Great Privilege, The

Great Privilege, The, the charter guaranteeing self-government in the Low Countries, issued by Mary of Burgundy in 1477.

The dukes of Burgundy ruled all the Low Countries (now Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and part of northern France) from 1456 onwards. However, their claims to some provinces were disputed by the kings of France and at the time of the death of Duke Charles the Bold, in the Battle of Nancy on January 5, 1477, French troops were occupying some of his lands. On February 11 the delegates of six of the provinces, meeting in Ghent as the States General of the Low Countries, received the charter known as the Great Privilege from Charles's daughter, the Duchess Mary, in return for supplying her with funds and troops. Under its terms a Great Council was created to advise Mary, war could not be declared without the consent of the States General, and the States General, as well as the provincial States assemblies, controlled the times and locations of their meetings. Separate Great Privileges were issued for the provinces of Flanders, Holland, and Namur, and the Joyeuse Entrée (joyous entry) of Brabant contained similar guarantees. These charters were repudiated by Mary's successors, Duke Philip the Handsome, the Emperor Charles V, and King Philip II of Spain, but they continued to symbolize the autonomy of the Low Countries through to the Dutch Wars of Independence (1568-1648).