FROM THE INVASION OF THE NETHERLANDS BY THE ROMANS TO THE INVASION
BY THE SALIAN FRANKS
B.C. 50--A.D. 250
Extent of the Kingdom--Description of the People--Ancient State
of the Low Countries--Of the High Grounds--Contrasted with the
present Aspect of the Country--Expedition of Julius Cæsar--The
Belgæ--The Menapians--Batavians--Distinguished among the Auxiliaries
of Rome--Decrease of national Feeling in Part of the Country--
Steady Patriotism of the Frisons and Menapians--Commencement of
Civilization--Early Formation of the Dikes--Degeneracy of those
who became united to the Romans--Invasion of the Netherlands
by the Salian Franks.
CHAPTER II
FROM THE SETTLEMENT OF THE FRANKS TO THE SUBJUGATION OF FRIESLAND
BY THE FRENCH
A.D. 250--800
Character of the Franks--The Saxon Tribes--Destruction of the
Salians by a Saxon Tribe--Julian the Apostate--Victories of Clovis
in Gaul--Contrast between the Low Countries and the Provinces of
France--State of Friesland--Charles Martell--Friesland converted
to Christianity--Finally subdued by France.
CHAPTER III
FROM THE CONQUEST OF FRIESLAND TO THE FORMATION OF HOLLAND
A.D. 800--1000
Commencement of the Feudal System in the Highlands--Flourishing State
of the Low Countries--Counts of the Empire--Formation of the Gilden
or Trades--Establishment of popular Privileges in Friesland--In
what they consisted--Growth of Ecclesiastical Power--Baldwin of
Flanders--Created Count--Appearance of the Normans--They ravage the
Netherlands--Their Destruction, and final Disappearance--Division
of the Empire into Higher and Lower Lorraine--Establishment of
the Counts of Lorraine and Hainault--Increasing Power of the
Bishops of Liege and Utrecht--Their Jealousy of the Counts; who
resist their Encroachments.
CHAPTER IV
FROM THE FORMATION OF HOLLAND TO THE DEATH OF LOUIS DE MALE
A.D. 1018--1384
Origin of Holland--Its first Count--Aggrandizement of Flanders--Its
growing Commerce--Fisheries--Manufactures--Formation of the County
of Guelders, and of Brabant--State of Friesland--State of the
Provinces--The Crusades--Their good Effects on the State of the
Netherlands--Decline of the Feudal Power, and Growth of the Influence
of the Towns--Great Prosperity of the Country--The Flemings take
up Arms against the French--Drive them out of Bruges, and defeat
them in the Battle of Courtrai--Popular Success in Brabant--Its
Confederation with Flanders--Rebellion of Bruges against the
Count, and of Ghent under James d' Artaveldt--His Alliance with
England--His Power, and Death--Independence of Flanders--Battle
of Roosbeke--Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, obtains the
Sovereignty of Flanders.
CHAPTER V
FROM THE SUCCESSION OF PHILIP THE BOLD TO THE COUNTY OF FLANDERS
TO THE DEATH OF PHILIP THE FAIR
A.D. 1384--1506
Philip succeeds to the Inheritance of Brabant--Makes War on England
as a French Prince, Flanders remaining neuter--Power of the Houses
of Burgundy and Bavaria, and Decline of Public Liberty--Union of
Holland, Hainault, and Brabant--Jacqueline, Countess of Holland and
Hainault--Flies from the Tyranny of her Husband, John of Brabant,
and takes Refuge in England--Murder of John the Fearless, Duke of
Burgundy--Accession of his Son, Philip the Good--His Policy--Espouses
the Cause of John of Brabant against Jacqueline--Deprives her
of Hainault, Holland, and Zealand--Continues his Persecution,
and despoils her of her last Possession and Titles--She marries
a Gentleman of Zealand, and Dies--Peace or Arras--Dominions of
the House of Burgundy equal to the present Extent of the Kingdom
of the Netherlands--Rebellion of Ghent--Affairs of Holland and
Zealand--Charles the Rash--His Conduct in Holland--Succeeds his
Father--Effects of Philip's Reign on the Manners of the People--
Louis XI.--Death of Charles, and Succession of Mary--Factions
among her Subjects--Marries Maximilian of Austria--Battle of
Guinegate--Death of Mary--Maximilian unpopular--Imprisoned by
his Subjects--Released--Invades the Netherlands--Succeeds to
the Imperial Throne by the Death of his Father--Philip the Fair
proclaimed Duke and Count--His wise Administration--Affairs of
Friesland--Of Guelders--Charles of Egmont--Death of Philip the
Fair.
CHAPTER VI
FROM THE GOVERNMENT OF MARGARET OF AUSTRIA TO THE ABDICATION OF
THE EMPEROR CHARLES V
A.D. 1506--1555
Margaret of Austria invested with the Sovereignty--Her Character
and Government--Charles, Son of Philip the Fair, created Duke of
Brabant and Count of Flanders and Holland--The Reformation--Martin
Luther--Persecution of the Reformers--Battle of Pavia--Cession of
Utrecht to Charles V.--Peace of Cambray--The Anabaptists' Sedition
at Ghent--Expedition against Tunis and Algiers--Charles becomes
possessed of Friesland and Guelders--His increasing Severity
against the Protestants--His Abdication and Death--Review--Progress
of Civilization.
