Secrétairerie d'État et de Guerre
Item
Nota de estado
Finalizado
Country
BE
Name of institution (English)
National Archives of Belgium (State Archives of Belgium)
Name of institution (official language of the state)
Language of name of institution
deu
dut
fra
Contact information: postal address
Rue de Ruysbroeck, 2, 1000 Bruxelles
Contact information: phone number
0032 025137680
Contact information: web address
Contact information: email
archives.generales@arch.be
Reference number
BE-A0510 / T 100
Type of reference number
Archival reference number
Title (English)
Secretariat of State and War
Title (official language of the state)
Secrétairerie d'État et de Guerre
Secretarie van State en Oorlog
Language of title
fra
dut
Creator / accumulator
Secrétairerie d'État et de Guerre/Secretarie van State en Oorlog
Date(s)
1582/1795
Language(s)
fra
spa
Extent
242 linear meters (2,791 storage units)
Type of material
Textual Material
Scope and content
The Secrétairerie d'État et de Guerre comprises extensive documentation on matters related to the government of the Netherlands, relations with foreign and imperial powers, and matters related to military administration, among others. Among this voluminous amount of documentation, some records contain references to Iberian Jews and New Christians who performed agency services to the Spanish Crown in the Habsburg Netherlands, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Dutch Republic. Some examples are the following:
181, fol. 361: letter from Archduke Alberto to King Philip III, informing that he had received the papers related to the Portuguese New Christian Duarte Fernandez sent by the king. He argued that Fernandez's proposals should not be trusted and that he should not be allowed to reside in Antwerp (Amberes), "por vivir en su secta judaicant de q no resultaria servicio de Dios sino escandalo con su vida y mal exemplo" (because he lived within his Jewish cult, from which no good service to God would come, but only scandal from his life and the poor example that he represents).
182, fol. 58: letter from Archduke Albert to King Philip III, written in 1618, informing about the demands of Francisco Tomás de Miranda, a Portuguese New Christian who lived in Holland, namely: the fifth part of all the profits obtained by the Crown that came directly from the application of his advises, and formal forgiveness for any past crime. In the Netherlands, Miranda faced circumstances that invited him to become a public Jew. However, he was aware of the dangers of such behaviour in territories under the jurisdiction of the Inquisition.
604, fols. 179r-v: letter written by Manuel Bocarro Francês (Jacob Rosales), an agent of the Spanish Crown in Hamburg, to the Spanish minister Count of Peñaranda, in Brussels, informing him about the newly created Companhia do Comércio do Brasil (Company of Commerce of Brazil) founded in Lisbon.
604, fols. 213v-216v: letter from the Count of Peñaranda to Antoine Brun, the Spanish ambassador at The Hague, requesting him to order the purchase of 100,000 pounds of gunpowder needed by Lopo Ramirez in Spain. Brussels, July 22 and 26, 1649. The Portuguese Jew Lopo Ramirez, alias David Curiel (1585-1664), was an agent of the Spanish Crown in Amsterdam (Israel 1994, 110).
605, fols. 186, 190v, 200v: letter from Antoine Brun to the Count of Peñaranda informing him that Lopo Ramirez was arranging the transportation of his furniture and baggage, accompanied by ten or twelve servants, from Brussels back to Spain. The Hague, March 17 and 21, 1650.
181, fol. 361: letter from Archduke Alberto to King Philip III, informing that he had received the papers related to the Portuguese New Christian Duarte Fernandez sent by the king. He argued that Fernandez's proposals should not be trusted and that he should not be allowed to reside in Antwerp (Amberes), "por vivir en su secta judaicant de q no resultaria servicio de Dios sino escandalo con su vida y mal exemplo" (because he lived within his Jewish cult, from which no good service to God would come, but only scandal from his life and the poor example that he represents).
182, fol. 58: letter from Archduke Albert to King Philip III, written in 1618, informing about the demands of Francisco Tomás de Miranda, a Portuguese New Christian who lived in Holland, namely: the fifth part of all the profits obtained by the Crown that came directly from the application of his advises, and formal forgiveness for any past crime. In the Netherlands, Miranda faced circumstances that invited him to become a public Jew. However, he was aware of the dangers of such behaviour in territories under the jurisdiction of the Inquisition.
604, fols. 179r-v: letter written by Manuel Bocarro Francês (Jacob Rosales), an agent of the Spanish Crown in Hamburg, to the Spanish minister Count of Peñaranda, in Brussels, informing him about the newly created Companhia do Comércio do Brasil (Company of Commerce of Brazil) founded in Lisbon.
