1.
Gerard ter Borch
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Gerard ter Borch, also known as Gerard Terburg, was a Dutch genre painter who lived in the Dutch Golden Age. Gerard ter Borch was born in December 1617 in Zwolle in the province of Overijssel in the Dutch Republic and he received an excellent education from his father Gerard ter Borch the Elder, also an artist, and developed his talent very early. The inscription on a study of a head proves that Ter Borch was at Amsterdam in 1632, duysters influence can be traced in a picture bearing the date 1638, in the lonides Bequest. In 1634 he studied under Pieter de Molijn in Haarlem, a record of this Haarlem period is the Consultation at the Berlin Gallery. In 1635 he was in London, and subsequently he travelled in Germany, France, Spain and his sister Gesina also became a painter. It is certain that he was in Rome in 1641, when he painted the portraits on copper of Jan Six, A Young Lady. He seems to have resided for a time in Haarlem, but he settled in Deventer. He died at Deventer in 1681, Ter Borch is a significant painter of genre subjects. He is known for his rendering of texture in draperies, for example in The Letter and in The Gallant Conversation, Ter Borchs works are comparatively rare, about eighty have been catalogued. Six of these are at the Hermitage, six at the Berlin Museum, five at the Louvre, four at the Dresden Museum, a pair of portraits are located at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington D. C. highlighted in 2010 by Blake Gopnik. The artists painting The Suitors Visit, c,1658, oil on canvas,80 x 75 cm in the Andrew W. Mellon Collection, was used on the cover of Marilyn Stokstads second edition of Art History. Gerard ter Borchs paintings This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Ter Borch. Gerard Terburg et sa famille, by Emile Michel Der künstlerische Entwickelungsgang des C
2.
Bartholomeus van der Helst
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Bartholomeus van der Helst was a Dutch Golden Age portrait painter. His first dated picture, a portrait of the regents of the Walloon Orphanage. It is unknown from whom he learned to paint, but in Haarlem he must have at least known the work of Frans Hals, who like him, never traveled to Italy and specialized in portraiture. As the son of an innkeeper with ever-increasing trekschuit patrons, van der Helst would have immediately the importance of this. In any case, he moved to Amsterdam and in 1639 he won his own commission, The company of Captain Roelof Bicker. In Amsterdam he may well have trained with Nicolaes Eliaszoon Pickenoy, in Amsterdam Van der Helst was a contemporary of Rembrandt. Some of Rembrandts pupils, including Ferdinand Bol and Govaert Flinck and his large group portrait, Banquet of the Amsterdam Civic Guard in Celebration of the Peace of Münster, was painted in 1648, and exhibited to popular acclaim. It was this painting that sealed his fame for future generations, according to Arnold Houbraken, although the damage this time was mostly to the varnish layer, some parts of the original paint and cloth were also afflicted as well as the frame. He was the teacher of his son Lodewijk van der Helst who followed his style and he died at Amsterdam in 1670. Along with the portraits for which he is most famous, Van der Helst painted a few historical, biblical and mythological scenes. Today van der Helsts most famous portrait is his portrayal of Gerard Andriesz Bicker, the son of Andries Bicker, the mayor of Amsterdam. This portrait is often used to depict obesity as a symbol of wealth of the Amsterdam merchants of the Dutch Golden Age in Amsterdam and it was probably painted in 1639, the same year as the first schutterstuk where Roelof Bicker is the central figure. At that time Gerard Andriesz Bicker was 17 years old, and held the titles Lord of Engelenburg and it was quite common for artists to win whole family portrait commissions from members of the schutterij after painting group portraits. This is why the competition in schutterstukken became so fierce, led by Rembrandts Nightwatch, paintings Collection of works and literature on Bartholomeus van der Helst Bartholomeus van der Helst
3.
Treaty
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A treaty is an agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely sovereign states and international organizations. A treaty may also be known as an agreement, protocol, covenant, convention, pact, or exchange of letters, regardless of terminology, all of these forms of agreements are, under international law, equally considered treaties and the rules are the same. A treaty is an official, express written agreement that states use to bind themselves. Since the late 19th century, most treaties have followed a consistent format. A treaty typically begins with a preamble describing the parties and their joint objectives in executing the treaty. Modern preambles are sometimes structured as a very long sentence formatted into multiple paragraphs for readability. The end of the preamble and the start of the agreement is often signaled by the words have agreed as follows. After the preamble comes numbered articles, which contain the substance of the actual agreement. Each article heading usually encompasses a paragraph, a long treaty may further group articles under chapter headings. The date is written in its most formal, longest possible form. For example, the Charter of the United Nations was DONE at the city of San Francisco the twenty-sixth day of June, one nine hundred. If the treaty is executed in multiple copies in different languages, that fact is always noted, the signatures of the parties representatives follow at the very end. Bilateral treaties are concluded between two states or entities, each of these treaties has seventeen parties. These however are still bilateral, not multilateral, treaties, the parties are divided into two groups, the Swiss and the EU and its member states. The treaty establishes rights and obligations between the Swiss and the EU and the member states severally—it does not establish any rights and obligations amongst the EU, a multilateral treaty is concluded among several countries. The agreement establishes rights and obligations between each party and every other party, Treaties of mutual guarantee are international compacts, e. g. the Treaty of Locarno which guarantees each signatory against attack from another. Reservations are essentially caveats to an acceptance of a treaty. Reservations are unilateral statements purporting to exclude or to modify the legal obligation and these must be included at the time of signing or ratification, i. e. a party cannot add a reservation after it has already joined a treaty
4.
Spanish Empire
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The Spanish Empire was one of the largest empires in history. The Spanish Empire became the foremost global power of its time and was the first to be called the empire on which the sun never sets, the Spanish Empire originated during the Age of Discovery after the voyages of Christopher Columbus. Following the Spanish–American War of 1898, Spain ceded its last colonies in the Caribbean and its last African colonies were granted independence or abandoned during Decolonisation of Africa finishing in 1976. The unity did not mean uniformity, nevertheless, some historians assert that Portugal was part of the Spanish monarchy at the time, while others draw a clear distinction between the Portuguese and Spanish empires. During the 15th century, Castile and Portugal became territorial and commercial rivals in the western Atlantic. The conquest was completed with the campaigns of the armies of the Crown of Castile between 1478 and 1496, when the islands of Gran Canaria, La Palma, and Tenerife were subjugated. The Portuguese tried in vain to keep secret their discovery of the Gold Coast in the Gulf of Guinea, chronicler Pulgar wrote that the fame of the treasures of Guinea spread around the ports of Andalusia in such way that everybody tried to go there. Worthless trinkets, Moorish textiles, and above all, shells from the Canary and Cape Verde islands were exchanged for gold, slaves, ivory and Guinea pepper. The Crown officially organized this trade with Guinea, every caravel had to get a government license, the treaty delimited the spheres of influence of the two countries, establishing the principle of the Mare clausum. It was confirmed in 1481 by the Pope Sixtus IV, in the papal bull Æterni regis, thus, the limitations imposed by the Alcáçovas treaty were overcome and a new and more balanced worlds division would be reached at Tordesillas between both emerging maritime powers. Seven months before the treaty of Alcaçovas, King John II of Aragon died, Ferdinand and Isabella drove the last Moorish king out of Granada in 1492 after a ten-year war. The Catholic Monarchs then negotiated with Christopher Columbus, a Genoese sailor attempting to reach Cipangu by sailing west, Castile was already engaged in a race of exploration with Portugal to reach the Far East by sea when Columbus made his bold proposal to Isabella. Columbus discoveries inaugurated the Spanish colonization of the Americas and these actions gave Spain exclusive rights to establish colonies in all of the New World from north to south, as well as the easternmost parts of Asia. The treaty of Tordesillas was confirmed by Pope Julius II in the bull Ea quae pro bono pacis on 24 January 1506, Spains expansion and colonization was driven by economic influences, a yearning to improve national prestige, and a desire to spread Catholicism into the New World. The Catholic Monarchs had developed a strategy of marriages for their children in order to isolate their long-time enemy, the Spanish princes married the heirs of Portugal, England and the House of Habsburg. Following the same strategy, the Catholic Monarchs decided to support the Catalan-Aragonese house of Naples against Charles VIII of France in the Italian Wars beginning in 1494. As King of Aragon, Ferdinand had been involved in the struggle against France and Venice for control of Italy, these conflicts became the center of Ferdinands foreign policy as king. Only a year later, Ferdinand became part of the Holy League against France and this war was less of a success than the war against Venice, and in 1516, France agreed to a truce that left Milan in its control and recognized Spanish control of Upper Navarre
5.
