In the latter years of the
Eighty Years' War the Generality Lands came under control of the Dutch Republic, and this situation was consolidated by the
Treaty of Westphalia in 1648. Most of the territories had no provincial government because they were cut off from their original governments, which remained under
Spanish rule. In contrast to the northern seven provinces, the population of the Generality Lands was overwhelmingly
Roman Catholic. The
prefix indicates that this part of the province was under general
States rule, as a
dependent territory. For both the
Generality Lands and the
Dutch colonies, sovereignty was claimed by the Generality on the basis
right of conquest. • '''States' Brabant'
(): the northern part of the Duchy of Brabant (the bulk of the present-day province of North Brabant), including the so-called Redemptiedorpen''. • '''States' Flanders''' (): the northern part of the
County of Flanders, present-day
Zeelandic Flanders. The predominantly Protestant lands of
Axel had special status and representation in the States of Zeeland, as did the forts of
Lillo,
Liefkenshoek,
Kruisschans and
Frederik Hendrik. • '''States' Overmaas''' (): the
Lands of Overmaas – several small territories between
Maastricht,
Liège and
Aachen, including the (
Dalhem), (
Valkenburg) and the (
Hertogenrade). The city of Maastricht was a
condominium of the United Provinces and the
Prince-Bishopric of Liège. literally means "beyond the
Meuse" or "Trans-Meuse" (from the perspective of
Brussels). The 19th century term "Staats-Limburg", invented for nationalistic reasons, is historically and geographically incorrect. • '''States' Upper Guelders''' (): as a result of the
Treaty of Utrecht (1713) a part of
Spanish Guelders, including
Venlo and
Echt, was ceded to the United Provinces, while another part went to
Prussia and a small part around
Roermond was left for the
Austrian duchy of Guelders. •
Westerwolde and
Wedde: what is now the southeastern part of the province of
Groningen was a generality land between 1594 and 1619, after which it became part of that province. The eight province of the
Seven United Netherlands,
Drenthe, also had no representation in the States-General, albeit due to its poverty. After the French occupation of the
Southern Netherlands and the proclamation of the
Batavian Republic in 1795 the Generality Lands ceased to exist. Staats-Brabant became a in the
Batavian Republic (). Staats-Vlaanderen became part of the French
Escaut. and became parts of the French of
Roer and
Meuse-Inférieure. When French rule ended and the
United Kingdom of the Netherlands began, the former Generality lands were folded into the provinces. was merged with a number of formerly semi-independent
Holy Roman fiefs and part of the province of
Holland to become the province of
North Brabant; Staats-Vlaanderen was incorporated into the province of
Zeeland; and most parts of and were merged with territories gained from
Prussia to form the
province of Limburg, with the rest going to Prussia. Territories of the Dutch Republic outside Europe were also under general
States rule, for example
Staten Island in present-day
New York City.
New Zealand was also originally called
Staten Landt after its Dutch discovery. ==References==