CHAPTER VII
FROM THE ACCESSION OF PHILIP II. OF SPAIN TO THE ESTABLISHMENT
OF THE INQUISITION IN THE NETHERLANDS
A.D. 1555--1566
Accession of Philip II.--His Character and Government--His Wars
with France, and with the Pope--Peace with the Pope--Battle of St.
Quentin--Battle of Gravelines--Peace of Câteau-Cambresis--Death
of Mary of England--Philip's Despotism--Establishes a Provisional
Government--Convenes the States--General at Ghent--His Minister
Granvelle--Goes to Zealand--Embarks for Spain--Prosperity revives--
Effects of the Provisional Government--Marguerite of Palma--
Character of Granvelle--Viglius de Berlaimont--Departure of the
spanish Troops--Clergy--Bishops--National Discontent--Granvelle
appointed Cardinal--Edict against Heresy--Popular Indignation--
Reformation--State of Brabant--Confederacy against Granvelle--
Prince of Orange--Counts Egmont and Horn join the Prince against
Granvelle--Granvelle recalled--Council of Trent--Its Decrees
received with Reprobation--Decrees against Reformers--Philip's
Bigotry--Establishment of the Inquisition--Popular Resistance.
CHAPTER VIII
COMMENCEMENT OF THE REVOLUTION
A.D. 1566
Commencement of the Revolution--Defence of the Prince of
Orange--Confederacy of the Nobles--Louis of Nassau--De
Brederode--Philip de St. Aldegonde--Assembly of the Council of
State--Confederates enter Brussels--Take the Title of _Gueux_--Quit
Brussels, and disperse in the Provinces--Measures of Government--
Growing Power of the Confederates--Progress of the Reformation--
Field Preaching--Herman Stricker--Boldness of the Protestants--
Peter Dathen--Ambrose Ville--Situation of Antwerp--The Prince
repairs to it, and saves it--Meeting of the Confederates at St.
Trond---The Prince of Orange and Count Egmont treat with them--
Tyranny of Philip and Moderation of the Spanish Council--Image
Breakers--Destruction of the Cathedral, of Antwerp--Terror of
Government--Firmness of Viglius--Arbitration between the Court
and the People--Concessions made by Government--Restoration of
Tranquillity.
CHAPTER IX
TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF REQUESENS
A.D. 1566--1573
Philip's Vindictiveness and Hypocrisy--Progress of
Protestantism--Gradual Dissolution of the Conspiracy--Artifices
of Philip and the Court to disunite the Protestants--Firmness of
the Prince of Orange--Conference at Termonde--Egmont abandons
the Patriot Cause--Fatal Effects of his Conduct--Commencement
of Hostilities--Siege of Valenciennes--Protestant Synod at
Antwerp--Haughty Conduct of the Government--Royalists Repulsed
at Bois-le-duc--Battle of Osterweel, and Defeat of the
Patriots--Antwerp again saved by the Firmness and Prudence of
the Prince of Orange--Capitulation of Valenciennes--Success of
the Royalists--Death of De Brederode--New Oath of Allegiance;
Refused by the Prince of Orange and others--The Prince resolves
on voluntary Banishment, and departs for Germany--His Example is
followed by the Lords--Extensive Emigration--Arrival of the Duke of
Orleans--Egmont's Humiliation--Alva's Powers--Arrest of Egmont and
others---Alva's first Acts of Tyranny--Council of Blood--Recall of
the Government--Alva's Character--He summons the Prince of Orange,
who is tried by Contumacy--Horrors committed by Alva--Desolate State
of the Country--Trial and Execution of Egmont and Horn--The Prince
of Orange raises an Army in Germany, and opens his first Campaign
in the Netherlands--Battle of Heiligerlee--Death of Adolphus of
Nassau--Battle of Jemminghem--Success and skilful Conduct of
Alva--Dispersion of the Prince of Orange's Army--Growth of the naval
Power of the Patriots--Inundation in Holland and Friesland--Alva
reproached by Philip--Duke of Medina-Celi appointed Governor--Is
attacked, and his fleet destroyed by the Patriots--Demands his
Recall--Policy of the English Queen, Elizabeth--The Dutch take
Brille--General Revolt in Holland and Zealand--New Expedition of
the Prince of Orange--Siege of Mons--Success of the Prince--Siege
of Haarlem--Of Alkmaer--Removal of Alva--Don Luis Zanega y Requesens
appointed Governor-General.
CHAPTER X
TO THE PACIFICATION OF GHENT
A.D. 1573--1576
Character of Requesens--His conciliating Conduct--Renews the
War against the States--Siege of Middleburg--Generosity of the
Prince of Orange--Naval Victory--State of Flanders--Count Louis of
Nassau--Battle of Mookerheyde--Counts Louis and Henry slain--Mutiny
of the Spanish Troops--Siege of Leyden--Negotiations for Peace at
Breda--The Spaniards take Zuriczee--Requesens dies--The Government
devolves on the Council of State--Miserable State of the Country,
and Despair of the Patriots--Spanish Mutineers--The States-General
are convoked, and the Council arrested by the Grand Bailiff of
Brabant--The Spanish Mutineers sack and capture Maestricht, and
afterward Antwerp--The States-General assemble at Ghent and assume
the Government--The Pacification of Ghent.
