Having been politically engaged troublemakers "par excellence" in the course of the 15th century, the Zoudenbalchs retired from prominent roles in public life during the course of the sixteenth. While the family led a charmed life in their countryside castles in the Sticht (Prattenburg, Ter Meer, Zuylenstein), the social and political structure of the Netherlands was busy changing beyond recognition; first as a result of Habsburg centralisation, then as a result of the Reformation and the Dutch Revolt. The Zoudenbalchs however continued to remain strictly loyal to the Roman creed as Protestantism gained ground in the northern Netherlands. Little mention is made of their engagement in the internecine struggles of the Dutch Revolt but the Zoudenbalch's marriage politics clearly indicate that their loyalties lay with the Spanish Habsburgs rather than with their rebellious compatriots.