The stadtholders or governors were appointed from the ranks of the high nobility, and acted as deputies of a monarch, such as the dukes of Burgundy, Saxony and Guelders, the kings of Spain, or the archdukes of Austria. During the Eighty Years' War, the States(-General) of provinces which rebelled against the Spanish crown started appointing their own stadtholders, establishing a symbiotic relationship between States and stadtholders in what would become the Dutch Republic. Throughout the war, some areas had two stadtholders: those appointed by the Habsburgs, and those appointed by the States in revolt.
The County of Artois (Dutch: Artesië) was a province of France, held by the Dukes of Burgundy from 1384 until 1477/82, and a state of the Holy Roman Empire from 1493 until 1659. Through the Burgundian treaty of 1548, it was made part of the Habsburg Netherlands (Seventeen Provinces) until 1659, when it was reincorportated into France.
The Duchy of Brabant had no stadtholder, since the governor-general administered this region directly from Brussels. William of Orange once proposed to appoint a kind of stadtholder (he called it superintendent) to be able to persuade the States of Brabant to obey, because without the stadtholder the States could act too independently. He implied that he himself would be a good candidate for the office. However, his proposal was rejected by Granvelle.[5] At the Entry of William of Orange to Brussels in September 1577, Orange did receive the medieval title of ruwaard from the hands of the States of Brabant, which came down to a stadtholdership, but mainly had symbolic value.
Although the Prince-Bishopric of Cambrai (Dutch: Kamerijk) or Cambrésis was not formally part of the Habsburg Netherlands but was sovereign and directly under the emperor, the emperor was also always from the House of Habsburg, and the city of Cambrai had had a Spanish garrison as its occupation since 1543. The Spanish Habsburgs therefore appointed governors (stadtholders) over Cambrai who were not answerable to the prince-bishop residing in Le Cateau-Cambrésis.
1574–1576: Philip of Récourt, baron of Licques (Liques), viscount of Lens. Taken captive and deposed by Baudouin de Gavre in 1576.[8][7]
In States-General service
1576–1581: Baudouin de Gavre, lord of Inchy, conquered Cambrai and was appointed commander/governor/stadtholder of Cambrai in the service of the States-General.[9][10]
The stadtholdership of Holland and Zealand has always been combined. Since the office was instituted there in 1528, the stadtholder of Utrecht has been the same as the one of Holland, with one exception. In 1572, William of Orange was elected as the stadtholder, although Philip II had appointed a different one.
During the First Stadtholderless Period, the provinces of Holland, Zealand and Utrecht were governed by their States free from autocratic intervention. The Second Stadtholderless Period in Holland ended when the Frisian stadtholder became hereditary stadtholder for all provinces of the Dutch Republic.
Only one Habsburg stadtholder was ever appointed over the Duchy of Jülich, when that country was occupied in 1543 at the end of the Guelders Wars. However, it soon became clear that Jülich would not become part of the Habsburg Netherlands, but remained in the possession of the House of La Marck. The stadtholdership was abolished the same year.
29 May 1579: Catholic citizen militia expelled Calvinist rebel forces from Mechelen; city governor and military commander Pontus de Noyelles defected to the Habsburg camp.[20]
^After the 'Treason of Rennenberg' (3 March 1580), Orange became de facto stadtholder of the northern regions on behalf of the States-General; in fact, however, the States had no authority over Groningen and Drenthe in these years.
^After Coevorden was captured from the Spanish government troops in 1592, the plenipotentiary Drenthe nobles appointed William Louis on 5 January 1593 in Kampen as stadtholder of the County of Drenthe. This was not confirmed by the States-General in The Hague until 24 August 1596.
^After Egmont's execution, Flanders (probably) temporarily had no stadtholder. Jean de Croÿ (the Count of Rœulx) is mentioned as his successor, but he did not receive his appointment until 3 July 1572.
Tracy, J.D. (2008). The Founding of the Dutch Republic: War, Finance, and Politics in Holland 1572–1588. Oxford University Press. ISBN978-0-19-920911-8.
