Generals lands

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Generalitätslande ( Dutch Generaliteitslanden ) were areas that were under the direct control of the States General of the Netherlands during the time of the Republic of the Seven United Provinces .

In contrast to the seven provinces ( west ) - Groningen , Friesland , Overijssel , Gelderland , Utrecht , Holland and Zeeland - they had no say in the state administration. The generals were predominantly Catholic territories that were conquered by the troops of the republic at a later stage of the Eighty Years' War . They were then ceded to the Netherlands by the Spanish or Austrian Habsburgs on the basis of various peace treaties. Their constitutional status roughly corresponded to that of the common lords of the confederates. In the 17th and 18th centuries, numerous fortresses and other defensive structures were established and maintained in the generalship lands. Above all, the land on the Schelde and Meuse served as a fortified deployment area in the numerous armed conflicts between the republic, initially with the Spanish and later Austrian Netherlands , but since the Barrier Treaty of 1715 in particular for defense against France.

The generals countries included:

A large part of Obergeldern ( Opper-Gelre ) remained Spanish and was partially annexed by Prussia in 1702 (Prussian Obergeldern), while another part became Austrian Geldern (see also Duchy of Geldern ).

Note: State roughly means belonging to the States General . State Brabant is the part of Brabant that was administered by the Estates General (in contrast to the rest of Brabant).

Areas outside Europe were also often claimed in the name of the States General: Staten Island near Nieuw Amsterdam ( New York ) or States Island on the south coast of Argentina .

There were other areas that were not generals and did not belong to any of the provinces ( west ), but were politically connected to the republic in different ways:

Web links