From now the former Brabant and Limburg areas were placed under the reign of the generality as well as Zeelandic Flanders which had been taken from Flanders. Reign of the generality in fact meant nothing else than oppression and colonisation by the Protestants. There was no self-government and Catholicism was forbidden, which resulted in a flight of the Catholic clergy and occupation of the Catholic churches. Due to high taxes and oppression the bailiwick couldn't restore its old glory and became an intensely poor area without any importance. After the French war of 1795 and the proclamation of the Batavian Republic, the Meierij disappeared as s political unity and went up into Brabant. The people regained their old rights; self-government and Catholicism weren't forbidden any longer.