The Guelders Wars broke out in 1502 over an old, unsettled dispute. At the end of the Second War of the Guelderian Succession (1423–1448), Gerhard VII, Duke of Jülich-Berg sold his claims to the Duchy of Guelders to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. In subsequent years, a long-lastig succession dispute broke out within the Guelders-ruling House of Egmont between Arnold, Duke of Guelders (died 1473) and his son Adolf, Duke of Guelders, which Philip's son Charles the Bold exploited to seize Guelders in 1473. After he died in 1477, the War of the Burgundian Succession broke out, during which his daughter Mary married Maximilian of Austria; thus all Burgundian possessions were acquired by the Habsburgs. However, States of Guelders exploited the confusion to declare independence and proclaim Charles II, son of Adolf, as the new Guelderian duke, with his aunt Catherine as regent. This Guelderian War of Independence (1477–1499) ended in a Habsburg defeat, and Charles II firmly established his reign with the support of Kingdom of France.