604, fols. 213v-216v: letter from the Count of Peñaranda to Antoine Brun, the Spanish ambassador at The Hague, requesting him to order the purchase of 100,000 pounds of gunpowder needed by Lopo Ramirez in Spain. Brussels, July 22 and 26, 1649. The Portuguese Jew Lopo Ramirez, alias David Curiel (1585-1664), was an agent of the Spanish Crown in Amsterdam (Israel 1994, 110).
605, fols. 186, 190v, 200v: letter from Antoine Brun to the Count of Peñaranda informing him that Lopo Ramirez was arranging the transportation of his furniture and baggage, accompanied by ten or twelve servants, from Brussels back to Spain. The Hague, March 17 and 21, 1650.
Archival history
During the reign of King Carlos II of Spain (1665-1700), the "première secrétairerie du gouvernement" (first secretariat of government) was housed in two places: the Secrétairerie d'État (Secretariat of State) in the palace of the Governor-General, and the Secrétairerie de Guerre (Secretariat of War) in the residence of the holder of this office.
In 1717, the Austrians immediately revived an earlier tradition: both offices were again united, and the archives were kept in the residence of the Secretary of State and War. This decision forced the Secretary to live in a spacious house near the court, for which it was decided to pay him a compensation of 1,000 Brabant guilders per year. Patrice Mac Neny (1676-1745) settled in the Rue de Ruysbroeck in 1735. Jean-Henri de Crumpipen (1693-1769), who got the position in 1744, ended up changing his residence to Sablon and settled the Secretariat there. In 1769, he was succeeded by his son Henri-Herman de Crumpipen (1738-1811), who moved to a building in the Rue de Belle Vue before 1789. In 1791, the Secretariat was finally transferred to the Hôtel d'Itre, in the vicinity of Sablon, where the Baron de Feltz (1744-1820), the new Secretary, lived.
Particular care was given to the archives of the Secretariat since the mandate of Jean-Henri de Crumpipen. The Crumpipens were aware of the importance of their documentation for the daily administration of the Netherlands and the need to make the research in the archives simpler and faster. Then, the Crumpipens distinguished the "old" archives from the "modern" archives. The "Spanish papers", as the old archives were called, were kept in the citadel of Antwerp at least until 1745, and, when they were transferred to the Secretariat of State and War, they were in a state of extreme disorder. By 1766, Henri-Herman de Crumpipen appointed Joseph de Castro and his son to arrange the "Spanish papers". By the same time, Crumpipen had accomplished the classification of the "modern" archives. The organisation of the archives proceeded over the 1740s-1780s by the sixth officials of the Secretariat: Jean François Xavier Maria (office: 1747-1766), George Joseph Gérard (1766-1775), and Louis Casimir Vandevelde (1775-1787). In spite of all efforts to organise the archives, the first inventory was only composed after the Brabant Revolution (1789-90) and following the re-establishment of the old institutions by Emperor Leopold II. At the end of October 1791, Joseph Ernest Faust completed a summary inventory of the Secretariat archives.
Under the French regime, the documents of the Secretariat were deposited in the former abbey of Coudenberg, together with those belonging to other bodies of government. At the beginning of the 19th century, they were incorporated into the Archives générales du Royaume.
In 1717, the Austrians immediately revived an earlier tradition: both offices were again united, and the archives were kept in the residence of the Secretary of State and War. This decision forced the Secretary to live in a spacious house near the court, for which it was decided to pay him a compensation of 1,000 Brabant guilders per year. Patrice Mac Neny (1676-1745) settled in the Rue de Ruysbroeck in 1735. Jean-Henri de Crumpipen (1693-1769), who got the position in 1744, ended up changing his residence to Sablon and settled the Secretariat there. In 1769, he was succeeded by his son Henri-Herman de Crumpipen (1738-1811), who moved to a building in the Rue de Belle Vue before 1789. In 1791, the Secretariat was finally transferred to the Hôtel d'Itre, in the vicinity of Sablon, where the Baron de Feltz (1744-1820), the new Secretary, lived.
Particular care was given to the archives of the Secretariat since the mandate of Jean-Henri de Crumpipen. The Crumpipens were aware of the importance of their documentation for the daily administration of the Netherlands and the need to make the research in the archives simpler and faster. Then, the Crumpipens distinguished the "old" archives from the "modern" archives. The "Spanish papers", as the old archives were called, were kept in the citadel of Antwerp at least until 1745, and, when they were transferred to the Secretariat of State and War, they were in a state of extreme disorder. By 1766, Henri-Herman de Crumpipen appointed Joseph de Castro and his son to arrange the "Spanish papers". By the same time, Crumpipen had accomplished the classification of the "modern" archives. The organisation of the archives proceeded over the 1740s-1780s by the sixth officials of the Secretariat: Jean François Xavier Maria (office: 1747-1766), George Joseph Gérard (1766-1775), and Louis Casimir Vandevelde (1775-1787). In spite of all efforts to organise the archives, the first inventory was only composed after the Brabant Revolution (1789-90) and following the re-establishment of the old institutions by Emperor Leopold II. At the end of October 1791, Joseph Ernest Faust completed a summary inventory of the Secretariat archives.
