The circle's territorial scope was reduced considerably in the 17th century with the secession of the Seven United Provinces in 1581 (recognized 1648 under the Treaty of Westphalia) and the annexation of the Free County of Burgundy by France in 1678.

The occupation and subsequent annexation of Imperial territory to the west of the Rhine river by Revolutionary France in the 1790s effectively brought an end to the circle's existence.

In 1432, he forced Jacqueline of Wittelsbach to cede him the counties of Hainaut and Holland along with Zeeland, under the Treaty of Delft, and finally occupied Luxembourg, exiling Duchess Elisabeth of Görlitz in 1443.

The Burgundian State then bore a faint resemblance to the early medieval Lotharingia, but fell suddenly with the death of the ambitious Charles the Bold.

They were: The southern provinces – Flanders, Brabant, Namur, Hainaut, Luxembourg and so forth – were restored to Spanish rule thanks to the military and political talent of the Duke of Parma, especially at the siege of Antwerp (1584-1585).

The northern Seven United Provinces kept parts of Limburg, Brabant and Flanders during and after the Eighty Years' War (see: Generality Lands), which ended with the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648.