Utrecht in de republiek. De positie van Utrecht tegenover de Staten-Generaal en de (on)macht van Holland, 1664-1672

Abstract

In the Dutch Republic, the provinces had a high degree of autonomy and had a stake in the decision-making process in The Hague. This autonomy of the smaller provinces is largely ignored in the historical research of this period. In this thesis, the province of Utrecht and its relationship with the Estates-General is investigated for the period 1664-1672. A reconstruction is made of the institutional, military and financial ties of Utrecht with the institutions of the Republic. In this relationship, there was an informal division of tasks and responsibilities between centre and periphery, which prevented "borderconflicts" between the two sides. While Holland was clearly dominant in the Republic, Utrecht was able to keep a significant degree of independence in their financial responsibilities, to the detriment of the taxpayers in Holland.