Dutch Republic
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It preceded the Batavian Republic, the Kingdom of Holland, the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, and ultimately the modern Kingdom of the Netherlands. Alternative names include the United Provinces, Seven Provinces, Federated Dutch Provinces, most of the Low Countries had come under the rule of the House of Burgundy and subsequently the House of Habsburg. In 1549 Holy Roman Emperor Charles V issued the Pragmatic Sanction, Charles was succeeded by his son, King Philip II of Spain. This was the start of the Eighty Years War, in 1579 a number of the northern provinces of the Low Countries signed the Union of Utrecht, in which they promised to support each other in their defence against the Spanish army. This was followed in 1581 by the Act of Abjuration, the declaration of independence of the provinces from Philip II. In 1582 the United Provinces invited Francis, Duke of Anjou to lead them, but after an attempt to take Antwerp in 1583. After the assassination of William of Orange, both Henry III of France and Elizabeth I of England declined the offer of sovereignty, however, the latter agreed to turn the United Provinces into a protectorate of England, and sent the Earl of Leicester as governor-general. This was unsuccessful and in 1588 the provinces became a confederacy, the Union of Utrecht is regarded as the foundation of the Republic of the Seven United Provinces, which was not recognized by the Spanish Empire until the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. During the Anglo-French war, the territory was divided into groups, the Patriots, who were pro-French and pro-American and the Orangists. The Republic of the United Provinces faced a series of revolutions in 1783–1787. During this period, republican forces occupied several major Dutch cities, initially on the defence, the Orangist forces received aid from Prussian troops and retook the Netherlands in 1787. After the French Republic became the French Empire under Napoleon, the Batavian Republic was replaced by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Holland, the Netherlands regained independence from France in 1813. In the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 the names United Provinces of the Netherlands, on 16 March 1815, the son of stadtholder William V crowned himself King William I of the Netherlands. Between 1815 and 1890 the King of the Netherlands was also in a union the Grand Duke of the sovereign Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. After Belgium gained its independence in 1830, the state became known as the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The County of Holland was the wealthiest and most urbanized region in the world, the free trade spirit of the time received a strong augmentation through the development of a modern, effective stock market in the Low Countries. The Netherlands has the oldest stock exchange in the world, founded in 1602 by the Dutch East India Company, while Rotterdam has the oldest bourse in the Netherlands, the worlds first stock exchange, that of the Dutch East-India Company, went public in six different cities. Later, a court ruled that the company had to reside legally in a city so Amsterdam is recognized as the oldest such institution based on modern trading principles
6.
Peace of Westphalia
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The Peace of Westphalia was a series of peace treaties signed between May and October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster, effectively ending the European wars of religion. The Treaty of Osnabrück, involving the Holy Roman Empire, Sweden, the treaties did not restore peace throughout Europe, but they did create a basis for national self-determination. Inter-state aggression was to be held in check by a balance of power, a norm was established against interference in another states domestic affairs. As European influence spread across the globe, these Westphalian principles, especially the concept of states, became central to international law. Peace negotiations between France and the Habsburgs, provided by the Holy Roman Emperor and the Spanish King, were started in Cologne in 1641 and these negotiations were initially blocked by France. Cardinal Richelieu of France desired the inclusion of all its allies, in Hamburg and Lübeck, Sweden and the Holy Roman Empire negotiated the Treaty of Hamburg. This was done with the intervention of Richelieu, the Holy Roman Empire and Sweden declared the preparations of Cologne and the Treaty of Hamburg to be preliminaries of an overall peace agreement. This larger agreement was negotiated in Westphalia, in the cities of Münster. Both cities were maintained as neutral and demilitarized zones for the negotiations, Münster was, since its re-Catholization in 1535, a strictly mono-denominational community. It housed the Chapter of the Prince-Bishopric of Münster, only Roman Catholic worship was permitted. No places of worship were provided for Calvinists and Lutherans, in the years of 1628–1633 Osnabrück had been subjugated by troops of the Catholic League. The Catholic Prince-Bishop Franz Wilhelm, Count of Wartenberg then imposed the Counter-Reformation onto the city with many Lutheran burgher families being exiled, while under Swedish occupation Osnabrückss Catholics were not expelled, but the city severely suffered from Swedish war contributions. Therefore, Osnabrück hoped for a great relief becoming neutralised and demilitarised, since Lutheran Sweden preferred Osnabrück as a conference venue, its peace negotiations with the Empire, including the allies of both sides, took place in Osnabrück. The Empire and its opponent France, including the allies of each, as well as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, between January 1646 and July 1647 probably the largest number of diplomats were present. The French delegation was headed by Henri II dOrléans, duc de Longueville and further comprised the diplomats Claude dAvaux, the Swedish delegation was headed by Count Johan Oxenstierna and was assisted by Baron Johan Adler Salvius. Philip IV of Spain was represented by a double delegation, the Spanish delegation was headed by Gaspar de Bracamonte y Guzmán, and notably included the diplomats and writers Diego de Saavedra Fajardo, and Bernardino de Rebolledo. The Burgundian lawyer Antoine Brun represented Philip as hereditary ruler of the Franche Comté, the papal nuncio in Cologne, Fabio Chigi, and the Venetian envoy Alvise Contarini acted as mediators. Various Imperial States of the Holy Roman Empire also sent delegations, Brandenburg sent several representatives, including Vollmar
7.
Thirty Years' War
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The Thirty Years War was a series of wars in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648. It was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, as well as the deadliest European religious war, resulting in eight million casualties. Initially a war between various Protestant and Catholic states in the fragmented Holy Roman Empire, it developed into a more general conflict involving most of the great powers. These states employed relatively large mercenary armies, and the war became less about religion, in the 17th century, religious beliefs and practices were a much larger influence on an average European than they are today. The war began when the newly elected Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand II, tried to impose uniformity on his domains. The northern Protestant states, angered by the violation of their rights to choose that had granted in the Peace of Augsburg. Ferdinand II was a devout Roman Catholic and relatively intolerant when compared to his predecessor and his policies were considered strongly pro-Catholic. They ousted the Habsburgs and elected Frederick V, Elector of the Rhenish Palatinate as their monarch, Frederick took the offer without the support of the union. The southern states, mainly Roman Catholic, were angered by this, led by Bavaria, these states formed the Catholic League to expel Frederick in support of the Emperor. The Empire soon crushed this rebellion in the Battle of White Mountain. After the atrocities committed in Bohemia, Saxony finally gave its support to the union, Spain, wishing to finally crush the Dutch rebels in the Netherlands and the Dutch Republic, intervened under the pretext of helping its dynastic Habsburg ally, Austria. No longer able to tolerate the encirclement of two major Habsburg powers on its borders, Catholic France entered the coalition on the side of the Protestants in order to counter the Habsburgs. Both mercenaries and soldiers in fighting armies traditionally looted or extorted tribute to get operating funds, the war also bankrupted most of the combatant powers. The Thirty Years War ended with the treaties of Osnabrück and Münster, the war altered the previous political order of European powers. Lutherans living in a prince-bishopric could continue to practice their faith, Lutherans could keep the territory they had taken from the Catholic Church since the Peace of Passau in 1552. Those prince-bishops who had converted to Lutheranism were required to give up their territories and this added a third major faith to the region, but its position was not recognized in any way by the Augsburg terms, to which only Catholicism and Lutheranism were parties. The Dutch revolted against Spanish domination during the 1560s, leading to a war of independence that led to a truce only in 1609. This dynastic concern overtook religious ones and led to Catholic Frances participation on the otherwise Protestant side of the war, Sweden and Denmark-Norway were interested in gaining control over northern German states bordering the Baltic Sea
8.
