Last modified: 2002-03-02 by ivan sache
Keywords: austrian netherlands | oostenrijkse nederlanden | cross: burgundy | eagle: double-headed (black) | oostendse compagnie | ostende | oostende |
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by Mario Fabretto
Country: Austrian Netherlands.
Type of flag: Civil ensign.
Date of use: 24 September 1781 - 31 December 1786.
Proportion: 2:3
Source: The Flag Bulletin
[tfb] #32, 6/155 (1993)
Mario Fabretto, October 1998
See also:
Originally all "17" Dutch provinces (Burgundian kreits)
revolted against the Spanish King Philip II, but in 1579 the southern
provinces decided to stay loyal, and they remained Spanish. They
became known as the Southern or Spanish Netherlands, since 1713
Austrian Netherlands, while the Northern Netherlands formed
the Republic of the United
Netherlands.
In 1814 they were reunited, together with the former prince-bishopric
of Liège which was neutral untill then. However, the
differences turned out to be too big and the South revolted to form
Belgium in 1830.
The fields on the shield are:
Behind the Imperial Austrian eagle is the cross of Burgundy.
Mark Sensen, 9 November 1999
The southern provinces were ´convinced' to stay loyal by the Spanish army, and as a result, the entire intellectual elite from the Southern Netherlands moved to the Northern Netherlands.
Filip Van Laenen, 9 November 1999
Oostenrijkse Nederlanden (Pays Bas autrichiens), 1713-1795, that is from the end of the Spanish Succession War till the conquest by France. The country was divided in two by a broad stripe consisting of Sticht Luik (bishopric of Liège) and the abbey of Stavelot. Eight Cities in the Oostenrijkse Nederlanden were declared 'barrier cities' with a Dutch garrison until 1781; there were 8 redemptie-dorpen (redemption villages) northwest of Liège, which belonged to Staats-Brabant (the Dutch part of Brabant, now Noord-Brabant). The whole territory was littered with enclaves, uncertain boundaries, etc.
Jarig Bakker, 9 November 1999
![[Unidentified ensign]](../misc/be~ostc.gif)
scanned by Hans
Vermeersch
The source of this flag is to be traced to the East India fleet of
the Austrian Netherlands, sailing from Ostend in West-Flanders to
Calcutta and Canton. The flag is supposed to have at least being used
between 1723 and roughly 1740.
I checked a original document in the archives and indeed the flag is
listed as shown above.
Hans Vermeersch, 3 August 2001
The Oostendse Compagnie was founded by Emperor Charles VI
in the Southern Netherlands to promote ecomomic life; by octroy of 19
December 1722, the Compagnie impériale et royale des Indes
Orientales, établie dans les Pays-Bas autrichiens got the
monopoly for 30 years of trade with East- and West-Indies and Africa.
The company was allowed to make treaties with indigeneous peoples and
to found colonies.
The ships sailed from Oostende (the only port in the Southern
Netherlands after the closure of the river Scheldt) to China (Canton)
and India (Gabelon and Banquibazar). The company grew rapidly and
both England and the Northern Netherlands got upset. The United
Provinces doubted the legitimacy of the Flemish colonial trade, based
on Hugo de Groot's De iure belli ac pacis, while the Southern
Netherlands based their policy on Hugo de Groot's Mare
liberum. However Charles VI needed the approval of the Northern
Netherlands and England (sic!) for the recognition of his daughter
Maria-Theresia as his successor (Pragmatic Sanction), so he suspended
the Compagnie on 31 May 1727 (Preliminaries of Paris) and revoked the
octroy on 16 March 1731 (Treaty of Vienna).
Source: Nijhoffs Geschiedenislexicon Nederland en België (1981)
Jarig Bakker, 3 August 2001
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