1.
Archduchess Isabella Clara of Austria
–
Not to be confused with Isabella Clara Eugenia, sovereign of the Netherlands. During 1665–1671 she was Regent of the Duchies of Mantua and Montferrat on behalf of her minor son, accused of marrying her lover without Imperial consent, she was forced to take the veil as a nun and imprisoned at the Ursuline monastery of Mantua until her death. Isabella Clara was born in Innsbruck on 12 August 1629 as the child and second daughter of Leopold V, Archduke of Further Austria and Count of Tyrol. From her mothers first marriage, she had an older half-sister, Vittoria della Rovere, Duchess of Rovere and Montefeltro suo jure, the official wedding between them was solemnized three months later, on 7 November in Mantua. In March 1651, together with her husband and mother-in-law, Isabella Clara accompanied her sister-in-law, Eleonora Gonzaga for her wedding with Ferdinand III and they remained in the Imperial court until May, when they returned to Mantua. Their relations at first were secret, but soon were known by all, due to her affair, Isabella Clara suffered the reject and contempt from the Ducal court. In June 1661 an assassination attempt was made against the Count Bulgarini, in 1660, after the death of her mother-in-law, Isabella Clara also took the title of Duchess of Montferrat. When Charles II died suddenly on 14 August 1665, there were rumors that he was poisoned by his wifes orders, in fact, the Duke died either accidentally after drink an aphrodisiac, or in the midst of a lascivious intercourse. Already during the life of her husband, Isabella Clara, relying on the advice of her lover, during her regency Isabella Clara increased the Duchy of Mantuas territory, strengthening his defenses. In addition, the actions of Count Bulgarini improved the situation of the state with several tax, judicial and law enforcement systems. In August 1670 at Goito Isabella Clara entered into a contract with Ferrante III Gonzaga, Duke of Guastalla, under which their children Ferdinand Charles. Under this contract, Ferrante III named both his daughter and son-in-law joinly heirs of the Duchy of Guastalla and the Dosolo, Luzzara and Reggiolo regions. In addition, the Dowager Duchess was able to obtain the approval of the Emperor that, after the death of Ferrante III, at the request of the Imperial Commissioner, Count Gottlieb von Windisch-Graetz, both Isabella Clara and Count Bulgarini took monastic vows. The Dowager Duchess became a Poor Clare nun, Isabella Clara died on 24 February 1685 in the Ursuline monastery in Mantua. Her funeral was attended by her son, and she was buried in the Church of SantOrsola. The public memorial service for took place only on 14 May in the Basilica palatina di Santa Barbara, habsburg, Elisabeth auch Isabella Clara von Oesterreich. Austria, Austrian Literature Online, University of Innsbruck, allgemeine encyclopädie der wissenschaften und künste in alphabetischer folge von genannten schrifts bearbeitet und herausgegeben. 1665-1669 Isabella Clara dAustria, reggenza per il figlio Ferdinando Carlo in, catalogo-mantova. lamoneta. it
2.
Frans Pourbus the Younger
–
Frans Pourbus the younger was a Flemish painter, son of Frans Pourbus the Elder and grandson of Pieter Pourbus. He was born in Antwerp and died in Paris and he is also referred to as Frans II. Pourbus worked for many of the influential people of his day, including the Brussels-based Spanish Regents of the Netherlands. Pourbus was best known for portraits, but created some history paintings and he produced portraits that were pleasing to his patrons, but rarely providing his works with dramatic situations, or even landscape backgrounds. He is noted for his depiction of costume, jewellry and draperies, Pourbus completed his apprenticeship in Antwerp in 1591. At the end of the 16th century, he worked for Archduke Albert, on 27 June 1600, he was paid for a portrait of the Infanta. This was subsequently presented to Anne of Denmark by the Ambassador of the Spanish Netherlands, in 1600, he was recruited as court painter in Mantua by Vincenzo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua who met him when Gonzaga was on a visit to the Netherlands buying works of art. Within months of his appointment, Peter Paul Rubens arrived at the Mantuan court, in 1609, Pourbus moved to Paris at the instigation of Marie de Médici. It was here that he perfected his style and he worked as Marie de Médicis court painter until his death. He died in Paris and was buried on 19 February 1621/2, the exact date of his death is unknown. Among his works is a portrait of an Italian lady in the Pinacoteca Malaspina, Pavia that has been identified as Anne Boleyn. This identification is a result of a later inscription, the portrait was in any case painted some years after Anne Boleyns death in 1536. 20 Painting by or after Frans Pourbus the Younger at the Art UK site
3.
Spanish Netherlands
–
Spanish Netherlands, French, Pays-Bas espagnols) was the collective name of States of the Holy Roman Empire in the Low Countries, held in personal union by the Spanish Crown from 1581 to 1714. This region comprised most of modern Belgium and Luxembourg, as well as parts of northern France, 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 the autonomous Dutch Republic in 1581 and his granddaughter Mary had confirmed 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, Maximilian prevailed with the support of Duke Albert III of Saxony and his son Philip the Handsome could assume the rule over the Habsburg Netherlands in 1493. The Habsburgs often used the term Burgundy to refer to their lands, actually until 1795. In 1522 Emperor Charles V concluded a treaty with his younger brother Archduke Ferdinand I of Habsburg, whereby the House of Habsburg split into an Austrian. By the Pragmatic Sanction of 1549, Charles declared the Seventeen Provinces a united, 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 the Burgundian heritage. Philips despotism and his stern Counter-Reformation measures sparked the Dutch Revolt in the mainly Calvinist Netherlandish provinces, the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs could only retain the rule 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 Philips daughter Isabella Clara Eugenia, in the early 17th century, there was a flourishing court at Brussels. Among the artists who emerged from the court of the Archdukes, by the Treaty of the Pyrenees of 1659 the French annexed Artois and Cambrai, and Dunkirk was ceded to the English. By the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle and Nijmegen, further territory up to the current Franco-Belgian border was ceded, including Walloon Flanders, later, in the War of the Reunions and the Nine Years War, France annexed other parts of the region. During the War of the Spanish Succession, in 1706 the Habsburg Netherlands became an Anglo-Dutch condominium for the remainder of the conflict. By the peace treaties of Utrecht and Rastatt in 1713/14 ending the war, the Southern Netherlands fell back to the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy forming the Austrian Netherlands
4.
Dukes of Brabant
–
The Duke of Brabant was formally the ruler of the Duchy of Brabant since 1183/1184. The title was created by the German Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in favor of Henry I of the House of Reginar, the Duchy of Brabant was a feudal elevation of the since 1085/1086 existing title of Landgrave of Brabant. This was an Imperial fief which was assigned to Count Henry III of Leuven shortly after the death of the preceding Count of Brabant, Count Palatine Herman II of Lotharingia. Although the corresponding county was quite small its name was applied to the country under control of the Dukes from the 13th century on. In 1190, after the death of Godfrey III, Henry I also became Duke of Lotharingia, formerly Lower Lotharingia, this title was now practically without territorial authority, but was borne by the later Dukes of Brabant as an honorific title. In 1288, the Dukes of Brabant became also Duke of Limburg, the title fell to the Dukes of Burgundy in 1430. Counts of Leuven, Counts of Brussels and Landgraves of Brabant, Henry III, already Count of Leuven and Brussels from 1078. The oldest Son/daughter becomes automatically the duke/duchess of Brabant when his/her father becomes King of the Belgians, when the Duke of Brabant loses his father, or when he abdicates, his title goes to the next in line, and he becomes the new King of the Belgians. Unlike the office of King of the Belgians, you do not have to reach the age of 18 to become Duke of Brabant, however, if a Duke of Brabant does not reach the age of 18, he cannot ascent to the Throne of Belgium. When the prince becomes duke of Brabant, this takes precedence of the other titles. When the Duke of Brabant marries legally, after permission of the King, the last Duke of Brabant became King in 2013, and passed the title to his oldest child. The current Duchess, Crown Princess Elisabeth was in 2013 only 12 years old when she became duchess, Leopold II Leopold, son of Leopold II - the only prince who died a Duke of Brabant. Leopold III Baudouin Philippe Elisabeth Coat of arms of Elisabeth of Belgium, Duchess of Brabant Dukes of Brabant family tree Charters of the Duchy of Brabant Counts of Louvain, genealogical note
5.
List of monarchs of Luxembourg
–
The territory of Luxembourg was ruled successively by counts, dukes and grand dukes. It was part of the medieval Kingdom of Germany, and later the Holy Roman Empire until it became a state in 1815. In 1354 the county was elevated to a duchy, as Elisabeth had no surviving children, she sold Luxembourg to Philip III, Duke of Burgundy in 1441 but only to succeed upon her death. Philip captured the city of Luxembourg in 1443, but did not assume the title because of conflicting claims by Anne of Austria. In 1482 Luxembourg passed to the House of Habsburg, after the abdication of Emperor Charles V, the duchy of Luxembourg fell to the Spanish line of the House of Habsburg. In 1712 Luxembourg and Namur were ceded to Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria by his French allies, Emanuel was restored Elector of Bavaria. In 1713 the duchy fell to the Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg, Luxembourg was occupied by French revolutionaries between 1794 and 1813. At the Vienna Congress, it was elevated to a grand duchy, the Grand Duke of Luxembourg is the head of state of Luxembourg. Luxembourg is the only sovereign extant Grand Duchy, a status to which Luxembourg was promoted in 1815 upon its unification with the Netherlands under the House of Orange-Nassau. When William III died leaving only his daughter Wilhelmina as an heir, however, the crown of Luxembourg passed to a male of another branch of the House of Nassau, Adolphe, the dispossessed Duke of Nassau and head of the branch of Nassau-Weilburg. Charlottes descendants have reigned as the continued dynasty of Nassau. Les gouvernements du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg depuis 1848, Luxembourg City, Service Information et Presse
6.
