Great Council of Mechelen
_ambassadeur.PNG)
The Great Council of Mechelen was the highest court in the Habsburg and later the Spanish Netherlands between the 15th century and the French Revolution . In the local language it was called Grand Conseil des Pays-Bas à Malines or Grote Raad der Nederlanden . Colloquially, going to Mechelen means playing your last trump card.
The meetings of the Grand Council took place in the Schepenhuis , from 1616 in the palace of Margaret of Austria (1480–1530) .
history
As early as the Middle Ages, the princes had advisors who together formed a council that was often called the Consilium or Curia . Over time, the councils were split up and specialized in justice, politics, finance, etc.
The Burgundian Duke Charles the Bold established his judicial council in Mechelen , the Parliament of Mechelen , which was abolished in 1477 by his daughter Maria of Burgundy in connection with the Great Privilege . A few decades later, in 1504, Philip the Fair re-established the Great Council (which was no longer called Parliament) in Mechelen.
In the 16th century the area of office of the Grand Council grew at the same rate as the Dutch possessions of Emperor Charles V grew: Tournai , Utrecht , Friesland , Overijssel and the Duchy of Geldern were added, so that it now covers the entire area of the Seventeen Provinces sat in court.
After the Eighty Years' War the Great Council lost jurisdiction over the republic of the Seven United Netherlands to the north (the High Council of Holland, Zeeland and West Friesland was established here in 1582 ). The southern provinces in turn were annexed by France over time ( Artois and parts of Flanders , Hainaut and Luxembourg ) or gradually declared their independence from Mechelen: first the Duchy of Brabant , then Hainaut and finally Tournai and Luxembourg in 1782 , making the administrative district only consisted of Flanders, Mechelen, Namur and Obergeldern.
The Grand Council perished in the French Revolution. In 1792 he was able to move to Roermond (where he only sat in court over the Austrian part of Geldern as the last unoccupied area). In 1794, after the second invasion of the French revolutionary troops and the annexation of the Catholic Netherlands to France, it was dissolved. Some of the council members went to Regensburg and Augsburg on imperial territory , some submitted to the new government.
composition
The composition of the Grand Council has changed little over the centuries. There was a President and 15 or 16 “Conseillers” (who traditionally wore red robes and had a licentiate or doctorate in law obtained from a university under the Prince's control), a “Procureur général” and his deputy , a tax lawyer, a dozen salaried secretaries, two or three clerks, lawyers and bailiffs. A quarter of the "Conseillers" were spiritual at first, later their number was reduced to two. They were appointed by the sovereign on the basis of a list submitted to him by the Grand Council.
tasks
Even if the role of the Grand Council changed over time, it was mostly the first and last instance for persons and institutions that were under the protection of the sovereign. He was also the court of appeal for the high courts of the provinces.