581 Act of Abjuration . The Spanish branch of the Habsburgs could retain the rule only over the partly Catholic Southern Netherlands , completed after the Fall of Antwerp in 1585. Better times came, when in 1598 the Spanish Netherlands passed to Philip's daughter Isabella Clara Eugenia and her husband Archduke Albert VII of Austria . The couple's rule brought a period of much-needed peace and stability to

1098-645: The Archdukes enjoy a well-merited reputation as patrons of the arts. By far, the best preserved ensemble of art from the archducal period is to be found at Scherpenheuvel , where Albert and Isabella directed Cobergher, Theodoor van Loon , and the de Noles to create a pilgrimage church in a planned city. For a month in 1598 Isabella had lived in the Convent of Las Descalzas Reales in Madrid , alongside her mother-in-law Maria. She continued to take an active interest in

1159-623: The Belgian Nobles. Brussels became a vital link in the chain of Habsburg Courts and the diplomatic conduits between Madrid , Vienna, Paris, London, Lisbon , Graz , Innsbruck , Prague , and The Hague could be said to run through there. The accession of James VI of Scotland as James I in England had paved the way for a separate peace with England . On 24 July 1604, England, Spain and the Archducal Netherlands signed

1220-740: The Bold taking office as count of Flanders and Artois in 1384 and lasted until the death of Duchess Mary of Burgundy in 1482 after which the Burgundian State was dissolved, and the Low Countries came under the rule of the Habsburg monarchy by inheritance. In the 15th century, it was customary to refer to the Low Countries where the Duke of Burgundy ruled and usually resided as les pays de par-deçà meaning "the lands over here" as opposed to Burgundy proper (in Central France) which

1281-795: The Burgundian heritage. Philip's stern Counter-Reformation measures sparked the Dutch Revolt in the mainly Calvinist Netherlandish provinces, which led to the outbreak of the Eighty Years' War in 1568. In January 1579 the seven northern provinces formed the Protestant Union of Utrecht , which declared independence from the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands by

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1342-624: The Burgundian possessions in the Low Countries. The Imperial fiefs passed to the Austrian House of Habsburg through Charles' daughter Mary of Burgundy and her husband Archduke Maximilian of Habsburg , son of Emperor Frederick III . Maximilian, however, regarded the Burgundian Netherlands including Flanders and Artois as the undivided domains of his wife and himself and marched against the French. The conflict culminated at

1403-767: The Dutch Republic to accept a ceasefire in April 1609. The subsequent negotiations between the warring parties failed to produce a peace treaty, but led to the Twelve Years' Truce , agreed in Antwerp on 9 April 1609. Under the Truce's terms, the United Provinces were to be regarded as a sovereign power for the duration of the truce. After four decades of war, the treaty brought a period of much-needed peace to

1464-828: The Elder , Jacob Franquart , Pieter Brueghel the Younger , the De Nole family, Otto van Veen , and stimulated the growth of the artistic movement of Flemish Baroque painting , sculpture and architecture. However, virtually nothing remains of Albert and Isabella's palace on the Coudenberg in Brussels, their summer retreat in Mariemont , or their hunting lodge in Tervuren . Their magnificent collections were scattered after 1633, and considerable parts of them have been lost. Still,

1525-535: The House of Habsburg split into an Austro-German and a Spanish branch as a consequence of Charles's abdications: the Netherlands were left to his son Philip II of Spain , while his brother King Ferdinand I succeeded him as Holy Roman Emperor . The Seventeen Provinces, de jure still fiefs of the Holy Roman Empire, from that time on de facto were ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs as part of

1586-659: The Netherlands under Habsburg rule was repeatedly invaded by the French and an increasing portion of the territory came under French control in successive wars. By the Treaty of the Pyrenees of 1659 the French annexed most of Artois , and Dunkirk was ceded to the English. By the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (ending the War of Devolution in 1668) and Nijmegen (ending the Franco-Dutch War in 1678), further territory up to

1647-477: The Prince’s mental illness and emotional instability, father and son had never developed a close rapport and frequently lived in conflict with one another. Isabella was baptized by Juan Bautista Castaneo, apostolic nuncio , later Pope Urban VII . Her godfather was her uncle John of Austria . She was named after her mother, the day of her birth, and the devotion to St. Eugenio , whose body her father had transferred

1708-564: The Southern Netherlands. The period of the Truce brought the Habsburg Netherlands a much-needed peace, mainly because the fields could be again worked in safety. The archducal regime encouraged reclamation of land that had been inundated in the course of the hostilities and sponsored the impoldering of De Moeren , a marshy area that is presently astride the Belgian–French border. The recovery of agriculture led in turn to

1769-484: The Southern Netherlands. After one last execution in 1597, those that remained were no longer actively persecuted. Under the terms of legislation passed in 1609, their presence was tolerated, provided they did not worship in public or engage in religious activities. The resolutions of the Third Provincial Council of Mechlin of 1607 were likewise given official sanction. Through such measures and by

1830-405: The Spanish language for him. After her maternal uncle, Henry III of France , was assassinated by the fanatical young monk Jacques Clément on 2 August 1589, Philip II claimed the French crown on Isabella's behalf despite France's Salic law , which forbade cognatic succession. At any rate, her mother had ceded any claim to the French crown with her marriage to the Spanish king. However,

1891-455: The Spanish sphere of influence. With Albert's death in 1621 they returned to formal Spanish control, although the childless Isabella remained on as governor until her death in 1633. The failing wars intended to regain the 'heretical' northern Netherlands meant significant loss of (still mainly Catholic) territories in the north, which was consolidated in 1648 in the Peace of Westphalia , and given

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1952-553: The appointment of a generation of committed bishops, Albert and Isabella laid the foundation of the Catholic confessionalisation of the population. New and reformed religious orders enjoyed the particular support of the rulers. Although the Archduke had certain reservations about the order, the Jesuits received the largest cash grants, allowing them to complete their ambitious building programmes in Brussels and Antwerp. The Capuchins were given considerable sums as well. The foundation of

2013-650: The authority of the House of Habsburg over the territory of the Southern Netherlands and largely succeeded in reconciling previous anti-Spanish sentiments. As a result, the States of the loyal provinces swore to accept the Spanish king as heir of the Archduke and Archduchess in a number of ceremonies between May 1616 and January 1617. After Albert's death in 1621, Isabella joined the Third Order of St Francis but continued to rule on behalf of her nephew, Philip IV . As Governess, Isabella alternated successes, such as that of

2074-713: The autonomous Dutch Republic in 1581, the remainder of the area stayed under Spanish rule until the War of the Spanish Succession . A common administration of the Netherlandish fiefs, centered in the Duchy of Brabant , already existed under the rule of the Burgundian Duke Philip the Good with the implementation of a stadtholder and the first convocation of the States General of the Netherlands in 1464. His granddaughter Mary had confirmed

2135-441: The current Franco-Belgian border was ceded, including Cambrai , Walloon Flanders , as well as half of the County of Hainaut (including Valenciennes ). Later, in the War of the Reunions and the Nine Years' War , France annexed other parts of the region that were restored to Spain by the Treaty of Rijswijk 1697. During the War of the Spanish Succession , in 1706 the Habsburg Netherlands became an Anglo-Dutch condominium for

2196-405: The eccentric Rudolf declared that he had no intention of marrying anybody. Meanwhile, she served as her father's primary caretaker during the last three years of his life, when he was plagued by gout and frequent illness. Philip decided to cede the Spanish Netherlands to Isabella on condition that she marry her cousin, Albert VII, Archduke of Austria . He was her former fiancé's younger brother,

2257-503: The economy, which stimulated the growth of a separate South Netherlandish identity and consolidated the authority of the House of Habsburg reconciling previous anti-Spanish sentiments. In the early 17th century, there was a flourishing court at Brussels . Among the artists who emerged from the court of the "Archdukes", as they were known, was Peter Paul Rubens . Under Isabella and Albert, the Spanish Netherlands actually had formal independence from Spain, but always remained unofficially within

2318-410: The first Estates-General , and consolidating of the region's economy. The first Estates General of the Burgundian territories met in the City Hall of Bruges on 9 January 1464. It included delegates from the Duchy of Brabant , the County of Flanders , Lille, Douai and Orchies , the County of Artois , the County of Hainaut , the County of Holland , the County of Zeeland , the County of Namur ,

2379-412: The first convents of Discalced Carmelites in the Southern Netherlands depended wholly on the personal initiative of the archducal couple and bore witness to the Spanish orientation of their spirituality. The reign of Albert and Isabella Clara Eugenia saw a strengthening of princely power in the Habsburg Netherlands. The States General of the loyal provinces were only summoned once in 1600. Thereafter,

