Privatisering van heerlijkheden in het hertogdom Brabant, het hertogdom Limburg en de Landen van Overmaas, 1626-1661

Gifpil of panacee?

Samenvatting

This article examines the privatization of lordships in the Duchy of Brabant, the Duchy of Limburg, and the Lands of Overmaas between 1626 and 1661. Against the backdrop of the financial crisis faced by King Philip IV of Spain after the end of the Twelve Years’ Truce and the resumption of war with the Dutch Republic and France, the crown resorted to alienating territorial authority by pledging or selling local lordships. This practice transferred administrative and judicial powers to the highest bidder, thereby transforming government authority into a commodity. While such measures had historical precedents in Brabant and Burgundy, they were controversial: earlier cycles of pledging and redemption had already been criticized as a ‘dangerous palliative’. The study explores whether this seventeenth-century wave of privatization functioned as a financial remedy or rather as a poison pill, assessing its consequences for governance, justice, and the relationship between the monarchy and regional estates.