Today's parliamentary democracy has a long history. During the Ancien Regime, representative institutions known as "Estates," "Diet", "Riksdag", "Parliament" or "Cortes" existed in many European countries. They were the counterparts of the sovereign and defended the interests of politically emancipated groups in society. Their composition and political role varied from state to state, and was subject to change over time. The aim of this project proposal is to investigate the representative institution of the county of Flanders in the period 1585-1700. The choice of the long 17th century is motivated by the question of how after the secession of the rebellious provinces, the sovereign and representative institutions in the Southern Netherlands were able to find a modus vivendi again. Although the monarch no longer convened the once so powerful States General, this did not prevent the representative institutions in the individual southern provinces from being able to play their role again and thus probably become a stabilizing factor in the state. In the Southern Netherlands, unlike in other of his territories, the sovereign did not have to deal with revolutions or uprisings with a strong social slant. The choice of the county of Flanders stems both from the very particular history of the Estates of Flanders, which allows for a number of intriguing questions, and from practical considerations.