Union of Utrecht

The Union of Utrecht (Dutch: Unie van Utrecht ) is an in Utrecht, signed by various northern provinces and cities in the Netherlands on January 23, 1579 contract, which at that time were under the control of Spain.

The provinces that signed the treaty, were Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, the three quarters of the money Rischen Duchy and the Groninger Ommelande; later also Overijssel, Friesland, Groningen city, the district Zutphen Geldern, Drenthe and many cities ( Ghent, Bruges and the Brugse Vrije, Ypres, Antwerp, Breda, Lier ) joined to the north and south of the EU. Your union understood as a reaction to the Catholic southern provinces ( most of which today is part of Belgium ), the beginning of January 1579 in the Union of Arras (Dutch: Unie van Atrecht ) had explicitly known to the Catholic Spain.

The Union of Utrecht was considered founding of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, the 1581 agreed with the Plakkaat van Verlatinghe independence, which was however only in 1648 by the Dutch War of Independence terminating Peace of Munster (part of the Peace of Westphalia ) recognized internationally.