Terpene

In the eighteenth century, it became the norm for the Archduke of Austria, who was lord of the Netherlands by inheritance, to appoint a diplomat with the rank of minister plenipotentiary to represent his interests at the court of the governor-general of the Netherlands in Brussels. The minister plenipotentiary served as an intermediary between the courts of Vienna and Brussels and as a check on the development of any independent policy in the latter. The post of governor was gradually reduced to a primarily ceremonial function—especially during the tenure of the first Cobenzl—and the minister plenipotentiary became the de facto supreme authority in the Netherlands.[1]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Officially "Great Master of the Court" and then governor-general ad interim from 1741 until 1744.
  2. ^ The Austrian Netherlands were under French occupation in 1792-93.
  1. ^ Janssens 2006, p. 247.

Sources[edit]

  • Janssens, P. (2006) [1999]. "The Spanish and Austrian Netherlands, 1579–1780". In Blom, J. C. H.; Lamberts, E. (eds.). History of the Low Countries. Berghahn Books. pp. 221–74.

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