The Habsburg Netherlands was a geo-political entity covering the whole Low Countries from 1482 to 1556/1581[1] and solely the Southern Netherlands from 1581 to 1794. After 1581 it was also known as the Spanish Netherlands or the Austrian Netherlands.
It was held by the Duke of Burgundy (1506-1555), the King of Spain (1555-1706) or the Archduke of Austria (1716-1794), all from the house of Habsburg. It was ruled on his behalf by a governor.
It briefly revolted from the Habsburgs from January to December 1790 to join the United States of Belgium, at the end of which it reverted into the Habsburg Netherlands. It finally ceased to exist in 1794 when it was annexed by the First French Republic.
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