Union of Utrecht facts for kids

History of the Low Countries
Frisii			Belgae
	Cana- nefates	Chamavi, Tubantes		Gallia Belgica (55 BC – 5th c. AD) Germania Inferior (83 – 5th c.)
		Salian Franks		Batavi
unpopulated (4th–5th c.)		Saxons	Salian Franks (4th–5th c.)
Frisian Kingdom (6th c.–734)			Frankish Kingdom (481–843)—Carolingian Empire (800–843)
		Austrasia (511–687)
Middle Francia (843–855)					West Francia (843–)
Kingdom of Lotharingia (855– 959) Duchy of Lower Lorraine (959–)
Frisia
Frisian Freedom (11–16th century)	County of Holland (880–1432)	Bishopric of Utrecht (695–1456)	Duchy of Brabant (1183–1430) Duchy of Guelders (1046–1543)		County of Flanders (862–1384)	County of Hainaut (1071–1432) County of Namur (981–1421)	P.-Bish. of Liège (980–1794)	Duchy of Luxem- bourg (1059–1443)
	Burgundian Netherlands (1384–1482)
	Habsburg Netherlands (1482–1795) (Seventeen Provinces after 1543)
Dutch Republic (1581–1795)				Spanish Netherlands (1556–1714)
				Austrian Netherlands (1714–1795)
				United States of Belgium (1790)			R. Liège (1789–'91)
Batavian Republic (1795–1806) Kingdom of Holland (1806–1810)				associated with French First Republic (1795–1804) part of First French Empire (1804–1815)
Princip. of the Netherlands (1813–1815)
United Kingdom of the Netherlands (1815–1830)								Gr D. L. (1815–)
Kingdom of the Netherlands (1839–)				Kingdom of Belgium (1830–)
								Gr D. of Luxem- bourg (1890–)

The Union of Utrecht (Dutch: Unie van Utrecht) was an important agreement signed on January 23, 1579, in the city of Utrecht, Netherlands. This treaty brought together the northern provinces of the Netherlands, which were then controlled by Habsburg Spain. It was a big step towards the creation of the Dutch Republic.

How the Union of Utrecht Started

The Union of Utrecht is often seen as the beginning of the Republic of the Seven United Provinces. This new republic was not officially recognized by Spain until 1609, during a time called the Twelve Years' Truce.

The treaty was signed on January 23, 1579, by several areas:

• The province of Holland
• The province of Zeeland
• Most of the province of Utrecht
• The province of Groningen (but not the city itself)

This agreement was a response from the Protestant provinces. They were reacting to the 1579 Union of Arras (Dutch: Unie van Atrecht). In the Union of Arras, two southern provinces and one city had declared their support for Catholic Spain.

Who Else Joined the Union?

Over the next few months in 1579, more areas joined the Union of Utrecht:

• The city of Ghent
• Cities from Friesland
• Three parts of Guelders (Nijmegen, Veluwe, and Zutphen)

In the summer of 1579, Amersfoort (from Utrecht province) joined. So did Ypres, Antwerp, Breda, and Brussels. In February 1580, Lier, Bruges, and the area around Bruges also signed. The city of Groningen later joined, influenced by George van Rennenberg, the leader (stadtholder) for Friesland. The fourth part of Guelders, called Upper Guelders, never signed. In April 1580, Overijssel and Drenthe joined too.

Map of the Spanish Netherlands, showing the Union of Utrecht and the Union of Arras in 1579.

The areas that became part of the Union of Utrecht included:

• The County of Holland
• The County of Zeeland
• The Lordship of Utrecht
• The Duchy of Guelders
• The Lordship of Groningen
• The Lordship of Friesland
• The County of Drenthe
• The Lordship of Overijssel
• The Duchy of Brabant
• The County of Flanders
• The cities of Tournai and Valenciennes

The city of Antwerp was the main city of the union until Spain took it over.

Becoming Independent from Spain

Spain's army conquered almost all of Flanders and half of Brabant. Even after forming the Union of Utrecht, the United Provinces still officially recognized Spanish rule. However, the union made the relationship between the provinces and their Spanish ruler much worse. Because of this, in 1581, the United Provinces officially declared their independence from the king of Spain in a document called the Act of Abjuration.

The Twelve Years' Truce in 1609 was a break in the fighting, which is now known as the Eighty Years' War. This truce basically meant that Spain accepted Dutch independence. It was a big win for the Dutch. They didn't give up any land and continued to attack Spanish colonies and trade. In return, Spain called the United Provinces "Free lands, provinces and states against whom they make no claim" for the time the truce lasted.

Religious Freedom in the Union

The Union of Utrecht was special because it allowed complete personal freedom of religion. This made it one of the first agreements to offer unlimited religious tolerance. An extra rule even allowed provinces and cities that wanted to stay Catholic to join the union.

What Did the Union Mean for the Netherlands?

Many people think the Union of Utrecht was the exact start of the Netherlands as a single country. This isn't completely true. It's better to say that the Union of Utrecht created the foundation for the Dutch Republic, also known as the Seven United Provinces. This republic was formed a few years later. However, these seven "states within a state" only truly became one unified country much later, during the time of the Batavian Republic, about 200 years later.

Historians used to believe that the Union of Utrecht was mainly a "Calvinist alliance" of the northern provinces. They thought it was meant to separate from the southern areas. But later research, especially by Leo Delfos, showed that the Union of Utrecht actually wanted to keep the larger "General Union" (Pacification of Ghent) of 1576 together. It aimed to include all provinces in the Netherlands, not just the northern ones. Both the Pacification and the Union of Utrecht were agreements between the Calvinist-led provinces of Holland and Zeeland and the other fifteen provinces, which were mostly Catholic. Even Alexander Farnese, a Spanish leader who was against the Union of Utrecht, said in a letter that the Union was not based on Calvinism. It was only later, because of Spain's military victories and political changes, that the Union became a "Northern Calvinist alliance" in practice.

See also

In Spanish: Unión de Utrecht para niños

• Dutch Revolt
• List of treaties