Archdukes Albert and Isabella's Regency in the Habsburg Netherlands (1600s)

Timeline

1. 1601–1604Brussels · NetherlandsAlbert and Isabella established a regency government in Brussels, integrating the estates and nobility of the Southern Netherlands and governing with relative autonomy under Spanish royal sovereignty, replacing the previous model of harsh direct Spanish military rule.
2. 1601–1608Netherlands frontier regions · Low CountriesIn the early years of the regency the Eighty Years' War between the South and the Dutch Republic (the northern rebels) continued, with repeated fighting along the Scheldt and the Brabant frontier; the military drain pushed both sides toward diplomatic negotiation.
3. 1609–1610Antwerp · FlandersIn April 1609 Spain and the Dutch Republic signed the Twelve Years' Truce, effectively recognizing the independence of the northern United Provinces. The Southern Netherlands gained a respite, trade and the economy gradually recovered, and the court culture of Brussels entered a period of flourishing.