Counts of Namur
–
The following is a list of Counts or Margraves of Namur. Namur was not often an independent state, rather under the dominion of other entities like the counties of Hainaut, succession is from father to son, unless otherwise noted. Bought the County from his cousin Baldwin II and chased Henry III. John I John II Guy II, brother of Philip III, brother of William I, brother of William II John III, brother of In 1421, John III sells his estates to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. When the Habsburg empire was divided among the heirs of Charles V, the fief was claimed by the House of Habsburg and the House of Bourbon. In 1712 Luxembourg and Namur were ceded to Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria by his French allies, Emanuel was restored as Elector of Bavaria. The Treaty of Utrecht also settled the succession, and the Margraviate of Namur went to the Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg, although, the title remained officially claimed by the descendants of Leopold II until the reign of Karl I of Austria
7.
Dukes of Guelders
–
The first count of Guelders was Gerard IV, Lord of Wassenberg. He remained in power with support of the French king, Map of Upper Guelders in 1789 – Northern Part Map of Upper Guelders in 1789 – Southern Part
8.
Counts of Flanders
–
The Count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders, beginning in the 9th century. The title was held for a time by the Holy Roman Emperor, during the French Revolution in 1790, the county of Flanders was annexed to France and the peerage ceased to exist. In the 19th century, the title was appropriated by Belgium, the most recent holder died in 1983. Although the early rulers, starting with Arnulf I, were referred to as margraves or marquesses. Since then, the rulers of Flanders have only referred to as Counts. The Counts of Flanders enlarged their estate through a series of diplomatic marriages, the counties of Hainaut, Namur, Béthune, Nevers, Auxerre, Rethel, Burgundy, and Artois were all acquired in this manner. However, the County of Flanders suffered the fate in turn. As a result of the marriage of Countess Margaret III with Philip II, Duke of Burgundy, the county, the Counts of Flanders were also associated with the Duchy of Brittany prior to its union with France. In c 1323, Joan, the daughter of Arthur II, Duke of Brittany, joanna of Flanders, the granddaughter of Count Robert III and daughter of his son, Count Louis I, married John Montfort. It was through this alliance that the Duchy of Brittany was eventually joined to the throne of France, baldwin I Iron Arm, married Judith and was granted lands and honours, which would evolve into the County of Flanders. In 1246, King Louis IX of France awarded Flanders to William, when the Habsburg empire was divided among the heirs of Charles V, the Low Countries, including Flanders, went to Philip II of Spain, of the Spanish branch of the House of Habsburg. The fief was claimed by the House of Habsburg and the House of Bourbon, in 1713, the Treaty of Utrecht settled the succession and the County of Flanders went to the Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg. The Emperor Francis II relinquished his claim to the Low Countries in the Treaty of Campo Formio of 1797, in modern times, from 1840 onward, the substantive title Count of Flanders has been granted to two younger sons of the Kings of the Belgians. The second of these died in 1983, and the title not be conferred again. It is a title which is only nominally and ceremonially used. Genealogy of the counts of Flanders
9.
Counts of Hainaut
–
The Count of Hainaut was the ruler of the county of Hainaut, a historical region in the Low Countries. In English-language historical sources, the title is given the archaic spelling Hainault. Albert I, William IV, son of Albert I Jacqueline, daughter of William IV Jacqueline was opposed by her uncle John, Duke of Bavaria-Straubing, son of Count Albert I in a war of succession. Johns claims devolved upon Philip III, Duke of Burgundy, a nephew of William III, in 1432 he forced Jacqueline to abdicate from Hainaut and Holland in his favour. When the Habsburg empire was divided among the heirs of Charles V, the fief was claimed by the House of Habsburg and the House of Bourbon. In 1714, the Treaty of Rastatt settled the succession and the County of Hainaut went to the Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg, although, the title remained officially claimed by the descendants of Leopold II until the reign of Charles I of Austria. In the modern Kingdom of Belgium, the title of Count of Hainaut was traditionally given to the eldest son of the crown prince, who was himself styled Duke of Brabant. Prince Leopold, Duke of Brabant, son of Leopold II of Belgium Baudouin I of Belgium, son of Leopold III of Belgium Countess of Hainaut County of Hainaut Counts of Hainaut family tree
10.
Philip II of Spain
–
Philip II of Spain, called the Prudent, was King of Spain, King of Portugal, King of Naples and Sicily, and jure uxoris King of England and Ireland. He was also Duke of Milan, from 1555, he was lord of the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands. Known in Spain as Felipe el Prudente, his empire included territories on every continent then known to Europeans, during his reign, Spain reached the height of its influence and power. This is sometimes called the Golden Age, the expression, the empire on which the sun never sets, was coined during Philips time to reflect the extent of his dominion. During Philips reign there were separate state bankruptcies in 1557,1560,1569,1575 and this was partly the cause of the declaration of independence which created the Dutch Republic in 1581. The Ambassador went on to say He dresses very tastefully, the culture and courtly life of Spain were an important influence in his early life. He was tutored by Juan Martínez Siliceo – the future Archbishop of Toledo, Philip displayed reasonable aptitude in arms and letters alike. Later he would study with more illustrious tutors, including the humanist Juan Cristóbal Calvete de Estrella, Philip, though he had good command over Latin, Spanish and Portuguese, never managed to equal his father, Charles V, as a polyglot. Despite being also a German archduke from the House of Habsburg, Philip felt himself to be culturally Spanish, he had been born in Spain and raised in the Castilian court, his native tongue was Spanish, and he preferred to live in Spain. This would ultimately impede his succession to the imperial throne, Philip was also close to his two sisters, María and Juana, and to his two pages, the Portuguese nobleman Rui Gomes da Silva and Luis de Requesens, the son of his governor Juan de Zúñiga. These men would serve Philip throughout their lives, as would Antonio Pérez, Philips martial training was undertaken by his governor, Juan de Zúñiga, a Castilian nobleman who served as the commendador mayor of Castile. The practical lessons in warfare were overseen by the Duke of Alba during the Italian Wars, Philip was present at the Siege of Perpignan in 1542, but did not see action as the Spanish army under Alba decisively defeated the besieging French forces under the Dauphin of France. On his way back to Castile, Philip received the oath of allegiance of the Aragonese Cortes at Monzón. The king-emperors interactions with his son during his stay in Spain convinced him of Philips precocity in statesmanship, Philip, who had previously been made the Duke of Milan in 1540, began governing the most extensive empire in the world at the young age of sixteen. Charles left Philip with experienced advisors—notably the secretary Francisco de los Cobos, Philip was also left with extensive written instructions which emphasised piety, patience, modesty, and distrust. These principles of Charles were gradually assimilated by his son, who would grow up to become grave, self-possessed, personally, Philip spoke softly, and had an icy self-mastery, in the words of one of his ministers, he had a smile that cut like a sword. After living in the Netherlands in the years of his reign. Although sometimes described as a monarch, Philip faced many constitutional constraints on his authority
11.
Philip IV of Spain
–
Philip IV of Spain was King of Spain and Portugal as Philip III. He ascended the thrones in 1621 and reigned in Spain until his death, Philip is remembered for his patronage of the arts, including such artists as Diego Velázquez, and his rule over Spain during the challenging period of the Thirty Years War. Philip IV was born in Valladolid, and was the eldest son of Philip III and his wife, Philip had seven children by Elisabeth, with only one being a son, Balthasar Charles, who died at the age of sixteen in 1646. The death of his son deeply shocked the king, who appears to have been a father by the standards of the day. Philip remarried in 1646, following the deaths of both Elisabeth and his legitimate heir. Perceptions of Philips personality have altered considerably over time, victorian authors were inclined to portray him as a weak individual, delegating excessively to his ministers, and ruling over a debauched Baroque court. Victorian historians even attributed the death of Baltasar to debauchery. The doctors who treated the Prince at that time in fact diagnosed smallpox, Philip was idealised by his contemporaries as the model of Baroque kingship. Philip was a horseman, a keen hunter and a devotee of bull-fighting. Privately, Philip appears to have had a lighter persona, when he was younger, he was said to have a keen sense of humour and a great sense of fun. He privately attended academies in Madrid throughout his reign — these were lighthearted literary salons, aiming to analyse contemporary literature, a keen theatre-goer, he was sometimes criticised by contemporaries for his love of these frivolous entertainments. Others have captured his private personality as naturally kind, gentle and affable and those close to him claimed he was academically competent, with a good grasp of Latin and geography, and could speak French, Portuguese and Italian well. Like many of his contemporaries, including Olivares, he had a keen interest in astrology and his handwritten translation of Francesco Guicciardinis texts on political history still exists. Although Philips Catholic beliefs no longer attract criticism from English language writers, notably, from the 1640s onwards he sought the advice of a noted cloistered abbess, Sor María de Ágreda, exchanging many letters with her. By the end of the reign, and with the health of Carlos José in doubt, there was a possibility of Juan Josés making a claim on the throne. Philip IV came to power as the influence of the Sandovals was being undermined by a new noble coalition, over the course of at least a year, however, the relationship became very close, with Philips tendency towards underconfidence and diffidence counteracted by Olivares drive and determination. Philip retained Olivares as his confidant and chief minister for the twenty years. Philip himself argued that it was appropriate for the king himself to go house to house amongst his ministers to see if his instructions were being carried out
12.
