Country of the General information

The Pays of the General information (Dutch Generaliteitslanden ) were territories of the United Provinces (current Netherlands), controlled directly by the General states. Approximately 20% of the territory of the Republic depended directly on the " General information ". Contrary to the seven autonomous provinces (Holland, Zealand, Utrecht, Gueldre, Overijssel, Plank and Groningue), these countries did not have a provincial States and were not represented at the central government.

After the Guerre Eighty Year old these territories had remained under control of the Republic, and the situation was consolidated by the Traités of Westphalia in 1648. They were territories which had never had provincial States or of separate territories their States, i.e. separated from their province, whose center remained under the Spanish domination:

Westerwolde and Wedde: the southernmost part of the seigniory of Groningue was General information between 1594 and 1619, then was built-in the province of Groningue.

The other countries were indicated by the prefix Staats- , which meant States (general) . Their " general information " with lasted until 1795:

the Staats-Brabant ( the Brabant of the States ): the septentrional part of the Duchy of the Brabant, currently the province of Brabant-Septentrional;
Staats-Vlaanderen ( Flandres of the States ): the septentrional part of the County of Flanders, currently the Flanders zélandaise in the province of Zealand;
Staats-Oppergelre ( Gueldre of the States ): by the Traité of Utrecht (1713) Spanish part of Gueldre around Venlo was yielded to the United Provinces, a part was yielded to the Prussia, and some communes around Ruremonde remained a county of the Austrian Netherlands;
Staats-Limburg ( Limbourg of the States ) or Staats-Overmaas ( Outremeuse of the States) : various small territories between Maastricht, Liege and Aachen.

There were other territories related to the republic which were not regarded as country of the General information:

the town of Maastricht, which had known the double Seigneurie of the duke of the Brabant and the prince-bishop of Liege, became a Condominium United Provinces and Principauté of Liege.

detailed Article : Double seigniory of Maastricht

the province of Drenthe and a certain number of other small Seigneurie S which had kept a certain share of independence, but which was not a constituent province of the Union.
territories out of Europe, although conquered for or named according to the General states, for example Staten Island (New York) or the Island of the States (Argentinian).

The French occupation and the creation of the Batavian République in 1795 meant disappearance as well autonomous States, as of the countries of the General information, than of the other countries related to the old Republic. The territories of Staats-Oppergelre, Staats-Limburg, Maastricht and others, were divided between the departments of the Meuse-Lower , the Roer and the Ourthe. It currently form the province Dutchwoman of Limbourg; some villages are found in Germany and in the Belgian provinces of Limbourg and Liege.

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