Shortly before his death, the King of Spain Philip II ceded (in an Act of 6th May 1598) the Netherlands to his daughter Isabelle, who was soon to be married to Archduke Albert. In practice what were ceded were only the southern provinces as the seven northern provinces, which had a Protestant majority, declared themselves to be a sovereign state from 1579 onwards (the United Provinces, whose independence was not recognised until 1648).

The reign of Albert and Isabelle over the regions in question lasted from 1598 until 1621. They enjoyed relative independence from the Spanish crown, even if they were obliged to continue the war against the northern provinces. In 1609 they nevertheless signed a truce with them, from which they profited by rebuilding the ruined country. But it was above all its cultural life which was extraordinarily energetic. Architecture adopted the baroque style: the Marian basilica at Montaigu, the Jesuit church of Saint Ignatius at Antwerp (which became Saint Charles Borromée when the religious order was suppressed), and the church of the Holy Trinity at Ixelles are good examples. Their reign was also marked by the high point of the Antwerp school of painting: Rubens, the official painter to the royal rulers, Van Dyck, Teniers the Younger and the sons of Pierre Breugel contributed to the fame of the Netherlands.

The couple being childless, when Albert died in 1621, the Netherlands were once again placed under the direct control of Spain. The ‘Unhappy Century’ as historians have called it, thus began for our provinces.