Secrétairerie d'État allemande
Item
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
fra
deu
dut
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 / I 074
Type of reference number
Archival reference number
Title (English)
State Secretariat for German Affairs
Title (official language of the state)
Secrétairerie d'État allemande
Language of title
fra
Creator / accumulator
Duitse Staatssecretarie
Secrétairerie d'État allemande
Date(s)
1522/1794
Language(s)
fra
Extent
81 linear metres
Type of material
Textual Material
Scope and content
The Secrétairerie d'État allemande fonds comprises documentation from one of the most important institutions of government in the Spanish Netherlands. It is one of the most important sources of information for the study of the military, political, administrative, and commercial history of this territory. The fonds is also very useful for research topics related to public law and the relations of the Netherlands with foreign powers, including the Holy Roman Empire and Northern Europe, mainly in the 16th and 17th centuries. The collection is mainly composed of correspondence exchanged between the Governors-General of the Netherlands or their secretaries and the various members of the Holy Roman Empire and sovereigns of Northern European countries. It is also possible to find letters related to military commissions, instructions for missions, political and military reports, memoirs, etc. Moreover, the fonds also holds personal letters collected by the secretaries.
Among the extensive volume of documents, there is some scattered information regarding New Christians settled in the Spanish Netherlands as well as information regarding Sephardim in the Dutch Republic and the Holy Roman Empire, especially in Hamburg. It is the case of the Curiel family. Duarte Nunes da Costa, alias Jacob Curiel (1585-1664), was a Portuguese Jew who served as an agent to the Portuguese Crown in Hamburg. His brother Lopo Ramirez, alias David Curiel (1585-1664), also served as an agent to the Spanish Crown in Amsterdam. Jonathan Israel (1987, 1990, 1994) mentions a few documents from this collection with information regarding the Curiel brothers. Consider the following examples:
558, fols. 92-3, 98-98v, 102: government correspondence containing references to Duarte Nunes da Costa. For instance, in 1639, 200,000 lb of gunpowder consigned by Nunes da Costa to the Army of Flanders were held up by Danish officials at Glückstadt (Israel 1990, 342).
594, fol. 152: letter sent by Leopold Wilhelm from Brussels, on July 17, 1653, to the city authorities at Hamburg, lodging a protest on behalf of Lopo Ramirez. In this letter, it was stated that Ramirez, having started a judicial case in Hamburg against his brother Duarte Nunes da Costa regarding a diamond, had obtained a favourable ruling. In spite of that, he was still unsuccessful in retrieving the diamond (Israel 1994).
Among the extensive volume of documents, there is some scattered information regarding New Christians settled in the Spanish Netherlands as well as information regarding Sephardim in the Dutch Republic and the Holy Roman Empire, especially in Hamburg. It is the case of the Curiel family. Duarte Nunes da Costa, alias Jacob Curiel (1585-1664), was a Portuguese Jew who served as an agent to the Portuguese Crown in Hamburg. His brother Lopo Ramirez, alias David Curiel (1585-1664), also served as an agent to the Spanish Crown in Amsterdam. Jonathan Israel (1987, 1990, 1994) mentions a few documents from this collection with information regarding the Curiel brothers. Consider the following examples:
558, fols. 92-3, 98-98v, 102: government correspondence containing references to Duarte Nunes da Costa. For instance, in 1639, 200,000 lb of gunpowder consigned by Nunes da Costa to the Army of Flanders were held up by Danish officials at Glückstadt (Israel 1990, 342).
594, fol. 152: letter sent by Leopold Wilhelm from Brussels, on July 17, 1653, to the city authorities at Hamburg, lodging a protest on behalf of Lopo Ramirez. In this letter, it was stated that Ramirez, having started a judicial case in Hamburg against his brother Duarte Nunes da Costa regarding a diamond, had obtained a favourable ruling. In spite of that, he was still unsuccessful in retrieving the diamond (Israel 1994).
Archival history
When the Austrian branch of the Habsburg family succeeded the Spanish as the rulers of the Southern Netherlands, the archives of the Secrétairerie d'État allemande also passed into its possession. At the end of the 18th century, they were piled up in the attics of the Hôtel du Gouvernement in Brussels. When the Minister of Austria left the building in 1791, the archives were forgotten there.
On the proposal of Louis Prosper Gachard (1800-1885), the director-general of the National Archives of Belgium, and following the advice of the Royal Historical Commission, in 1836, the Minister of the Interior instructed the archivist Victor Coremans (1802-1872) to examine the archives, then preserved in local deposits of the Archives de l'État (State Archives), and arrange them in order. Coremans organised the papers, removed a series of acts that had been mixed up with them, and added other documents that had never belonged to the archives. He classified these materials by date and subject. In 1842-43, he published an account of the classification he had finished, adding a note on the history of the Secrétairerie d'État allemande. After Coremans, the archives of the Secrétairerie d'État allemande were continually altered. Thus, it remains challenging to follow its archival classification.
On the proposal of Louis Prosper Gachard (1800-1885), the director-general of the National Archives of Belgium, and following the advice of the Royal Historical Commission, in 1836, the Minister of the Interior instructed the archivist Victor Coremans (1802-1872) to examine the archives, then preserved in local deposits of the Archives de l'État (State Archives), and arrange them in order. Coremans organised the papers, removed a series of acts that had been mixed up with them, and added other documents that had never belonged to the archives. He classified these materials by date and subject. In 1842-43, he published an account of the classification he had finished, adding a note on the history of the Secrétairerie d'État allemande. After Coremans, the archives of the Secrétairerie d'État allemande were continually altered. Thus, it remains challenging to follow its archival classification.
Administrative / Biographical history
The Secrétairerie d'État allemande was a central institution of the Spanish Netherlands. It was responsible for the official correspondence with emperors, princes, ecclesiastical authorities and free cities of the Holy Roman Empire; and for the recruitment and remuneration of the German troops in the service of the King of Spain.
The Secrétairerie was created in 1548 following the Transaction of Augsburg, which settled the status of the Spanish Netherlands within the Holy Roman Empire. The first "secrétaire d'Estat pour les affaires d'Allemaigne" (state secretary for German affairs), Urban von Scharenberg, was only appointed in December 1553. The secretary reported directly to the Governor-General and was one of the most prestigious officers of the central government.
The period from the mid-16th to the early 17th century was the heyday of the Secrétairerie d'État. After this period, it suffered the consequences of the decline of diplomatic, military, and commercial relations between the Spanish Netherlands and the Empire. Such decay lasted until its final extinction at the beginning of the Austrian regime (1714).
The Secrétairerie was created in 1548 following the Transaction of Augsburg, which settled the status of the Spanish Netherlands within the Holy Roman Empire. The first "secrétaire d'Estat pour les affaires d'Allemaigne" (state secretary for German affairs), Urban von Scharenberg, was only appointed in December 1553. The secretary reported directly to the Governor-General and was one of the most prestigious officers of the central government.
The period from the mid-16th to the early 17th century was the heyday of the Secrétairerie d'État. After this period, it suffered the consequences of the decline of diplomatic, military, and commercial relations between the Spanish Netherlands and the Empire. Such decay lasted until its final extinction at the beginning of the Austrian regime (1714).
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Links to finding aids
Author of the description
Kevin Soares, 2022
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