Eighty Years' War
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The Eighty Years War or Dutch War of Independence was a revolt of the Seventeen Provinces against the political and religious hegemony of Philip II of Spain, the sovereign of the Habsburg Netherlands. After the initial stages, Philip II deployed his armies and regained control over most of the rebelling provinces, under the leadership of the exiled William the Silent, the northern provinces continued their resistance. They eventually were able to oust the Habsburg armies, and in 1581 they established the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, after a 12-year truce, hostilities broke out again around 1619 which can be said to coincide with the Thirty Years War. An end was reached in 1648 with the Peace of Münster, in the decades preceding the war, the Dutch became increasingly discontented with Habsburg rule. A major cause of discontent was heavy taxation imposed on the population, while support. At that time, the Seventeen Provinces were known in the empire as De landen van herwaarts over, the presence of Spanish troops, under the command of the Duke of Alba, brought in to oversee order, further amplified this unrest. Spain also attempted a policy of religious uniformity for the Catholic Church within its domains. The Reformation meanwhile produced a number of Protestant denominations, which gained followers in the Seventeen Provinces and these included the Lutheran movement of Martin Luther, the Anabaptist movement of the Dutch reformer Menno Simons, and the Reformed teachings of John Calvin. This growth lead to the 1566 Beeldenstorm, the Iconoclastic Fury which saw many churches in northern Europe stripped of their Catholic statuary, in October 1555, Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire began the gradual abdication of his several crowns. The balance of power was heavily weighted toward the local and regional governments, Philip did not govern in person but appointed Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy as governor-general to lead the central government. When Philip left for Spain in 1559 political tension was increased by religious policies, not having the liberal-mindedness of his father Charles V, Philip was a fervent enemy of the Protestant movements of Martin Luther, John Calvin, and the Anabaptists. Towards the end of Charles reign enforcement had become lax. Philip, however, insisted on rigorous enforcement, which caused widespread unrest, the new hierarchy was to be headed by Granvelle as archbishop of the new archdiocese of Mechelen. The reform was unpopular with the old church hierarchy, as the new dioceses were to be financed by the transfer of a number of rich abbeys. Granvelle became the focus of the opposition against the new governmental structures, after the recall of Granvelle, Orange persuaded Margaret and the Council to ask for a moderation of the placards against heresy. Philip delayed his response, and in this interval the opposition to his religious policies gained more widespread support, Philip finally rejected the request for moderation in his Letters from the Segovia Woods of October 1565. This Compromise of Nobles was supported by about 400 nobles, both Catholic and Protestant, and was presented to Margaret on 5 April 1566, impressed by the massive support for the compromise, she suspended the placards, awaiting Philips final ruling. The first half of the Eighty Years War between the Spanish Empire and the Dutch Republic was fought between 1566 and 1609, when the Twelve Years Truce was signed in 1609, ending this first phase of war, the northern Netherlands had achieved de facto independence
9.
Dutch Revolt
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The southern provinces initially joined in the revolt, but later submitted to Spain. The religious clash of cultures built up gradually but inexorably into outbursts of violence against the repression of the Habsburg Crown. These tensions led to the formation of the independent Dutch Republic, the first leader was William of Orange, followed by several of his descendants and relations. This revolt was one of the first successful secessions in Europe, and led to one of the first European republics of the modern era, King Philip was initially successful in suppressing the rebellion. In 1572, however, the rebels captured Brielle and the rebellion resurged, the northern provinces became independent, first in 1581 de facto, and in 1648 de jure. The Southern Netherlands remained under Spanish rule, the continuous heavy-handed rule by the Habsburgs in the south caused many of its financial, intellectual, and cultural elite to flee north, contributing to the success of the Dutch Republic. The Dutch imposed a blockade on the southern provinces which prevented Baltic grain relieving famine in the southern towns. The first phase of the conflict can be considered to be the Dutch War of Independence, the focus of the latter phase was to gain official recognition of the already de facto independence of the United Provinces. This phase coincided with the rise of the Dutch Republic as a major power, in a series of marriages and conquests, a succession of Dukes of Burgundy expanded their original territory by adding to it a series of fiefdoms, including the Seventeen Provinces. Although Burgundy itself had been lost to France in 1477, the Burgundian Netherlands were still intact when Charles V was born in Ghent in 1500 and he was raised in the Netherlands and spoke fluent Dutch, French, Spanish, and some German. In 1506, he became lord of the Burgundian states, among which were the Netherlands, subsequently, in 1516, he inherited several titles, including the combined kingdoms of Aragon, and Castile and León which had become a worldwide empire with the Spanish colonization of the Americas. In 1519, he became ruler of the Habsburg empire, although Friesland and Guelders offered prolonged resistance, virtually all of the Netherlands had been incorporated into the Habsburg domains by the early 1540s. Flanders had long been a wealthy region, and had been coveted by the French kings for a long time. The other Netherlands had also grown into wealthy and entrepreneurial regions within the empire, Charles Vs empire became a worldwide empire with large American and European territories. The latter were, however, distributed throughout Europe, control and defense of these were hampered by the disparity of the territories and huge length of the empires borders. This large realm was almost continuously at war with its neighbors in its European heartlands, most notably against France in the Italian Wars, further wars were fought against Protestant princes in Germany. The Netherlands paid heavy taxes to fund these wars, but perceived them as unnecessary and sometimes downright harmful, during the 16th century, Protestantism rapidly gained ground in northern Europe. Dutch Protestants, after initial repression, were tolerated by local authorities, by the 1560s, the Protestant community had become a significant influence in the Netherlands, although it clearly formed a minority then
10.
Brielle
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The municipality covers an area of 31.14 km2 of which 3.58 km2 is water. In 2014 its population was 16,350, the municipality of Brielle also includes the communities Vierpolders and Zwartewaal. Brielle is a old, fortified town. Its name is derived from the Celtic word brogilo, the oldest writings about Brielle indicate that the current location is the new Brielle. Den ouden Briel must have been situated somewhere else on the Voorne-Putten Island and it received city rights in 1306. The city was for a time the seat of the Count of Voorne. It had its own harbour and traded with the countries around the Baltic Sea, Brielle even had its own trading colony in Sweden. This event is celebrated each year on April 1 and the night before. The first English governor of Brielle was Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, succeed by Edward Conway, English garrisons were stationed here and at Flushing. In 1617, these returned to the Netherlands. Brielle is twinned with, Queenborough, England, since 1967 Havlíčkův Brod, Czech Republic, since 1985 Official website http, //www. catharijnekerk. nl Website of St Catharijnekerk
11.
Dutch Golden Age
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The Dutch Golden Age was a period in Dutch history, roughly spanning the 17th century, in which Dutch trade, science, military, and art were among the most acclaimed in the world. The first half is characterized by the Eighty Years War which ended in 1648, the Golden Age continued in peacetime during the Dutch Republic until the end of the century. The Netherlandss transition from a possession of the Holy Roman Empire in the 1590s to the foremost maritime, in 1568, the Seven Provinces that later signed the Union of Utrecht started a rebellion against Philip II of Spain that led to the Eighty Years War. Antwerp fell on August 17,1585 after a siege, the United Provinces fought on until the Twelve Years Truce, which did not end the hostilities. Under the terms of the surrender of Antwerp in 1585, the Protestant population were given four years to settle their affairs before leaving the city, similar arrangements were made in other places. Protestants were especially well-represented among the craftsmen and rich merchants of the port cities of Bruges, Ghent. More moved to the north between 1585 and 1630 than Catholics moved in the direction, although there were also many of these. Many of those moving north settled in Amsterdam, transforming what was a port into one of the most important ports. The Pilgrim Fathers also spent time there before their voyage to the New World, Ronald Findlay and Kevin H. O’Rourke contribute part of the Dutch ascendancy to its Calvinistic ethic, which promoted thrift and education. This contributed to the lowest interest rates and the highest literacy rates in Europe, several other factors also contributed to the flowering of trade, industry, the arts and the sciences in the Netherlands during this time. A necessary condition was a supply of energy from windmills and from peat. The invention of the sawmill enabled the construction of a massive fleet of ships for worldwide trading. In 1602 the Dutch East India Company was founded and it was the first-ever multinational corporation, financed by shares that established the first modern stock exchange. This company received a Dutch monopoly on Asian trade and would keep this for two centuries and it became the worlds largest commercial enterprise of the 17th century. Spices were imported in bulk and brought huge profits, due to the efforts and risks involved and this is remembered to this day in the Dutch word peperduur, meaning something is very expensive, reflecting the prices of spices at the time. To finance the trade within the region, the Bank of Amsterdam was established in 1609. According to Ronald Findlay and Kevin H. O’Rourke, geography favored the Dutch Republic and they write, The foundations were laid by taking advantage of location, midway between the Bay of Biscay and the Baltic. The Dutch share of European shipping tonnage was enormous, well over half during most of the period of their ascendancy, from here the Dutch traded between China and Japan and paid tribute to the Shogun
12.