Albert VII, Archduke of Austria
–
Albert VII was the ruling Archduke of Austria for a few months in 1619 and, jointly with his wife, Isabella Clara Eugenia, sovereign of the Habsburg Netherlands between 1598 and 1621. Prior to this, he had been a cardinal, archbishop of Toledo, viceroy of Portugal and he succeeded his brother Matthias as reigning archduke of Lower and Upper Austria, but abdicated in favor of Ferdinand II the same year, making it the shortest reign in Austrian history. Archduke Albert was the son of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II and Maria of Spain, daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. He was sent to the Spanish Court at the age of eleven, initially he was meant to pursue an ecclesiastical career. On 3 March 1577 he was appointed cardinal by Pope Gregory XIII, with a dispensation because of his age of eighteen, and was given Santa Croce in Gerusalemme as his titular church. Philip II planned to make Albert archbishop of Toledo as soon as possible, in the meantime Albert only took lower orders. He was never ordained priest or bishop, and thus he resigned the See of Toledo in 1598 and he resigned the cardinalate in 1598. His clerical upbringing did however have an influence on his lifestyle. After the dynastic union with Portugal, Albert became the first viceroy of the kingdom, at the same time he was appointed Papal Legate and Grand Inquisitor for Portugal. As viceroy of Portugal he took part in the organization of the Great Armada of 1588, in 1593 Philip II recalled him to Madrid, where he would take a leading role in the government of the Spanish Monarchy. Two years later, the rebellious Hugh ONeill, Earl of Tyrone, after the death of Archduke Ernst in 1595, Albert was sent to Brussels to succeed his elder brother as Governor General of the Habsburg Netherlands. He made his entry in Brussels on 11 February 1596 and his first priority was restoring Spains military position in the Low Countries. Spain was facing the forces of the Dutch Republic, England and France and had known nothing. During his first campaign season, Albert surprised his enemies by capturing Calais and nearby Ardres from the French and these successes were however offset by the third bankruptcy of the Spanish crown later that year. As a consequence,1597 was marked by a series of military disasters, stadholder Maurice of Orange captured the last Spanish strongholds that remained north of the great rivers, as well as the strategic town of Rheinberg in the Electorate of Cologne. Finally the Spanish Army of Flanders lost Amiens in September the same year to King Henry IV of France despite desperate efforts to relieve the place by Albert, with no more money to pay the troops, Albert was also facing a series of mutinies. While pursuing the war as well as he could, Albert made overtures for peace with Spains enemies, under the mediation of the papal legate Cardinal Alessandro deMedici — the future Pope Leo XI — Spain and France concluded the Peace of Vervins on 2 May 1598. Spain gave up its conquests, thereby restoring the situation of Cateau Cambrésis, France tacitly accepted the Spanish occupation of the prince-archbishopric of Cambray and pulled out of the war, but maintained the financial support for the Dutch Republic
13.
Segovia
–
Segovia is a city in the autonomous region of Castile and León, Spain. It is the capital of Segovia Province, the name of Segovia is of Celtiberian origin. The first inhabitants named the city Segobriga and this name comes from two terms of the Celtiberian language of the Celtic branch of Indo-European. The term Sego means «victory» and the suffix -briga would mean «city» or «strength», so the name might be translated as City of the victory or Victorious city. Under the Romans and Arabs, the city was called Segovia, Segovia is located on the plains of Old Castile, near Valladolid and the Spanish capital, Madrid. Segovia is one of nine provinces that make up the region of Castile. Burgos and Valladolid lie to the north, Ávila to the west, Madrid to the south, the altitude of the province varies from 750 metres in the extreme northwest to a maximum of 2,430 m at Peñalara peak in the Sierra de Guadarrama. The town lies on the route of the Camino de Santiago de Madrid. The climate is hot-summer Mediterranean near the boundaries of Csb and BSk, resulting from the high altitude, the average annual temperature is 12.42 °C, with a minimum in December of −14 °C and maximum in August of 39 °C. All of this make the province a damp corner in the context of the region, the predominant forms of vegetation in the mountainous areas include pine, evergreen, oak, beech and juniper. Aside from the city, there are a number of other villages within the municipality of Segovia. Fuentemilanos Hontoria Madrona Revenga, established in 1983 as a local entity. Zamarramala Torredondo Perogordo The first recorded mention of a settlement in what is today Segovia was a Celtic possession, control later passed into the hands of the Romans. The city is a site of the battle in 75 BCE where Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius was victorious over the Quintus Sertorius and Hirtuleius. During the Roman period the settlement belonged to one of numerous contemporary Latin convents and it is believed that the city was abandoned after the Islamic invasion of Spain centuries later. Segovias position on trading routes made it an important centre of trade in wool, the end of the Middle Ages saw something of a golden age for Segovia, with a growing Jewish population and the creation of a foundation for a powerful cloth industry. Several splendid works of Gothic architecture were also completed during this period, notably, Isabella I was proclaimed queen of Castile in the church of San Miguel de Segovia on December 13,1474. Like most Castilian textile centres, Segovia joined the Revolt of the Comuneros under the command of Juan Bravo, despite the defeat of the Communities, the citys resultant economic boom continued into the sixteenth century, its population rising to 27,000 in 1594
14.
Spain
–
By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union. Spains capital and largest city is Madrid, other urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao. Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago, in the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors. Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a power and a major developed country with the worlds fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP. Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the span is the Phoenician word spy. Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean the land where metals are forged, two 15th-century Spanish Jewish scholars, Don Isaac Abravanel and Solomon ibn Verga, gave an explanation now considered folkloric. Both men wrote in two different published works that the first Jews to reach Spain were brought by ship by Phiros who was confederate with the king of Babylon when he laid siege to Jerusalem. This man was a Grecian by birth, but who had given a kingdom in Spain. He became related by marriage to Espan, the nephew of king Heracles, Heracles later renounced his throne in preference for his native Greece, leaving his kingdom to his nephew, Espan, from whom the country of España took its name. Based upon their testimonies, this eponym would have already been in use in Spain by c.350 BCE, Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. Early on its coastal areas were settled by Phoenicians who founded Western Europe´s most ancient cities Cadiz, Phoenician influence expanded as much of the Peninsula was eventually incorporated into the Carthaginian Empire, becoming a major theater of the Punic Wars against the expanding Roman Empire. After an arduous conquest, the peninsula came fully under Roman Rule, during the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule but later, much of it was conquered by Moorish invaders from North Africa. In a process took centuries, the small Christian kingdoms in the north gradually regained control of the peninsula. The last Moorish kingdom fell in the same year Columbus reached the Americas, a global empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for a century and a half, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries. Continued wars and other problems led to a diminished status. The Napoleonic invasions of Spain led to chaos, triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire, eventually democracy was peacefully restored in the form of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain joined the European Union, experiencing a renaissance and steady economic growth
15.
Brussels
–
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels which is the capital of Belgium. The Brussels-Capital Region is a part of both the French Community of Belgium and the Flemish Community, but is separate from the region of Flanders or Wallonia. The region has a population of 1.2 million and an area with a population of over 1.8 million. Brussels is the de facto capital of the European Union as it hosts a number of principal EU institutions, the secretariat of the Benelux and the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are also located in Brussels. Today, it is considered an Alpha global city, historically a Dutch-speaking city, Brussels has seen a language shift to French from the late 19th century onwards. Today, the majority language is French, and the Brussels-Capital Region is a bilingual enclave within the Flemish Region. All road signs, street names, and many advertisements and services are shown in both languages, Brussels is increasingly becoming multilingual with increasing numbers of migrants, expatriates and minority groups speaking their own languages. The most common theory of the origin of Brussels name is that it derives from the Old Dutch Broekzele or Broeksel, meaning marsh, Saint Vindicianus, the bishop of Cambrai made the first recorded reference to the place Brosella in 695 when it was still a hamlet. The origin of the settlement that was to become Brussels lies in Saint Gaugericus construction of a chapel on an island in the river Senne around 580. The official founding of Brussels is usually situated around 979, when Duke Charles of Lower Lotharingia transferred the relics of Saint Gudula from Moorsel to the Saint Gaugericus chapel, Charles would construct the first permanent fortification in the city, doing so on that same island. Lambert I of Leuven, Count of Leuven gained the County of Brussels around 1000 by marrying Charles daughter, as it grew to a population of around 30,000, the surrounding marshes were drained to allow for further expansion. The Counts of Leuven became Dukes of Brabant at about this time, in the 13th century, the city got its first walls. After the construction of the city walls in the early 13th century, to let the city expand, a second set of walls was erected between 1356 and 1383. Today, traces of it can still be seen, mostly because the small ring, Brabant had lost its independence, but Brussels became the Princely Capital of the prosperous Low Countries, and flourished. In 1516 Charles V, who had been heir of the Low Countries since 1506, was declared King of Spain in St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral in Brussels. Upon the death of his grandfather, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor in 1519 and it was in the Palace complex at Coudenberg that Charles V abdicated in 1555. This impressive palace, famous all over Europe, had expanded since it had first become the seat of the Dukes of Brabant. In 1695, during the Nine Years War, King Louis XIV of France sent troops to bombard Brussels with artillery, together with the resulting fire, it was the most destructive event in the entire history of Brussels
16.
Duchy of Brabant
–
The Duchy of Brabant was a State of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1183. Today all the former territories, apart from exclaves are in Belgium except for the Dutch province of North Brabant. The Duchy of Brabant was historically divided into four parts, each with its own capital, the four capitals were Leuven, Brussels, Antwerp and s-Hertogenbosch. Before s-Hertogenbosch was founded, Tienen was the fourth capital and its most important cities were Brussels, Antwerp, Leuven, Breda, s-Hertogenbosch, Lier and Mechelen. The modern flag of Belgium takes its colors from Brabants coat of arms, probably first used by Count Lambert I of Louvain, the lion is documented in a 1306 towns seal of Kerpen, together with the red lion of Limburg. Up to the present, the Brabant lion features as the charge on the coats of arms of both Flemish and Walloon Brabant, and of the Dutch province of North Brabant. The regions name is first recorded as the Carolingian shire pagus Bracbatensis, upon the 843 Treaty of Verdun it was part of Lotharingia within short-lived Middle Francia, and was ceded to East Francia according to the 880 Treaty of Ribemont. In earlier Roman times, the Nervii, a Belgic tribe and they were incorporated into the Roman province of Belgica, and considered to have both Celtic and Germanic cultural links. At the end of the Roman period the region was conquered by the Germanic Franks, in 959 the East Frankish king Otto I of Germany elevated Count Godfrey of Jülich to the rank of duke of Lower Lorraine. In 962 the duchy became a part of the Holy Roman Empire. Here, the counts of Leuven rose to power, when about 1000 Count Lambert I the Bearded married Gerberga, the daughter of Duke Charles of Lower Lorraine, and acquired the County of Brussels. About 1024 southernmost Brabant fell to Count Reginar V of Mons, in 1190, after the death of Godfrey III, Henry I also became Duke of Lower Lotharingia. By that time the title had lost most of its territorial authority, according to protocol, all his successors were thereafter called Dukes of Brabant and Lower Lotharingia. After the Battle of Worringen in 1288, the dukes of Brabant also acquired the Duchy of Limburg, in 1354 Duke John III of Brabant granted a Joyous Entry to the citizens of Brabant. In 1430 the Duchies of Lower Lotharingia, Brabant and Limburg were inherited by Philip the Good of Burgundy, in 1477 the Duchy of Brabant became part of the House of Habsburg as part of the dowry of Mary of Burgundy. At that time the Duchy extended from Luttre, south of Nivelles to s Hertogenbosch, the subsequent history of Brabant is part of the history of the Habsburg Seventeen Provinces. The Eighty Years War brought the parts under military control of the northern insurgents. The southern part remained in Spanish Habsburg hands as a part of the Southern Netherlands and it was transferred to the Austrian branch of the Habsburg monarchy in 1714
17.
Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula
–
The Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula is a Roman Catholic church in Brussels, Belgium. The church was given cathedral status in 1962 and has since been the co-cathedral of the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels, a chapel dedicated to St. Michael was probably built on the Treurenberg hill as early as the 9th century. In the 11th century it was replaced by a Romanesque church, the patron saints of the church, St. Michael and St. Gudula, are also the patron saints of the city of Brussels. In the thirteenth century, Henry I, Duke of Brabant ordered two round towers to be added to the church, Henry II, Duke of Brabant instructed the building of a Gothic collegiate church in 1226. The choir was constructed between 1226 and 1276 and it took about 300 years to complete the entire church. It was completed just before the reign of the emperor Charles V commenced in 1519, the dimensions of the building are, exterior length 114 metres, interior length 109 metres, exterior width at the choir 57 metres, interior width 54 metres and height of towers 64 metres. The cathedral is built of stone from the Gobertange quarry which is located approximately 45 km south-east of the site of the Cathedral. The two towers, the parts of which are arranged in terraces, are attributed to the Flemish architect Jan Van Ruysbroeck. The south tower contains a 49-bell carillon by the Royal Eijsbouts bell foundry on which Sunday concerts are often given, the Salvator bell was cast by Peter van den Gheyn. The choir is gothic and contains the mausoleums of the Dukes of Brabant, left of the choir is the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament of the Miracle built in a flamboyant Gothic style. It now houses the Treasure of the Cathedral, where the famous Drahmal Cross, right of the choir is the Chapel of Our Lady of Deliverance which is built in a late Gothic style and has a Baroque altar by Jan Voorspoel. Behind the choir is a Baroque chapel dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen dated 1675, statues of the 12 apostles are attached to the columns. These statues date from the 17th century and were created by sculptors Lucas Faydherbe, Jerôme Duquesnoy the Younger, Johannes van Mildert and Tobias de Lelis, the statues replaced those destroyed by iconoclasts in 1566. The nave has a Baroque pulpit from the 17th century, made by Antwerp sculptor Hendrik Frans Verbruggen in 1699, the base represents Adam and Eve expelled from the Garden of Eden after plucking the forbidden fruit. At the top, the Virgin and Child piercing the serpent symbolize redemption, the big organ in the nave was inaugurated in October 2000. The organ has 4300 pipes,63 stops, four manuals and this instrument is the work of the German organ builder Gerhard Grenzing and his Spanish assistants from Barcelona. The northern and southern transepts have a window by Jean Haeck from Antwerp made in 1537 after drawings by Bernard van Orley. The side aisles contain 17th-century confessional-boxes in oak by Jan van Delen, at the end of the nineties, Brussels ornithologists discovered a couple of peregrine falcons hibernating on top of the towers of the St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral in the centre of Brussels
18.
Dynasty
–
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a feudal or monarchical system but sometimes also appearing in elective republics. The dynastic family or lineage may be known as a house, historians periodize the histories of many sovereign states, such as Ancient Egypt, the Carolingian Empire and Imperial China, using a framework of successive dynasties. As such, the dynasty may be used to delimit the era during which the family reigned and to describe events, trends. The word dynasty itself is often dropped from such adjectival references, until the 19th century, it was taken for granted that a legitimate function of a monarch was to aggrandize his dynasty, that is, to increase the territory, wealth, and power of his family members. The longest-surviving dynasty in the world is the Imperial House of Japan, dynasties throughout the world have traditionally been reckoned patrilineally, such as under the Frankish Salic law. Succession through a daughter when permitted was considered to establish a new dynasty in her husbands ruling house, however, some states in Africa, determined descent matrilineally, while rulers have at other times adopted the name of their mothers dynasty when coming into her inheritance. It is also extended to unrelated people such as poets of the same school or various rosters of a single sports team. The word dynasty derives via Latin dynastia from Greek dynastéia, where it referred to power, dominion and it was the abstract noun of dynástēs, the agent noun of dynamis, power or ability, from dýnamai, to be able. A ruler in a dynasty is referred to as a dynast. For example, following his abdication, Edward VIII of the United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the House of Windsor. A dynastic marriage is one that complies with monarchical house law restrictions, the marriage of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, to Máxima Zorreguieta in 2002 was dynastic, for example, and their eldest child is expected to inherit the Dutch crown eventually. But the marriage of his younger brother Prince Friso to Mabel Wisse Smit in 2003 lacked government support, thus Friso forfeited his place in the order of succession, lost his title as a Prince of the Netherlands, and left his children without dynastic rights. In historical and monarchist references to formerly reigning families, a dynast is a member who would have had succession rights, were the monarchys rules still in force. Even since abolition of the Austrian monarchy, Max and his descendants have not been considered the rightful pretenders by Austrian monarchists, nor have they claimed that position. The term dynast is sometimes used only to refer to descendants of a realms monarchs. The term can therefore describe overlapping but distinct sets of people, yet he is not a male-line member of the royal family, and is therefore not a dynast of the House of Windsor. Thus, in 1999 he requested and obtained permission from Elizabeth II to marry the Roman Catholic Princess Caroline of Monaco. Yet a clause of the English Act of Settlement 1701 remained in effect at that time and that exclusion, too, ceased to apply on 26 March 2015, with retroactive effect for those who had been dynasts prior to triggering it by marriage to a Catholic
19.
House of Habsburg
–
The House of Habsburg, also called House of Hapsburg, or House of Austria, was one of the most influential royal houses of Europe. The throne of the Holy Roman Empire was continuously occupied by the Habsburgs between 1438 and 1740, from the sixteenth century, following the reign of Charles V, the dynasty was split between its Austrian and Spanish branches. Although they ruled distinct territories, they maintained close relations. The House takes its name from Habsburg Castle, a built in the 1020s in present-day Switzerland, in the canton of Aargau, by Count Radbot of Klettgau. His grandson Otto II was the first to take the name as his own. The House of Habsburg gathered dynastic momentum through the 11th, 12th, by 1276, Count Radbots seventh generation descendant Rudolph of Habsburg had moved the familys power base from Habsburg Castle to the Duchy of Austria. Rudolph had become King of Germany in 1273, and the dynasty of the House of Habsburg was truly entrenched in 1276 when Rudolph became ruler of Austria, which the Habsburgs ruled until 1918. A series of dynastic marriages enabled the family to expand its domains to include Burgundy, Spain and its colonial empire, Bohemia, Hungary. In the 16th century, the separated into the senior Habsburg Spain and the junior Habsburg Monarchy branches. The House of Habsburg became extinct in the 18th century, the senior Spanish branch ended upon the death of Charles II of Spain in 1700 and was replaced by the House of Bourbon. It was succeeded by the Vaudemont branch of the House of Lorraine, the new successor house styled itself formally as the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, although it was often referred to as simply the House of Habsburg. His grandson Radbot, Count of Habsburg founded the Habsburg Castle, the origins of the castles name, located in what is now the Swiss canton of Aargau, are uncertain. There is disagreement on whether the name is derived from the High German Habichtsburg, or from the Middle High German word hab/hap meaning ford, the first documented use of the name by the dynasty itself has been traced to the year 1108. The Habsburg Castle was the seat in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries. The Habsburgs expanded their influence through arranged marriages and by gaining political privileges, in the 13th century, the house aimed its marriage policy at families in Upper Alsace and Swabia. They were also able to high positions in the church hierarchy for their members. Territorially, they often profited from the extinction of other families such as the House of Kyburg. By the second half of the 13th century, count Rudolph IV had become one of the most influential territorial lords in the area between the Vosges Mountains and Lake Constance
20.
Elisabeth of Valois
–
Elisabeth of Valois was a Spanish queen consort. The eldest daughter of Henry II of France and Catherine de Medici and she was born in the Château de Fontainebleau. Even though Elisabeth had to give precedence to Mary, the two would remain friends for the rest of their lives. While it is acknowledged that her sister Margaret and her future sister-in-law Mary were prettier than she, she was one of Catherines attractive daughters. Elisabeth was also described as being shy, timid and very much in awe of her mother, although there is also evidence that Catherine was tender. This was certainly evident in her letters to Elisabeth, Elisabeth married Philip II of Spain son of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and Isabella of Portugal in 1559. Originally married via proxy at Notre Dame prior to leaving France, the marriage was a result of the Peace of Cateau Cambrésis. His second wife, Mary I of England, had recently died, at her wedding, she met the famous painter Sofonisba Anguissola and Ana de Mendoza, who would live with her the rest of her life. Phillip II appointed Anguissola, a renowned Italian female artist, to be a lady-in-waiting, under Anguissolas tutelage, Elisabeth improved her amateur painting skills even further. Anguissola also influenced the works of her children, Isabella Clara Eugenia and Caterina Michaela. Philip was completely enchanted by his 14-year-old bride, and within a period of time had given up his mistress. Despite the significant age difference, Elisabeth was also pleased with her husband. Philip enjoyed hosting chivalric tournaments to entertain his wife, Elisabeth would play liege lady to the three young princes of the Spanish Court, Carlos, Prince of Asturias, John of Austria, and Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma. Elisabeth had originally been betrothed to Philips son, Carlos, Prince of Asturias and her relationship with her troubled stepson Carlos was warm and friendly. Despite reports of his bizarre behavior, Carlos was always kind. When it eventually became necessary for Philip to lock him away, Philip was very attached to Elisabeth, staying close by her side even when she was ill with smallpox. Elisabeths first pregnancy in 1564 ended with a miscarriage of twin girls and she later gave birth to Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain on 12 August 1566, and then to Isabellas younger sister Catherine Michelle of Spain on 10 October 1567. Elisabeth had another miscarriage on 3 October 1568, and died the same day, after the death of Elisabeth, Catherine de Medici offered her younger daughter Margaret as a bride for Philip
21.
