Union of Utrecht.html



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History of the Low Countries v • d • e
Bishopric of Liège 985–1790	Burgundian Netherlands			Duchy of Luxembourg integrated 1441
	1384–1477
	Habsburg Netherlands 1477–1556
	Spanish Netherlands 1556–1581
	Spanish Netherlands	United Netherlands 1581–1795		1581–1713
	Austrian Netherlands			1713–1790
United States of Belgium				1790
Bishopric of Liège 1790–1795	Austrian Netherlands			1790–1794
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United Kingdom of the Netherlands 1815–1830				Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
Kingdom of Belgium since 1830		Kingdom of the Netherlands since 1830		(in personal union with the Netherlands until 1890)

The Union of Utrecht (Dutch: Unie van Utrecht) is a treaty signed on January 23, 1579 in Utrecht, the Netherlands, unifying the northern provinces of the Netherlands, until then under the control of Spain. The Union of Utrecht is regarded as the foundation of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, which was not recognized by the Spanish Empire until the Twelve Years' Truce in 1609¹.

The treaty was signed on January 23 by Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht (but not entire Utrecht) and the province (but not the city) of Groningen. The treaty was a reaction of the Protestant provinces to the 1579 Union of Arras (Dutch: Unie van Atrecht), in which the southern provinces (most of them now part of Wallonia) declared their support for the Catholic Spanish.

On February 4, Ghent also signed. In March some cities from Friesland joined it, as well as 3 of the 4 quarters of Guelders. In the summer, Amersfoort from the province of Utrecht also joined, together with Ypres, Antwerp, Breda and Brussels. In February 1580, Lier, Bruges and the surrounding area also signed the Union. The city of Groningen shifted from contra to pro under influence of the stadtholder for Friesland, George van Rennenberg, and also signed the treaty. Later on, Zutphen also signed so Guelders (of which Zutphen is one of the quarters) supported the Union completely. This happened in April 1580, as did the signing of Overijssel and Drenthe.

Map of the Spanish Netherlands, the Union of Utrecht and the Union of Arras (1579).

This leads to a general and simplified overview of the parts that joined:

• the county of Holland
• the county of Zeeland
• the bishopric of Utrecht
• the duchy of Guelders
• the lordship of Groningen
• the lordship of Friesland
• Drenthe
• the lordship of Overijssel
• the duchy of Brabant
• the county of Flanders
• the cities of Tournai and Valenciennes

Flanders was almost entirely conquered by the Spanish troops, as was half of Brabant, so they dropped out. The United Provinces still recognized Spanish rule after the Union of Utrecht. However, the Union contributed to the deterioration in the relationship between the provinces and their lord, and in 1581 the United Provinces declared their independence of the king in the Act of Abjuration.

See also

• List of treaties

References