Ghent's radical Calvinists seized power in Flemish cities from October 1577 onwards, a radical act which alienated Catholic rebels to the south in Artois, Hainaut and Douai, respectively. They decided to seek a separate peace with the Spanish king. In response, Calvinist-dominated rebel forces in the north formed the Union of Utrecht, pledging to continue the war against the Spanish forces.
Union of Arras (6 January 1579)
Union of Utrecht (23 January 1579)
Joined Union of Utrecht later
Controlled by unaligned rebel troops
Controlled by Spanish troops
Conquered by Spanish troops
After the Pacification of Ghent, the entire Habsburg Netherlands was united in opposition to the government of king Philip II of Spain, the overlord of the Netherlands. They formed the Union of Brussels that constituted a formal government, formed by the States General and a governor-general who was appointed by the States General: the archduke Matthias, in competition with the royal governor-general, Don Juan of Austria.[Note 1] Orange, the leader of the originally rebelling provinces, Holland and Zeeland, had a leading role in the Council of State that formed the executive for the States General.[1] One of the important provisions of the Pacification was that the Calvinists received freedom of religion in Holland and Zeeland, and would be tolerated elsewhere in the Netherlands, but that the other 15 provinces would officially maintain the Catholic Church as the dominant one.[2] Calvinists in other provinces soon also claimed freedom of religion. In Flanders and Brabant they even used force to change the government of cities like Ghent, Bruges, and Antwerp to obtain this objective, much to the dismay of Catholic politicians in the southern part of the country. Orange tried to promote civil peace with a policy of "religious peace," allowing freedom of worship to both Catholics and Protestants in the entire Netherlands.[3]
Declaration of 6 January 1579
Don Juan died in October 1578 and was replaced as commander of the Spanish Army of Flanders and royal governor-general by Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma, who proved an able diplomat, adept at driving wedges between the Catholic nobles in the south and the regime of Orange and the States General.[Note 2] In opposition to the policies of Orange a group of Catholic nobles, known in historiography by the name "Malcontents," had formed under the leadership of the stadtholder of Hainaut, Philip de Lalaing, 3rd Count of Lalaing and Emanuel Philibert de Lalaing. Parma opened negotiations with the Malcontents and they brought about an alliance of Hainaut, Artois, and the city of Douai, which on 6 January 1579 subscribed to a declaration in which they expressed their discontent about the events since the Pacification of Ghent, and (without naming names) rejected the "religious peace" policy of Orange.[4][5] The declaration issued in the following rousing promise:
A ceste cause, en vertu de nos povoirs et commissions, respectivement et aultrement, avons promis et juré, promettons et jurons les uns aux aultres, en foy de chrestiens et gens de bien, pour nous et noz successeurs à jamais, suyvant le contenu exprès de ladicte union, et à l'effect et accomplissement d'icelle, de persévérer et maintenir nostredicte saincte foy catholique, apostolique, romaine, deue obéissance de Sa Majesté et pacification de Gand, aussy procurer le bien, salut, paix et repos de nostre patrie tant désolée, conservant nos priviléges, droicts, franchises, coustumes et usances anciennes; de résister et opposer, par toutes voyes et manières licites, deues et raisonnables, à tous ceulx qui vouldroient attenter au contraire, et à ces fins ayder, conforter et assister l'un l'aultre, et de commune main emploier noz vies, corps, biens et tous aultres moyens, nous submettans à toutes résolutions que par commun advis seront faictes pour le bien et advancement de ceste cause, soit pour levée de deniers, de gens de guerre ou aultremen;...[Note 3]
Beyond this promise the declaration did not contain more concrete resolutions, such as the formation of a defensive alliance, like a number of the northern provinces formed later in January 1579 in the form of the Union of Utrecht. But this was not to be expected, as the signers of the declaration considered themselves the "true" defenders of the Union of Brussels, that they intended to continue.[6]
However, the members of the Union of Arras soon opened peace negotiations with Parma, which resulted in the signing of the Treaty of Arras (1579) on 17 May 1579.[7] These were the main conditions:
The provisions of the Pacification of Ghent, the Perpetual Edict and the Union of Brussels were reaffirmed, both by the Spanish Crown and the members of the Union of Arras;
There should be no more garrisons of foreign mercenary troops, either paid by Spain or by the States General;
The Council of State should be organized like that of the time of Charles V;
Two-thirds of the council members should be installed by all States of the member provinces consenting;
All privileges that were in force at the time of the reign of Charles V should be reinstated;
Taxes imposed after the reign of Charles V were to be abolished;
Roman Catholicism was the only allowed religion. Any other religion (i.e. Calvinism) should be prohibited.[8]
^Don Juan had initially recognized the Union of Brussels and even concluded the Perpetual Edict, but he broke in July 1577 with the States General; cf. Israel, p.187
^"To this end, by virtue of our powers and commissions, respectively and at different times, we have promised and sworn, promise and swear to one another, in faith of Christians and good people, for us and our successors forever, following the express content of said union, and to the effect and fulfillment thereof, to persevere and maintain our holy faith, Catholic, apostolic, Roman, due obedience to His Majesty and the pacification of Ghent, also to procure the well-being, welfare, peace, and repose of our country so desolate, preserving our privileges, rights, franchises, customs and old usages; to resist and oppose, by all licit, due and reasonable ways and means, all those who would attempt the opposite, and for these purposes to help, comfort and assist one another, and in common employ our lives, bodies, properties, and all other means; submitting to all resolutions that by common advice will be made for the good and advancement of this cause, whether for the raising of funds, of troops, or otherwise;" Cf. text in Union d'Arras
Bussemaker, C.H.T. (1895). "De afscheiding der Waalsche gewesten van de Generale Unie (2 vols.)". Google Books (in Dutch). Erven F. Bohn. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
Edmundson, George (1922). History of Holland. Cambridge University Press.
Marek y Villarino de Brugge, André (2020b). Alessandro Farnese: Prince of Parma: Governor-General of the Netherlands (1545-1592): v. II. Los Angeles: MJV Enterprises, ltd., inc. ISBN979-8687563130.
Rowen, Herbert H., ed. (1972). "The Low Countries in Early Modern Times: A Documentary History" (PDF). pp. 261–266. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
"Union d'Arras, conclu à Arras le 6 janvier 1579 entre les États d'Artois, les États d'Hainault et la ville de Douai". dutchrevolt.leiden.edu (in French). Retrieved 25 November 2018.
May 10, 2023
union, arras, history, countriesfrisii, belgaecana, nefates, chamavi, tubantes, gallia, belgica, germania, inferior, salian, franks, bataviunpopulated, saxons, salian, franks, frisian, kingdom, frankish, kingdom, carolingian, empire, austrasia, middle, francia. History of the Low CountriesFrisii BelgaeCana nefates Chamavi Tubantes Gallia Belgica 55 BC 5th c AD Germania Inferior 83 5th c Salian Franks Bataviunpopulated 4th 5th c Saxons Salian Franks 4th 5th c Frisian Kingdom 6th c 734 Frankish Kingdom 481 843 Carolingian Empire 800 843 Austrasia 511 687 Middle Francia 843 855 WestFrancia 843 Kingdom of Lotharingia 855 959 Duchy of Lower Lorraine 959 FrisiaFrisianFreedom 11 16thcentury County ofHolland 880 1432 Bishopric of Utrecht 695 1456 Duchy ofBrabant 1183 1430 Duchy ofGuelders 1046 1543 County ofFlanders 862 1384 County ofHainaut 1071 1432 County ofNamur 981 1421 P Bish of Liege 980 1794 Duchy ofLuxem bourg 1059 1443 Burgundian Netherlands 1384 1482 Habsburg Netherlands 1482 1795 Seventeen Provinces after 1543 Dutch Republic 1581 1795 Spanish Netherlands 1556 1714 Austrian Netherlands 1714 1795 United States of Belgium 1790 R Liege 1789 91 Batavian Republic 1795 1806 Kingdom of Holland 1806 1810 associated with French First Republic 1795 1804 part of First French Empire 1804 1815 Princip of the Netherlands 1813 1815 United Kingdom of the Netherlands 1815 1830 Gr D L 1815 Kingdom of the Netherlands 1839 Kingdom of Belgium 1830 Gr D ofLuxem bourg 1890 The Union of Arras Dutch Unie van Atrecht French Union d Arras Spanish Union de Arras was an alliance between the County of Artois the County of Hainaut and the city of Douai in the Habsburg Netherlands