CHAPTER XI
TO THE RENUNCIATION OF THE SOVEREIGNTY OF SPAIN AND THE DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCE
A.D. 1576--1580
Don John of Austria, Governor-General, arrives in the
Netherlands--His Character and Conduct--The States send an Envoy
to Elizabeth of England--She advances them a Loan of Money--The
Union of Brussels--The Treaty of Marche-en-Famenne, called the
Perpetual Edict--The impetuous Conduct of Don John excites the
public Suspicion--He seizes on the Citadel of Namur--The Prince
of Orange is named Protector of Brabant--The People destroy the
Citadels of Antwerp and other Towns--The Duke of Arschot is named
Governor of Flanders--He invites the Archduke Mathias to accept
the Government of the Netherlands--Wise Conduct of the Prince of
Orange--Ryhove and Hembyse possess themselves of supreme Power at
Ghent--The Prince of Orange goes there and establishes Order--The
Archduke Mathias is installed--The Prince of Parma arrives in
the Netherlands, and gains the Battle of Gemblours--Confusion
of the States-General--The Duke of Alencon comes to their
Assistance--Dissensions among the Patriot Chiefs--Death of Don
John of Austria--Suspicions of his having been Poisoned by Order of
Philip II.--The Prince of Parma is declared Governor-General--The
Union of Utrecht--The Prince of Parma takes the Field--The Congress
of Cologne rendered fruitless by the Obstinacy of Philip--The
States-General assemble at Antwerp, and issue a Declaration of
National Independence--The Sovereignty of the Netherlands granted
to the Duke of Alencon.
CHAPTER XII
TO THE MURDER OF THE PRINCE OF ORANGE
A.D. 1580--1584
Proscription of the Prince of Orange--His celebrated Apology--Philip
proposes sending back the Duchess of Parma as Stadtholderess--Her
son refuses to act jointly with her, and is left in the exercise
of his Power--The Siege of Cambray undertaken by the Prince of
Parma, and gallantly defended by the Princess of Epinoi--The
Duke of Alencon created Duke of Anjou--Repairs to England, in
hopes of marrying Queen Elizabeth--He returns to the Netherlands
unsuccessful, and is inaugurated at Antwerp--The Prince of Orange
desperately wounded by an Assassin--Details on John Jaureguay
and his Accomplices--The People suspect the French of the Crime--
Rapid Recovery of the Prince, who soon resumes his accustomed
Activity--Violent Conduct of the Duke of Anjou, who treacherously
attempts to seize on Antwerp--He is defeated by the Townspeople--
His Disgrace and Death--Ungenerous Suspicions of the People against
the Prince of Orange, who leaves Flanders in Disgust--Treachery
of the Prince of Chimay and others--Treason of Hembyse--He is
executed at Ghent--The States resolve to confer the Sovereignty
on the Prince of Orange--He is murdered at Delft--Parallel between
him and the Admiral Coligny--Execution of Balthazar Gerard, his
Assassin--Complicity of the Prince of Parma.
CHAPTER XIII
TO THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER, PRINCE OF PARMA
A.D. 1584--1592
Effects of William's Death on the History of his Country--Firm
Conduct of the United Provinces--They reject the Overtures of
the Prince of Parma--He reduces the whole of Flanders--Deplorable
Situation of the Country--Vigorous Measures of the Northern
States--Antwerp besieged--Operations of the Siege--Immense Exertions
of the Besiegers--The Infernal Machine--Battle on the Dike of
Couvestien--Surrender of Antwerp--Extravagant Joy of Philip II.--The
United Provinces solicit the Aid of France and England--Elizabeth
sends them a supply of Troops under the Earl of Leicester--He returns
to England--Treachery of some English and Scotch Officers--Prince
Maurice commences his Career--The Spanish Armada--Justin of Nassau
blocks up the Prince of Parma in the Flemish Ports--Ruin of the
Armada--Philip's Mock Piety on hearing the News--Leicester
dies--Exploits and Death of Martin Schenck--Breda surprised--The
Duke of Parma leads his Army into France--His famous Retreat--His
Death and Character.
CHAPTER XIV
TO THE INDEPENDENCE OF BELGIUM AND THE DEATH OF PHILLIP II.
A.D. 1592--1599
Count Mansfield named Governor-General--State of Flanders and
Brabant--The Archduke Ernest named Governor-General--Attempts
against the Life of Prince Maurice--He takes Groningen--Death of
the Archduke Ernest--Count Fuentes named Governor-General--He takes
Cambray and other Towns--Is soon replaced by the Archduke Albert
of Austria--His high Reputation--He opens his first Campaign in
the Netherlands--His Successes--Prince Maurice gains the Battle
of Turnhout--Peace of Vervins--Philip yields the Sovereignty of
the Netherlands to Albert and Isabella--A new Plot against the
Life of Prince Maurice--Albert sets out for Spain, and receives
the News of Philip's Death--Albert arrives in Spain, and solemnizes
his Marriage with the Infanta Isabella--Review of the State of
the Netherlands.
