Note 8 — Letter from Alonso Fajardo de Tenza to Felipe III

The cardinal archduke Albert of Austria was the sixth son of Maximilian II and Maria of Austria, and was born in Austria November 13, 1559. In 1570 he was sent to Spain, where he rose rapidly in Philip’s favor. In 1577 he received the cardinal’s hat from the pope and was made archbishop of Toledo by Philip in 1594. He was viceroy of Portugal from 1584–1595, when Philip, thinking to appease the people of the Low Countries, made him commander or regent there, and determined to marry him to his daughter Isabel. The sovereignty of all the Netherlands was to be left jointly to them and their heirs, and, in case of no issue, to revert to the Spanish crown. Philip formally abdicated his authority Page 267nover the Low Countries, May 6, 1598, and their marriage was solemnized jointly with that of Philip III, April 13, 1599, after Albert had renounced his cardinalate and archbishopric. He died July 13, 1621, after ruling his provinces humanely and generously, although unable to stem the current toward Dutch independence. See Moreri’s Dictionnaire.