in early 1579 during the Eighty Years War Dissatisfied with the religious policies of rebel leader Prince of Orange and the States General of the Netherlands and especially the rise of the radical Calvinist Republic of Ghent since October 1577 they signed a declaration on 6 January 1579 about their intent to offer a vigorous defense of the Roman Catholic religion against what they saw as encroachments by Calvinists in other provinces These signatories would begin negotiations for a separate peace with the Spanish Crown which resulted in the Treaty of Arras of 17 May 1579 Contents 1 Background 2 Declaration of 6 January 1579 3 Peace of Arras 4 See also 5 Notes and references 5 1 Notes 5 2 References 6 SourcesBackground Edit Ghent s radical Calvinists seized power in Flemish cities from October 1577 onwards a radical act which alienated Catholic rebels to the south in Artois Hainaut and Douai respectively They decided to seek a separate peace with the Spanish king In response Calvinist dominated rebel forces in the north formed the Union of Utrecht pledging to continue the war against the Spanish forces Union of Arras 6 January 1579 Union of Utrecht 23 January 1579 Joined Union of Utrecht later Controlled by unaligned rebel troops Controlled by Spanish troops Conquered by Spanish troops After the Pacification of Ghent the entire Habsburg Netherlands was united in opposition to the government of king Philip II of Spain the overlord of the Netherlands They formed the Union of Brussels that constituted a formal government formed by the States General and a governor general who was appointed by the States General the archduke Matthias in competition with the royal governor general Don Juan of Austria Note 1 Orange the leader of the originally rebelling provinces Holland and Zeeland had a leading role in the Council of State that formed the executive for the States General 1 One of the important provisions of the Pacification was that the Calvinists received freedom of religion in Holland and Zeeland and would be tolerated elsewhere in the Netherlands but that the other 15 provinces would officially maintain the Catholic Church as the dominant one 2 Calvinists in other provinces soon also claimed freedom of religion In Flanders and Brabant they even used force to change the government of cities like Ghent Bruges and Antwerp to obtain this objective much to the dismay of Catholic politicians in the southern part of the country Orange tried to promote civil peace with a policy of religious peace allowing freedom of worship to both Catholics and Protestants in the entire Netherlands 3 Declaration of 6 January 1579 EditDon Juan died in October 1578 and was replaced as commander of the Spanish Army of Flanders and royal governor general by Alexander Farnese Duke of Parma who proved an able diplomat adept at driving wedges between the Catholic nobles in the south and the regime of Orange and the States General Note 2 In opposition to the policies of Orange a group of Catholic nobles known in historiography by the name Malcontents had formed under the leadership of the stadtholder of Hainaut Philip de Lalaing 3rd Count of Lalaing and Emanuel Philibert de Lalaing Parma opened negotiations with the Malcontents and they brought about an alliance of Hainaut Artois and the city of Douai which on 6 January 1579 subscribed to a declaration in which they expressed their discontent about the events since the Pacification of Ghent and without naming names rejected the religious peace policy of Orange 4 5 The declaration issued in the following rousing promise A ceste cause en vertu de nos povoirs et commissions respectivement et aultrement avons promis et jure promettons et jurons les uns aux aultres en foy de chrestiens et gens de bien pour nous et noz successeurs a jamais suyvant le contenu expres de ladicte union et a l effect et accomplissement d icelle de perseverer et maintenir nostredicte saincte foy catholique apostolique romaine deue obeissance de Sa Majeste et pacification de Gand aussy procurer le bien salut paix et repos de nostre patrie tant desolee conservant nos privileges droicts franchises coustumes et usances anciennes de resister et opposer par toutes voyes et manieres licites deues et raisonnables a tous ceulx qui vouldroient attenter au contraire et a ces fins ayder conforter et assister l un l aultre et de commune main emploier noz vies corps biens et tous aultres moyens nous submettans a toutes resolutions que par commun advis seront faictes pour le bien