Margaret of Austria, 1480–1530, Hapsburg princess, regent of the Netherlands; daughter of Emperor Maximilian I Maximilian I, 1459–1519, Holy Roman emperor and German king (1493–1519), son and successor of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III. As emperor, he aspired to restore forceful imperial leadership and inaugurate much-needed administrative reforms in the
..... Click the link for more information. . She was betrothed (1483) to the dauphin of France, later King Charles VIII Charles VIII, 1470–98, king of France (1483–98), son and successor of Louis XI. He first reigned under the regency of his sister Anne de Beaujeu .
..... Click the link for more information. , and was transferred to the guardianship of Louis XI of France (see Arras, Treaty of Arras, Treaty of.

1 Treaty of 1435, between King Charles VII of France and Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy. Through it, France and Burgundy became reconciled. Philip deserted his English allies and recognized Charles as king of France.
..... Click the link for more information. , (2)). After Charles renounced the treaty and married Anne of Brittany Anne of Brittany, 1477–1514, queen of France as consort of Charles VIII from 1491 to 1498 and consort of Louis XII from 1499 until her death. The daughter of Duke Francis II of Brittany, she was heiress to his duchy.
..... Click the link for more information. , Margaret was returned (1493) to her father. She was married in 1497 to John of Spain (d. 1497), son of Ferdinand and Isabella, and in 1501 to Philibert of Savoy (d. 1504). Made (1507) regent of the Netherlands and guardian of her nephew Charles (later Holy Roman Emperor Charles V Charles V, 1500–1558, Holy Roman emperor (1519–58) and, as Charles I, king of Spain (1516–56); son of Philip I and Joanna of Castile, grandson of Ferdinand II of Aragón, Isabella of Castile, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, and Mary of
..... Click the link for more information. ), Margaret acted as intermediary between her father and his subjects in the Netherlands, negotiated a treaty of commerce with England favorable to the Flemish cloth interests, and played a role in the formation of the League of Cambrai (1508; see Cambrai, League of Cambrai, League of, 1508–10, alliance formed by Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, King Louis XII of France, Pope Julius II, King Ferdinand V of Aragón, and several Italian city-states against the republic of Venice to check its territorial expansion.
..... Click the link for more information. ). After his majority (1515), Charles rebelled against her influence, but soon recognized her as one of his wisest advisers. After 1517 she was again regent intermittently until her death. She negotiated the Ladies' Peace with Louise of Savoy (1529; see Cambrai, Treaty of Cambrai, Treaty of, called the Ladies' Peace, treaty negotiated and signed in 1529 by Louise of Savoy, representing her son Francis I of France, and Margaret of Austria, representing her nephew Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.
..... Click the link for more information. ).

Bibliography

See biography by J. de Iongh (tr. 1953).

Margaret of Austria

(born Jan. 10, 1480, Brussels—died Dec. 1, 1530, Mechelen, Spanish Netherlands) Habsburg ruler who was regent of the Netherlands (1507–15, 1519–30) for her nephew, the future emperor Charles V. In 1497 she married the infante John, heir to the Spanish kingdoms, who died a few months later. In 1501 she married Philibert II, duke of Savoy, who died in 1504. Appointed regent by her father, Emperor Maximilian I, she pursued a pro-English foreign policy. In the 1520s she extended the Habsburg dominion in the northeastern Netherlands and negotiated the Treaty of Cambrai (1529), called the “Ladies' Peace,” with Louise of Savoy (1494–1547), regent for Francis I.