Duchy of Guelders in the context of "Northern Netherlands"

The Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden), also known as the United Provinces (of the Netherlands), and referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation and great power that existed from 1588 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands and the first independent Dutch nation state. The republic was established after seven Dutch provinces in the Spanish Netherlands revolted against Spanish rule, forming a mutual alliance against Spain in 1579 (the Union of Utrecht) and declaring their independence in 1581 (the Act of Abjuration), after which they confederated in 1588 (the Instruction of 12 April 1588) after the States General could not agree on a new monarch. The seven provinces it comprised were Groningen (present-day Groningen), Frisia (present-day Friesland), Overijssel (present-day Overijssel), Guelders (present-day Gelderland), Utrecht (present-day Utrecht), Holland (present-day North Holland and South Holland), and Zeeland (present-day Zeeland).

Although the state was small and had only around 1.5 million inhabitants, it controlled a worldwide network of seafaring trade routes. Through its trading companies, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and the Dutch West India Company (GWC), it established a Dutch colonial empire. The income from this trade allowed the Dutch Republic to compete militarily against much larger countries. Major conflicts were fought in the Eighty Years' War against Spain (from the foundation of the Dutch Republic until 1648), the Dutch–Portuguese War (1598–1663), four Anglo-Dutch Wars (1652–1654, 1665–1667, 1672–1674, and 1780–1784), the Franco-Dutch War (1672–1678), War of the Grand Alliance (1688–1697), the War of the Spanish Succession (1702–1713), the War of Austrian Succession (1744–1748), and the War of the First Coalition (1792–1795) against the Kingdom of France.

The Lordship of Overijssel or Overissel (Latin: Transisalania) is a former division of the Netherlands named for its position along the river IJssel. It corresponds to the modern day province of Overijssel.

The lordship was formed in 1528 when Charles V of Habsburg conquered Oversticht (roughly the present-day Province of Overijssel and Province of Drenthe), during the Guelders Wars. Before 1528, this area was part of the Bishopric of Utrecht. In 1528, at the demand of Henry of the Palatinate, Prince-Bishop of Utrecht, Habsburg forces under Georg Schenck van Toutenburg liberated the Bishopric, which had been occupied by the Duchy of Guelders since 1521–1522. On October 20, 1528, Bishop Henry handed over power to Charles of Habsburg. The Bishopric of Utrecht came to an end and was divided into the Lordship of Utrecht and the Lordship of Overijssel, both ruled by a Habsburg Stadtholder. The name Overijssel however is of much earlier date; Oversticht was known since 1233 by its Latin name Transysla or Transisalania, literally: Over-IJssel, i.e. the other side of the river IJssel.

The Lordship of Utrecht was formed in 1528 when Charles V of Habsburg conquered the Bishopric of Utrecht, during the Guelders Wars.

In 1528, at the demand of Henry of the Palatinate, Prince-Bishop of Utrecht, Habsburg forces under Georg Schenck van Toutenburg, liberated the Bishopric, which was occupied by the Duchy of Guelders since 1521–22. On October 20, 1528, Bishop Henry handed over power to Charles of Habsburg. The Bishopric of Utrecht came to an end and was divided into the Lordship of Utrecht and the Lordship of Overijssel, both ruled by a Habsburg Stadtholder.

The history of the Netherlands extends back before the founding of the modern Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815 after the defeat of Napoleon. For thousands of years, people have been living together around the river deltas of this section of the North Sea coast. Records begin with the four centuries during which the region formed a militarized border zone of the Roman Empire. As the Western Roman Empire collapsed and the Middle Ages began, three dominant Germanic peoples coalesced in the area – Frisians in the north and coastal areas, Low Saxons in the northeast, and the Franks to the south. By 800, the Frankish Carolingian dynasty had once again integrated the area into an empire covering a large part of Western Europe. The region was part of the duchy of Lower Lotharingia within the Holy Roman Empire, but neither the empire nor the duchy were governed in a centralized manner. For several centuries, medieval lordships such as Brabant, Holland, Zeeland, Friesland, Guelders and others held a changing patchwork of territories.

By 1433, the Duke of Burgundy had assumed control over most of Lower Lotharingia, creating the Burgundian Netherlands. This included what is now the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and a part of France. When their heirs the Catholic kings of Spain took measures against Protestantism, the subsequent Dutch revolt led to the splitting in 1581 of the Netherlands into southern and northern parts. The southern "Spanish Netherlands" corresponds approximately to modern Belgium and Luxembourg, and the northern "United Provinces" (or "Dutch Republic)", which spoke Dutch and was predominantly Protestant, was the predecessor of the modern Netherlands.

Charles Martin (10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), called the Bold, was the last duke of Burgundy from the House of Valois-Burgundy, ruling from 1467 to 1477. He was the only surviving legitimate son of Philip the Good and his third wife, Isabella of Portugal. As heir and as ruler, Charles vied for power and influence with rivals such as his overlord, King Louis XI of France. In 1465, Charles led a successful revolt of Louis's vassals in the War of the Public Weal.

After becoming the Duke of Burgundy in 1467, Charles pursued his ambitions for an independent kingdom which would stretch contiguously from the North Sea in the north to the borders of Savoy in the south. For this purpose, he acquired Guelders and Upper Alsace; sought the title King of the Romans; and gradually became an enemy of the Germans. Charles married Margaret of York for an English alliance. He arranged the betrothal of his only child, Mary, to Maximilian of Austria.

Mary, Princess Royal (Mary Henrietta Stuart; 4 November 1631 – 24 December 1660), was a British princess, a member of the House of Stuart, and by marriage Princess of Orange and Countess of Nassau. She acted as regent for her minor son from 1651 to 1660. She was the first holder of the title Princess Royal.

Mary was the eldest daughter of King Charles I of England and Queen Henrietta Maria, and sister of Charles II and James II. She was married to the future stadtholder of the Netherlands, William II of Orange, in 1641 at the age of nine, while he was fourteen. Initially, she remained in England with her parents because of the heated political situation in England until early 1642, when she and her mother left for the Netherlands. Five years later in 1647, Mary's husband inherited the titles of Prince of Orange and Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, Overijssel and Groningen in the United Provinces of the Netherlands.