State Formation and Shared Sovereignty : The Holy Roman Empire and the Dutch Republic, 1488–1696

During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, dozens of alliances asserting shared sovereignty formed in the Holy Roman Empire and the Low Countries. Many accounts of state formation struggle to explain these leagues, since they characterize state formation as a process of internal bureaucratization within individual states. This comparative study of alliances in the Holy Roman Empire and the Low Countries focuses on a formative time in European history, from the late fifteenth century until the immediate aftermath of the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, to demonstrate how the sharing of sovereignty through alliances influenced the evolution of the Empire, the Dutch Republic, and their various member states in fundamental ways. Alliances simultaneously supported and constrained central and territorial authorities, while their collaborative policy-making process empowered smaller states, helping to ensure their survival. By revealing how the interdependencies of alliance shaped states of all sizes in the Empire and the Low Countries, Christopher W. Close opens new perspectives on state formation with profound implications for understanding the development of states across Europe. "In May 1608, several Protestant rulers in the Holy Roman Empire convened an emergency summit in the Swabian town of Auhausen. Weeks earlier, they had walked out of the Imperial Diet, the Empire's main legislative assembly, to protest what they deemed Catholic attempts to undermine the Empire's constitution. Speaking in one voice, those gathered in Auhausen condemned their opponents' "hostile and violent actions" as a threat to the Empire and its members, known as Imperial Estates. If left unchecked, rogue actors would "create one disturbance after another in the beloved Fatherland, thereby wreaking havoc with the entire ancient and praiseworthy imperial constitution. The result will be nothing less than the destruction of all good order, law, and prosperity." Only by uniting "in a loyal understanding and association" could peace-loving authorities prevent this catastrophe. Accordingly, the Estates assembled in Auhausen formed an alliance, set to last for ten years, which became known as the Protestant Union. By pooling their resources through this corporate framework, the Union's founders argued they acted as the Empire's saviors. Their collective endeavor did not seek "the collapse of the Holy Empire's constitution, but much more to strengthen the same and to better preserve peace and unity in the Empire."-- Provided by publisher Contents 6 Maps 7 Acknowledgments 8 Abbreviations 10 Introduction 14 1 The Swabian League and the Politics of Alliance (1488–1534) 37 2 Alliances and the Early Reformation (1526–1545) 69 3 Alliances and New Visions for the Empire and the Low Countries (1540–1556) 109 4 Shared Sovereignty and Regional Peace (1552–1567) 148 5 Shared Sovereignty and Multi-confessionality in the Empire and the Low Countries (1566–1609) 181 6 Religious Alliance and the Legacy of Past Leagues (1591–1613) 222 7 Religious Alliance and the Thirty Years’ War (1610–1632) 258 8 Westphalia and Politics of Alliance in the Empire and the Dutch Republic (1631–1696) 300 Conclusion 342 Bibliography 351 Index 374 Inhaltsverzeichnis: The Swabian League and the politics of alliance (1488-1534) -- Alliances and the early Reformation (1526-1545) -- Alliances and new visions for the Empire and Low Countries (1540-1556) -- Shared sovereignty and regional peace (1552-1567) -- Shared sovereignty and multi-confessionality in the Empire and Low Countries (1566-1609) -- Religious alliance and the legacy of past leagues (1591-1613) -- Religious alliance and the Thirty Years War (1610-1632) -- Westphalia and politics of alliance in the Empire and Dutch Republic (1631-1696) Through a comparative study of alliances in the Holy Roman Empire and the Low Countries, Christopher W. Close offers new perspectives on how alliances in early modern Europe promoted shared sovereignty, and how this influenced the evolution of states in early modern Europe.