CHAPTER XV
TO THE CAMPAIGN OF PRINCE MAURICE AND SPINOLA
A.D. 1599--1604
Cardinal Andrew of Austria Governor--Francisco Mendoza, Admiral
of Aragon, invades the neutral States of Germany--His atrocious
Conduct--Prince Maurice takes the Field--His masterly
Movements--Sybilla of Cleves raises an Army, which is, quickly
destroyed--Great Exertions of the States-General--Naval Expedition
under Vander Goes--Its complete Failure--Critical Situation of the
United Provinces--Arrival of the Archduke in Brussels--Success
of Prince Maurice--His Expedition into Flanders--Energy of the
Archduke--Heroism of Isabella--Progress of Albert's Army--Its
first Success--Firmness of Maurice--The Battle of Nieuport--Total
Defeat of the Royalists--Consequences of the Victory--Prince
Maurice returns to Holland--Negotiations for Peace--Siege of
Ostend--Death of Elizabeth of England--United Provinces send
Ambassadors to James I.--Successful Negotiations of Barneveldt
and the Duke of Sully in London--Peace between England and
Spain--Brilliant Campaign between Spinola and Prince Maurice--Battle
of Roeroord--Naval Transactions--Progress of Dutch Influence in
India--Establishment of the East India Company.
CHAPTER XVI
TO THE SYNOD OF DORT AND THE EXECUTION OF BARNEVELDT
A.D. 1600--1619
Spinola proposes to invade the United Provinces--Successfully
opposed by Prince Maurice--The Dutch defeated at Sea--Desperate
Conduct of Admiral Klagoon--Great naval Victory of the Dutch,
and Death of their Admiral Heemskirk--Overtures of the Archdukes
for Peace--How received in Holland--Prudent Conduct of
Barneveldt--Negotiations opened at The Hague--John de Neyen,
Ambassador for the Archdukes--Armistice for Eight Months--Neyen
attempts to bribe D'Aarsens, the Greffier of the States-General--His
Conduct disclaimed by Verreiken, Counsellor to the Archdukes--Great
Prejudices in Holland against King James I. and the English,
and Partiality toward France--Rupture of the Negotiations--They
are renewed--Truce for Twelve Years signed at Antwerp--Gives
great Satisfaction in the Netherlands--Important Attitude of
the United Provinces--Conduct of the Belgian Provinces--Disputes
relative to Cleves and Juviers--Prince Maurice and Spinola remove
their Armies into the contested states--Intestine Troubles in
the United Provinces--Assassination of Henry IV. of France--His
Character--Change in Prince Maurice's Character and Conduct--He
is strenuously opposed by Barneveldt--Religious Disputes--King
James enters the Lists of Controversy--Barneveldt and Maurice
take Opposite sides--The cautionary Towns released from the
Possession of England--Consequences of this Event--Calumnies
against Barneveldt--Ambitious Designs of Prince Maurice--He is
baffled by Barneveldt--The Republic assists its Allies with Money
and Ships--Its great naval Power--Outrages of some Dutch Sailors in
Ireland--Unresented by King James--His Anger at the manufacturing
Prosperity of the United Provinces--Excesses of the Gomarists--The
Magistrates call out the National Militia--Violent Conduct of
Prince Maurice--Uncompromising Steadiness of Barneveldt--Calumnies
against him--Maurice succeeds to the Title of Prince of Orange,
and Acts with increasing Violence--Arrest of Barneveldt and his
Friends--Synod of Dort--Its Consequences--Trial, Condemnation,
and Execution of Barneveldt--Grotius and Hoogerbeets sentenced
to perpetual Imprisonmemt--Ledenburg commits Suicide.
CHAPTER XVII
TO THE DEATH OF PRINCE MAURICE
A.D. 1619--1625
The Parties Of Arminianism quite subdued--Emigrations--Grotius
resolves to attempt an Escape from Prison--Succeeds in his
Attempt--He repairs to Paris, and publishes his "Apology"--Expiration
of the Twelve Years' Truce--Death of Philip III. And of the Archduke
Albert--War in Germany--Campaign between Prince Maurice and
Spinola--Conspiracy against the Life of Prince Maurice--Its
Failure--Fifteen of the Conspirators executed--Great Unpopularity
of Maurice--Death of Maurice.
CHAPTER XVIII
TO THE TREATY OF MUNSTER
A.D. 1625--1648
Frederick Henry succeeds his Brother--Charles I. King of England--War
between France and England--Victories of Admiral Hein--Brilliant
Success of Frederick Henry--Fruitless Enterprise in Flanders--Death
of the Archduchess Isabella--Confederacy in Brabant--Its Failure,
and Arrest of the Nobles--Ferdinand, Prince-Cardinal,
Governor-General--Treaty between France and Holland--Battle of
Avein--Naval Affairs--Battle of the Downs--Van Tromp--Negotiations
for the Marriage of Prince William with the Princess Mary of
England--Death of the Prince-Cardinal--Don Francisco de Mello
Governor-General--Battle of Rocroy--Gallantry of Prince
William--Death of Cardinal Richelieu and of Louis XIII.--English
Politics--Affairs of Germany--Negotiations for Peace--Financial
Embarrassment of the Republic--The Republic negotiates with
Spain--Last Exploits of Frederick Henry--His Death, and
Character--William II. Stadtholder--Peace of Munster--Resentment
of Louis XIII.--Peace of Westphalia--Review of the Progress of
Art, Science, and Manners--Literature-- Painting--Engraving--
Sculpture--Architecture--Finance--Population--Commercial
Companies--Manners.
