Seventeen Provinces

Zeventien Provinciën Diecisiete Provincias Siebzehn Provinzen Dix-sept Provinces The Seventeen Provinces
1482–1581
Flag
Map of the Provinces
Status	States of the Holy Roman Empire
Capital	Brussels
Common languages	Dutch, Low Saxon, Frisian, Walloon, Luxembourgish, French
Religion	Roman Catholic (official) After 1530s Protestantism and Anabaptism (inside northern areas, minority, unofficial)
Government	Monarchy
Historical era	Middle Ages
• Established	1482
• Joined Burgundian Circle	1512
• Dutch declaration of independence	July 26 1581
ISO 3166 code	NL
Preceded by Succeeded by Burgundian Netherlands Dutch Republic Spanish Netherlands

The Seventeen Provinces were a personal union of states in the Low Countries in the 15th century and 16th century. The lands were about the same as the current Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, a good part of the North of France (Artois, French Flanders), and a small part of Western Germany.

The Seventeen Provinces were first held by the Dukes of Burgundy of the House of Valois. Later they were held by the Habsburgs. From 1512 the Provinces formed the major part of the Burgundian Circle.

Composition

The map matches to the following provinces:

1. the County of Artois
2. the County of Flanders, including the burgraviates of Lille, Douai, Orchies, the Lordship of Tournai and the Tournaisis
3. the Lordship of Mechelen
4. the County of Namur
5. the County of Hainaut
6. the County of Zeeland
7. the County of Holland
8. the Duchy of Brabant, including the Margraviate of Antwerp, the counties of Leuven and of Brussels, and the advocacy of the Abbey of Nivelles and of Gembloux
9. the Duchy of Limburg, including the counties of Dalhem and Valkenburg and the Lordship of Herzogenrath
10. the Duchy of Luxembourg
11. the Prince-Bishopric, later Lordship of Utrecht
12. the Lordship of Frisia
13. the Duchy of Guelders
14. the Lordship of Groningen (including the Ommelanden)
15. the Lordship of Drenthe, Lingen, Wedde, and Westerwolde
16. the Lordship of Overijssel
17. the County of Zutphen

It was not always the same Seventeen Provinces.

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