Southern Netherlands
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The Southern Netherlands, also called the Catholic Netherlands, was the part of the Low Countries largely controlled by Spain, later Austria, and occupied then annexed by France. The Southern Netherlands were part of the Holy Roman Empire until the area was annexed by Revolutionary France. As they were wealthy, the Netherlands in general were an important territory of the Habsburg crown which also ruled Spain. But unlike the other Habsburg dominions, they were led by a merchant class and it was the merchant economy which made them wealthy, and the Habsburg attempts at increasing taxation to finance their wars was a major factor in their defence of their privileges. This, together with resistance to penal laws enforced by the Habsburg monarchy that made heresy a capital crime, liège, Stavelot-Malmédy and Bouillon maintained their independence. The Habsburg Netherlands, passed to the Austrian Habsburgs after the War of the Spanish Succession in 1714, the Austrian Netherlands were ultimately lost to the French Revolutionary armies, and annexed to France in 1794. Following the war, Austrias loss of the territories was confirmed, the southeastern third of Luxembourg Province was made into the autonomous Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, because it was claimed by both the Netherlands and Prussia. In 1830 the predominantly Roman Catholic southern half became independent as the Kingdom of Belgium, in 1839 the final border between the kingdom of the Netherlands and Belgium was determined and the eastern part of Limburg returned to the Netherlands as the province of Limburg. The autonomy of Luxembourg was recognised in 1839, but an instrument to effect was not signed until 1867. The northwestern two-thirds of the original Luxembourg remains a province of Belgium, the Spanish Netherlands was a portion of the Low Countries controlled by Spain from 1556 to 1714, inherited from the Dukes of Burgundy. They often used the term Burgundy to refer to it, until 1794, when part of the Netherlands separated from Spanish rule and became the United Provinces in 1581 the remainder of the area became known as the Spanish Netherlands and remained under Spanish control. This region comprised modern Belgium, Luxembourg as well as part of northern France, in the early 17th century, there was a flourishing court at Brussels, which was under the government of King Philip IIIs half-sister Archduchess Isabella and her husband, Archduke Albert of Austria. 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 Treaties 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. However, the Austrians themselves generally had little interest in the region, the area had, in fact, been given to Austria largely at British and Dutch insistence, as these powers feared potential French domination of the region. However the agreement was unimplemented and revoked by the Third Treaty of Versailles, however, the Emperors stance was far from militant, and he called off hostilities after the so-called Kettle War, known by that name because its only casualty was a kettle. The people of the Austrian Netherlands rebelled against Austria in 1788 as a result of Joseph IIs centralizing policies, the different provinces established the United States of Belgium. In the course of the French Revolution, the region was overrun by French armies after they won the Battle of Sprimont in 1794
13.
Belgium
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Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a sovereign state in Western Europe bordered by France, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and the North Sea. It is a small, densely populated country which covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres and has a population of about 11 million people. Additionally, there is a group of German-speakers who live in the East Cantons located around the High Fens area. Historically, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were known as the Low Countries, the region was called Belgica in Latin, after the Roman province of Gallia Belgica. From the end of the Middle Ages until the 17th century, today, Belgium is a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. It is divided into three regions and three communities, that exist next to each other and its two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region is a bilingual enclave within the Flemish Region. A German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia, Belgiums linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its political history and complex system of governance, made up of six different governments. Upon its independence, declared in 1830, Belgium participated in the Industrial Revolution and, during the course of the 20th century, possessed a number of colonies in Africa. This continuing antagonism has led to several far-reaching reforms, resulting in a transition from a unitary to a federal arrangement during the period from 1970 to 1993. Belgium is also a member of the Eurozone, NATO, OECD and WTO. Its capital, Brussels, hosts several of the EUs official seats as well as the headquarters of major international organizations such as NATO. Belgium is also a part of the Schengen Area, Belgium is a developed country, with an advanced high-income economy and is categorized as very high in the Human Development Index. A gradual immigration by Germanic Frankish tribes during the 5th century brought the area under the rule of the Merovingian kings, a gradual shift of power during the 8th century led the kingdom of the Franks to evolve into the Carolingian Empire. Many of these fiefdoms were united in the Burgundian Netherlands of the 14th and 15th centuries, the Eighty Years War divided the Low Countries into the northern United Provinces and the Southern Netherlands. The latter were ruled successively by the Spanish and the Austrian Habsburgs and this was the theatre of most Franco-Spanish and Franco-Austrian wars during the 17th and 18th centuries. The reunification of the Low Countries as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands occurred at the dissolution of the First French Empire in 1815, although the franchise was initially restricted, universal suffrage for men was introduced after the general strike of 1893 and for women in 1949. The main political parties of the 19th century were the Catholic Party, French was originally the single official language adopted by the nobility and the bourgeoisie
14.
Luxembourg
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Luxembourg /ˈlʌksəmbɜːrɡ/, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east and its culture, people and languages are highly intertwined with its neighbours, making it essentially a mixture of French and Germanic cultures. It comprises two regions, the Oesling in the north as part of the Ardennes massif. With an area of 2,586 square kilometres, it is one of the smallest sovereign states in Europe, Luxembourg had a population of 524,853 in October 2012, ranking it the 8th least-populous country in Europe. As a representative democracy with a monarch, it is headed by a Grand Duke, Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Luxembourg is a country, with an advanced economy and the worlds highest GDP per capita. Luxembourg is a member of the European Union, OECD, United Nations, NATO, and Benelux, reflecting its political consensus in favour of economic, political. The city of Luxembourg, which is the capital and largest city, is the seat of several institutions. Luxembourg served on the United Nations Security Council for the years 2013 and 2014, around this fort, a town gradually developed, which became the centre of a state of great strategic value. In the 14th and early 15th centuries, three members of the House of Luxembourg reigned as Holy Roman Emperors, in the following centuries, Luxembourgs fortress was steadily enlarged and strengthened by its successive occupants, the Bourbons, Habsburgs, Hohenzollerns and the French. After the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, Luxembourg was disputed between Prussia and the Netherlands and this arrangement was revised by the 1839 First Treaty of London, from which date Luxembourgs full independence is reckoned. In 1842 Luxembourg joined the German Customs Union, the King of the Netherlands remained Head of State as Grand Duke of Luxembourg, maintaining a personal union between the two countries until 1890. At the death of William III, the throne of the Netherlands passed to his daughter Wilhelmina and this allowed Germany the military advantage of controlling and expanding the railways there. In August 1914, Imperial Germany violated Luxembourgs neutrality in the war by invading it in the war against France and this allowed Germany to use the railway lines, while at the same time denying them to France. Nevertheless, despite the German occupation, Luxembourg was allowed to maintain much of its independence, in 1940, after the outbreak of World War II, Luxembourgs neutrality was again violated when the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany entered the country, entirely without justification. A government in exile based in London supported the Allies, sending a group of volunteers who participated in the Normandy invasion. Luxembourg was liberated in September 1944, and became a member of the United Nations in 1945. Luxembourgs neutral status under the constitution formally ended in 1948, in 2005, a referendum on the EU treaty establishing a constitution for Europe was held
15.
