Irish Colleges were set up on the continent following the Reformation, and the introduction of Anti-Catholic Penal Laws in Ireland. A number of colleges were set up in France, Spain, Portugal(which was under the Spanish Monarchy at the time), Italy, and Belgium(particularly when under Spanish control as the Spanish Netherlands), under the patronage of Catholic Monarchs, and the Papacy. The Franciscans and Dominicans had a number of colleges and the Jesuits administered some of the Colleges for a time. Most were just seminaries, some like Poitiers in France, catered for lay students.