Utrecht, Union of

Utrecht, Union of (1579), agreement which united the rebellious provinces in the Dutch Wars of Independence.

On January 23, 1579, the Union of Utrecht, an agreement to defend traditional provincial rights against Philip II of Spain, was signed by representatives of the States assemblies of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, and Groningen (excluding the city of that name) in the chapter-house of Utrecht Cathedral and proclaimed at the Stadhuis (city hall). It was later signed by representatives of Friesland, Overijssel, Drenthe, and Gelderland, and by William I of Orange, leader of the rebel forces. Since these northern provinces, dominated by Calvinists, did not intend to separate from those southern provinces, still mainly Catholic, which had left the States General assembly and signed the Union of Arras, they included a guarantee of religious toleration in the agreement. However, in practice the two Unions became the founding documents of the countries now known as the Netherlands and Belgium.

The Union of Utrecht served as the constitution of the Dutch Republic of the United Provinces up to the foundation of the Batavian Republic in 1795. Its provisions for a Captain-General, a Council of State, and a States General assembly, each granted limited powers by the sovereign provinces, influenced the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union (1774) which preceded the Constitution of the United States (1787).