Nord-Pas-de-Calais
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Nord-Pas-de-Calais (French pronunciation, is a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it is part of the new region Hauts-de-France and it consisted of the departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais. Nord-Pas-de-Calais borders the English Channel, the North Sea, Belgium, the majority of the region was once part of the historical Netherlands, but gradually became part of France between 1477 and 1678, particularly during the reign of king Louis XIV. The historical French provinces that preceded Nord-Pas-de-Calais are Artois, French Flanders, French Hainaut and these provincial designations are still frequently used by the inhabitants. Its administrative centre and largest city is Lille, other major towns include Valenciennes, Lens, Douai, Béthune, Dunkirk, Maubeuge, Boulogne, Arras, Cambrai and Saint-Omer. Nord-Pas-de-Calais combines the names of the constituent departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais, the regional council, however, spells the name Nord-Pas de Calais. The northern part of the region was historically a part of the County of Flanders and those who wish to evidence the historical links the region has with Belgium and the Netherlands prefer to call this region the French Low Countries, which also means French Netherlands in French. Other alternative names are Région Flandre-Artois, Hauts-de-France, and Picardie-du-Nord, see also, History of Nord-Pas-de-Calais Inhabited since prehistoric times, the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region has always been a strategic regions in Europe. French President Charles de Gaulle, who was born in Lille, over the centuries, it was conquered in turn by the Celtic Belgae, the Romans, the Germanic Franks, England, the Spanish and Austrian Netherlands, and the Dutch Republic. After the final French annexation in the early 18th century, much of the region was occupied by Germany during the First. By the 9th century, most inhabitants north of Lille spoke a dialect of Middle Dutch and this linguistic border is still evident today in the place names of the region. Beginning in the 9th century, the border began a steady move to north. By the end of the 13th century, the border had shifted to the river Lys in the south. Boulogne, Artois, and Flanders were fiefs of the French crown, while Hainaut, Calais was an English possession from 1347 to 1558, when it was recovered by the French throne. With the death of the Burgundian duke Charles the Bold in 1477, thus, most of the territories of what is now Nord-Pas-de-Calais were reunited to the Burgundian inheritance, which had passed through Maries marriage to the House of Habsburg. During the Italian Wars much of the conflict between France and Spain occurred in the region and it was also a base for Spanish support of French Catholics in the French Wars of Religion. Beginning with the annexation of Artois in 1659, most of the current Nord department territory had been acquired by the time of the Treaty of Nijmegen in 1678, the current borders were mostly established by the time of the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697. The area, previously divided among the French provinces of Flanders, Artois, under Napoleon, the French boundary was extended to include all of Flanders and present-day Belgium until the Congress of Vienna in 1815 restored the original French boundary
16.
Longwy
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Longwy is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. The inhabitants are known as Longoviciens, Longwy has historically been an industrial center of the Lorraine iron mining district. The town is known for its artistic glazed pottery, after the division of that kingdom, the town became part of Upper Lorraine and ultimately the Duchy of Bar. Longwy was ceded to the Duke Wenceslaus I of Luxembourg in 1368, the Duchy of Bar was then annexed into the Duchy of Lorraine in 1480. From 1648–1660 Longwy was part of the Kingdom of France, returning to the Duchy of Lorraine afterwards and it was made part of France again in 1670, a situation which was finalized in the Treaties of Nijmegen in 1678. Vauban fortified the town during the reign of King Louis XIV of France, only one-fifth of Moselle was spared annexation. Bismarck later bitterly regretted his decision when it was discovered that the region of Briey, the French puppeteer François Dominique Séraphin was born in Longwy as well as the Luxembourgish painter Jean-Baptiste Fresez. In 2008, the ville neuve, was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as part of the Fortifications of Vauban group
17.
Peace of Prague (1635)
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Likewise, Elector John George I had initially supported Ferdinand II against the revolting Bohemian estates and maintained a neutral position throughout the following years. However, after continued plundering of the Saxon lands by the troops of the Catholic League, the kings death at the Battle of Lützen in 1632 and the Protestant defeat at the 1634 Battle of Nördlingen prompted the elector to again switch sides. The Emperor had seen achieved successes ruined by the Swedish invasion, however, according to the Reservatum ecclesiasticum Protestant administrators of Prince-Bishoprics and Imperial abbeys still gained neither seat nor vote in the Imperial Diet. Ferdinand II continued to push the Counter-Reformation in the lands of the Habsburg Monarchy, formal alliances of States of the Empire among themselves or with foreign powers were prohibited. This applied to both the Catholic League and the Protestant Heilbronn League, which thereupon dissolved, amnesty was granted to those princes who had fought against Imperial troops, with the exception of the exiled descendants of the former Winter King, Elector Palatine Frederick V. According to the Traditionsrezess annex executed in 1636, the Saxon electorate was granted the Bohemian crown lands of Lower and Upper Lusatia by Ferdinand II in his capacity as King of Bohemia. Both lands had already given in pawn to Saxony in 1623. The Saxon elector should only hold the Lusatias as hereditary fiefs, even the Catholic Electorate of Bavaria, which had supported the Emperor throughout the war, extracted some minor concessions. Though militarily successful, Ferdinand II realized that his attempts to restore the Imperial authority had ultimatively failed, in return the powers of the Emperor were strengthened by the prohibition on the Estates entering into strategic alliances. The treaty was ratified by most Protestant Estates, however, an end to hostilities was not achieved, the Emperor sought to gain the support of the Princes both in the struggle against the Swedish intervention, and against the expected intervention of France. In 1648, Emperor Ferdinand III had to acquiesce in a much larger enfeeblement to reach a final peace, list of treaties Chronology, Louis XIII Scan of the Imperial-Saxon treaty at IEG Mainz,81 pages
18.
Holy Roman Empire
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The Holy Roman Empire was a multi-ethnic complex of territories in central Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806. On 25 December 800, Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish king Charlemagne as Emperor, reviving the title in Western Europe, more than three centuries after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The title was revived in 962 when Otto I was crowned emperor, fashioning himself as the successor of Charlemagne, some historians refer to the coronation of Charlemagne as the origin of the empire, while others prefer the coronation of Otto I as its beginning. Scholars generally concur, however, in relating an evolution of the institutions and principles constituting the empire, the office of Holy Roman Emperor was traditionally elective, although frequently controlled by dynasties. Emperor Francis II dissolved the empire on 6 August 1806, after the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine by Napoleon, before 1157, the realm was merely referred to as the Roman Empire. In a decree following the 1512 Diet of Cologne, the name was changed to Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, by the end of the 18th century, the term Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation had fallen out of official use. As Roman power in Gaul declined during the 5th century, local Germanic tribes assumed control, by the middle of the 8th century, however, the Merovingians had been reduced to figureheads, and the Carolingians, led by Charles Martel, had become the de facto rulers. In 751, Martel’s son Pepin became King of the Franks, the Carolingians would maintain a close alliance with the Papacy. In 768 Pepin’s son Charlemagne became King of the Franks and began an expansion of the realm. He eventually incorporated the territories of present-day France, Germany, northern Italy, on Christmas Day of 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor, restoring the title in the west for the first time in over three centuries. After the death of Charles the Fat in 888, however, the Carolingian Empire broke apart, according to Regino of Prüm, the parts of the realm spewed forth kinglets, and each part elected a kinglet from its own bowels. After the death of Charles the Fat, those crowned emperor by the pope controlled only territories in Italy, the last such emperor was Berengar I of Italy, who died in 924. Around 900, autonomous stem duchies reemerged in East Francia, on his deathbed, Conrad yielded the crown to his main rival, Henry the Fowler of Saxony, who was elected king at the Diet of Fritzlar in 919. Henry reached a truce with the raiding Magyars, and in 933 he won a first victory against them in the Battle of Riade, Henry died in 936, but his descendants, the Liudolfing dynasty, would continue to rule the Eastern kingdom for roughly a century. Upon Henry the Fowlers death, Otto, his son and designated successor, was elected King in Aachen in 936 and he overcame a series of revolts from an elder brother and from several dukes. After that, the managed to control the appointment of dukes. In 951, Otto came to the aid of Adelaide, the queen of Italy, defeating her enemies, marrying her. In 955, Otto won a victory over the Magyars in the Battle of Lechfeld
19.
