The Conspiracy of Nobles (French: ''La conspiration des nobles'') was a plot in 1632 to divide the

Spanish Netherlands Spanish Netherlands (Spanish: Países Bajos Españoles; Dutch: Spaanse Nederlanden; French: Pays-Bas espagnols; German: Spanische Niederlande.) (historically in Spanish: ''Flandes'', the name "Flanders" was used as a ''pars pro toto'') was the Ha ...

between the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

and the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. ...

. The Belgian aristocrats behind the plot were frustrated at their exclusion from the decision-making process by

Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares Gaspar de Guzmán y Pimentel, 1st Duke of Sanlúcar, 3rd Count of Olivares, GE, known as the Count-Duke of Olivares (taken by joining both his countship and subsequent dukedom) (6 January 1587 – 22 July 1645), was a Spanish royal favourit ...

, who was chief minister to

Philip IV of Spain Philip IV ( es, Felipe, pt, Filipe; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered f ...

, sovereign ruler of the Spanish Netherlands. Among the conspirators were Counts Hendrik van den Bergh and

René de Renesse, 1st Count of Warfusée René III of Renesse, Viscount of Montenaecken, Baron of Gaesbeeck, Lord of Elderen (ca. 1580 – Liège, 17 April 1637) was a Dutch nobleman, who became the 1st Count of Warfusée in 1609. He acquired Gaasbeek Castle in 1615. Family He was t ...

, the only two of the conspirators to act. The plan came to nothing, but the existence of the conspiracy had a major impact on subsequent political developments, and the defection of Hendrik van den Bergh was a serious blow to the military leadership of the

Army of Flanders The Army of Flanders ( es, Ejército de Flandes nl, Leger van Vlaanderen) was a multinational army in the service of the kings of Spain that was based in the Spanish Netherlands during the 16th to 18th centuries. It was notable for being the longe ...

and the prestige of the Habsburg dynasty. Only in 1634 did the Spanish government begin to gain a picture of the extent of the plot, through revelations made by

Balthazar Gerbier Sir Balthazar Gerbier (23 February 1592, in N.S. – 1663), was an Anglo-Dutch courtier, diplomat, art advisor, miniaturist and architectural designer, in his own words fluent in "several languages" with "a good hand in writing, skill in sciences ...

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of ...

's resident agent in Brussels. On the basis of Gerbier's denunciations,

Albert de Ligne, Prince of Barbançon Albert de Ligne (1600–1674), Prince of Barbançon and Arenberg, knight of the Golden Fleece, was a Netherlandish nobleman and military commander in the Thirty Years' War and the Eighty Years' War. Life Ligne was the son of Robert de Ligne, Baron ...

, spent eight years in prison (1634–1642) without being brought to trial.

Guillaume de Melun, Prince of Espinoy Guillaume de Melun (1588–1635) was a nobleman in the Spanish Netherlands, Governor and Grand Bailiff of the County of Hainaut, and Constable of Flanders, who conspired against the government. Life Guillaume was the son of Pierre de Melun, Prin ...

, fled to France and was sentenced to death for high treason ''in absentia''. The

Duke of Aarschot The Duke of Aarschot (or ''Aerschot'') was one of the most important aristocratic titles in the Low Countries, named after the Brabantian city of Aarschot. The title was held by the House of Croÿ and the House of Arenberg. The present Duke is Le ...

, who had known of the plot but had dissuaded the conspirators, spent his final years under house arrest in Madrid for having failed to denounce it.

Sources

* Paul Janssens, "L'Échec des tentatives de soulèvement aux Pays-Bas sous Philippe IV (1621–1665)", ''Revue d'histoire diplomatique'' 92 (1978): 110-129. * Paul Janssens, "La fronde de l'aristocratie belge en 1632", in ''Rebelión y Resistencia en el Mundo Hispánico del Siglo XVII'', edited by Werner Thomas with Bart De Groof (Leuven University Press, 1992), pp. 23-40. * René Vermeir, "Le Duc d'Arschot et les conséquences de la conspiration des nobles (1632-1640)", in ''Beleid en bestuur in de oude Nederlanden: Liber Amicorum Prof. Dr. M. Baelde'', edited by Hugo Soly and René Vermeir (Ghent, 1993), pp. 477-489. 1632 in the Habsburg Netherlands 1632 in politics {{belgium-hist-stub