DREAM OF INDEPENDENCE
The fall of Antwerp had doomed all projects of anti-Spanish unity. It
had settled for centuries to come the fate of the Southern provinces,
which were henceforth attached to a foreign dynasty and administered as
foreign possessions. This ultimate result was not, however, apparent at
once, and for some years the people entertained a hope of a return to
the Burgundian tradition and to a national policy. This period of
transition is covered by the reign of Albert and Isabella, who were,
nominally at least, the sovereigns of the Low Countries.
Illustration: BELGIUM UNDER THE RULE OF THE KINGS OF SPAIN.
Before giving the Low Countries as a dowry to his daughter Isabella,
Philip II made several attempts to break the resistance of Holland and
Zeeland. Had Farnese been left to deal with the situation after the
fall of Antwerp, he might have succeeded in this difficult enterprise.
But all the successes he had obtained against Maurice of Nassau in
Zeeland Flanders, Brabant and Gelder were jeopardized by the European
policy of the Spanish king. From August 20, 1585, Queen Elizabeth had
at last openly allied herself with the United Provinces, and the whole
attention of Philip was now centred upon England and upon the bold
project of forcing the entry of the Thames with a powerful fleet.
Farnese was therefore obliged to concentrate most of his troops
near Dunkirk, in view of the projected landing. The complete
failure of the expedition released these forces, but their absence from
the Northern provinces had already given Maurice of Nassau the
opportunity of restoring the situation (1588). The next year, instead
of resuming the campaign against the United Provinces, Farnese was
obliged to fight in France to support the Catholic League. It was in
the course of one of these expeditions that he died in Arras, on
December 3, 1593.
[_ALBERT AND ISABELLA_]
Illustration: THE INFANTA ISABELLA.
From a picture by Rubens (Brussels Museum).
Illustration: ARCHDUKE ALBERT.
From a picture by Rubens (Brussels Museum).
Philip was bound by his promises to send to Belgium a prince of the
blood. His choice of Archduke Ernest, son of Maximilian II, was,
however, an unhappy one, as the weak prince was entirely dominated by
his Spanish general, Fuentes, brother-in-law of the Duke of Alba. The
country suffered, at the time, from the combined attacks of Maurice of
Nassau and of Henry IV of France. After the death of Archduke Ernest,
Philip chose as governor-general the former's younger brother, Archduke
Albert, who had distinguished himself as Viceroy of Portugal. He
arrived just in time, in 1596, to relieve the situation by the taking
of Calais. This success was short-lived, and by the treaty of Vervins
(May 2, 1597) Philip was obliged to restore Calais to France, together
with the Vermandois and part of Picardy. The next year the king
negotiated the marriage of his daughter Isabella with Archduke Albert.
He died on September 13, 1598, before the marriage could be celebrated.
Had Philip II come to this last determination willingly, the future of
the Low Countries, at least of the Southern provinces, might still have
been saved. But this last act of the sovereign whose rule had been so
fatal to the Netherlands proved as disappointing as the others. While
he wrote in the act of cession that "the greatest happiness which might
occur to a country is to be governed under the eyes and in the presence
of its natural prince and lord," he almost annihilated this very wise
concession to Belgian aspirations by adding stringent restrictions. The
inhabitants of the Low Countries were not allowed to trade with the
Indies; in the eventuality of the Infanta Isabella having no children,
the provinces would return to the crown. Besides, the act contained
some secret clauses according to which the new sovereigns undertook to
obey all orders received from Madrid and to maintain Spanish garrisons
in the principal towns. The Spanish king reserved to himself the right
to re-annex the Low Countries in any case, under certain circumstances.
This half-hearted arrangement, besides placing the archduke in a false
position in his relations with his subjects, deprived him of all
initiative in foreign matters. In fact, in spite of his sincere
attempts to shake off Spanish influence, he enjoyed less independence
than some former governors, like Margaret of Austria.
These secret clauses were not known to the Belgian people, and they
greeted their new sovereigns with unbounded enthusiasm. Their journey
from Luxemburg to Brussels, where they made their entry on September
15, 1599, was a triumphal progress. After so many years of war and
foreign subjection, the Belgians believed that Albert and Isabella
would bring them a much needed peace and an independence similar to
that which they enjoyed under Charles V and Philip the Handsome. They
considered their accession to the throne as a return to the Burgundian
policy to which they had been so consistently loyal all through their
struggle against Spain, and whose remembrance had done so much to
separate them from the Northern provinces. On several occasions, and
more especially at the time of the peace of Arras, they had expressed a
wish to be governed by a prince of the blood who would be allowed to
act as their independent sovereign, and they confidently imagined that
this wish was going to be realized and that, under her new rulers, the
country would be at last able to repair the damage caused by the war
and to restore her economic prosperity.
[_CATHOLIC REACTION_]
They knew that the new regime implied the exclusion of the Protestants
from the Southern provinces, but this did not cause much discontent at
the time. All through the struggle the Catholics had been in great
majority not only in the country but also in the principal towns, with
the sole exception of Antwerp, which was the meeting-place of many
refugees. Though at the time of the Pacification of Ghent a great
number of citizens had adopted the new faith in order to avoid
Calvinistic persecutions, they had given it up as soon as the armies of
Farnese entered their towns. The sincere Protestants had been obliged
to emigrate to the Northern provinces. Though the number of these
emigrants has been somewhat exaggerated, they included a great many
intellectuals, big traders and skilful artisans, whose loss was bound
to affect the Southern provinces, as their presence was destined to
benefit Holland, where the names of the Bruxellois Hans van Aerssen,
the Gantois Heinsius and the Tournaisiens Jacques and Issac Lemaire are
still remembered.
