WI: Dutch Revolt Crushed?

What if Phillip II manages to somehow Counter-Reform (tho not necessarily) and Centralize the 17 Provinces? Maybe not trying to counter-reform them would help and slowly centralizing could ease in the idea to the Dutch?
 
Well at least the 17 Netherlands stay united. This will be hard, but not impossible, however it will lead to a certain 'brain drain' with skilled Protestants fleeing the region.
Also Antwerpen won't fall ITTL, so Amsterdam will be less important ITTL, but IMHO the rise of Amsterdam won't be totally prevented; besides the merchants of Amsterdam know when to switch to the winning side (IOTL they were quite late to join the Dutch Revolt).

Strategically France will remain their greatest threat, another issue will be commercial developments. Interests of the merchants of the Burgundian Netherlands might not be in line with certain commercial interests of Castille or Portugal. For that having the Burgundian Netherlands pass to the junior Austrian Habsburg branch might be more useful.
Regarding certain other aspects they might develop in a similar way as Naples & Sicily, Portugal or Milan.
 
Well, so they are crushed, but what if about 60 years later the spanish king gets a lot of male children and decides to divide his empire? With the Netherlands getting their own king and being an independent, centralised country? I think that would be pretty interesting.
 
@ Opunium: they probably won't be kings, not immediately anyway. They might try and succeed were there Valois-Burgundy ancestors failed, but unlike IOTL the Electorate of Brandenburg, which also held the duchy of Prussia outside the Empire, the Habsburg Burgundian lands are within the empire. Not impossible, especially if the Emperor grants them the title king of Burgundy, which at that point was mostly titular (most territories were controlled by France), or they resurrect an old kingdom such as Frisia/Friesland (there were pre-Carolingian (!) kings of the Frisians); Lotharingia probably wouldn't be a good idea since that in theory could give claims to territories not yet controlled by Habsburg-Burgundy. However the emperor will want something in return.
 
Interesting thought.
I think JanPrimus is in the right direction.
17 Provinces stay in one kind of goverment body, maybe including some of the German lands like Julich, Mark, Berg, Kleve and Ravenstein.
Amsterdam laready took over the Baltic trade from Antwerp, befor it fell. And this was the trade which brought the real richess to Amsterdam, the Asian trade was only the cherry on top of the cake.
Furhter I think this part of the Habsburg realm eventualy split form it, as one, more centralised body under presure form other powers and internal forces. Possible it was first part of a split between Spanish and Austrian Habsburg. It would be brake eventually from Ahbsburg rule, since the Low Countries had a continuos internal strife between cities and provinces, and Lords. Cities and Provinces who want to keep (or wanted more) self rule and overlords who wanted a more cetralised gouvenment in order to increase their influence. This was esentillly the core reason of the Dutch revolt.

The real question is what effect would it have on Fance and the British Isles.
 
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