Philip II’s Quest. The Appointment of Governors-General during the Dutch Revolt (1559-1598)

V Soen

doi:10.18352/bmgn-lchr.7217

Abstract

Philip II’s Quest: The Appointment of Governors-General during the Dutch Revolt (1559-1598)Recent historiographical studies have presented the Habsburg appointment of governors-general during the Dutch Revolt as the outcome of factional infighting at the Spanish Court. While this so-called ‘faction model’ has yielded new insights, it also raises a number of problems. Firstly, in the new model, the role of the dynasty is unduly relegated to the background – even though Philip II’s appointment decisions were mainly driven by dynastic considerations. Secondly, the power struggle at the Spanish Court was not only a conflict between court factions, but also between noble houses vying for prestige and trying to secure positions for their offspring. Thirdly, there is an excessive focus on the Spanish Court, while the feuds between noble houses in the Low Countries also played a role in the interim appointments made during the Revolt. Finally, Philip II always looked for the most suitable candidate in terms of administration and warfare during the Dutch Revolt, in accordance with the constraints of the composite Spanish monarchy. Only the combination of these four (frequently contradictory) motives reveals how Philip II’s appointment of governors can be seen as a quest for the right man or woman in the right place.

Highlights

3 governors-general during the Dutch Revolt as the outcome of factional infighting at the Spanish Court
In 1973, Paul David Lagomarsino explored the far-reaching influence of Spanish factions on Low Countries politics between 1559 and 1567 from this perspective; his views on factionalism have since been applied to most crucial moments in the Dutch Revolt
A third problem is the overly narrow focus on the Spanish Court, while feuds between noble houses in the Low Countries played a role, a factor neglected in most historiographical traditions

Summary

Recent historiographical studies have presented the Habsburg appointment of

3 governors-general during the Dutch Revolt as the outcome of factional infighting at the Spanish Court. The change of focus from dynasty to faction struggle heralded a new approach to the Habsburg appointment of governors in the sixteenthartikel century Low Countries: increasingly, the appointment of a governor-general in Brussels was viewed as the outcome of a subtle power play between court factions in Madrid.[3]. A third problem is the overly narrow focus on the Spanish Court, while feuds between noble houses in the Low Countries played a role, a factor neglected in most historiographical traditions It should be investigated whether Philip II did not look for the most suitable candidate in the fluctuating circumstances of the enduring Dutch Revolt. Artikel r Don Juan of Austria was a bastard son of Emperor Charles V, and as such half-brother of Philip II He was governor-general of the Low Countries from November 1576 until his death on the first of October 1578.

De Wolf also gives November as the date for

Albert of Austria

Spanish noble families

Dutch noble families

Conclusion

Voorbeeld en voorganger