CHAPTER XIX
FROM THE PEACE OF MUNSTER TO THE PEACE OF NIMEGUEN
A.D. 1648--1678
State of the Republic after the Peace of Munster--State of
England--William II. Stadtholder--His ambitious Designs and Violent
Conduct--Attempts to seize on Amsterdam--His Death--Different
Sensations caused by his Death--The Prerogatives of the Stadtholder
assumed by the People--Naval War with England--English Act of
Navigation--Irish Hostilities--Death of Tromp--A Peace with
England--Disturbed State of the Republic--War with Denmark--Peace
concluded--Charles II. restored to the English Throne--Declares
War against Holland--Naval Actions--Charles endeavors to excite all
Europe against the Dutch--His Failure--Renewed Hostilities--De Ruyter
defeated--Peace of Breda--Invasion of Flanders by Louis XIV.--He
overruns Brabant and Flanders--Triple League, 1668--Perfidious
Conduct of Charles II.--He declares War against Holland, etc.,
as does Louis XIV.--Unprepared State of United Provinces--William
III. Prince of Orange--Appointed Captain-General and High
Admiral--Battle of Solebay--The French Invade the Republic--The
States-General implore Peace--Terms demanded by Louis XIV. and
by Charles II.--Desperation of the Dutch--The Prince of Orange
proclaimed Stadtholder--Massacre of the De Witts--Fine Conduct of
the Prince of Orange--He takes the Field--Is reinforced by Spain,
the Emperor, and Brandenburg--Louis XIV. forced to abandon his
Conquests--Naval Actions with the English--A Peace, 1674--Military
Affairs--Battle of Senef--Death of De Ruyter--Congress for Peace
at Nimeguen--Battle of Mont Cassel--Marriage of the Prince of
Orange--Peace of Nimeguen.
CHAPTER XX
FROM THE PEACE OF NIMEGUEN TO THE PEACE OF UTRECHT
A.D. 1678--1713
State of Europe subsequently to the Peace of Nimeguen--Arrogant
Conduct of Louis XIV.--Truce for Twenty Years--Death of Charles
II. of England--League of Augsburg--The Conduct of William--He
invades England--James II. Deposed--William III. proclaimed King of
England--King William puts himself at the Head of the Confederacy
against Louis XIV., and enters on the War--Military Operations--Peace
of Ryswyk--Death of Charles II. of Spain--War of Succession--Death
of William III.--His Character--Duke of Marlborough--Prince
Eugene--Successes of the Earl of Peterborough in Spain and
Portugal--Louis XIV. solicits Peace--Conferences for Peace--Peace
of Utrecht--Treaty of the Barrier.
CHAPTER XXI
FROM THE PEACE OF UTRECHT TO THE INCORPORATION OF BELGIUM WITH
THE FRENCH REPUBLIC
A.D. 1713--1794
Quadruple Alliance--General Peace of Europe--Wise Conduct of the
Republic--Great Danger from the bad State of the Dikes--Death
of the Emperor Charles VI.--Maria Theresa Empress--Her heroic
Conduct--Battle of Dettingen--Louis XV. invades the
Netherlands--Conferences for Peace at Breda--Battle of
Fontenoy--William IV. Stadtholder and Captain-General--Peace of
Aix-la-Chapelle--Death of the Stadtholder, who is succeeded by his
Son William V.--War of Seven Years--State of the Republic--William
V. Stadtholder--Dismemberment of Poland--Joseph II. Emperor--His
attempted Reforms in Religion--War with England--Sea-Fight on
the Doggerbank--Peace with England, 1784--Progress of Public
Opinion in Europe, in Belgium, and Holland--Violent Opposition
to the Stadtholder--Arrest of the Princess of Orange--Invasion
of Holland by the Prussian Army--Agitation in Belgium--Vander
Noot--Prince Albert of Saxe-Teschen and the Archduchess Maria
Theresa joint Governors-General--Succeeded by Count
Murray--Riots--Meetings of the Provisional States--General
Insurrection--Vonckists--Vander Mersch--Takes the Command of
the Insurgents--His Skilful Conduct--He gains the Battle of
Turnhout--Takes Possession of Flanders--Confederation of the
Belgian Provinces--Death of Joseph II.--Leopold Emperor--Arrest
of Vander Mersch--Arrogance of the States-General of Belgium--The
Austrians overrun the Country--Convention at The Hague--Death
of Leopold--Battle of Jemmappes--General Dumouriez--Conquest of
Belgium by the French--Recovered by the Austrians--The Archduke
Charles Governor-General--War in the Netherlands--Duke of York--The
Emperor Francis--The Battle of Fleurus--Incorporation of Belgium
with the French Republic--Peace of Leoben--Treaty of Campo-Formio.
CHAPTER XXII
FROM THE INVASION OF HOLLAND BY THE FRENCH TO THE RETURN OF THE
PRINCE OF ORANGE
A.D. 1794--1818
Pichegru invades Holland--Winter Campaign--The Duke of York vainly
resists the French Army--Abdication of the Stadtholder--Batavian
Republic--War with England--Unfortunate Situation of Holland--Naval
Fight--English Expedition to the Helder--Napoleon Bonaparte--Louis
Bonaparte named King of Holland--His popular Conduct--He abdicates
the Throne--Annexation of Holland to the French Empire--Ruinous
to the Prosperity of the Republic--The people desire the Return
of the Prince of Orange--Confederacy to effect this Purpose--The
Allied Armies advance toward Holland--The Nation rises to throw
off the Yoke of France--Count Styrum and his Associates lead
on that Movement, and proclaim the Prince of Orange, who lands
from England--His first Proclamation--His second Proclamation.