Spanish language
–
Spanish —also called Castilian —is a Romance language that originated in the Castile region of Spain, with hundreds of millions of native speakers around the world. It is usually considered the worlds second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese and it is one of the few languages to use inverted question and exclamation marks. Spanish is a part of the Ibero-Romance group of languages, which evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. Beginning in the early 16th century, Spanish was taken to the colonies of the Spanish Empire, most notably to the Americas, as well as territories in Africa, Oceania, around 75% of modern Spanish is derived from Latin. Greek has also contributed substantially to Spanish vocabulary, especially through Latin, Spanish vocabulary has been in contact from an early date with Arabic, having developed during the Al-Andalus era in the Iberian Peninsula. With around 8% of its vocabulary being Arabic in origin, this language is the second most important influence after Latin and it has also been influenced by Basque as well as by neighboring Ibero-Romance languages. It also adopted words from languages such as Gothic language from the Visigoths in which many Spanish names and surnames have a Visigothic origin. Spanish is one of the six languages of the United Nations. It is the language in the world by the number of people who speak it as a mother tongue, after Mandarin Chinese. It is estimated more than 437 million people speak Spanish as a native language. Spanish is the official or national language in Spain, Equatorial Guinea, speakers in the Americas total some 418 million. In the European Union, Spanish is the tongue of 8% of the population. Spanish is the most popular second language learned in the United States, in 2011 it was estimated by the American Community Survey that of the 55 million Hispanic United States residents who are five years of age and over,38 million speak Spanish at home. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses the term castellano to define the language of the whole Spanish State in contrast to las demás lenguas españolas. Article III reads as follows, El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado, las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas. Castilian is the official Spanish language of the State, the other Spanish languages as well shall be official in their respective Autonomous Communities. The Spanish Royal Academy, on the hand, currently uses the term español in its publications. Two etymologies for español have been suggested, the Spanish Royal Academy Dictionary derives the term from the Provençal word espaignol, and that in turn from the Medieval Latin word Hispaniolus, from—or pertaining to—Hispania
22.
Low Countries
–
Most of the Low Countries are coastal regions bounded by the North Sea or the English Channel. The countries without access to the sea have linked themselves politically and economically to those with access to one union of port. The Low Countries were the scene of the northern towns, newly built rather than developed from ancient centres. In that period, they rivaled northern Italy for the most densely populated region of Europe, all of the regions mainly depended on trade, manufacturing and the encouragement of the free flow of goods and craftsmen. Germanic languages such as Dutch and Luxembourgish were the predominant languages, secondary languages included French, Romance-speaking Belgium, the Romance Flanders, and Namur. Governor Mary of Hungary used both the expressions les pays de par deça and Pays dEmbas, which evolved to Pays-Bas or Low Countries, today the term is typically fitted to modern political boundaries and used in the same way as the term Benelux, which also includes Luxembourg. The name of the country the Netherlands has the same meaning. The same name of countries can be found in other European languages, for example German Niederlande, French, les Pays-Bas, and so on. In the Dutch language itself no plural is used for the name of the modern country, so Nederland is used for the modern nation and de Nederlanden for the 16th century domains of Charles V. In Dutch, and to an extent in English, the Low Countries colloquially means the Netherlands and Belgium, sometimes the Netherlands. For example, a Derby der Lage Landen, is an event between Belgium and the Netherlands. Belgium was renamed only in 1830, after splitting from the Kingdom of the Netherlands, politically, before the Napoleonic wars, it was referred to as the Southern, Spanish or later Austrian Netherlands. It is still referred to as part of the low countries, the region politically had its origins in Carolingian empire, more precisely, most of it was within the Duchy of Lower Lotharingia. After the disintegration of Lower Lotharingia, the Low Countries were brought under the rule of various lordships until they came to be in the hands of the Valois Dukes of Burgundy. Hence, a part of the low countries came to be referred to as the Burgundian Netherlands also called the Seventeen Provinces up to 1581. Even after the secession of the autonomous Dutch Republic in the north. The Low Countries were part of the Roman provinces of Gallia Belgica, Germania Inferior and they were inhabited by Belgic and Germanic tribes. In the 4th and 5th century, Frankish tribes had entered this Roman region and they came to be ruled by the Merovingian dynasty, under which dynasty the southern part was re-Christianised
23.
France
–
France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
24.
Portugal
–
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. It is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, to the west and south it is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and to the east and north by Spain. The Portugal–Spain border is 1,214 kilometres long and considered the longest uninterrupted border within the European Union, the republic also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, both autonomous regions with their own regional governments. The territory of modern Portugal has been settled, invaded. The Pre-Celts, Celts, Carthaginians and the Romans were followed by the invasions of the Visigothic, in 711 the Iberian Peninsula was invaded by the Moors, making Portugal part of Muslim Al Andalus. Portugal was born as result of the Christian Reconquista, and in 1139, Afonso Henriques was proclaimed King of Portugal, in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal established the first global empire, becoming one of the worlds major economic, political and military powers. Portugal monopolized the trade during this time, and the Portuguese Empire expanded with military campaigns led in Asia. After the 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy, the democratic but unstable Portuguese First Republic was established, democracy was restored after the Portuguese Colonial War and the Carnation Revolution in 1974. Shortly after, independence was granted to almost all its overseas territories, Portugal has left a profound cultural and architectural influence across the globe and a legacy of over 250 million Portuguese speakers today. Portugal is a country with a high-income advanced economy and a high living standard. It is the 5th most peaceful country in the world, maintaining a unitary semi-presidential republican form of government and it has the 18th highest Social Progress in the world, putting it ahead of other Western European countries like France, Spain and Italy. Portugal is a pioneer when it comes to drug decriminalization, as the nation decriminalized the possession of all drugs for use in 2001. The early history of Portugal is shared with the rest of the Iberian Peninsula located in South Western Europe, the name of Portugal derives from the joined Romano-Celtic name Portus Cale. Other influences include some 5th-century vestiges of Alan settlements, which were found in Alenquer, Coimbra, the region of present-day Portugal was inhabited by Neanderthals and then by Homo sapiens, who roamed the border-less region of the northern Iberian peninsula. These were subsistence societies that, although they did not establish prosperous settlements, neolithic Portugal experimented with domestication of herding animals, the raising of some cereal crops and fluvial or marine fishing. Chief among these tribes were the Calaicians or Gallaeci of Northern Portugal, the Lusitanians of central Portugal, the Celtici of Alentejo, a few small, semi-permanent, commercial coastal settlements were also founded in the Algarve region by Phoenicians-Carthaginians. Romans first invaded the Iberian Peninsula in 219 BC, during the last days of Julius Caesar, almost the entire peninsula had been annexed to the Roman Republic. The Carthaginians, Romes adversary in the Punic Wars, were expelled from their coastal colonies and it suffered a severe setback in 150 BC, when a rebellion began in the north
25.
Carlos, Prince of Asturias
–
Several of the Carlist pretenders to the Spanish throne were also known as Don Carlos. Carlos, Prince of Asturias, also known as Don Carlos, was the eldest son and his mother was Maria Manuela of Portugal, daughter of John III of Portugal. Carlos was mentally unstable and was imprisoned by his father in early 1568 and his fate was a theme in Spains Black Legend, and inspired a play by Friedrich Schiller and an opera by Giuseppe Verdi. Carlos was born at Valladolid on 8 July 1545 and his mother, María Manuela of Portugal, died four days later from a haemorrhage she had suffered after the birth. The young Infante Carlos was delicate and deformed and he grew up proud and willful and, as a young adult, began to show signs of mental instability. Many of his physical and psychological afflictions may have stemmed from the common to the House of Habsburg. Carlos had only four great-grandparents instead of the maximum of eight, in 1559 Prince Carlos was betrothed to Elizabeth of Valois, eldest daughter of King Henry II of France. However, for reasons, she instead married King Philip in 1560. It was agreed in 1564 that Carlos should marry Anna, Carlos was recognized in 1560 as the heir-apparent to the Castilian throne, and three years later as heir-apparent to the Crown of Aragon as well. He became also the 218th Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece and he often attended meetings of the Council of State and was in correspondence with his aunt Margaret, who governed the Low Countries in his fathers name. In 1562 Carlos fell down a flight of stairs, which caused serious head injuries and his life was saved by a trepanation of the skull, performed by the eminent anatomist Andreas Vesalius. After his recovery, Carlos became wild and unpredictable in his behavior and he took a dislike to the Duke of Alba, who became the commander of Philips forces in the Netherlands, a position that had been promised to Carlos. Carlos possibly made contacts with representative of the Count Egmont from the Low Countries and he also exhibited an antipathy towards his father, whose murder, according to Carlos confessor, he supposedly contemplated at one time. In the autumn of 1567 he made preparations to flee to the Netherlands, however, John of Austria, whom Carlos tried to draw into his plans, revealed everything to King Philip. Carlos remained in confinement at the Alcázar of Madrid until his death six months later. It was later claimed that he was poisoned on the orders of King Philip, especially by William the Silent in his Apology, modern historians think that Don Carlos died of natural causes. He grew very thin and developed eating disorders during his imprisonment, Carlos left an unfavourable impression on some foreign ambassadors. Another Venetian, Paolo Tiepolo, wrote, He wished neither to study nor to take physical exercise, the idea of King Philip confining and murdering his own son later played a minor role in establishing the anti-Spanish Black Legend
26.
