Het Eeuwig Edict en de Intredes van Don Juan in 1577: Of de moeizame mise-en-œuvre en mise-en-scène van een vredesverdrag tijdens de Nederlandse Opstand.

The Treaty of Marche-en-Famenne – the Eternal Edict of 12 February 1577 – was a peace treaty signed by the new Governor-General of the Netherlands, Don Juan de Austria, and the insurgent States-General of the region, dissatisfied under Spanish Habsburg rule. This contribution analyzes how peacemaking implied more than just signing a treaty: the Eternal Edict sparked a six-month long pacification process that aimed to put it into effect and to advance the recently concluded reconciliation. Moving from Leuven to Brussels to Mechelen, the Governor-General used his Entries in these cities to present himself as a peacemaker, while he commissioned printed editions of the treaty and of its ratification by Philip II. Meanwhile he engaged his secretaries and delegates to follow up on the implementation of the treaty. His opponents, however, opposed these peace initiatives swiftly with vetoes at the negotiation table and a relentless stream of counter-propaganda. In the early modern era pacification relied upon a complex process of aligning all parties through negotiations and ceremonies, yet in this case the interplay between the mise-en-oeuvre and mise-en-scène failed within six months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]