CHAPTER XXIII
FROM THE INSTALLATION OF WILLIAM I. AS PRINCE-SOVEREIGN OF THE
NETHERLANDS TO THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO
A.D. 1813--1815
Rapid Organization of Holland--The Constitution formed--Accepted by
the People--Objections made to it by some Individuals--Inauguration
of the Prince-Sovereign--Belgium is occupied by the Allies--Treaty
of Paris--Treaty of London--Formation of the Kingdom of the
Netherlands--Basis of the Government--Relative Character and
Situation of Holland and Belgium--The Prince-Sovereign of Holland
arrives in Belgium as Governor-General--The fundamental Law--Report
of the Commissioners by whom it was framed--Public Feeling in
Holland, and in Belgium--The Emperor Napoleon invades France,
and Belgium--The Prince of Orange takes the Field--The Duke of
Wellington--Prince Blucher--Battle of Ligny--Battle of Quatre
Bras--Battle of Waterloo--Anecdote of the Prince of Orange, who
is wounded--Inauguration of the King.
SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER (A.D. 1810--1899).
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
HOLLAND
The Duke of Alva Deposes Margaret of Parma.
Storming the Barricades at Brussels During the Revolution of 1848.
William the Silent of Orange.
A Holland Beauty.
CHAPTER I
FROM THE INVASION OF THE NETHERLANDS BY THE ROMANS TO THE INVASION
BY THE SALIAN FRANKS
B.C. 50--A.D. 200
The Netherlands form a kingdom of moderate extent, situated on
the borders of the ocean, opposite to the southeast coast of
England, and stretching from the frontiers of France to those
of Hanover. The country is principally composed of low and humid
grounds, presenting a vast plain, irrigated by the waters from
all those neighboring states which are traversed by the Rhine,
the Meuse, and the Scheldt. This plain, gradually rising toward
its eastern and southern extremities, blends on the one hand
with Prussia, and on the other with France. Having, therefore,
no natural or strongly marked limits on those sides, the extent
of the kingdom could only be determined by convention; and it must
be at all times subject to the arbitrary and varying influence
of European policy. Its greatest length, from north to south, is
about two hundred and twenty English miles; and its breadth,
from east to west, is nearly one hundred and forty.
Two distinct kinds of men inhabit this kingdom. The one occupying
the valleys of the Meuse and the Scheldt, and the high grounds
bordering on France, speak a dialect of the language of that
country, and evidently belong to the Gallic race. They are called
Walloons, and are distinguished from the others by many peculiar
qualities. Their most prominent characteristic is a propensity
for war, and their principal source of subsistence the working
of their mines. They form nearly one-fourth of the population of
the whole kingdom, or about one million three hundred thousand
persons. All the rest of the nation speak Low German, in its
modifications of Dutch and Flemish; and they offer the distinctive
characteristics of the Saxon race--talents for agriculture,
navigation, and commerce; perseverance rather than vivacity;
and more courage than taste for the profession of arms. They
are subdivided into Flemings--those who were the last to submit
to the House of Austria; and Dutch--those who formed the republic
of the United Provinces. But there is no difference between these
two subdivisions, except such as has been produced by political
and religious institutions. The physical aspect of the people
is the same; and the soil, equally law and moist, is at once
fertilized and menaced by the waters.
The history of this last-mentioned portion of the nation is
completely linked to that of the soil which they occupy. In remote
times, when the inhabitants of this plain were few and uncivilized,
the country formed but one immense morass, of which the chief
part was incessantly inundated and made sterile by the waters of
the sea. Pliny the naturalist, who visited the northern coasts,
has left us a picture of their state in his days. "There," says
he, "the ocean pours in its flood twice every day, and produces
a perpetual uncertainty whether the country may be considered as
a part of the continent or of the sea. The wretched inhabitants
take refuge on the sand-hills, or in little huts, which they
construct on the summits of lofty stakes, whose elevation is
conformable to that of the highest tides. When the sea rises,
they appear like navigators; when it retires, they seem as though
they had been shipwrecked. They subsist on the fish left by the
refluent waters, and which they catch in nets formed of rushes
or seaweed. Neither tree nor shrub is visible on these shores.
The drink of the people is rain-water, which they preserve with
great care; their fuel, a sort of turf, which they gather and
form with the hand. And yet these unfortunate beings dare to
complain against their fate, when they fall under the power and
are incorporated with the empire of Rome!"
The picture of poverty and suffering which this passage presents
is heightened when joined to a description of the country. The
coasts consisted only of sand-banks or slime, alternately overflowed
or left imperfectly dry. A little further inland, trees were
to be found, but on a soil so marshy that an inundation or a
tempest threw down whole forests, such as are still at times
discovered at either eight or ten feet depth below the surface.
The sea had no limits; the rivers no beds nor banks; the earth
no solidity; for according to an author of the third century
of our era, there was not, in the whole of the immense plain,
a spot of ground that did not yield under the footsteps of
man.--Eumenius.
It was not the same in the southern parts, which form at present
the Walloon country. These high grounds suffered much less from
the ravages of the waters. The ancient forest of the Ardennes,
extending from the Rhine to the Scheldt, sheltered a numerous though
savage population, which in all things resembled the Germans, from
whom they derived their descent. The chase and the occupations of
rude agriculture sufficed for the wants of a race less poor and
less patient, but more unsteady and ambitious, than the fishermen
of the low lands. Thus it is that history presents us with a
tribe of warriors and conquerors on the southern frontier of
the country; while the scattered inhabitants of the remaining
parts seemed to have fixed there without a contest, and to have
traced out for themselves, by necessity and habit, an existence
which any other people must have considered insupportable.
