Burgundy, Duchy of

The Duchy of Burgundy (1032–1477) is a successor of an ancient and prestigious patrimony and a large division of the lands of the Kingdom of the Burgundians.

In its own right, it is one of the larger ducal territories that exist at the time of the emergence of Early Modern Europe from Medieval Europe.Even in its diminished size as it exists in the Early Modern Period, the duchy plays a pivotal role in Europe's politics long after it loses its role as an independent political identity in 1477 due to marriages and wars over territories between princes who were related to former rulers.

It is demoted to a ducal rank in 1363 and awarded to a cadet branch inheritance via salic law that is divided between two heirs as a territorial remnant of the Second Kingdom of Burgundy— other portions pass to another cadet branch as well as the Free County of Burgundy.

The duchy roughly conforms to the borders and territories of the modern region of Bourgogne, but its dukes come to own considerable possessions in the Low Countries known as the Burgundian Netherlands.During the period 1363 – 1477, the duchy is ruled by a succession of dukes whose extinction with the death of Charles the Bold (or "the Brash") in 1477 leads to the absorption of the duchy itself into the French crown lands by King Louis XI, while the Burgundian possessions in the Low Countries transfer to Habsburg control.

With the abdication of King Charles I of Spain (Charles V as Holy Roman Emperor) in 1555, the Low Countries pass to the Spanish Empire of Philip II of Spain.

During the Dutch Revolt or Eighty Years War (1568-1648), the northern provinces of the Low Countries gain their independence from Spanish rule and form the Dutch Republic (today the Netherlands), while the southern provinces remain under Spanish rule and are known as the Spanish Netherlands or Southern Netherlands (corresponding roughly to present day Belgium, Luxembourg, and the areas in France corresponding to the Nord department and part of the Pas-de-Calais department).

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