Duchy of Brabant

Duchy of Brabant, former duchy comprising the present-day provinces of Noord-Brabant (North Brabant) in the Netherlands, and of Antwerpen and Brabant in Belgium. In the 1st century bc, the region later known as Brabant was occupied by the Romans. It became a possession of the Franks in the 5th century ad, but with the disintegration of the Frankish Empire in the 9th century it was included first in the duchy of Lorraine and later in the duchy of Lower Lorraine. By 1190—when the region became the duchy of Brabant—Brussels, Antwerp, Leuven, and other cities and towns of the region were prosperous centers of trade. Textile industries and other commercial activities flourished, and, because revenues from the cities financed the ducal expenditures, the towns and cities were granted a large share of the government of the duchy. In 1356 these powerful local governments forced the reigning duke to sign a charter called La Joyeuse Entrée. The charter stipulated that the duke could not coin money, declare war, or contract alliances without consent of the people; it remained in effect until 1789 and had to be sworn to by each new duke before he could enter the capital, Leuven.

In 1430 the duchy, as well as the territories known historically as the Low Countries and, between 1549 and 1795, as the Spanish (and later Austrian) Netherlands, became part of Burgundy. Most of Burgundy passed in 1477 into the control of the Habsburg family, through the marriage of Mary of Burgundy to Archduke Maximilian, later Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I. His grandson, Charles I of Spain (later Holy Roman Emperor Charles V), inherited these territories in 1506, and in 1549 declared them formally part of Spain. Charles's son, Philip II, trying to suppress Protestantism in these provinces, caused a rebellion in 1566. In 1579 seven northern (Dutch) provinces declared their independence, while the southern provinces (including Brabant) remained part of Spain. The Peace of Westphalia in 1648, concluding the Thirty Years' War, established the independence of the Dutch provinces as the Dutch Republic of the United Provinces, incorporating the northern part of Brabant. The larger southern part, divided into the provinces of Antwerpen and Brabant, remained under the Spanish Habsburgs until 1713, when by the Peace of Utrecht, France was granted a part of Flanders and the rest of the Spanish possessions went to the Austrian Habsburgs. In 1797, during the French Revolution, Brabant was incorporated into France. By the terms of the peace settlement adopted at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Brabant was included in the newly established Kingdom of the Netherlands. In 1830, when Belgium separated from the Netherlands, Brabant was divided between the two countries; the eldest son of the Belgian ruling monarch bears the title duke of Brabant.