Maria Manuela, Princess of Portugal
–
Dona Maria Manuela was the eldest daughter and second child of King John III of Portugal and his wife Catherine of Austria. She was Princess of Asturias as the first wife of the future Philip II of Spain, Maria was born in Coimbra on 15 October 1527 and was one of the few children of John III to survive childhood. In her youth, Maria received an education that was considered typical for a princess of her time. She married her cousin Philip on 12 November 1543 at Salamanca and she gave birth to their son Don Carlos on 8 July 1545, but died four days later due to a haemorrhage in Valladolid
27.
Anna of Austria, Queen of Spain
–
Anna of Austria was Queen of Spain by virtue of her marriage to her uncle, King Philip II of Spain. She was the eldest daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II and her maternal grandparents were Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor who was emperor when she was born, and Isabella of Portugal. Her paternal grandparents were Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I and Anna of Bohemia, Anna was born in Spain, but lived in Vienna from the age of four. She had many siblings, two of whom became emperors, among her sisters was Queen Elisabeth of France, wife of King Charles IX of France. Anna was considered her fathers favorite child, the story goes that he enjoyed playing and gambling with her and once a meeting of the Estates of Hungary was postponed because Anna was sick. She received a Catholic education even though her father was sympathetic to Lutheranism, as the eldest daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor, Anna was a desirable candidate for marriage at the European courts. Her parents thought of a Spanish marriage to strengthen links between the Austrian and Spanish Habsburg families, initially she had her cousin Don Carlos of Spain in mind, the only son of her maternal uncle Philip II of Spain. These plans were shattered in 1568 when Don Carlos died, plans for a Spanish marriage were revived when Philips third wife, Elisabeth, died in childbirth, also in 1568. As a result, Philip was left a widower with two young daughters, Philip was now looking for his fourth wife, since he had no male heir since Don Carlos died. In February 1569, Annas engagement to her uncle Philip II was announced, Anna traveled from Austria to Spain in the autumn of 1570 accompanied by her brothers Albert and Wenzel. They traveled through the Netherlands, where Anna was accosted by friends and relatives of Floris of Montigny, Montigny had been imprisoned in Spain since 1567. Now that King Philip had entered into a new marriage, Montignys family and they received a promise from the future queen that she would do her utmost to free Montigny, however she was unsuccessful, with Montigny being strangled on the orders of the king. Anna passed along the English Channel, where Elizabeth I sent her admirals, Charles Howard and William Wynter, to offer support, on 3 October Anna arrived on Spanish soil, but before she could reach the king, Floris was secretly put to death on 16 October 1570. The historian John Brewer believes that Philip had him executed soon after Philips first meeting with Anna. Besides being her fathers favorite child, Anna was also Philips most beloved wife, but the marriage was at first opposed by many, including Pope Pius V. According to diplomats, the king was in love with his young bride, Philip was a conscientious monarch and maintained his relationship with Anna twice a week to write notes. It was Philips fourth marriage, but the still had no male heir. Anna completed her duties flawlessly in that regard, not only was she a good stepmother to Philips daughters Isabella Clara Eugenia and Catherine Michelle, but she also gave birth to five children, including sons
28.
Philip III of Spain
–
Philip III of Spain was King of Spain and Portugal. A member of the House of Habsburg, Philip III was born in Madrid to King Philip II of Spain and his wife and niece Anna. Philip III later married his cousin Margaret of Austria, sister of Ferdinand II, V. Wedgwood, R. Stradling and J. H. Elliott. In particular, Philips reliance on his chief minister, the Duke of Lerma, drew much criticism at the time. For many, the decline of Spain can be dated to the difficulties that set in during the early years of his reign. After Philip IIIs older brother Don Carlos died insane, Philip II had concluded that one of the causes of Carlos condition had been the influence of the factions at the Spanish court. Philip II appointed Juan de Zúñiga, then Prince Diegos governor, to continue this role for Philip and they were joined by Cristóbal de Moura, a close supporter of Philip II. In combination, Philip believed, they would provide a consistent, stable upbringing for Prince Philip, nonetheless, Philip does not appear to have been naive – his correspondence to his daughters shows a distinctive, cautious streak in his advice on dealing with court intrigue. Philip first met the Marquis of Denia – the future Duke of Lerma – then, Lerma and Philip became close friends, but Lerma was considered unsuitable by the King and Philips tutors. Lerma was dispatched to Valencia as a Viceroy in 1595, with the aim of removing Philip from his influence, the prince received a new, conservative Dominican confessor. The following year, Philip II died after an illness, leaving the empire to his son. Philip married his cousin, Margaret of Austria, in 1599, Margaret, the sister of the future Emperor Ferdinand II, would be one of three women at Philips court who would apply considerable influence over the king. Margaret continued to fight a battle with Lerma for influence up until her death in 1611. Philip had an affectionate, close relationship with Margaret, and paid her additional attention after she bore him a son in 1605 and they were successful, for example, in convincing Philip to provide financial support to Ferdinand from 1600 onwards. Philip steadily acquired other religious advisors, similarly Mariana de San Jose, a favoured nun of Queen Margarets, was also criticised for her later influence over the Kings actions. The Spanish crown at the time ruled through a system of royal councils and these councils were then supplemented by small committees, or juntas, as necessary, such as the junta of the night through which Philip II exercised personal authority towards the end of his reign. As a matter of policy, Philip had tried to avoid appointing grandees to major positions of power within his government and relied heavily on the lesser nobles, the so-called service nobility. To his contemporaries, the degree of personal oversight he exercised was excessive, Philip first started to become engaged in practical government at the age of 15, when he joined Philip IIs private committee
29.
Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor
–
Rudolf II was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and Croatia, King of Bohemia and Archduke of Austria. He was a member of the House of Habsburg, Rudolf was born in Vienna on 18 July 1552. Rudolf spent eight years, from age 11 to 19, in Spain. Rudolf would remain for the rest of his reserved, secretive. He suffered from bouts of melancholy, which was common in the Habsburg line. These became worse with age, and were manifested by a withdrawal from the world, like his contemporary, Elizabeth I of England, Rudolf dangled himself as a prize in a string of diplomatic negotiations for marriages, but never in fact married. It has been proposed by A. L. Rowse that he was homosexual, during his periods of self-imposed isolation, Rudolf reportedly had affairs with his court chamberlain, Wolfgang von Rumpf, and a series of valets. One of these, Philip Lang, ruled him for years and was hated by those seeking favour with the emperor, in addition, Rudolf was known to have had a succession of affairs with women, some of whom claimed to have been impregnated by him. He had several children with his mistress Catherina Strada. Their eldest son, Don Julius Caesar dAustria, was born between 1584 and 1586 and received an education and opportunities for political and social prominence from his father. In 1607, Rudolf sent Julius to live at Český Krumlov in Bohemia castle, Julius lived at Český Krumlov when in 1608 he reportedly abused and murdered the daughter of a local barber, who had been living in the castle, and then disfigured her body. Rudolf condemned his sons act and suggested that he should be imprisoned for the rest of his life, however, Julius died in 1609 after showing signs of schizophrenia, refusing to bathe, and living in squalor, his death was apparently caused by an ulcer that ruptured. Many artworks commissioned by Rudolf are unusually erotic, the emperor was the subject of a whispering campaign by his enemies in his family and the Catholic Church in the years before he was deposed. Sexual allegations may well have formed a part of the campaign against him, historians have traditionally blamed Rudolfs preoccupation with the arts, occult sciences, and other personal interests as the reason for the political disasters of his reign. Although raised in his uncles Catholic court in Spain, Rudolf was tolerant of Protestantism and he largely withdrew from Catholic observances, even in death denying last sacramental rites. He had little attachment to Protestants either, except as counter-weight to repressive Papal policies and he put his primary support behind conciliarists, irenicists, and humanists. His conflict with the Ottoman Empire was the cause of his undoing. Unwilling to compromise with the Turks, and stubbornly determined that he could all of Christendom with a new Crusade, he started a long
30.
Emperor Maximilian II
–
Maximilian II, a member of the Austrian House of Habsburg, was Holy Roman Emperor from 1564 until his death. He was crowned King of Bohemia in Prague on 14 May 1562, on 8 September 1563 he was crowned King of Hungary and Croatia in the Hungarian capital Pressburg. On 25 July 1564 he succeeded his father Ferdinand I as ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, maximilians rule was shaped by the confessionalization process after the 1555 Peace of Augsburg. Though a Habsburg and a Catholic, he approached the Lutheran Imperial estates with a view to overcome the denominational schism and he also was faced with the ongoing Ottoman–Habsburg wars and rising conflicts with his Habsburg Spain cousins. According to Fichtner, he failed to achieve his three major aims, rationalizing the government structure, unifying Christianity, and evicting the Turks from Hungary and he was named after his great-grandfather, Emperor Maximilian I. At the time of his birth, his father Ferdinand succeeded his brother-in-law King Louis II in the Kingdom of Bohemia, having spent his childhood years at his fatherss court in Innsbruck, Tyrol, he was educated principally in Italy. Among his teachers were humanist scholars like Kaspar Ursinus Velius and Georg Tannstetter, Maximilian also came in contact with the Lutheran teaching and early on corresponded with the Protestant prince Augustus of Saxony, suspiciously eyed by his Habsburg relatives. From the age of 17, he gained experience of warfare during the Italian War campaign of his uncle Charles V against King Francis I of France in 1544. On 13 September 1548 Emperor Charles V married Maximilian to Charless daughter Mary of Spain in the Castile residence of Valladolid, by the marriage his uncle intended to strengthen the ties with the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs, but also to consolidate his nephews Catholic faith. Maximilian temporarily acted as the representative in Spain, however not as stadtholder of the Habsburg Netherlands as he had hoped for. He returned to Germany in December 1550 in order to part in the discussion over the Imperial succession. However, Charles brother Ferdinand, who had already designated as the next occupant of the imperial throne. Maximilian sought the support of the German princes such as Duke Albert V of Bavaria and even contacted Protestant leaders like Maurice of Saxony and Duke Christoph of Württemberg. At length a compromise was reached, Philip was to succeed Ferdinand, the relationship between the two cousins was uneasy. While his cousin was reserved and shy, Maximilian was outgoing and his adherence to humanism and religious tolerance put him at odds with Philip who was more committed to the defence of the Catholic faith. Also, he was considered a promising commander, while Philip disliked war, nonetheless, the two remained committed to the unity of their dynasty. In Vienna, he had his Hofburg residence extended with the Renaissance Stallburg wing, the site of the later Spanish Riding School, the court held close ties to the University of Vienna and employed scholars like the botanist Carolus Clusius and the diplomat Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq. Maximilians library curated by Hugo Blotius later became the nucleus of the Austrian National Library and he implemented the Roman School of composition with his court orchestra, however, his plans to win Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina as Kapellmeister foundered on financial reasons
31.
