page_title: Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Austria
section_title: The Spanish Netherlands
hierarchical_section_title: Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Austria / Biography / The Spanish Netherlands
caption_attribution_description: English: Archduke Ferdinand (1635) by Peter Paul Rubens. Ringling Museum
context_page_description: Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand was Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, Cardinal of the Holy Catholic Church, Infante of Spain, Infante of Portugal, Archduke of Austria, Archbishop of Toledo, and military commander during the Thirty Years' War.
context_section_description: The King of Hungary tried to convince his cousin to stay and to strengthen their hold on Germany, but the Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand moved his troops almost immediately after the battle to continue to Brussels. At the end of 1634 he entered Brussels with all the glory befitting a Governor-General. Due to the unpopularity of the clergy in Brussels, he downplayed his religious status and instead emphasized his worldly ranks. Ferdinand was a skilled politician and diplomat, and quickly reformed the government and the military. He especially managed to win the support of the Flemings against France. However, his powers were secretly limited, and the leader of his army was instructed to follow Spanish orders instead of Ferdinand's orders if necessary. 
  In 1635 the French attacked Namur, planning to merge with the Dutch near Maastricht but were held off by well prepared defenses while Ferdinand brought the full weight of the Army of Flanders to bear on the Dutch invaders. At the siege of Leuven, the invading Franco-Dutch forces suffered a major defeat which allowed Spanish forces under Ferdinand to go on the offensive. The Dutch were driven back and the French retreated. Ferdinand subsequently was able to capture Diest, Goch, Gennep, Limbourg, and Schenk.
  In 1636 Ferdinand disempowered the last Protestant priests in the Spanish Netherlands, and continued his military counter-offensive by capturing Hirson, Le Catelet, and La Capelle, and securing Luxembourg using the usual mixed nationalities typical of the early modern age that included Croatian troops, and reaching as far a stronghold in France as Corbie, threatening Paris.
caption: Archduke Ferdinand in 1635 depicted by Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens. Collection of John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
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