Burgundian Circle

The Burgundian Circle (German: Burgundischer Reichskreis) was an Imperial Circle of the Holy Roman Empire. It was created in 1512 during the Imperial Reforms of the Emperor Maximilian I. The original territories of the circle were Breda (centre of the House of Nassau in the Netherlands), the Counties of Hoorn, Bergen and Egmont, and the various Imperial lands of the Duchy of Burgundy. Most of the territories of the Circle were alienated from the rest of the Empire so at the Diet of Augsburg in 1548 the Circle was extracted from the upper rule of the Empire, but the territories continued to enjoy the protection of the Empire and to provide the equivalent of two armies of the electors for the general defence of the Empire, and as much as three during the Turkish Wars. That year the circle was expanded with the addition of Guelders and the Lordships of Utrecht, Groningen, Jever (Circle-free from 1588) and Overijssel with Drenthe.

In 1566 the Burgindian Netherlands were transferred to the Kingdom of Spain. The Dutch began their rebellion against the Spanish in 1567 and the Eighty Years' War in 1568. The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 ended the warfare and removed the rebelling provinces (Frisia, Groningen, the northern half of Guelders, Holland, Overijssel, Utrecht, Zeeland, Zutphen) from both the Circle and the Empire. The Circle was further diminished in various wars against France: Artois (Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659)), parts of Hainaut and Flanders (Treaty of Aachen (1668)) and Franche Comté (Treaty of Nimwegen (1678)). In 1713/4 the Spanish Netherlands were transferred to Austria in the War of the Spanish Succession. The remaining lands of the much reduced Circle were annexed to France by the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797.

Name	Type
Antwerp	Margraviate	1512 - 1797
Brabant	Duchy	1512 - 1797
Flanders	County	1512 - 1797
Guelders with Zutphen	Duchy & County	1548 - 1797; Half seceded to the Netherlands in 1648
Hainaut	County	1512 - 1797
Limburg	Duchy	1512 - 1797
Luxembourg	Duchy	1512 - 1797
Mechelen	Lordship	1512 - 1797
Namur	County	1512 - 1797
Tournai	County	1521 - 1797

Former Estates of the Burgundian Circle

Name	Type
Artois	County	1512 - 1659; Annexed to France in 1659
Bergen and Walen	Margraviate	1512 - 1579
Breda	Barony	1512 - 1538
Burgundy	Free County	1512 - 1678; Annexed to France in 1678
Egmont and Ijsselstein	County	1512 - 1548
Frisia	Lordship	1512 - 1579; Joined the Netherlands
Groningen	Lordship	1548 - 1579; Joined the Netherlands
Holland	County	1512 - 1579; Joined the Netherlands
Hoorn	County	1512 - 1614
Jever	Lordship	1548 - 1588
Overijssel with Drenthe	Lordship & County	1548 - 1579; Joined the Netherlands
Utrecht	Lordship	1548 - 1579; Joined the Netherlands
Zeeland	County	1512 - 1579; Joined the Netherlands

Burgundian Circle
Antwerp | Brabant | Flanders | Guelders | Hainaut | Limburg | Luxembourg Mechelen | Namur | Tournai Earlier Members
Artois | Bergen and Walen | Bergen op Zoom | Breda | Burgundy | Drenthe Egmont and Ijsselstein | Frisia | Groningen | Holland | Hoorn | Jever | Overijssel Utrecht | Zeeland | Zutphen