Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands
The Habsburg Netherlands were the Burgundian Netherlands up to Charles V , the Spanish Netherlands before and the Austrian Netherlands after the War of the Spanish Succession and essentially comprised present-day Belgium , initially also present-day Netherlands . During the French Revolution , these areas were conquered by France and never returned to Austria.
The Habsburgs had this area ruled by governors- general and captains-general who came either from their own family or from the Catholic nobility loyal to the emperor. An exception was the era between 1596 and 1621, when the Spanish Netherlands were under the independent rule of Albrecht VII , Archduke of Austria, and his wife, Isabella Clara Eugenia , Infanta of Spain. The couple ruled as Titular Duke and Titular Duchess of Burgundy .
Spain's King Philip II had left the Netherlands as a bride's dowry for his daughter and son-in-law. Albrecht had previously been Cardinal Archbishop of Toledo (and as such also governor of the Spanish Netherlands), but then left the clergy. After Albrecht died childless, the Spanish Netherlands reverted to Spain according to the treaty; Albrecht's widow ruled from then on as the Spanish governor.
Burgundy Netherlands (Seventeen Provinces)
- 1506–1507 Guillaume II. De Croÿ , Marquis d'Aerschot
- 1507–1530 Margaret of Austria , Duchess of Savoy
- 1531–1555 Mary of Castile , Queen of Hungary
- 1555–1559 Emanuel Philibert of Savoy , Duke of Savoy
- 1559–1567 Margaret , Duchess of Parma
- 1567–1573 Fernando Álvarez de Toledo , Duke of Alba
- 1573–1576 Luis de Zúñiga y Requesens
- 1576–1578 Juan de Austria
- 1578–1581 Alessandro Farnese , Duke of Parma and Piacenza
Against Farnese, Matthias of Austria was made governor by the rebellious provinces in 1578. But it played no role politically and could not prevail. He resigned in 1581, just before the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands declared independence from Spain.
Spanish Netherlands
- 1581–1592 Alessandro Farnese , Duke of Parma and Piacenza
- 1592–1594 Peter Ernst I , Count of Mansfeld
- 1594–1595 Ernst , Archduke of Austria
- 1595–1596 Pedro Henriquez de Acevedo , Count of Fuentes
- 1596–1598 Albrecht VII , Archduke of Austria and Cardinal-Archbishop of Toledo
- 1598–1621 independent rule of Albrecht VII and his wife, Isabella Clara Eugenia, Infanta of Spain (co-regent)
- 1621–1633 Isabella Clara Eugenia , Infanta of Spain
- 1633–1641 Ferdinand , cardinal- infant of Spain
- 1641–1644 Francisco de Melo , Marquis of Terceira
- 1644–1647 Manuel de Moura Cortereal , Marquês de Castelo Rodrigo
- 1647–1656 Leopold Wilhelm , Archduke of Austria
- 1656–1659 Juan José de Austria
- 1659–1664 Luis de Benavides Carrillo , Marqués de Fromista
- 1664–1668 Francisco de Moura Corterreal , Marquês de Castelo Rodrigo
- 1668–1670 Íñigo Melchor Fernández de Velasco , Duke of Feria
- 1670–1675 Juan Domingo de Zuñiga y Fonseca
- 1675–1677 Carlos de Gurrea , Duke of Villahermosa
- 1678–1682 Alessandro Farnese
- 1682–1685 Otto Heinrich, Marquis of Caretto
- 1685–1692 Fray Antonio de Agurto , Marquis of Castagna
- 1692–1706 Maximilian II Emanuel , Elector of Bavaria
- 1706–1714 Occupied by the British and the United Netherlands
With the Treaty of Rastatt in 1714, the southern Netherlands went to the Austrian line of the House of Habsburg.
Austrian Netherlands
- 1716–1724 Eugene , Prince of Savoy; Deputy and de facto governor: Ercole Turinetti Marquis de Prié
- 1724–1741 Maria Elisabeth , Archduchess of Austria
- 1741–1744 Friedrich August , Count of Harrach-Rohrau
- 1744–1780 Karl Alexander , Prince of Lorraine
- 1744–1744 Maria Anna , Archduchess of Austria (co-regent)
- 1745–1748 French occupation under Marshal Hermann Moritz von Sachsen
- 1780–1781 Georg Adam , Prince of Starhemberg
- 1781–1793 Albert Kasimir , Duke of Saxe-Teschen
- 1781–1793 Marie Christine , Archduchess of Austria (co-regent)
- 1790 short-lived independent "Republic of the United Belgian States"
- 1793–1794 Karl von Österreich-Teschen , Archduke of Austria
Individual evidence
- ^ Cf. Heinrich Benedikt: When Belgium was Austrian . Herold, Vienna, Munich 1965, p. 12 ff .