Act of Abjuration

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The Act of Abjuration was the 1581 declaration in which several Dutch provinces formally renounced their allegiance to King Philip II of Spain, effectively marking the birth of the independent Dutch Republic.

Aliases (1)

Statements (48)
Predicate Object
instanceOf declaration of independence
historical document
alsoKnownAs Plakkaat van Verlatinge
appliesToJurisdiction County of Flanders
Drenthe
Duchy of Brabant
Friesland
Gelre
Groningen
Holland
Overijssel
Utrecht NERFINISHED
Zeeland
archivedIn Dutch National Archives
comparedTo United States Declaration of Independence
country Low Countries
date 1581-07-26
declaredIndependenceFrom Philip II of Spain
Spanish Crown
followedBy offer of sovereignty to the Duke of Anjou
search for a new sovereign for the Netherlands
genre political manifesto
governmentFormed Republic of the Seven United Netherlands
hasLegalStatus foundational act of Dutch independence
hasPart formal renunciation clause
list of grievances
preamble
hasTopic right to depose a tyrant
sovereignty of the people
influenced later declarations of independence
inspiredBy political contract theory
language Dutch
Latin
legalNature formal renunciation of allegiance
partOfConflict Eighty Years War
place The Hague
predecessor Union of Utrecht
region Habsburg Netherlands
resultedIn de facto independence of the northern Netherlands
foundation of the Dutch Republic
signedByBody States General of the Netherlands
signedDuringReignOf Philip II of Spain
statedReason failure of the sovereign to protect his subjects
tyranny of Philip II
violation of traditional rights and privileges
subjectOf Dutch constitutional history
titleInDutch Plakkaat van Verlatinghe
year 1581


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