et advancement de ceste cause soit pour levee de deniers de gens de guerre ou aultremen Note 3 Beyond this promise the declaration did not contain more concrete resolutions such as the formation of a defensive alliance like a number of the northern provinces formed later in January 1579 in the form of the Union of Utrecht But this was not to be expected as the signers of the declaration considered themselves the true defenders of the Union of Brussels that they intended to continue 6 Peace of Arras EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed January 2019 Learn how and when to remove this template message Main article Treaty of Arras 1579 However the members of the Union of Arras soon opened peace negotiations with Parma which resulted in the signing of the Treaty of Arras 1579 on 17 May 1579 7 These were the main conditions The provisions of the Pacification of Ghent the Perpetual Edict and the Union of Brussels were reaffirmed both by the Spanish Crown and the members of the Union of Arras There should be no more garrisons of foreign mercenary troops either paid by Spain or by the States General The Council of State should be organized like that of the time of Charles V Two thirds of the council members should be installed by all States of the member provinces consenting All privileges that were in force at the time of the reign of Charles V should be reinstated Taxes imposed after the reign of Charles V were to be abolished Roman Catholicism was the only allowed religion Any other religion i e Calvinism should be prohibited 8 The provinces that signed the Peace were County of Hainaut County of Artois Lille Douai and Orchies Walloon Flanders The regions that favored the Peace but did not sign it at time though they later acceded were County of Namur County of Luxembourg Duchy of Limburg Parma used these reconciled counties as a base to start his reconquest of the disobedient provinces members of the Union of Utrecht See also EditUnion of UtrechtNotes and references EditNotes Edit Don Juan had initially recognized the Union of Brussels and even concluded the Perpetual Edict but he broke in July 1577 with the States General cf Israel p 187 Who had moved from Brussels to Antwerp after the disastrous defeat of the Dutch States Army at the Battle of Gembloux 1578 Israel p 194 To this end by virtue of our powers and commissions respectively and at different times we have promised and sworn promise and swear to one another in faith of Christians and good people for us and our successors forever following the express content of said union and to the effect and fulfillment thereof to persevere and maintain our holy faith Catholic apostolic Roman due obedience to His Majesty and the pacification of Ghent also to procure the well being welfare peace and repose of our country so desolate preserving our privileges rights franchises customs and old usages to resist and oppose by all licit due and reasonable ways and means all those who would attempt the opposite and for these purposes to help comfort and assist one another and in common employ our lives bodies properties and all other means submitting to all resolutions that by common advice will be made for the good and advancement of this cause whether for the raising of funds of troops or otherwise Cf text in Union d Arras References Edit Israel pp 186 187 Israel p 186 Israel pp 193 196 Marek y Villarino de Brugge 2020b v II p 124 Edmundson p 71 Cf the text of the declaration in Union d Arras Marek y Villarino de Brugge 2020b v II p 206 Cf RowenSources EditBussemaker C H T 1895 De afscheiding der Waalsche gewesten van de Generale Unie 2 vols Google Books in Dutch Erven F Bohn Retrieved 5 December 2018 Edmundson George 1922 History of Holland Cambridge University Press Israel Jonathan 1995 The Dutch Republic Its Rise Greatness and Fall 1477 1806 Oxford Clarendon Press ISBN 0 19 873072 1 Marek y Villarino de Brugge Andre 2020b Alessandro Farnese Prince of Parma Governor General of the Netherlands 1545 1592 v II Los Angeles MJV Enterprises ltd inc ISBN 979 8687563130 Rowen Herbert H ed 1972 The Low Countries in Early Modern Times A Documentary History PDF pp 261 266 Retrieved 24 November 2018 Union d Arras conclu a Arras le 6 janvier 1579 entre les Etats d Artois les Etats d Hainault et la ville de Douai dutchrevolt leiden edu in French Retrieved 25 November 2018 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Union of Arras amp oldid 1137279959, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
