other · France and the Low Countries
Austrian Netherlands
Origins
After the War of the Spanish Succession, the Treaties of Utrecht and Rastatt in 1713–1714 transferred the Spanish Netherlands to Emperor Charles VI. The Barrier Treaty of 1715 allowed Dutch garrisons in a line of fortresses against France.
Rule and society
Governors ruled from Brussels, the most popular being Charles of Lorraine (1744–1780). The Ostend Company, founded in 1722 to trade with Asia, was suppressed in 1731 under Dutch and British pressure. France occupied the country after Fontenoy in 1745–1748. Agriculture, roads and industry developed under Maria Theresa, and Brussels gained neoclassical squares.
Decline and legacy
Joseph II's centralising and church reforms sparked the Brabant Revolution of 1789 and the short-lived United Belgian States. Austria restored control in 1790, but French victory at Fleurus in 1794 led to annexation in 1795, confirmed by the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (10)
- County of Flanders was part of Austrian Netherlands1714 CE – 1795 CE
- County of Hainaut was part of Austrian Netherlands1714 CE – 1795 CE
- Duchy of Brabant was part of Austrian Netherlands1714 CE – 1795 CE
- County of Namur was part of Austrian Netherlands1714 CE – 1795 CE
- County of Luxembourg was part of Austrian Netherlands1714 CE – 1795 CE
- Lordship of Mechelen was part of Austrian Netherlands1714 CE – 1795 CE
- Austrian Netherlands was part of Holy Roman Empire1714 CE – 1795 CE
- Austrian Netherlands was part of Habsburg Monarchy1714 CE – 1797 CE
- United Belgian States split from Austrian Netherlands1790 CE
- Austrian Netherlands was conquered by French First Republic1794 CE – 1797 CE
More states of France and the Low Countries →
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Austrian Netherlands. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/austrian-netherlands
- MLA
- “Austrian Netherlands.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/austrian-netherlands. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Austrian Netherlands.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/austrian-netherlands.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Austrian Netherlands’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/austrian-netherlands (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