Battle of the Downs
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The entry of France into the Thirty Years War had blocked off the overland Spanish Road to Flanders. To support the Spanish army of Flanders of Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand, the Spanish navy had to ferry supplies by sea via Dunkirk, the last Spanish-controlled port on the North Sea coast. A Spanish fleet, under admiral Lope de Hoces y Córdova, had managed to make the trip to Dunkirk in 1636 and again in 1637, in 1638, the French invaded Spain, and laid siege to Fuentarrabia. Lope de Hoces was hurriedly dispatched to rescue the city, as the remainder of the Spanish navy was engaged on missions in the Mediterranean and Brazil, there were not enough ships left to attempt the Dunkirk passage that year. In the spring of 1639, the Count-Duke of Olivares ordered the construction,29 warships were assembled in four squadrons, soon joined by an additional 22 warships from the Spanish Mediterranean fleet. Twelve English transport ships arrived, contracted to carry the Spanish army under the flag of English neutrality. Lope de Hoces was offered command, but he turned it down. As a result, the passed to Antonio de Oquendo. Oquendo was under instructions to assume a formation, to induce the Dutch into a boarding battle. The flagship was placed on the wing, as that is where it was expected the Dutch firepower would come from. In a curious decision, ships of different squadrons were mixed through the formation, the vanguard was to be composed of the seven-ship Dunkirk squadron commanded by Miguel de Horna, in light of their experience with the channel. The Dutch States-General made their own preparations, from intelligence networks, the Dutch learned that the Spanish fleet might attempt to make for the anchorage known as The Downs, off the English coast, between Dover and Deal. There they could anchor under protection of English neutrality and ferry the army and supplies on smaller, setting out, Tromp divided his fleet into three squadrons. The Spanish fleet of 75 ships and 24,000 soldiers and sailors set out on 27 August from A Coruña, the fleet reached the mouth of the English Channel on 11 September. On 15 September they learned from a passing English ship that a Dutch squadron was anchored near Calais, on the morning of 16 September the Spanish fleet spotted the 12-ship squadron of Maarten Tromp near the French coast. Tromp immediately dispatched one of his ships to warn Banckert, leaving him with only 11, De Withs squadron were visible at a distance, but too late to reach Tromp. With odds of 57 against 11, Oquedo could probably have made for Dunkirk directly, but Oquedo could not resist the chance to make battle with such favorable odds. Perhaps not realizing the size of the Spanish fleet, Tromp did not decline battle, believing Tromps squad was attempting to slip past his right wing, Oquendo impetuously ordered his flagship to turn hard to starboard, hoping to board Tromps flagship
20.
Army of Flanders
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The Army of Flanders was a multinational army in the service of the kings of Spain that was based in the Netherlands during the 16th to 18th centuries. It was notable for being the standing army of the period. The Army of Flanders formed the longest standing army in the modern period. It was established following a wave of iconoclasm in the provinces of the Netherlands in 1565 and 1566. The provinces were ruled by the Spanish King Phillip II, and as trouble mounted he decided to reinforce the forces of the governor, Margaret of Parma. King Phillips possessions stretched across Europe, and were reflected in the creation of the new army. In 1567 it was intended that 8,000 Spanish foot and 1,200 horse would form the nucleus of a new army for the Netherlands, to be sent from north Italy via Savoy. It was envisaged at this stage that the number might potentially reach 70,000, under the command of Fernando Álvarez de Toledo. The force would be sent through Europe via a sequence of friendly or neutral territories and their formation, dispatch and march north was a considerable accomplishment for the time. Arriving in the Netherlands, they joined the 10,000 Walloon and German troops already serving Margaret of Parma, the Spanish troops were unruly, but formed an essential professional basis for the new army. The size of the Army of Flanders would vary over the period in response to contemporary challenges and threats. In practice, the ensuing Dutch revolt meant that the Army had to enlarge considerably in 1572, reaching, on paper, if not in reality, a strength of 86,000 by 1574. The Army was a force, drawn primarily from the various Catholic possessions of the Habsburgs but also from the British Isles. Parker has argued that the Germans in fact performed much better than they were given credit for by contemporary commanders. Despite their value on the field, Spanish troops in the Army were particularly unpopular with the local people and it is estimated that around 25% of the Army had served their military apprenticeships elsewhere, with more than 50% recruited outside the Low Countries. At its best, this system could achieve remarkable surges – the increase in the Army in 1572 used all these methods, by the early 17th century, the similarities between the Habsburg army of Hungary and the Army of Flanders made competition for recruits particularly intense. The cost of recruiting for the Army created tensions between Philip IIs policy in the Netherlands, and his need to maintain a presence in the Mediterranean against the Ottoman Turks. Pay remained fixed throughout most of the period, three escudos per day up until 1634, then four escudos thereafter, at the highest social level, the Army of Flanders enjoyed a sequence of senior officers drawn from the nobility
21.
Battle of Rocroi
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The battle is considered by many to be the turning point of the perceived invincibility of the Spanish tercio. The Habsburg Spanish army of about 27,000 men advanced from Flanders, through the Ardennes, the Spanish troops set siege to Rocroi, which lay athwart the route to the valley of the Oise. The French, under the command of 21-year-old Louis, duc dEnghien, reacted quickly, the Spanish failed to block the route to Rocroi, which passed through a defile bordered by woods and marsh. Enghien advanced through the defile and assembled his force along a ridge looking down on the town of Rocroi. The Spanish quickly formed up between the town and the ridge, the French army, some 23,000 strong, was arranged with two lines of infantry in the center, squadrons of cavalry on each wing and with a thin line of artillery at the front. The Spanish army was arranged, but with its infantry in their traditional tercios. The two armies bivouacked in their positions for the night, the French army attacked, but the French infantry in the centre were bested by the Spanish. The cavalry on the French left, advancing against Enghiens orders, was thrown back. But the cavalry on the French right, under the command of Jean de Gassion, Enghien was able to follow this up by attacking the exposed left flank of the Spanish infantry. Spanish cavalry made a successful counter-attack to drive off the French cavalry, the Spanish horse was put to flight, leaving the Spanish infantry to carry on the fight. The French were twice repulsed by the stubborn Spanish squares, so Enghien arranged for his artillery, Enghien then offered surrender conditions just like those obtained by a besieged garrison in a fortress. Having agreed to terms, the remains of the two tercios left the field with deployed flags and weapons. The total Spanish losses were about 7,000 dead, wounded, despite this, the battle was of great symbolic importance because of the high reputation of the Army of Flanders. They were given the treatment usually given to a garrison and retired from the field with their arms, flags. With the end of the Fronde, Cardinal Mazarin slowly turned the tide against the Spanish in France and in the Low Countries. Mazarins alliance with England resulted in the defeat of the Spanish at the Battle of the Dunes and consequently the taking of Dunkirk in 1658, although Spain looked to be all-powerful in 1652, the peace settlement reflected the demise of Spains mastery of Europe in the late 1650s. A2006 Spanish movie, Alatriste, directed by Agustín Díaz Yanes, the sedan chair belonging to the elderly Spanish infantry general Fontaines was taken as a trophy by the French and may be seen in the museum of Les Invalides in Paris. Fontaines was killed in the battle, Enghien is reported to have said, Had I not won the day I wish I had died like him
22.
Reapers' War
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The Catalan revolt affected a large part of the Principality of Catalonia between the years of 1640 and 1659. But his Union of Arms policy raised hostilities and protests all across the countries of Spain. Catalan peasants, who were forced to quarter Castilian troops, responded on Corpus Christi day, May 1640, with a known as Bloody Corpus. Long live the land, death to bad government, the irregular militia involved were known as Miquelets. The situation took Olivares by surprise, with most of the Spanish army fighting on other fronts far from Catalonia. Pau Claris, head of the Generalitat of Catalonia, called the members of the all Principality in order to form a Junta de Braços or Braços Generals. The calling was a success, and the presence of royal cities, at the same time, the Generalitat maintained contacts with France, in order to establish an alliance between the Principality of Catalonia and this country. In this way, the General Estates presided by Pau Claris proclaimed the Catalan Republic under the protection of the French monarchy, in a first reaction, Spain sent a large army of 26,000 men under Pedro Fajardo to crush the Catalan Revolt. On its way to Barcelona, the Spanish army retook several cities, the army of the Catalan Republic was defeated in Martorell, near Barcelona, on January,23. These measures only reinforced the determination of the defenders of Barcelona, despite this success, the peasants uprising was becoming uncontrollable, progressively focusing on its own nobility, and the Generalitats government itself. For the next decade the Catalans fought under French vassalage, taking the initiative after Montjuïc, a French-Catalan army under Philippe de La Mothe-Houdancourt moved south and gained several victories. But the sieges of Tarragona, Lleida and Tortosa finally failed, in the north, they were more successful. Perpignan was taken after a siege of 10 months, and the whole of Roussillon was under French control, shortly after, Spanish relief armies were defeated at the Battle of Montmeló and Battle of Barcelona. In 1652 a Spanish offensive captured Barcelona bringing the Catalan capital under Spanish control again, in 1652 the French authorities renounced Catalonia, but held control of Roussillon, thereby leading to the signing of the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659. Els Segadors, the current national anthem of Catalonia, the current lyrics are from 1899, originally based in this revolt. Revolt of the Barretines, another Catalan revolt from 1687–1689, the Revolt of the Catalans, a Study in the Decline of Spain. La acción de Francia en Cataluña en la pugna por la hegemonía de Europa, still indispensable for its detailed coverage of the events from 1640/41 and later
23.
