The Holy Roman Empire and the Principality of Liège: between suzerainty and sovereignty

Relations between the Principality of Liège and the Holy Roman Empire were fraught with difficulties. The primary reason for this lay in the vassalage link between the two territories. The Habsburgs, who held the Germanic imperial office throughout the second half of the 18th century, used and abused it to ensure the influence of their German territories, as well as the Netherlands, which had been taken from the Spanish following the War of the Spanish Succession. The territory of Liège, a principality of the Empire, was thus caught between imperial institutions largely directed from Vienna and the needs of Brussels. This contribution to the history of Liège aims above all to present the difficult balance of power that drove Austro-Liegeois trade during the reign of François-Charles de Velbrück (1772-1784). By means of a number of key episcopal dossiers, we have shown that the Austrian power acted violently against the government of Liège, in particular by using the privileges associated with the imperial office. At the same time, Liège's diplomatic administration was made up of many agents who were reluctant to support the Prince-Bishop, or who were even entirely sympathetic to the foreign cause. How, then, should Liège's international sovereignty be described within the Germanic imperial complex?