Under the French regime, the documents of the Secretariat were deposited in the former abbey of Coudenberg, together with those belonging to other bodies of government. At the beginning of the 19th century, they were incorporated into the Archives générales du Royaume.
Administrative / Biographical history
The Secrétairerie d'État et de Guerre (Secretariat of State and War) combines the archives of two different institutions in the Netherlands.
The first is the Secrétairerie d'État et de Guerre (Secretariat of State and War) under the Spanish regime. This office was occupied by a Spanish minister appointed by the king under the immediate orders of the Governor-General. Officially, the Secretary fulfilled the functions of minister of foreign affairs, minister of war for Spanish and foreign troops, and minister of state for secret and important affairs.
The second institution is the Secrétairerie d'État et de Guerre under the Austrian regime. Gradually, this Secretariat was voided from almost all its military attributions and simply became the chancellery of the Governors-General of the Netherlands.
The origins of the Secrétairerie d'État et de Guerre date back to the late 16th century. In 1592, King Filipe II of Spain sent one of his own secretaries, Esteban de Ibarra, to Brussels to serve as Secretary of the governor, Archduke Ernest. When King Filipe IV recovered the sovereignty of the Netherlands after the rule of Archdukes Albert and Isabella (1598-1621), he sent one of his secretaries to the Netherlands to serve both as Secretary of State and Secretary of War. In 1643, under the government of Francisco de Mello (November 10, 1643), the Secretariat was divided into two: one for state affairs and the other for war. This division lasted until the death of King Carlos II in 1700. The accession of Filipe V to the Spanish throne brought a radical transformation in the government of the Netherlands and, as a consequence, in the functions of the Secretary of State and War. The Spanish Ministry and the National Ministry were replaced by a Royal Council. King Filipe V established the office of Minister of War under the orders of the Governor-General and with responsibilities over all military affairs. José de Arze, the Secretary of State and War at the time of King Carlos II, retained the title; however, his functions were limited by becoming the Secretary of the Royal Council. This organisation collapsed after the Battle of Ramillies (1706) and King Filipe V's cessation of most of his provinces, including Brabant. Thus, the Secretary of State and War was extinguished. Only when Charles VI took possession of the Netherlands in 1711, a new body was created with the old name of Secrétairei d'État et de Guerre.
The first is the Secrétairerie d'État et de Guerre (Secretariat of State and War) under the Spanish regime. This office was occupied by a Spanish minister appointed by the king under the immediate orders of the Governor-General. Officially, the Secretary fulfilled the functions of minister of foreign affairs, minister of war for Spanish and foreign troops, and minister of state for secret and important affairs.
The second institution is the Secrétairerie d'État et de Guerre under the Austrian regime. Gradually, this Secretariat was voided from almost all its military attributions and simply became the chancellery of the Governors-General of the Netherlands.
The origins of the Secrétairerie d'État et de Guerre date back to the late 16th century. In 1592, King Filipe II of Spain sent one of his own secretaries, Esteban de Ibarra, to Brussels to serve as Secretary of the governor, Archduke Ernest. When King Filipe IV recovered the sovereignty of the Netherlands after the rule of Archdukes Albert and Isabella (1598-1621), he sent one of his secretaries to the Netherlands to serve both as Secretary of State and Secretary of War. In 1643, under the government of Francisco de Mello (November 10, 1643), the Secretariat was divided into two: one for state affairs and the other for war. This division lasted until the death of King Carlos II in 1700. The accession of Filipe V to the Spanish throne brought a radical transformation in the government of the Netherlands and, as a consequence, in the functions of the Secretary of State and War. The Spanish Ministry and the National Ministry were replaced by a Royal Council. King Filipe V established the office of Minister of War under the orders of the Governor-General and with responsibilities over all military affairs. José de Arze, the Secretary of State and War at the time of King Carlos II, retained the title; however, his functions were limited by becoming the Secretary of the Royal Council. This organisation collapsed after the Battle of Ramillies (1706) and King Filipe V's cessation of most of his provinces, including Brabant. Thus, the Secretary of State and War was extinguished. Only when Charles VI took possession of the Netherlands in 1711, a new body was created with the old name of Secrétairei d'État et de Guerre.
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Links to finding aids
Author of the description
Kevin Soares 2022
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