Generality Lands
Encyclopedia
The Generality Lands, Lands of the Generality or Common Lands were about one fifth of the territories of the United Provinces
of the Netherlands, that were directly governed by the States-General
. Unlike the seven provinces Holland, Zeeland
, Utrecht
, Guelders
, Overijssel
, Friesland
and Groningen
, these territories had no States-Provincial
and were not represented in the central government.
During the Eighty Years' War the Generality Lands came (or remained) under control of the Dutch republic, and this situation was consolidated by the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648. Most of the territories had no provincial government because they were cut off from their original mainland, which remained under Spanish rule. The prefix Staats- indicates that this part of the province was under general States rule, as a dependent territory
.
After the French occupation of the Southern Netherlands
and the proclamation of the Batavian Republic
in 1795 the Generality Lands ceased to exist. Staats-Brabant became a département in the Batavian Republic
(Bataafs-Brabant). Staats-Vlaanderen became part of the French département Escaut
. Staats-Limburg and Staats-Oppergelre became parts of the Frenchs départements Roer
, Meuse-Inférieure
and Ourthe
.
When French rule ended and the United Kingdom of the Netherlands
began, none of the Generality lands returned. Bataafs-Brabant was merged with a number of formerly semi-independent Holy Roman
fiefs and part of the province of Holland to become the province of Noord-Brabant; Staats-Vlaanderen was incorporated into the province of Zeeland
; and most parts of Staats-Oppergelre and Staats-Limburg were merged with territories gained from Prussia
to form the province of Limburg, with the rest going to Prussia.
Territories of the Dutch republic outside Europe were also under general States rule, for example Staten Island
in present-day New York City
. New Zealand
was also originally called Staten Landt after its Dutch discovery.
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
of the Netherlands, that were directly governed by the States-General
States-General of the Netherlands
The States-General of the Netherlands is the bicameral legislature of the Netherlands, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The parliament meets in at the Binnenhof in The Hague. The archaic Dutch word "staten" originally related to the feudal classes in which medieval...
. Unlike the seven provinces Holland, Zeeland
Zeeland
Zeeland , also called Zealand in English, is the westernmost province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the south-west of the country, consists of a number of islands and a strip bordering Belgium. Its capital is Middelburg. With a population of about 380,000, its area is about...
, Utrecht
Utrecht (province)
Utrecht is the smallest province of the Netherlands in terms of area, and is located in the centre of the country. It is bordered by the Eemmeer in the north, Gelderland in the east, the river Rhine in the south, South Holland in the west, and North Holland in the northwest...
, Guelders
Guelders
Guelders or Gueldres is the name of a historical county, later duchy of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries.-Geography:...
, Overijssel
Overijssel
Overijssel is a province of the Netherlands in the central eastern part of the country. The region has a NUTS classification of NL21. The province's name means "Lands across river IJssel". The capital city of Overijssel is Zwolle and the largest city is Enschede...
, Friesland
Friesland
Friesland is a province in the north of the Netherlands and part of the ancient region of Frisia.Until the end of 1996, the province bore Friesland as its official name. In 1997 this Dutch name lost its official status to the Frisian Fryslân...
and Groningen
Groningen (province)
Groningen [] is the northeasternmost province of the Netherlands. In the east it borders the German state of Niedersachsen , in the south Drenthe, in the west Friesland and in the north the Wadden Sea...
, these territories had no States-Provincial
States-Provincial
The States'-Provincial is the provincial parliament and legislative assembly in each of the Provinces of the Netherlands. It is elected for each province simultaneously once every four years and has the responsibility for matters of sub-national or regional importance...
and were not represented in the central government.
During the Eighty Years' War the Generality Lands came (or remained) under control of the Dutch republic, and this situation was consolidated by the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648. Most of the territories had no provincial government because they were cut off from their original mainland, which remained under Spanish rule. The prefix Staats- indicates that this part of the province was under general States rule, as a dependent territory
Dependent territory
A dependent territory, dependent area or dependency is a territory that does not possess full political independence or sovereignty as a State, and remains politically outside of the controlling state's integral area....
.
- Brabant of the States (Staats-Brabant): the northern part of the Duchy of BrabantDuchy of BrabantThe Duchy of Brabant was a historical region in the Low Countries. Its territory consisted essentially of the three modern-day Belgian provinces of Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant and Antwerp, the Brussels-Capital Region and most of the present-day Dutch province of North Brabant.The Flag of...
, most of the present province of North BrabantNorth BrabantNorth Brabant , sometimes called Brabant, is a province of the Netherlands, located in the south of the country, bordered by Belgium in the south, the Meuse River in the north, Limburg in the east and Zeeland in the west.- History :...
- Flanders of the States (Staats-Vlaanderen): the northern part of the County of FlandersCounty of FlandersThe County of Flanders was one of the territories constituting the Low Countries. The county existed from 862 to 1795. It was one of the original secular fiefs of France and for centuries was one of the most affluent regions in Europe....
, present Zeelandic Flanders and nowadays part of the province of ZeelandZeelandZeeland , also called Zealand in English, is the westernmost province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the south-west of the country, consists of a number of islands and a strip bordering Belgium. Its capital is Middelburg. With a population of about 380,000, its area is about...
- Limburg of the States (Staats-Limburg or Staats-Overmaas): several small territories between MaastrichtMaastrichtMaastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border...
, Liège and AachenAachenAachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
, e.g. DalhemDalhemDalhem is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège. On January 1, 2006 Dalhem had a total population of 6,486. The total area is 36.06 km² which gives a population density of 180 inhabitants per km²....
, ValkenburgValkenburg aan de GeulValkenburg aan de Geul is a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands.-History:Siege and conquest were characteristic of the history of Valkenburg. Each event is withheld, followed by subsequent restorations. This most definitely holds for the castle perched atop of a hill in the middle of the...
and HertogenradeRolducRolduc is the name of a medieval abbey in Kerkrade, the Netherlands, which is now a Roman Catholic seminary and an affiliated conferencing center.-History:...
. The city of Maastricht was a condominiumCondominium (international law)In international law, a condominium is a political territory in or over which two or more sovereign powers formally agree to share equally dominium and exercise their rights jointly, without dividing it up into 'national' zones.Although a condominium has always been...
of the United Provinces and the Prince-Bishopric of Liège.
- Guelders of the States (Staats-Oppergelre): as a result of the Treaty of UtrechtTreaty of UtrechtThe Treaty of Utrecht, which established the Peace of Utrecht, comprises a series of individual peace treaties, rather than a single document, signed by the belligerents in the War of Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht in March and April 1713...
(1713) a part of Spanish Guelders was ceded to the United Provinces, e.g. VenloVenloVenlo is a municipality and a city in the southeastern Netherlands, next to the German border. It is situated in the province of Limburg.In 2001, the municipalities of Belfeld and Tegelen were merged into the municipality of Venlo. Tegelen was originally part of the Duchy of Jülich centuries ago,...
and Echt; another part came to PrussiaPrussiaPrussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
and a small part around RoermondRoermondRoermond is a city, a municipality, and a diocese in the southeastern part of the Netherlands.The city of Roermond is a historically important town, on the lower Roer at the east bank of the Meuse river. It received city rights in 1231...
was left for the Austrian duchy of Guelders.
- Westerwolde and Wedde: what is now the south-eastern part of the province of GroningenGroningen (province)Groningen [] is the northeasternmost province of the Netherlands. In the east it borders the German state of Niedersachsen , in the south Drenthe, in the west Friesland and in the north the Wadden Sea...
was a generality land between 1594 and 1619, after which it became part of said province.
After the French occupation of the Southern Netherlands
Southern Netherlands
Southern Netherlands were a part of the Low Countries controlled by Spain , Austria and annexed by France...
and the proclamation of the Batavian Republic
Batavian Republic
The Batavian Republic was the successor of the Republic of the United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on January 19, 1795, and ended on June 5, 1806, with the accession of Louis Bonaparte to the throne of the Kingdom of Holland....
in 1795 the Generality Lands ceased to exist. Staats-Brabant became a département in the Batavian Republic
Batavian Republic
The Batavian Republic was the successor of the Republic of the United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on January 19, 1795, and ended on June 5, 1806, with the accession of Louis Bonaparte to the throne of the Kingdom of Holland....
(Bataafs-Brabant). Staats-Vlaanderen became part of the French département Escaut
Escaut (département)
Escaut is a département of the First French Empire in present Belgium and Netherlands. It is named after the river Scheldt . It was formed in 1795, when the Southern Netherlands were annexed by France. Before the occupation, the territory was part of the county of Flanders and the United Provinces...
. Staats-Limburg and Staats-Oppergelre became parts of the Frenchs départements Roer
Roer (département)
Roer is the name of a département of the First French Empire in present day Germany and the Netherlands. It was named after the river Rur, which flows through the département. It was formed in 1795, when the Southern Netherlands and the left bank of the Rhine were occupied by the French...
, Meuse-Inférieure
Meuse-Inférieure
Meuse-Inférieure is the name of a département of the First French Empire in present Belgium, Netherlands and Germany. It is named after the river Meuse. Its capital was Maastricht....
and Ourthe
Ourthe
The Ourthe is a 165 km long river in the Ardennes in Wallonia . It is a right tributary to the river Meuse. The Ourthe is formed at the confluence of the Ourthe Occidentale and the Ourthe Orientale , west of Houffalize.The source of the Ourthe Occidentale is near Libramont-Chevigny, in the...
.
When French rule ended and the United Kingdom of the Netherlands
United Kingdom of the Netherlands
United Kingdom of the Netherlands is the unofficial name used to refer to Kingdom of the Netherlands during the period after it was first created from part of the First French Empire and before the new kingdom of Belgium split out in 1830...
began, none of the Generality lands returned. Bataafs-Brabant was merged with a number of formerly semi-independent Holy Roman
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
fiefs and part of the province of Holland to become the province of Noord-Brabant; Staats-Vlaanderen was incorporated into the province of Zeeland
Zeeland
Zeeland , also called Zealand in English, is the westernmost province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the south-west of the country, consists of a number of islands and a strip bordering Belgium. Its capital is Middelburg. With a population of about 380,000, its area is about...
; and most parts of Staats-Oppergelre and Staats-Limburg were merged with territories gained from Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
to form the province of Limburg, with the rest going to Prussia.
Territories of the Dutch republic outside Europe were also under general States rule, for example Staten Island
Staten Island (disambiguation)
Staten Island is a borough of New York City.Staten Island may also refer to:* Isla de los Estados , an island off the coast of Tierra del Fuego in Argentina...
in present-day New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
was also originally called Staten Landt after its Dutch discovery.