This difference in the nature of the soil and in the fate of the
inhabitants appears more striking when we consider the present
situation of the country. The high grounds, formerly so preferable,
are now the least valuable part of the kingdom, even as regards
their agriculture; while the ancient marshes have been changed
by human industry into rich and fertile tracts, the best parts
of which are precisely those conquered from the grasp of the
ocean. In order to form an idea of the solitude and desolation
which once reigned where we now see the most richly cultivated
fields, the most thriving villages, and the wealthiest towns
of the continent, the imagination must go back to times which
have not left one monument of antiquity and scarcely a vestige
of fact.
The history of the Netherlands is, then, essentially that of
a patient and industrious population struggling against every
obstacle which nature could oppose to its well-being; and, in
this contest, man triumphed most completely over the elements
in those places where they offered the greatest resistance. This
extraordinary result was due to the hardy stamp of character
imprinted by suffering and danger on those who had the ocean for
their foe; to the nature of their country, which presented no
lure for conquest; and, finally, to the toleration, the justice,
and the liberty nourished among men left to themselves, and who
found resources in their social state which rendered change neither
an object of their wants nor wishes.
About half a century before the Christian era, the obscurity
which enveloped the north of Europe began to disperse; and the
expedition of Julius Cæsar gave to the civilized world the first
notions of the Netherlands, Germany, and England. Cæsar, after
having subjugated the chief part of Gaul, turned his arms against
the warlike tribes of the Ardennes, who refused to accept his
alliance or implore his protection. They were called Belgæ by
the Romans; and at once pronounced the least civilized and the
bravest of the Gauls. Cæsar there found several ignorant and poor
but intrepid clans of warriors, who marched fiercely to encounter
him; and, notwithstanding their inferiority in numbers, in weapons,
and in tactics, they nearly destroyed the disciplined armies of
Rome. They were, however, defeated, and their country ravaged
by the invaders, who found less success when they attacked the
natives of the low grounds. The Menapians, a people who occupied
the present provinces of Flanders and Antwerp, though less numerous
than those whom the Romans had last vanquished, arrested their
progress both by open fight and by that petty and harassing
contest--that warfare of the people rather than of the soldiery--so
well adapted to the nature of the country. The Roman legions
retreated for the first time, and were contented to occupy the
higher parts, which now form the Walloon provinces.
But the policy of Cæsar made greater progress than his arms. He
had rather defeated than subdued those who had dared the contest.
He consolidated his victories without new battles; he offered peace
to his enemies, in proposing to them alliance; and he required
their aid, as friends, to carry on new wars in other lands. He
thus attracted toward him, and ranged under his banners, not only
those people situated to the west of the Rhine and the Meuse,
but several other nations more to the north, whose territory he
had never seen; and particularly the Batavians--a valiant tribe,
stated by various ancient authors, and particularly by Tacitus,
as a fraction of the Catti, who occupied the space comprised
between these rivers. The young men of these warlike people, dazzled
by the splendor of the Roman armies, felt proud and happy in
being allowed to identify themselves with them. Cæsar encouraged
this disposition, and even went so far on some occasions as to
deprive the Roman cavalry of their horses, on which he mounted
those new allies, who managed them better than their Italian
riders. He had no reason to repent these measures; almost all
his subsequent victories, and particularly that of Pharsalia,
being decided by the valor of the auxiliaries he obtained from
the Low Countries.
These auxiliaries were chiefly drawn from Hainault, Luxemburg,
and the country of the Batavians, and they formed the best cavalry
of the Roman armies, as well as their choicest light infantry
force. The Batavians also signalized themselves on many occasions,
by the skill with which they swam across several great rivers
without breaking their squadrons ranks. They were amply rewarded
for their military services and hazardous exploits, and were treated
like stanch and valuable allies. But this unequal connection of
a mighty empire with a few petty states must have been fatal to
the liberty of the weaker party. Its first effect was to destroy
all feeling of nationality in a great portion of the population.
The young adventurer of this part of the Low Countries, after
twenty years of service under the imperial eagles, returned to
his native wilds a Roman. The generals of the empire pierced
the forests of the Ardennes with causeways, and founded towns
in the heart of the country. The result of such innovations was
a total amalgamation of the Romans and their new allies; and
little by little the national character of the latter became
entirely obliterated. But to trace now the precise history of
this gradual change would be as impossible as it will be one
day to follow the progress of civilization in the woods of North
America.
But it must be remarked that this metamorphosis affected only
the inhabitants of the high grounds, and the Batavians (who were
in their origin Germans) properly so called. The scanty population
of the rest of the country, endowed with that fidelity to their
ancient customs which characterizes the Saxon race, showed no
tendency to mix with foreigner, rarely figured in their ranks,
and seemed to revolt from the southern refinement which was so
little in harmony with their manners and ways of life. It is
astonishing, at the first view, that those beings, whose whole
existence was a contest against famine or the waves, should show
less inclination than their happier neighbors to receive from
Rome an abundant recompense for their services. But the greater
their difficulty to find subsistence in their native land, the
stronger seemed their attachment; like that of the Switzer to
his barren rocks, or of the mariner to the frail and hazardous
home that bears him afloat on the ocean. This race of patriots
was divided into two separate peoples. Those to the north of
the Rhine were the Frisons; those to the west of the Meuse, the
Menapians, already mentioned.
