This was a disastrous beginning for the young daughter of Charles the Bold, Mary of Burgundy. It was necessary that she be married and so obtain a protector as promptly as possible. The States-General accepted the candidacy of Maximilian of Hapsburg, son of the Emperor Frederick III of Germany. That marriage laid the foundation for the European supremacy of the house of Hapsburg, and gave to Belgium a dynasty which remained in power until the French Revolution. Prior to the marriage of Mary, the States-General had taken advantage of the disastrous situation in which the young princess found herself, and wrested from her the so-called “Grand Privilege” (February 11, 1477), whereby the Parliament of Malines was abolished and a “Grand Council” was established, with limited power and including representatives of all the Belgian provinces. At the same time, each principality succeeded in obtaining collective provincial privileges. Thus most of the new institutions and rules introduced by the Burgundian dukes were abolished, and the former privileges of the communes were again recognized. After the death of Princess Mary (1482), the reaction of the communes became even more violent. A son named Philip had been born to Mary and Maximilian; history knows him as Philip the Fair. The Belgians immediately recognized the infant archduke, but they continued the fight against his father Maximilian. After a bloody struggle in which both France (assisting Flanders) and Germany (assisting Maximilian) interfered, victory remained in the hands of the Hapsburgs (1492). The resistance of the Flemish communes to autocracy and centralization was henceforth shattered. Broken and impoverished, they no longer questioned the authority of the prince. Philip the Fair and Charles V continued at peace and achieved the work of monarchic centralization initiated by the Burgundian dukes. CHAPTER VI BELGIUM UNDER CHARLES V (1506-55) AND THE BEGINNINGS OF THE HOUSE OF HAPSBURG Philip the Fair was made duke and count of the different Belgian principalities in 1494. Meanwhile the international situation in Europe had become dangerous for Spain and the Empire. Charles VIII of France had conquered the countries of Milan and Naples. The Hapsburgs and the King of Spain, threatened by the common danger, united against the policy of France and strengthened the coalition by the marriage of Don Juan, heir to the Spanish throne, to the daughter of Maximilian of Hapsburg, and the union of the latter’s son, Philip the Fair, with the Spanish infanta, Jeanne. As all the heirs to the Spanish throne died in a short space of time, Jeanne inherited all the rights, and Philip the Fair, sovereign of the Netherlands, became King of Spain.