Maria of Austria, Holy Roman Empress
–
Archduchess Maria of Austria was the spouse of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia and Hungary. She was the daughter of Emperor Charles V and twice served as regent of Spain, Maria was born in Madrid to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, and Isabella of Portugal. She grew up mostly between Toledo and Valladolid with her siblings, Philip and Joanna and they built a strong family bond despite their fathers regular absences. Maria and her brother, Philip, shared similar strong personal views, on 15 September 1548, aged twenty, she married her first cousin Archduke Maximilian. The couple had sixteen children during the course of a twenty-eight-year marriage, while her father was occupied with German affairs, Maria and Maximilian acted as regents of Spain from 1548 to 1551 during the absence of Prince Philip. Maria stayed at the Spanish court until August 1551, and in 1552 the couple moved to live at the court of Maximilians father in Vienna. During another absence of her brother, now King Philip II, from 1558 to 1561, Maria was again regent of Spain and returned to Madrid during that time. After her return to Germany, her husband succeeded his father Ferdinand I as ruler of Germany, Bohemia and Hungary. Maria was a devout Catholic and frequently disagreed with her religiously ambiguous husband and she had great influence over her sons, the future emperors Rudolf and Matthias. Maria returned to Spain in 1582, taking her youngest surviving child Margaret with her, promised to marry Philip II of Spain, Margaret finally refused and took the veil as a Poor Clare. Commenting that she was happy to live in a country without heretics, Maria settled in the Convent of Las Descalzas Reales in Madrid. She was the patron of the noted Spanish composer Tomás Luis de Victoria, Maria exerted some influence together with Queen Margaret, the wife of Philip III of Spain. Margaret, the sister of the future Emperor Ferdinand II, would be one of three women at Philips court who would apply considerable influence over the king, Margaret continued to fight an ongoing battle with Lerma for influence until her death in 1611. Philip had an affectionate, close relationship with Margaret, and paid her additional attention after she bore him a son, also named Philip and they were successful, for example, in convincing Philip to provide financial support to Ferdinand from 1600 onwards. Philip steadily acquired other religious advisors
32.
Henry III of France
–
Henry III was a monarch of the House of Valois who was elected the monarch of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1573 to 1575 and ruled as King of France from 1574 until his death. He was the last French monarch of the Valois dynasty, as the fourth son of King Henry II of France and Catherine de Medici, Henry was not expected to assume the throne of France. He was thus a candidate for the vacant Commonwealth throne. Henrys rule over Commonwealth was brief, but notable, the Henrician Articles he signed into law accepting the Commonwealth throne established Poland as an elective monarchy subject to free election by the Polish nobility. Of his three brothers, two would live long enough to ascend the French throne, but both died young and without a legitimate male heir. He abandoned Commonwealth upon receiving word that he had inherited the throne of France at the age of 22, Henry III was himself a politique, arguing that a strong and religiously tolerant monarchy would save France from collapse. Henry IIIs legitimate heir was his distant cousin Henry, King of Navarre, the Catholic League, led by Henry I, Duke of Guise, sought to exclude Protestants from the succession and championed the Catholic Charles, Cardinal of Bourbon, as Henry IIIs heir. Henry was born at the royal Château de Fontainebleau, the son of King Henry II and Catherine de Medici and grandson of Francis I of France. His older brothers were Francis II of France, Charles IX of France and he was made Duke of Angoulême and Duke of Orléans in 1560, then Duke of Anjou in 1566. He was his mothers favourite, she called him chers yeux and lavished fondness and his elder brother, Charles, grew to detest him, partially because he resented his better health. In his youth, Henry was considered the best of the sons of Catherine de Medici, unlike his father and elder brothers, he had little interest in the traditional Valois pastimes of hunting and physical exercise. Although he was fond of fencing and skilled in it, he preferred to indulge his tastes for the arts. These predilections were attributed to his Italian mother, at one point in his youth he showed a tendency towards Protestantism as a means of rebelling. At the age of nine, calling himself a little Huguenot, he refused to attend Mass, sang Protestant psalms to his sister Margaret and his mother firmly cautioned her children against such behaviour, and he would never again show any Protestant tendencies. Instead, he became nominally Roman Catholic, reports that Henry engaged in same sex relations with his court favourites, known as the mignons, date back to his own time. Certainly he enjoyed relationships with them. The scholar Louis Crompton provides substantial contemporary evidence of Henry IIIs homosexuality, and it is difficult, he writes, to reconcile the king whose use of favourites is so logically strategic with the man who goes to pieces when one of them dies. In 1570, discussions commenced to arrange for Henry to court Queen Elizabeth I of England, Elizabeth, almost 37, was expected by many parties in her country to marry and produce an heir
33.
Salic law
–
Salic law, or Salian Law, was the ancient Salian Frankish civil law code compiled around AD500 by the first Frankish King, Clovis. The best known tenet of the old law is the principle of exclusion of women from inheritance of thrones, fiefs, the Salic laws were arbitrated by a committee appointed and empowered by the King of the Franks. Dozens of manuscripts dating from the 6th to 8th centuries and three emendations as late as the 9th century have survived, Salic law provided written codification of both civil law, such as the statutes governing inheritance, and criminal law, such as the punishment for murder. The original edition of the code was commissioned by the first king of all the Franks, Clovis I, Salic Law therefore reflects ancient usages and practices. In order to more effectively, it was desirable that monarchs. The name of the code comes from the circumstance that Clovis was a Merovingian king ruling only the Salian Franks before his unification of Francia. The law must have applied to the Ripuarian Franks as well, however, containing only 65 titles, it may not have included any special Ripuarian laws. For the next 300 years the code was copied by hand and was amended as required to add newly enacted laws, revise laws that had been amended, and delete laws that had been repealed. More so than printing, hand copying is an act by an individual copyist with ideas. Each of the several dozen surviving manuscripts features a set of errors, corrections, content. The laws are called titles as each one has its own name, generally preceded by de, of, different sections of titles acquired individual names revealing something about their provenances. Some of these dozens of names have adopted for specific reference, often given the same designation as the overall work. The recension of Hendrik Kern organizes all of the manuscripts into five families according to similarity and relative chronological sequence, judged by content and dateable material in the text. Family I is the oldest, containing four manuscripts dated to the 8th and 9th centuries, in addition they feature the Malbergse Glossen, Malberg Glosses, marginal glosses stating the native court word for some Latin words. These are named from native malbergo, language of the court, kerns Family II, represented by two manuscripts, is the same as Family I, except it contains interpolations or numerous additions which point to a later period. Family III is split into two divisions, the first, comprising three manuscripts, dated to the 8th–9th centuries, presents an expanded text of 99 or 100 titles. The second, four manuscripts, not only drops the glosses, a statement gives the provenance, in the 13th year of the reign of our most glorious king of the Franks, Pipin. Some of the documents were composed after the reign of Pepin the Short, but it is considered to be an emendation initiated by Pepin
34.
Parlement
–
A parlement was a provincial appellate court in the France of the Ancien Régime, i. e. before the French Revolution. In 1789,13 parlements existed, the most important of which was by far the Parlement of Paris, while the English word parliament derives from this French term, parlements were not legislative bodies. They consisted of a dozen or more judges, or about 1,100 judges nationwide. They were the court of appeal of the judicial system. Laws and edicts issued by the Crown were not official in their respective jurisdictions until the parlements gave their assent by publishing them, the members were aristocrats called nobles of the gown who had bought or inherited their offices, and were independent of the King. From 1770 to 1774 the Lord Chancellor, Maupeou, tried to abolish the Parlement of Paris in order to strengthen the Crown, however, when King Louis XV died in 1774, the parlements were reinstated. The parlements spearheaded the resistance to the absolutism and centralization of the Crown, but they worked primarily for the benefit of their own class. Alfred Cobban argues that the parlements were the obstacles to any reform before the Revolution. In November 1789, early in the French Revolution, all parlements were suspended, the political institutions of the Parlement in Ancien Régime France developed out of the Kings Council, and consequently enjoyed ancient, customary consultative and deliberative prerogatives. In the 13th century, the parlements acquired judicial functions, then the droit de remontrance against the king, the Paris parlements jurisdiction covered the entire kingdom as it was in the 14th century, but did not automatically advance in step with the Crowns ever expanding realm. The Parlement of Paris played a role in stimulating the nobility to resist the expansion of royal power by military force in the Fronde. In the end, the King won out and the nobility was humiliated, in such a case, the parlements powers were suspended for the duration of this royal session. King Louis XIV moved to centralize authority into his own hands, in 1665, he ordained that a Lit de justice could be held without the king having to appear in person. In 1667, he limited the number of remonstrances to only one, in 1671–1673, however, the parlements resisted the taxes occasioned by the Dutch War. In 1673, the king imposed additional restrictions that stripped the parlements of any influence upon new laws by ordaining that remonstrances could only be issued after registration of the edicts. After Louis death in 1715, all the restrictions were discontinued by the regent and these locations were provincial capitals of those provinces with strong historical traditions of independence before they were annexed to France. Nevertheless, the Parlement of Paris had the largest jurisdiction of all the parlements, covering the part of northern and central France. In some regions provincial States-General also continued to meet and legislate with a measure of self-governance, tenure on the court was generally bought from the royal authority, and such positions could be made hereditary by payment of a tax to the King called la Paulette
35.
