Aggregating territories, integrating elites. The Southern Netherlands and the Monarchy of Philip III (1598-1621)

This article studies how Philip III managed his royal patronage in the years before the return of the Southern Netherlands into the Spanish sovereignty in 1621 (honours, grants, court offices, military habits). The king tried to assure the success of this return stimulating and satisfying the profits expectancies of the Flemish elites, who could see this return as a positive decision for their interests. The details of the elites integration politics designed and implemented by the Crown to bring back this former patrimonial territory to the Spanish Monarchy demonstrate the practical values of... Mehr ...