Council of State of the Habsburg Netherlands

The Council of State was one of the foremost government institutions of the early modern Low Countries, established by Emperor Charles V on October 1, 1531 as one of three major governing bodies of the Habsburg Netherlands alongside the Privy Council and the Council of Finances. Its role was to handle the broadest questions of government policy, while its counterparts managed legal and administrative matters and finances respectively; its membership, initially twelve, was drawn from the highest nobility and clergy, particularly Knights of the Golden Fleece. Its authority diminished during the Dutch Revolt, when rebels rejected its legitimacy in 1578, and by 1588 the newly formed Dutch Republic had established its own rival Council of State, ending the original bodys governance over rebel-held territory. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/