The origins of the States General
The States General originated in the fifteenth century as a traditional assembly of estates that could be convened by the Burgundian lords of the Netherlands. The States General was composed of representatives from the various areas, or provinces, over which their lordship extended. After the death of Mary of Burgundy in 1482, the Netherlands passed to her son Philip the Handsome of the House of Habsburg. His son, who would later adopt the title Charles V as Holy Roman Emperor, was lord of the Netherlands from 1515. In 1555, Charles V abdicated during a meeting of the States-General in Brussels. He was succeeded in the Netherlands by his son Philip II.
The abdication of Charles V before the States General in Brussels (1555)
After taking office, Philip soon encountered fierce opposition to his policies. The elites in the Netherlands opposed attempts to raise taxes to finance his wars, as well as the uncompromising way in which he wished to combat the rise of Protestantism. During a meeting in 1558, the States General demanded a say in the spending of the taxes collected. After 1559, Philip did not convene the States General for ten years. During this period, the opposition escalated into a revolt against his authority. In 1566, Protestant iconoclasm put a strain on relationships. The highest nobleman in the Netherlands, William, Prince of Orange, was among the local nobles who turned against Philip. In 1559, Philip had appointed William as stadtholder – lieutenant or governor – in the provinces of Holland, Zeeland and Utrecht. William fell out of favour with Philip, who had left for Spain, as well as with his governor-general, the Duke of Alva; he then fled to his ancestral castle in Dillenburg, Germany. In 1568 he invaded the Netherlands from the north. This invasion marked the beginning of a war that would last eighty years.
During this war, the borders of the present-day Netherlands were drawn. In 1576, representatives of fifteen of the seventeen provinces that made up the Netherlands at that time – the rebellious provinces of Holland and Zeeland were absent – came together for a first meeting of the States General that had not been convened by the lord of the Netherlands. A few years later, a rift arose between the southern provinces, which returned to Spanish rule, and the provinces in the north. The northern States General as it eventually took shape included representatives from seven regions: Gelderland, Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Friesland, Overijssel and Groningen. In 1581, a meeting of the States General officially decided that the sovereign lord of the Netherlands would be abandoned.
After several failed attempts to have another sovereign lord rule over the northern Netherlands under strict conditions, the States General assumed sovereignty themselves in 1588. This created a political entity with a unique collegial government. We now know this state as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands or simply the Dutch Republic. This entity would be formally recognised as an independent state by Spain in 1648, at the end of the Eighty Years’ War. Recognition by other states had already taken place earlier. In the course of the seventeenth century, the Republic grew into one of the most powerful players on the world stage.
The conclusion of the Peace of Münster by Dutch and Spanish diplomatic envoys (1648)
Over the course of the seventeenth century, the doctrine that domestic sovereignty in the Dutch Republic rested with the Provincial States became gradually dominant. However, sovereignty under international law, or the ability to act on behalf of the Dutch Republic on the international stage, would rest with the States General until the end of the eighteenth century. The States General were in permanent session from 1593 onwards. They decided on war, peace and trade and were regarded as the sovereign by foreign princes and diplomats. In addition, they were responsible for all matters concerning the ‘Generality’: for example, they had the right of pardon, were responsible for the monetary system and were responsible for the maintenance of rivers and dykes. They also exercised supreme government over the so-called Generaliteitslanden (‘Generality Lands’), territories within the borders of the Dutch Republic that did not belong to any of the provinces, and the conquered areas in the East and West Indies.