At the time of the arrival of Albert and Isabella in Belgium,
Protestantism had practically disappeared from the towns and maintained
itself only in a few remote villages, such as Dour (Hainault),
Hoorebeke, Estaires (Flanders) and Hodimont (Limburg), where Protestant
communities still exist to-day. Though the placards had not been
abolished, they were no longer applied, and all executions had ceased.
Except in case of a public manifestation causing scandal, the judges
did not interfere, and even then, penalties were limited to castigation
or fine.
Contrary to some popular conceptions, Protestantism was not uprooted by
the violence and cruelties of the Inquisition in the Southern
provinces. On the contrary, these violences, under the Duke of Alba,
only contributed to extend its influence. The Calvinist excesses of
1577-79 and the leniency of Farnese did more to counteract Calvinist
propaganda than the wholesale massacres organized by the Council of
Blood. It was against these persecutions, not against the Catholic
religion, that the Southern provinces fought throughout the period of
revolution, and the breaking off of all relations with the North
automatically brought to an end the influence of Calvinism.
The rapid success obtained by Farnese's policy, and the fact that his
successors had no need to have recourse to violent measures, shows that
Protestantism was not deeply rooted in the South and that the people
would have been only too pleased to agree to its exclusion if they had
obtained in exchange peace and independence. But the war went on and
the archduke was compelled to remain governor for Philip III.
[_SIEGE OF OSTEND_]
This became apparent immediately when, in 1600, the States General
claimed a voice in the administration of the country and in the control
of expenditure. They met with a curt refusal and were obliged to agree
to pay a regular subsidy in place of the old "special grants." The same
year, Maurice of Nassau invaded Northern Flanders in the hope of
provoking a rising, but the people did not answer to his call. The
Spanish, however, were defeated at the battle of Nieuport, where the
archduke was severely wounded. The next year began the siege of Ostend,
which had remained faithful to the United Provinces and which was
easily able to receive provisions by sea. After three years of
struggle, the town was obliged to surrender, thanks to the skilful
operations of Ambrose Spinola, who was placed at the head of the
Spanish army. After further indecisive operations, a twelve years'
truce was finally declared, on April 9, 1609, between the United
Provinces and Spain. Philip III virtually recognized the independence
of the Republic and even allowed the Dutch merchants to trade with the
West Indies, a privilege which he had refused to his own subjects in
Belgium. The Southern provinces were further sacrificed by the
recognition of the blockade of the Scheldt, which remained closed to
all ships wishing to enter Antwerp, to the greater benefit of Dutch
ports.
As soon as hostilities were resumed, in 1621, it became apparent that
Philip IV would not support Belgium any more energetically than his
father had done. Spinola, who had the whole responsibility of the
defence of the country after the death of Archduke Albert (1621),
succeeded in taking Breda (1625). With the Spanish general's disgrace,
owing to a court intrigue, the armies of the United Provinces were once
more successful in consolidating their situation in Northern Brabant
and Limburg, which they considered as the bulwarks of their
independence. Frederick Henry of Nassau, who had succeeded his brother
in the command of the Republic's armies, took Bois-le-Duc in 1629, and
Venloo, Ruremonde and Maestricht in 1632. He was supported, in these
last operations, by Louis XIII, who, prompted by Richelieu, took this
opportunity of humiliating the Hapsburg dynasty. The Spanish commander,
the Marquis of Santa Cruz, proved so inefficient that some Belgian
patriots tried to take matters into their own hands and to deliver
their country from a foreign domination which was so fatal to its
interests. It soon became clear, however, that any step taken against
Spain would deliver Belgium into the hands of either the French or the
Dutch. A first ill-considered and hasty attempt was made by Henry,
Count of Bergh, and Rene de Renesse, who opened secret negotiations at
The Hague with some Dutch statesmen and the French ambassador. On June
18th they attempted a rising at Liege, but were obliged to take refuge
in the United Provinces. A more serious conspiracy was entered into,
almost at the same time, by Count Egmont and Prince d'Epinoy, who, with
some followers, formed a Walloon League. Their aim was to drive the
Spaniards out of the country with the help of the French and to found a
"Belgian Federative and Independent State." On being denounced to the
Government, the conspirators were obliged to take flight before their
plans had matured.
[_THE STATES GENERAL_]
The fall of Maestricht had induced Isabella to assemble once more the
States General. After thirty-two years' silence, the latter put forward
the same grievances concerning the restoration of old privileges and
the defence of the country by native troops, together with new
complaints referring to the recent Spanish administration. The people
had become so restless that the Marquis of Santa Cruz and Cardinal de
La Cueva, the representative of Philip IV in the Low Countries, were
obliged to fly from Brussels. Under pressure of public opinion,
Isabella allowed the States General to send a deputation to The Hague
to negotiate peace (September 17, 1632). The deputies left the town
amid great rejoicings. With undaunted optimism, the Belgians hoped that
where the Spanish armies had failed their representatives would be
successful, and that the new negotiations would bring them at last
peace and independence, for they realized that they could not obtain
one without the other. According to a contemporary, they believed that
they saw "the dawn of the day of peace and tranquillity after such a
long and black night of evil war." But they had reckoned without the
exigencies of the Dutch, whose policy was even then to secure their own
safety, independence and prosperity by drastically sacrificing the
interests of the Southern provinces. The delegates were met with the
proposal of establishing in Belgium a Catholic Federative Republic at
the price of heavy territorial concessions both to Holland and to the
French. They could obtain independence, but on such conditions that
they would never have been able to defend it.
The following year (1633), after the death of Isabella, Philip IV
recalled the Belgian delegates. He dissolved the States General a few
months later (1634). From this time to the end of the eighteenth
century, during the Brabanconne revolution, the representatives of the
Belgian people were no longer consulted and had no share in the central
Government of Belgium.