Henry III of Navarre
–
Henry IV, also known by the epithet Good King Henry, was King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first French monarch of the House of Bourbon, baptised as a Catholic but raised in the Protestant faith by his mother Jeanne dAlbret, Queen of Navarre, he inherited the throne of Navarre in 1572 on the death of his mother. As a Huguenot, Henry was involved in the French Wars of Religion, barely escaping assassination in the St. Bartholomews Day massacre, and later led Protestant forces against the royal army. Henry, as Head of the House of Bourbon, was a direct descendant of Louis IX of France. Upon the death of his brother-in-law and distant cousin Henry III of France in 1589 and he initially kept the Protestant faith and had to fight against the Catholic League, which denied that he could wear Frances crown as a Protestant. To obtain mastery over his kingdom, after four years of stalemate, as a pragmatic politician, he displayed an unusual religious tolerance for the era. Notably, he promulgated the Edict of Nantes, which guaranteed religious liberties to Protestants and he was assassinated in 1610 by François Ravaillac, a fanatical Catholic, and was succeeded by his son Louis XIII. Considered a usurper by some Catholics and a traitor by some Protestants, an unpopular king immediately after his accession, Henrys popularity greatly improved after his death, in light of repeated victories over his enemies and his conversion to Catholicism. The Good King Henry was remembered for his geniality and his concern about the welfare of his subjects. He was celebrated in the popular song Vive le roi Henri, Henry was born in Pau, the capital of the joint Kingdom of Navarre with the sovereign principality of Béarn. His parents were Queen Joan III of Navarre and her consort, Antoine de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme, although baptised as a Roman Catholic, Henry was raised as a Protestant by his mother, who had declared Calvinism the religion of Navarre. As a teenager, Henry joined the Huguenot forces in the French Wars of Religion, on 9 June 1572, upon his mothers death, he became King of Navarre. At Queen Joans death, it was arranged for Henry to marry Margaret of Valois, daughter of Henry II, the wedding took place in Paris on 18 August 1572 on the parvis of Notre Dame Cathedral. On 24 August, the Saint Bartholomews Day Massacre began in Paris, several thousand Protestants who had come to Paris for Henrys wedding were killed, as well as thousands more throughout the country in the days that followed. Henry narrowly escaped death thanks to the help of his wife and he was made to live at the court of France, but he escaped in early 1576. On 5 February of that year, he formally abjured Catholicism at Tours and he named his 16-year-old sister, Catherine de Bourbon, regent of Béarn. Catherine held the regency for nearly thirty years, Henry became heir presumptive to the French throne in 1584 upon the death of Francis, Duke of Anjou, brother and heir to the Catholic Henry III, who had succeeded Charles IX in 1574. Because Henry of Navarre was the senior agnatic descendant of King Louis IX, King Henry III had no choice
36.
Primogeniture
–
The son of a deceased elder brother inherits before a living younger brother by right of substitution for the deceased heir. In the absence of any children, brothers succeed, individually, among siblings, sons inherit before daughters. The principle has applied in history to inheritance of property as well as inherited titles and offices, most notably monarchies. Variations on primogeniture modify the right of the son to the entirety of a familys inheritance or, in the West since World War II. Most monarchies in Europe have eliminated male preference in succession, Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, absolute, equal, or lineal primogeniture is a form of primogeniture in which gender does not matter for inheritance. This form of primogeniture was not practiced by any modern monarchy before 1980, however, according to Poumarede, the Basques of the Kingdom of Navarre transmitted title and property to the firstborn, whatever the gender. This inheritance practice was adhered to by the nobility and free families alike in the early. The Navarrese monarchy, however, was inherited by dynasties from outside of Navarre which followed different succession laws, eventually only the Basque lower nobility and free families of the Basque country and other regions continued to follow this practice, which persisted as late as the 19th century. The most notable of these are the Egyptian cases of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III, as well as the Ptolemaic Dynastys kings, Zapateros proposal was supported by the leader of the main opposition party, the conservative Partido Popular, making its passage likely. However, Zapateros administration ended before any amendment was drafted, Felipe succeeded to the throne as Felipe VI, upon his fathers abdication in 2014, by which time he had two daughters. Felipe VI has no son that would, absent the constitutional change, in July 2006, the Nepalese government proposed adopting absolute primogeniture, but the monarchy was abolished in 2008 before the change could be put into effect. In 2011, the governments of the 16 Commonwealth realms who share the person as their respective monarch announced the Perth Agreement. This was implemented when the legislation came into effect on 26 March 2015. In Japan, debates have occurred over whether to adopt absolute primogeniture, however, the birth of Prince Hisahito, a son of Prince Akishino has sidelined the debate. In 2006, King Juan Carlos I of Spain issued a decree reforming the succession to noble titles from male-preference primogeniture to absolute primogeniture. The order of succession for all noble dignities is determined in accordance with the title of concession and, if there is none, with that traditionally applied in these cases. Men and women have a right of succession to grandeeship and to titles of nobility in Spain. Male-preference primogeniture accords succession to the throne to a member of a dynasty if she has no living brothers
37.
Seventeen Provinces
–
The Seventeen Provinces was a term applied to the Imperial states of the Habsburg Netherlands in the 15th and 16th century. Also within this area were semi-independent fiefdoms, mainly ecclesiastical ones, such as Liège, Cambrai and 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 Habsburg dynasty in 1482, since 1512 the Provinces formed the major part of the Burgundian Circle. In 1581 the Seven United Provinces seceded to form the Dutch Republic, sometimes one delegation was included in another. In later years the County of Zutphen became a part of the Duchy of Guelders, the Lordship of Drenthe is sometimes considered as part of the Lordship of Overijssel. On the other hand, the French-speaking cities of Flanders were sometimes recognised as a separate province, the largest of these was the Prince-Bishopric of Liège, the green area on the map, including the County of Horne. The ethnically and culturally Netherlandish duchies of Cleves and 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 and this number could have been chosen because of its Christian connotation. 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 the House of Burgundy, 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, 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, only he and his son could ever use this title. After Charles Vs abdication in 1555, his realms were divided between his son, Philip II of Habsburg, King of Spain, and his brother, Ferdinand I, 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. Hence, these 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, Artois and parts of Flanders and Hainaut were ceded to France in the course of the 17th and 18th century. Bruges had already lost its prominent position as economic powerhouse of northern Europe, and Holland was gradually gaining importance in the 15th and 16th centuries. The center of prosperity moved from cities in the such as Bruges, Antwerp, Ghent, and Brussels to cities in the north, mostly Holland, including Amsterdam, The Hague
38.
Archbishop of Toledo
–
This is a list of Bishops and Archbishops of Toledo. They are also the Primates of Spain and it was, according to tradition established in the 1st century by St. James the Great and was elevated to an archdiocese in 313 after the Edict of Milan. The incumbent Archbishop also bears the title Primate of Spain and since 1937 the title General Vicar of the Armies, pedro Oriona, O. de M. Diego de la Calzada Melchor Soria Vera Juan Avellaneda Manrique Diego Pereda, O. S. Appointed, Bishop of Barbastro Francisco Olivares Maldonado, O. S. A, julián Alvear Juan Boldames Ibáñez, O. C. D. Rodrigo de Mandia y Parga, Appointed Bishop of Almería Miguel Pérez Cevallos Antonio del Buffalo, Francisco de Sales Crespo y Bautista Juan Francisco Bux y Loras Tomás Jenaro de Cámara y Castro, O. S. A. S. A. Council of Elvira Councils of Toledo Patriarch of the West Indies Grand Inquisitor Mozarabic Rite Roman Catholicism in Spain Archdiocese of Toledo New Advent
39.
Pope Clement VIII
–
Not to be confused with Antipope Clement VIII. Pope Clement VIII, born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was Pope from 2 February 1592 to his death in 1605, born into prominent Florentine family, he initially came to prominence as a canon lawyer before being made a Cardinal-Priest in 1585. In 1592 he was elected Pope and took the name of Clement and he also successfully adjudicated in a bitter dispute between the Dominicans and the Jesuits on the issue of efficacious grace and free will. In 1600 he presided over a jubilee which saw a number of pilgrimages to Rome. He showed little pity for his opponents, presiding over the trial and execution of Giordano Bruno. He may have been the first pope to drink coffee, Clement VIII died at the age of 69 in 1605 and his remains now rest in the Santa Maria Maggiore. He was from a Florentine family, and followed his father as a lawyer, becoming an Auditor of the Roman Rota. He was only ordained as a priest at the age of 45 and he was an effective, if sometimes ruthless, administrator. He was made Cardinal-Priest of S. Pancrazio in 1585 by Pope Gregory XIII, Pope Sixtus V named him major penitentiary in January 1586 and in 1588 sent him as legate in Poland. He placed himself under the direction of the reformer Philip Neri, Aldobrandini won the gratitude of the Habsburgs by his successful diplomatic efforts in Poland to obtain the release of the imprisoned Archduke Maximilian, the defeated claimant to the Polish throne. After the death of Pope Innocent IX, another stormy conclave ensued, cardinal Aldobrandinis election on 30 January 1592, was received as a portent of more balanced and liberal Papal policy in European affairs. He took the non-politicised name Clement VIII, in 1611 and again in 1625 a decree prohibited any discussion of the matter, although it was often informally avoided by the publication of commentaries on Thomas Aquinas. During the jubilee of 1600, three million pilgrims visited the holy places, the Synod of Brest was held 1595 in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, by which a great part of the Ruthenian clergy and people were reunited to Rome. Clement VIII canonised Hyacinth, Julian of Cuenca, and Raymond of Peñafort, henry embraced Catholicism on 25 July 1593. Facilitated by the Pope, a treaty of alliance was signed in Prague by Emperor Rudolf II, aron Vodă of Moldavia and Michael the Brave of Wallachia joined the alliance later that year. Clement VIII himself lent the Emperor valuable assistance in men and money, Clement VIII was as vigorous as Pope Sixtus V in crushing banditry in the papal provinces of Umbria and the Marche and in punishing the lawlessness of the Roman nobility. Upon his ascension to the throne in 1592, he immediately had several noble troublemakers put to death. The latter case prompted many requests of clemency – rejected by the Pope, clements strict ways also concerned philosophical and religious matters
.svg)