2440-433: The first of the Valois dukes of Burgundy at Dijon , who thus inherited the County of Flanders . The Flemish comital House of Dampierre had been French vassals, who held territory around the affluent cities of Bruges and Ghent , but also adjacent lands in former Lower Lorraine east of the Scheldt river ("Imperial Flanders") including the exclave of Mechelen , which were a fief of the Holy Roman Empire, and furthermore

2501-426: The former Kingdom of Burgundy-Arles . In the following decades, the Burgundian dukes expanded their territories in the Low Countries by the acquisition of several Imperial States : Duke Philip the Good purchased the County of Namur in 1421, inherited the Duchies of Brabant and Limburg in 1430, and seized the Counties of Hainaut , Holland and Zeeland in 1432, and the Duchy of Luxembourg in 1441. His son,

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2562-429: The former viceroy. They were to reign over the Netherlands jointly and be succeeded by their descendants according to the male-preference cognatic primogeniture but should a female succeed, she was required to marry the King of Spain or the person chosen by the King of Spain. It was stipulated that, should they have no children, the Netherlands would revert to the King of Spain upon the death of either spouse. As Albert

2623-410: The government preferred to deal directly with the provinces. The years of the Truce allowed the archducal regime to promulgate legislation on a whole range of matters. The so-called Eternal Edict of 1611 , for instance, reformed the judicial system and ushered in the transition from customary to written law. Other measures dealt with monetary matters, the nobility, duels, gambling, etc. The actions of

2684-430: The intensely local partisanship, the various taxation systems, weights and measures, internal customs barriers, fiercely defended local rights were all hindrances to a "good Valois". Attempts at enlarging personal control by the dukes resulted in revolts among the independent towns (sometimes supported by independent local nobles) and bloody military suppression in response. An increasingly modernized central government, with

2745-407: The last Burgundian duke Charles the Bold , in 1473 annexed the Duchy of Guelders , which had been pawned by late Arnold of Egmond . The Valois era would last until 1477, when Duke Charles the Bold died at the Battle of Nancy leaving no male heir. The territorial Duchy of Burgundy reverted to the French crown according to Salic law , and King Louis XI of France also seized the French portion of

2806-609: The most diverse media. Visual art, in the baroque style popularized in the wake of the Counter-Reformation , was the perfect tool. This, coupled with the political configuration of the period, made the Archduke's court at Brussels one of the foremost political and artistic centers in Europe of that time. It became the testing ground for the Spanish Monarchy's European plans, a boiling pot full of people of all sorts: from artists and diplomats to defectors, spies and penitent traitors, from Spanish confessors, Italian counselors, Burgundian functionaries, English musicians, German bodyguards to

2867-421: The neighbouring French County of Artois . Together they initiated an era of Burgundian governance in the Low Countries. The Dampierre legacy further comprised the French counties of Rethel in northern Champagne and Nevers west of Burgundy proper, both held by Philip's younger son Philip II from 1407, as well as the County of Burgundy ( Franche-Comté ) east of it, an Imperial fief which had been part of

2928-610: The peasants revolted in some areas. They were suppressed by Maximilian's forces under the command of Duke Albert of Saxony at a battle at Heemskerk . In the present-day Netherlands , inhabitants of the culturally Catholic area of Meierij van 's-Hertogenbosch are considered by the other Dutch to have a Burgundian character , meaning that they are supposed to be companionable people who like to party exuberantly. Isabella Clara Eugenia Isabella Clara Eugenia (Spanish: Isabel Clara Eugenia ; 12 August 1566 – 1 December 1633), sometimes referred to as Clara Isabella Eugenia ,

2989-412: The peculiar inferior status of Generality Lands (jointly ruled by the United Republic, not admitted as member provinces): Zeelandic Flanders (south of the River Scheldt ), the present Dutch province of North Brabant and Maastricht (in the present-day Dutch province of Limburg ). As the power of the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs waned in the latter decades of the 17th century, the territory of

3050-420: The previous Burgundian and Habsburg rulers as well as to promote the ideals of the revitalized Catholic Church of which they were the staunch defenders. Their favorite artists created new iconography and genres that captured the devoutness and splendor of the archducal court. Their patronage of such artists and architects as Peter Paul Rubens (their court painter since 1609), Wenceslas Cobergher , Jan Brueghel