Andries Bicker
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He controlled the citys politics in close cooperation with his uncle Jacob Dircksz de Graeff and his brother Cornelis Bicker. In 1646, seven members of the Bicker family, called the Bickers league, the Bickers provided silver and ships to Spain, and were very much interested in ending the Eighty Years War. This brought them in conflict with the stadtholder, some provinces, like Zeeland and Utrecht, Andries became a member of the vroedschap in 1616, in 1620 schepen of Amsterdam and in 1627, just over forty, mayor of Amsterdam. He came to the fore through his knowledge and moderation, in 1627, he was delegated to go to Sweden and Poland, to close negotiations between these two countries, mediate a peace and at the same time set up new Baltic trade agreements. In 1631 he was the owner of a few plots in Spanderswoud in s-Graveland, the Bicker family also had concerns in peat-digging in Drenthe. At the solemn entry of Maria de Medici into Amsterdam in 1638, he, in 1643, he went with Jacob de Witt to Sweden to mediate between Sweden and Denmark. Andries Bicker opposed the stadtholder Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, who intended the centralize the five admiralties, to regain power William went on the march towards Dordrecht and Amsterdam with an army. His troops got lost in a fog and were discovered by the postal courier on Hamburg, who also warned Andries son Gerard. The mayors of Amsterdam had the guard called out, the bridges raised, the gates closed. Andries Bicker was purged from the vroedschap, as was his brother Cornelis, henceforth, it was the equally republican-minded brothers Cornelis and Andries de Graeff, and their following, who dominated Amsterdam. His niece Wendela Bicker married the powerful raadspensionaris Johan de Witt, captain Bickers Company by Joachim von Sandrart Famous portrait of his son Gerard Bicker by Van der Helst Pictures of Dutch voyage to Guinea, Argentina and Brazil
24.
Cornelis de Graeff
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Cornelis de Graeff, also Cornelis de Graeff van Polsbroek was the most illustrious member of the De Graeff family. He was a mayor of Amsterdam from the Dutch Golden Age, like his father Jacob Dircksz de Graeff, he opposed the house of Orange, and was the moderate successor to the republican Andries Bicker. In the mid 17th century he controlled the finances and politics and, in close cooperation with his brother Andries de Graeff and their nephew Johan de Witt. Cornelis de Graeff followed in his footsteps and, between 1643 and 1664, was appointed mayor some ten times. De Graeff was a member of a family of regents who belonged to the political movement also referred to as the ‘state oriented’. Cornelis de Graeff was also the founder of a regent dynasty that retained power and influence for centuries and he was Lord of the semisouverain Fief Zuidpolsbroek and an Ambachtsheer of Sloten, Sloterdijk, Nieuwer-Amstel, Osdorp and Amstelveen, near Amsterdam, and castlelord of Ilpenstein. De Graeff was also President of the Dutch East Indies Company, like his brother, Andries De Graeff, he was an art collector and patron of the arts. During his life De Graeff was often called Polsbroek or Lord Polsbroek, Cornelis de Graeff was the oldest son of Jacob Dircksz de Graeff and his wife Aeltje Boelens Loen. He grew up in the Niezel, a street not far from the Oude Kerk. De Graeff was crippled for life in the arm by a childhood accident. At twenty he went to Paris and in 1633 he married Geertruid Overlander, daughter of Volkert Overlander, whose brother-in-law was Frans Banning Cocq and she died only a few months later and he remarried with Catharina Hooft, nineteen years younger and his first wifes cousin. They had two children - Pieter de Graeff and Jacob de Graeff, the married couple inhabited a fine building with precious woodwork, not far from the city hall, at what is now Herengracht 216. Both his brother Andries and Cornelis were very critical of the Orange family’s influence, together with the Republican political leader Grand Pensionary Johan de Witt, the De Graeff brothers strived for the abolition of stadtholdership. They desired the full sovereignty of the regions in a form in which the Republic of the United Seven Netherlands was not ruled by a single person. Instead of a sovereign the political and military power was lodged with the States General, during the two decades the De Graeff family had a leading role in the Amsterdam administration, the city was at the peak of its political power. This period was referred to by Republicans as the ‘Ware Vrijheid’. It was the First Stadtholderless Period which lasted from 1650 to 1672, during these twenty years, the regents from Holland and in particular those of Amsterdam, controlled the republic. The city was flush with self-confidence and liked to compare itself to the famous Republic of Rome, even without a stadtholder, things seemed to be going well for the Republic and its regents both politically and economically
25.
Louis XIV of France
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Louis XIV, known as Louis the Great or the Sun King, was a monarch of the House of Bourbon who ruled as King of France and Navarre from 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the longest of any monarch of a country in European history. In the age of absolutism in Europe, Louis XIVs France was a leader in the centralization of power. Louis began his rule of France in 1661, after the death of his chief minister. By these means he became one of the most powerful French monarchs, under his rule, the Edict of Nantes, which granted rights to Huguenots, was abolished. The revocation effectively forced Huguenots to emigrate or convert in a wave of dragonnades, which managed to virtually destroy the French Protestant minority. During Louis reign, France was the leading European power, and it fought three wars, the Franco-Dutch War, the War of the League of Augsburg. There were also two lesser conflicts, the War of Devolution and the War of the Reunions, warfare defined Louis XIVs foreign policies, and his personality shaped his approach. Impelled by a mix of commerce, revenge, and pique, in peacetime he concentrated on preparing for the next war. He taught his diplomats their job was to create tactical and strategic advantages for the French military, Louis XIV was born on 5 September 1638 in the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, to Louis XIII and Anne of Austria. He was named Louis Dieudonné and bore the title of French heirs apparent. At the time of his birth, his parents had married for 23 years. His mother had experienced four stillbirths between 1619 and 1631, leading contemporaries thus regarded him as a divine gift and his birth a miracle of God. Sensing imminent death, Louis XIII decided to put his affairs in order in the spring of 1643, in defiance of custom, which would have made Queen Anne the sole Regent of France, the king decreed that a regency council would rule on his sons behalf. His lack of faith in Queen Annes political abilities was his primary rationale and he did, however, make the concession of appointing her head of the council. Louis relationship with his mother was uncommonly affectionate for the time, contemporaries and eyewitnesses claimed that the Queen would spend all her time with Louis. Both were greatly interested in food and theatre, and it is likely that Louis developed these interests through his close relationship with his mother. This long-lasting and loving relationship can be evidenced by excerpts in Louis journal entries, such as, but attachments formed later by shared qualities of the spirit are far more difficult to break than those formed merely by blood
26.
Philip IV of Spain
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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
27.
