List of governors of the Habsburg Netherlands

The Governor (Dutch: Landvoogd) or Governor-General (Gouverneur-Generaal) ruled the Habsburg Netherlands as a representative of the Counts of Burgundy (until 1549), the Kings of Castile (1556-1706), and the Archdukes of Austria (1716-1794).

List of Governors

Picture Name Took office Left office Relationship to monarch Monarch
Engelbert II of Nassau
(1451-1504)
1501 1504 / Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor for Philip I of Castile
William de Croÿ
(1458-1521)
1504 1507 / Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Margaret of Austria
(1480-1530)
1507 1 December 1530
(death)
Aunt
Mary of Austria
(1505-1558)
January 1531 October 1555 Sister
In 1556, Philip VII, Count of Burgundy became king of Spain as Philip II, thereby bringing the Habsburg Netherlands under Spanish control.
Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy
(1528-1580)
1555 1559 Cousin Philip II of Spain
Margaret of Parma
(1522-1586)
1559 1567 Half-sister
Fernando Álvarez de Toledo
(1507-1582)
1567 1573 /
Luis de Requesens y Zúñiga
(1528-1576)
1573 5 March 1576
(death)
/
John of Austria
(1547-1576)
1576 1 October 1578
(death)
Half-brother
Alexander Farnese
(1545-1592)
1578 3 December 1592
(death)
Half-nephew
Peter Ernst I von Mansfeld-Vorderort
(1517-1604)
1592 1594 /
Ernest of Austria
(1553-1595)
1594 20 February 1595
(death)
Nephew
Pedro Henriquez de Acevedo
(1525-1610)
1595 1596 /
Albert of Austria
(1559-1621)
1596 1598 Nephew
In 1598, Philip II of Spain ceded the Netherlands to his daughter Isabella Clara Eugenia and nephew Albert, who married the next year. They reigned together until his death, when the Netherlands passed to their nephew, Philip IV of Spain, in whose name Isabella Cara Eugenia governed the countries until her death.
Isabella Clara Eugenia of Austria
(1566-1633)
1621 1 December 1633
(death)
Aunt Philip IV of Spain
Ferdinand of Austria
(1609/1610-1641)
1633 9 November 1641
(death)
Brother
Francisco de Melo
(1597-1651)
1641 1644 /
Manuel de Moura
(1590-1651)
1644 1647 /
Leopold William of Austria
(1614-1662)
1647 1656 Cousin
John of Austria the Younger
(1629-1679)
1656 1659 Son
Luis de Benavides Carrillo
(1608-1668)
1659 1664 /
Francisco de Moura
(1610-1675)
1664 1668 /
Charles II of Spain
Íñigo Melchor de Velasco
(1608-1668)
1668 1670 /
Juan Domingo de Zuñiga y Fonseca
(1640-1716)
1670 1675 /
Carlos de Aragón de Gurrea
(1634-1692)
1675 1677 /
Alexander Farnese
(1635-1689)
1678 1682 Distant relative
Ottone Enrico del Caretto
(1629-1685)
1682 1685 /
Francisco Antonio de Agurto
(1640-1702)
1685 1692 /
Maximilian II Emanuel of Bavaria
(1662-1726)
1692 1706 Nephew-in-law
Uncle Philip V of Spain
Following the War of the Spanish Succession, Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI became ruler of the Austrian Netherlands.
Eugene of Savoy
(1663-1736)
1716 1724 Distant relative Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
Wirich Philipp von Daun
(1669-1741)
February 1725 October 1725 /
Maria Elisabeth of Austria
(1680-1741)
1725 26 August 1741
(death)
Sister
Aunt Maria Theresa of Austria
Friedrich August von Harrach-Rohrau
(1696-1749)
1741 1744 /
Maria Anna of Austria
(1718-1744)
1744 16 December 1744
(death)
Sister
Charles Alexander of Lorraine
(1712-1780)
4 July 1780
(death)
Brother-in-law
Maria Christina of Austria-Lorraine
(1742-1798)
with
Albert Casimir of Saxony
(1738-1822)
1781 1793 Sister and brother-in-law Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor
Aunt and uncle Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles of Austria-Lorraine
(1771-1847)
1793 1794 Brother

Thereafter, the French revolutionaries occupied the Low Countries until 1815. The Emperor formally recognized the loss of these territories by the Treaty of Lunéville of 1801. At the Congress of Vienna, in 1815, the Low Countries were re-united in a personal union under the House of Orange-Nassau. In 1830, Belgium declared its independence.

See also

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