The Frisons differed little from those early inhabitants of the
coast, who, perched on their high-built huts, fed on fish and
drank the water of the clouds. Slow and successive improvements
taught them to cultivate the beans which grew wild among the
marshes, and to tend and feed a small and degenerate breed of
horned cattle. But if these first steps toward civilization were
slow, they were also sure; and they were made by a race of men
who could never retrograde in a career once begun.
The Menapians, equally repugnant to foreign impressions, made, on
their part, a more rapid progress. They were already a maritime
people, and carried on a considerable commerce with England. It
appears that they exported thither salt, the art of manufacturing
which was well known to them; and they brought back in return
marl, a most important commodity for the improvement of their
land. They also understood the preparation of salting meat, with
a perfection that made it in high repute even in Italy; and,
finally, we are told by Ptolemy that they had established a colony
on the eastern coast of Ireland, not far from Dublin.
The two classes of what forms at present the population of the
Netherlands thus followed careers widely different, during the
long period of the Roman power in these parts of Europe. While
those of the high lands and the Batavians distinguished themselves
by a long-continued course of military service or servitude, those
of the plains improved by degrees their social condition, and fitted
themselves for a place in civilized Europe. The former received
from Rome great marks of favor in exchange for their freedom.
The latter, rejecting the honors and distinctions lavished on
their neighbors, secured their national independence, by trusting
to their industry alone for all the advantages they gradually
acquired.
Were the means of protecting themselves and their country from
the inundations of the sea known and practiced by these ancient
inhabitants of the coast? or did they occupy only those elevated
points of land which stood out like islands in the middle of the
floods? These questions are among the most important presented
by their history; since it was the victorious struggle of man
against the ocean that fixed the extent and form of the country.
It appears almost certain that in the time of Cæsar they did not
labor at the construction of dikes, but that they began to be
raised during the obscurity of the following century; for the
remains of ancient towns are even now discovered in places at
present overflowed by the sea. These ruins often bring to light
traces of Roman construction, and Latin inscriptions in honor
of the Menapian divinities. It is, then, certain that they had
learned to imitate those who ruled in the neighboring countries: a
result by no means surprising; for even England, the mart of their
commerce, and the nation with which they had the most constant
intercourse, was at that period occupied by the Romans. But the
nature of their country repulsed so effectually every attempt at
foreign domination that the conquerors of the world left them
unmolested, and established arsenals and formed communications
with Great Britain only at Boulogne and in the island of the
Batavians near Leyden.
This isolation formed in itself a powerful and perfect barrier
between the inhabitants of the plain and those of the high grounds.
The first held firm to their primitive customs and their ancient
language; the second finished by speaking Latin, and borrowing
all the manners and usages of Italy. The moral effect of this
contrast was that the people, once so famous for their bravery,
lost, with their liberty, their energy and their courage. One of
the Batavian chieftains, named Civilis, formed an exception to
this degeneracy, and, about the year 70 of our era, bravely took
up arms for the expulsion of the Romans. He effected prodigies of
valor and perseverance, and boldly met and defeated the enemy
both by land and sea. Reverses followed his first success, and he
finally concluded an honorable treaty, by which his countrymen
once more became the allies of Rome. But after this expiring effort
of valor, the Batavians, even though chosen from all nations for
the bodyguards of the Roman emperors, became rapidly degenerate;
and when Tacitus wrote, ninety years after Christ, they were
already looked on as less brave than the Frisons and the other
peoples beyond the Rhine. A century and a half later saw them
confounded with the Gauls; and the barbarian conquerors said
that "they were not a nation, but merely a _prey_."
Reduced into a Roman province, the southern portion of the
Netherlands was at this period called Belgic Gaul; and the name
of Belgium, preserved to our days, has until lately been applied
to distinguish that part of the country situated to the south of
the Rhine and the Meuse, or nearly that which formed the Austrian
Netherlands.
During the establishment of the Roman power in the north of Europe,
observation was not much excited toward the rapid effects of this
degeneracy, compared with the fast-growing vigor of the people of
the low lands. The fact of the Frisons having, on one occasion,
near the year 47 of our era, beaten a whole army of Romans, had
confirmed their character for intrepidity. But the long stagnation
produced in these remote countries by the colossal weight of
the empire was broken, about the year 250, by an irruption of
Germans or Salian Franks, who, passing the Rhine and the Meuse,
established themselves in the vicinity of the Menapians, near
Antwerp, Breda and Bois-le-duc. All the nations that had been
subjugated by the Roman power appear to have taken arms on this
occasion and opposed the intruders. But the Menapians united
themselves with these newcomers, and aided them to meet the shock
of the imperial armies. Carausius, originally a Menapian pilot,
but promoted to the command of a Roman fleet, made common cause
with his fellow-citizens, and proclaimed himself emperor of Great
Britain, where the naval superiority of the Menapians left him
no fear of a competitor. In recompense of the assistance given
him by the Franks, he crossed the sea again from his new empire,
to aid them in their war with the Batavians, the allies of Rome;
and having seized on their islands, and massacred nearly the whole
of its inhabitants, he there established his faithful friends the
Salians. Constantius and his son Constantine the Great vainly
strove, even after the death of the brave Carausius, to regain
possession of the country; but they were forced to leave the
new inhabitants in quiet possession of their conquest.