English Civil War
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The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists over, principally, the manner of Englands government. The war ended with the Parliamentarian victory at the Battle of Worcester on 3 September 1651, the monopoly of the Church of England on Christian worship in England ended with the victors consolidating the established Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. The term English Civil War appears most often in the singular form, the war in all these countries are known as the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Unlike other civil wars in England, which focused on who should rule, this war was more concerned with the manner in which the kingdoms of England, Scotland, the two sides had their geographical strongholds, such that minority elements were silenced or fled. The strongholds of the royalty included the countryside, the shires, on the other hand, all the cathedral cities sided with Parliament. All the industrial centers, the ports, and the advanced regions of southern and eastern England typically were parliamentary strongholds. Lacey Baldwin Smith says, the words populist, rich, at times there would be two groups of three lines allowing one group to reload while the other group arranged themselves and fired. Mixed in among the musketeers were pikemen carrying pikes that were between 12 feet and 18 feet long, whose purpose was to protect the musketeers from cavalry charges. The Royalist cavaliers skill and speed on horseback led to early victories. While the Parliamentarian cavalry were slower than the cavaliers, they were better disciplined. The Royalists had a tendency to chase down individual targets after the initial charge leaving their forces scattered and tired, Cromwells cavalry, on the other hand, trained to operate as a single unit, which led to many decisive victories. The English Civil War broke out fewer than forty years after the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603, in spite of this, James personal extravagance meant he was perennially short of money and had to resort to extra-Parliamentary sources of income. Charles hoped to unite the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland into a new single kingdom, many English Parliamentarians had suspicions regarding such a move because they feared that setting up a new kingdom might destroy the old English traditions which had bound the English monarchy. As Charles shared his fathers position on the power of the crown, at the time, the Parliament of England did not have a large permanent role in the English system of government. Instead, Parliament functioned as an advisory committee and was summoned only if. Once summoned, a continued existence was at the kings pleasure. Yet in spite of this role, Parliament had, over the preceding centuries. Without question, for a monarch, Parliaments most indispensable power was its ability to tax revenues far in excess of all other sources of revenue at the Crowns disposal
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Holland
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Holland is a region and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. The name Holland is also used informally to refer to the whole of the country of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th century, Holland proper was a political region within the Holy Roman Empire as a county ruled by the Counts of Holland. By the 17th century, Holland had risen to become a maritime and economic power, the name Holland first appeared in sources in 866 for the region around Haarlem, and by 1064 was being used as the name of the entire county. By this time, the inhabitants of Holland were referring to themselves as Hollanders, Holland is derived from the Middle Dutch term holtland. This spelling variation remained in use until around the 14th century, a popular folk etymology holds that Holland is derived from hol land and was inspired by the low-lying geography of Holland. The proper name of the area in both Dutch and English is Holland, Holland is a part of the Netherlands. Holland is informally used in English and other languages, including sometimes the Dutch language itself, the people of Holland are referred to as Hollanders in both Dutch and English. Today this refers specifically to people from the current provinces of North Holland, strictly speaking, the term Hollanders does not refer to people from the other provinces in the Netherlands, but colloquially Hollanders is sometimes used in this wider sense. In Dutch, the Dutch word Hollands is the form for Holland. In English, Dutch refers to the Netherlands as a whole, the word Hollandish is no longer in common use. Hollandic is the name give to the dialect spoken in Holland, and is occasionally also used by historians. Initially, Holland was a corner of the Holy Roman Empire. Gradually, its importance increased until it began to have a decisive. Until the start of the 12th century, the inhabitants of the area that became Holland were known as Frisians, the area was initially part of Frisia. At the end of the 9th century, West-Frisia became a county in the Holy Roman Empire. The first Count known about with certainty was Dirk I, who ruled from 896 to 931 and he was succeeded by a long line of counts in the House of Holland. When John I, count of Holland, died childless in 1299, by the time of William V the count of Holland was also the count of Hainaut and Zealand
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The Hague
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The Hague is a city on the western coast of the Netherlands, and the capital city of the province of South Holland. With a population of 520,704 inhabitants and more than one million including the suburbs, it is the third-largest city of the Netherlands. The Rotterdam The Hague Metropolitan Area, with a population of approximately 2.7 million, is the 12th-largest in the European Union and the most populous in the country. Located in the west of the Netherlands, The Hague is in the centre of the Haaglanden conurbation and lies at the southwest corner of the larger Randstad conurbation. The Hague is the seat of the Dutch government, parliament, the Supreme Court, and the Council of State, but the city is not the capital of the Netherlands, which constitutionally is Amsterdam. King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands plans to live at Huis ten Bosch and works at Noordeinde Palace in The Hague, the Hague is also home to the world headquarters of Royal Dutch Shell and numerous other major Dutch companies. The Hague originated around 1230, when Count Floris IV of Holland purchased land alongside a pond, in 1248, his son and successor William II, King of the Romans, decided to extend the residence to a palace, which would later be called the Binnenhof. He died in 1256 before this palace was completed but parts of it were finished by his son Floris V, of which the Ridderzaal and it is still used for political events, such as the annual speech from the throne by the Dutch monarch. From the 13th century onwards, the counts of Holland used The Hague as their administrative centre, the village that originated around the Binnenhof was first mentioned as Haga in a charter dating from 1242. In the 15th century, the smarter des Graven hage came into use, literally The Counts Wood, with connotations like The Counts Hedge, s-Gravenhage was officially used for the city from the 17th century onwards. Today, this name is used in some official documents like birth. The city itself uses Den Haag in all its communication and their seat was located in The Hague. At the beginning of the Eighty Years War, the absence of city walls proved disastrous, in 1575, the States of Holland even considered demolishing the city but this proposal was abandoned, after mediation by William of Orange. From 1588, The Hague also became the seat of the government of the Dutch Republic, in order for the administration to maintain control over city matters, The Hague never received official city status, although it did have many of the privileges normally granted only to cities. In modern administrative law, city rights have no place anymore, only in 1806, when the Kingdom of Holland was a puppet state of the First French Empire, was the settlement granted city rights by Louis Bonaparte. After the Napoleonic Wars, modern-day Belgium and the Netherlands were combined in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands to form a buffer against France, as a compromise, Brussels and Amsterdam alternated as capital every two years, with the government remaining in The Hague. After the separation of Belgium in 1830, Amsterdam remained the capital of the Netherlands, when the government started to play a more prominent role in Dutch society after 1850, The Hague quickly expanded. The growing city annexed the rural municipality of Loosduinen partly in 1903, the city sustained heavy damage during World War II
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Limburg (Netherlands)
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Limburg is the southernmost of the 12 provinces of the Netherlands. It is in the part of the country, stretched out from the north, where it touches the province of Gelderland, to the south. Its northern part has the North Brabant province to its west and its long eastern boundary is the international border with the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Much of the west border runs along the River Maas, bordering the Flemish province of Limburg, on the south end, it has borders with the Flemish exclave of Voeren and its surrounding part of Liège, Wallonia. The Vaalserberg is on the extreme point, marking the tripoint of Netherlands, Germany. Limburgs major cities are the provincial capital Maastricht, as well as Heerlen, more than half of the population, approximately 620,000 people, live in the south of Limburg, which corresponds to roughly 1/3rd of the provinces area proper. In South Limburg, most people live in the agglomerations of Maastricht, Parkstad. Limburg has a distinctive character. A less appreciated consequence of this international gateway location is rising international crime, often drug-related, Limburgs name derives from the fortified town of the same name, situated on the river Vesdre near the High Fens, now in the nearby Belgian province of Liège. Its name is derived from the Germanic elements *lindo, lime tree, Limburg town was the seat of the medieval Duchy of Limburg. None of present-day Limburg was part of duchy, which had its northern border along what is the modern southern border of South Limburg. The Duchy of Limburg also came under Brabantine control in 1288 after the Battle of Worringen, and the holdings of Brabant evolved into the Burgundian Netherlands. By 1473, the lands of Overmaas and the Duchy of Limburg formed one unified delegation to the States General of this polity, hence both the terms Overmaas and Limburg came to be used loosely to refer to this one political province of the so-called Seventeen Provinces. The connection to Limburg was recalled in the 19th century when the new United Kingdom of the Netherlands desired a new name for the province after the defeat of Napoleon, the French empire had reformed the region, along with Belgian Limburg. For centuries, the location of the current province made it a much-coveted region among Europes major powers. Romans, Habsburg Spaniards, Prussians, Habsburg Austrians and French have all ruled parts of Limburg, for long periods of history the region was not united under the same rule. The first inhabitants of whom traces have been found were Neanderthals who camped in South Limburg, in Neolithic times flint was mined in underground mines, including one at Rijckholt that is open to visitors. After this genocide the area was repopulated with a set of peoples that later under Roman rules
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International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
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