Union of Arras
The Union of Arras (left: Unie van Atrecht ) was a union concluded on January 6th, 1579 in Arras between the Catholic territories in the south of the Spanish Netherlands . The Union included the provinces of Artois and Hainaut with the cities of Lille , Douai and Orchies .
The Union expressly acknowledged King Philip II of Spain and demanded that the Catholic faith be established as the state religion for the Netherlands. In addition, the Council of State was to be given the rights it had at the time of Charles V and two thirds of its occupation would require the approval of the States General . In addition, the stationing of foreign troops in the Netherlands was rejected.
As a reaction, the commitment to the Catholic faith triggered the Utrecht Union of the Calvinist - Protestant provinces in the north, which seceded from Spain on January 25th and at the same time left the Union of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation . In 1581 the Union of Utrecht became the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands .
Flanders and Brabant , which initially tended towards the Union of Utrecht, fell permanently to Spain with the fall of Antwerp in 1585 in the Eighty Years' War .
literature
- Michael North: History of the Netherlands ; Munich: Beck, 2003; ISBN 3-406-41878-3