3111-628: The remainder of the conflict. By the peace treaties of Utrecht and Rastatt in 1713/14 ending the war, the Southern Netherlands returned to the Austrian Habsburg monarchy forming the Austrian Netherlands . From 1581 the Habsburg Netherlands consisted of the following territories, all part of modern Belgium unless otherwise stated: Burgundian Netherlands The Burgundian Netherlands ( Latin : Burgundiae Belgicae , French : Pays-Bas bourguignons , Dutch : Bourgondische Nederlanden , Luxembourgish : Burgundesch Nidderlanden , Walloon : Bas Payis borguignons ) were those parts of

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3172-455: The rule over the Habsburg Netherlands in 1493. Philip as well as his son and successor Charles V retained the title of a " Duke of Burgundy " referring to their Burgundian inheritance, notably the Low Countries and the Free County of Burgundy in the Holy Roman Empire. The Habsburgs often used the term Burgundy to refer to their hereditary lands (e.g. in the name of the Imperial Burgundian Circle established in 1512), actually until 1795, when

3233-655: The seized French territories. In 1493, King Charles VIII of France according to the Treaty of Senlis finally renounced Artois, which together with Flanders was incorporated into the Imperial Seventeen Provinces under the rule of Philip. The population of the main provinces of the Low Countries in 1477 ( Prince-Bishoprics in italics ). The Burgundian dukes who ruled the Burgundian territories were: House of Valois, territorial Dukes of Burgundy House of Valois, titular Duchess of Burgundy House of Habsburg, titular Dukes of Burgundy (see Habsburg Netherlands ) The sheer burden of variety of bishoprics and independent cities,

3294-409: The two rulers stimulated the growth of a separate South Netherlandish identity. However, Albert and Isabella's children died at a very young age and as the years passed, it became clear that they would have no more offspring and thus independence wouldn't be possible. After that, Albert and Isabella's goal became the reincorporation of the Southern Provinces into the Spanish monarchy. They consolidated

3355-501: The year before from Saint Dionysius of Paris to Toledo with her mother's help through her brother, King Charles IX of France . A year later, Isabella's younger sister, Catalina , was born. Their parents were very close to their daughters, buying them jams, dolls, toys, and more. However, their mother miscarried a daughter in 1568 and died the same day. Isabella and Catherine grew up beloved by their father and stepmother, Anna of Austria , Philip's fourth wife. The sisters developed

3416-400: Was born in the Palace of Valsain , Segovia on 12 August 1566. She was the first surviving daughter of King Philip II of Spain and his third wife, Elisabeth of Valois . Her father was reportedly overjoyed at her birth and declared himself to be happier on the occasion than he would have been at the birth of a son. He already had a male heir, Carlos, Prince of Asturias , but due to

3477-444: Was designated les pays de par-delà meaning "the lands over there" (see also Terminology of the Low Countries ). A fair share (but not most) of these territories were inherited by the Burgundian dukes, a younger branch of the French royal House of Valois , upon the death of Count Louis II of Flanders in 1384. His heiress, Margaret III of Flanders in 1369 had married Philip the Bold , youngest son of King John II of France and

3538-466: Was dominated by war. After overtures to the United Provinces and to Queen Elizabeth I of England proved unsuccessful, the Habsburg policy in the Low Countries aimed at regaining the military initiative and isolating the Dutch Republic. The strategy was to force its opponents to the conference table and negotiate from a position of strength. In pursuit of that goal and to get their political agenda to all Flemish social classes, Albert and Isabella used

3599-456: Was part of Philip the Good 's policy of centralisation . From 1441, Philip based his ducal court in Brussels, but Bruges was the world center of commerce, though by the 1480s the inevitable silting of its harbor was bringing its economic hegemony to a close. Philip was a great patron of illuminated manuscripts and court painting reached new highs: Robert Campin , the famous Van Eyck brothers, and Rogier van der Weyden . In 1491 and 1492,

3660-458: Was sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands , which comprised the Low Countries and the north of modern France with her husband, Archduke Albert VII of Austria . Their reign is considered the Golden Age of the Spanish Netherlands, which saw a revival of its economy and arts after a peace was concluded with the break-away Dutch Republic . Isabella was one of the most powerful women in 16th- and 17th-century Europe. Isabella Clara Eugenia of Austria

3721-454: Was the Archbishop of Toledo , he had to be released from his religious commitments by Pope Clement VIII before the wedding could take place. Shortly before Philip II died on 13 September 1598, he resigned the thrones of the Netherlands in favor of Isabella and her fiancé. The Pope celebrated the union by procuration on 15 November at Ferrera . On 18 April 1599, 33-year-old Isabella married Albert in Valencia . They had three children who died at

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