• Source: 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).




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.




= 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. 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
1574–1576: Philip of Récourt, baron of Licques (Liques), viscount of Lens. Taken captive and deposed by Baudouin de Gavre in 1576.
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.
1589: Cambrai conquered by the French
In French service
1594–1595: Jean de Moltluc, lord of Balagny (on behalf of the king of France)
1595: Siege of Cambrai (1595), Balagny capitulated on 9 October 1595 and the city fell back into Spanish hands.
In Habsburg service
1617–1630: Carlos Coloma, previously governor of Roussillon (1600–1611) and viceroy of Majorca (1611–1617)
1630–16??: Juan Carlos de Guzman, Marquis of Fuentès
Siege of Cambrai (1677): French forces took control of Cambrai. By the 1678–9 Treaties of Nijmegen, France annexed Cambrésis.
In French service
168?–168?: François de Montbion
1741–1750?: Lodewijk Pieter Engelbert van der Marck




= County of Drenthe

=
In Habsburg service

1536–1540: Georg Schenck van Toutenburg
1540–1548: Maximilian of Egmont
1549–1568: Jean de Ligne, count of Arenberg
1568–1572: Charles de Brimeu, count of Megen
1572–1574: Gillis of Berlaymont
1574–1576: Caspar de Robles, lord of Billy
1576–1580: none; province in States-General control
1580–1581: George de Lalaing, count of Rennenberg
1581–1594: Francisco Verdugo
1595–1618: Frederik van den Bergh, in name only
In States-General service
1576–1580: George de Lalaing
1580–1584: William "the Silent" of Orange, prince of Orange (de facto)
1584–1596: gnone; province in Spanish control
1593/6–1620: William Louis of Nassau-Dillenburg
1620–1625: Maurice, Prince of Orange
1625–1632: Ernest Casimir I of Nassau-Dietz
1632–1640: Henry Casimir I of Nassau-Dietz
1640–1647: Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange
1647–1650: William II, Prince of Orange
1650–1664: William Frederick of Nassau-Dietz
1664–1696: Henry Casimir II of Nassau-Dietz
1696–1702: William III, Prince of Orange
1702–1722: Second Stadtholderless Period
1722–1751: William IV, Prince of Orange
1751–1795: William V, Prince of Orange




= 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
1513–1517: ?
1517–1532: James II of Luxemburg-Fiennes, lord of Fiennes
1532–1540: Stadtholderless period (office temporarily suspended due to concerns of political power)
1540–1553: Adrian of Croÿ, count of Roeulx
1553–1558: Pontus of Lalaing, lord of Bugnicourt
1559–1568: Lamoral, Count of Egmont, prince of Gavre
1568–1572: none (?)
1572–1577: Jean de Croÿ, Count of Rœulx
1577–1584: none (?); province in States-General control (Calvinist Republic of Ghent)
In States-General service:

1577: Philippe III de Croÿ, duke of Aarschot
1577–1583: none (?); province in States-General control (Calvinist Republic of Ghent)
1583–1584: Charles III de Croÿ, prince of Chimay, duke of Aarschot




= 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.

1543: Philip de Lalaing, 2nd Count of Hoogstraten




= Duchy of Luxemburg

=




= Lordship of Overijssel

=




= Duchy of Limburg

=




= Lordship of Mechelen

=
1566–1567: Antoine de Lalaing, 3rd Count of Hoogstraeten in Habsburg service
29 May 1579: Catholic citizen militia expelled Calvinist rebel forces from Mechelen; city governor and military commander Pontus de Noyelles defected to the Habsburg camp.
9 April 1580: English Fury at Mechelen: Calvinist rebel forces recaptured Mechelen.
15??–1594?: Pierre de Melun, in service of the rebel States-General




= County of Namur

=
In Habsburg service:

1429–1473: Jean II de Croÿ, lord of Chimay
1485–1???: John III of Glymes,lord of Bergen op Zoom (fell into disgrace and had to resign)
1503–1507: William de Croÿ, lord of Chièvres
1509–1532: John III of Glymes, lord of Bergen op Zoom (restored to office)
1532–1541: Anthony of Glymes, marquess of Bergen op Zoom
1541–1545: Pierre de Barbançon, lord of Werchin
1553/4–1578: Charles de Berlaymont, baron of Hierges
1578–1579: Gilles van Berlaymont, lord of Hierges
1579–1599?: Florent de Berlaymont, count of Lalaing and Berlaymont
1599–16??: Charles II of Egmont
16??–16??: Albert François de Croÿ-Roeulx, count of Megen




= Tournaisis

=
In Habsburg service
1555–1556: Perre de Barbançon, lord of Werchin
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
In States-General service
15??–1594?: Pierre de Melun, grandson of Peter van Barbançon. During the Siege of Tournai (1581) his wife Marie-Christine de Lalaing defended the city.




See also



List of Belgian monarchs
Duchy of Bouillon § List of dukes of Bouillon
List of bishops and archbishops of Cambrai
List of governors of the Habsburg Netherlands
List of bishops and prince-bishops of Liège
List of monarchs of Luxembourg
List of monarchs of the Netherlands
List of rulers of the Netherlands
Principality of Sedan § List of rulers




References






Bibliography


Gorter-Van Royen, L.V.G. (1995). Maria van Hongarije: regentes der Nederlanden : een politieke analyse op basis van haar regentschapsordonnanties en haar correspondentie met Karel V. Hilversum: Uitgeverij Verloren. p. 383. ISBN 9789065503947.
Tracy, J.D. (2008). The Founding of the Dutch Republic: War, Finance, and Politics in Holland 1572–1588. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-920911-8.

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• List of stadtholders in the Low Countries
• Stadtholder
• Lists of rulers in the Low Countries
• Dutch Republic
• Monarchy of the Netherlands
• List of sovereign states by date of formation
• List of state leaders in the 17th century
• List of state leaders in the 16th century
• List of state leaders in the 18th century
• Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange