Union of Utrecht: Map & History
The Union of Utrecht was an alliance based on an agreement concluded on 23 January 1579 between a number of Dutch provinces and cities, to reach a joint commitment against the king, Philip II of Spain.
Wikipedia Encyclopedic Compendium
Historiographical synthesis & structured realm registry
The Union of Utrecht was an alliance based on an agreement concluded on 23 January 1579 between a number of Dutch provinces and cities, to reach a joint commitment against the king, Philip II of Spain. By joining forces, they hoped to force him to stop his harsh administrative measures. In addition, some important political matters were regulated in areas such as defence, taxation and religion, which is why the treaty in question is also seen as a first version or precursor of a later constitution. The Union of Utrecht complemented the so-called General Union of 1576, established by the Pacification of Ghent, which is why it is also referred to as the Further Union.
Modern Countries Once Part of Union of Utrecht
At its mapped extent, Union of Utrecht covered territory in 2 present-day countries. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Union of Utrecht's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Union of Utrecht in Depth
History
The Union of Utrecht is regarded as the foundation of the Republic of the Seven United Provinces, which was not recognized by the Spanish Empire until the Twelve Years' Truce in 1609.
The treaty was signed on 23 January by Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht (but not all of Utrecht), and the province (but not the city) of Groningen. The treaty was a reaction of the Protestant provinces to the 1579 Union of Arras (Dutch: Unie van Atrecht), in which two southern provinces and a city declared their support for Roman Catholic Spain.
During the following months of 1579, other states signed the treaty as well, such as Ghent, cities from Friesland, as well as three of the quarters of Guelders (Nijmegen Quarter, Veluwe Quarter, Zutphen County).
Previous history
The signing of the treaty for the Union of Utrecht, during the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648), was preceded by a whole series of unions, edicts and covenants. At the Union of Dordrecht, on 4 July 1575, William of Orange was appointed stadholder of Holland and Holland and Zeeland decided to cooperate. These areas – except for Amsterdam and Middelburg, among others – were largely free of Spanish troops in the years 1572–1576, and there leaders with the Calvinist faith gained the upper hand. The Spanish sack of Antwerp on 4 November 1576, in which Spanish troops looted and reduced the city to ashes and killed thousands of citizens, caused a stir in the Netherlands.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Union of Utrecht (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Union of Utrecht: Key Facts
| Founded | 23 January 1579 |
|---|
Facts from Wikidata Q216165 (CC0).
Union of Utrecht Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 38,590 km² in 1580 CE.
Union of Utrecht: Frequently Asked Questions
When did the Union of Utrecht exist?
The Union of Utrecht is dated to 1579 CE – 1581 CE, in the Early Modern & Age of Discovery era.
How large was the Union of Utrecht at its peak?
At its peak in 1580 the Union of Utrecht covered about 38,590 km².
Other Sovereign Realms
High & Late Middle Ages • Capital: Avarga
Early Modern & Age of Discovery • Capital: Söğüt, Bursa, Edirne, Constantinople
Industrial Era • Capital: London
Early Modern & Age of Discovery • Capital: Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Lahore, Delhi