HISTORICAL MINUTES OF THE UNITED PROVINCES, FROM THEIR DECLARATION OF
INDEPENDENCE, TILL THE ARMINIAN CONTROVERSY.
The present chapter will lead our readers to the public life of Grotius:
in a former page we succinctly mentioned the principal events in the
history of the United Provinces, from their first insurrection against
Philip II. till their declaration of independence. On that event, they
continued Prince William of Orange in the Stadtholderate: he was
entitled to it by his civil and military talents. Application, activity,
liberality, eloquence, intrepidity, enterprise and discretion, were
united in him in an extraordinary degree: he could accommodate himself
to all persons and occurrences, accelerate or retard events, as best
served the interests of his cause, or his own designs. In the rare
talent of governing popular assemblies, and procuring the co-operation
of persons of opposite views, he has had few equals. He wanted no
quality, which a chief of a party should possess, either to insure the
success of the public object, or to further his private aims.
[Sidenote: CHAP. IV. 1597-1610.]
These had, for some time, been suspected: it was generally observed,
that he affected the exercise of sovereign authority; that he
endeavoured to attach the military to his own person; that he always
sought to have the acts of the States issued in his own name; that, on
many occasions, he avoided consulting the States, or doing any thing
which could be considered an explicit recognition of their supremacy;
and that in several instances, in which the constitution required the
co-operation of the States, he acted independently of them. This gave
rise to a party, which was jealous of his power, and on many occasions
thwarted, what they thought the projects of his private ambition. From
their attachment to the constitution, they were termed the republican
party: Barneveldt, the Grand-Pensionary of the States General, was their
leader.
[Sidenote: Assassination of William Prince of Orange.]
Whatever were the projects of the prince, there appeared to be great
probability of their ultimate success. In 1684, he had gained so for,
that the States of Holland, Zealand and Frizeland, had come to a
resolution to confer upon him the sovereignty of their states, under the
title of Count. All the conditions were settled: on one hand, the rights
of the prince, on the other, the rights of the people, were defined and
recognised; a contravention of them by any of the people was declared
to be treason; the infringement of them by the prince, was declared to
be a forfeiture of his sovereignty. Thus the prince seemed to be on the
eve of receiving the fruit of all his exertions. But, as we have already
mentioned, he was assassinated by Balthazar Gerard, a fanatic Spaniard.
The last words of the prince were, "Lord! have mercy on my soul! have
pity on my poor country!"
In 1585, Prince Maurice, the second son of William, was, chiefly by the
influence of Barneveldt, proclaimed Stadtholder by the States General.
They were not less jealous of his views, than they had been of his
father's; but the misconduct of the Earl of Leicester had made it
necessary for them to throw themselves into the prince's arms. The
weakness of Spain, and the troubles in France, now permitted the United
Provinces to enjoy some repose. They availed themselves of it, to settle
the constitution: the towns were repaired, the fortifications completed,
Universities were founded or revived at Utrecht, Leyden and Franker; and
the arts of peace began to be cultivated.
[Sidenote: CHAP. IV. 1597-1610.]
Maurice inherited all the civil talents of his father; he had greater
military skill, and at least equal ambition. The art of war seems to
consist, at the present time, in directing immense masses of men, by
skilful evolutions and positions, to the destruction of the force
opposed. In the wars of the Netherlands, it was principally shewn by
surprising strong-holds, besieging towns, regular assaults, advantageous
encampments, and wasting the army of the enemy by skilful marches. The
camp of Maurice became a school, in which the nobility and gentry of the
empire, France, and England, entered as volunteers, to learn the art of
war. His taking of the city of Breda, raised his reputation to the
highest: from this time, the war, which, on the part of the United
Provinces, had till then, been a defensive war, became offensive, and
their arms were attended with almost uninterrupted success: they equally
triumphed on Sea.
In 1698, the war between Spain and France was terminated. Philip II.
soon afterwards died: he was succeeded by Philip III. a weak monarch.
Then, began the naval glory of the United Provinces; their attacks on
the West Indian and East Indian colonies of the Spaniards. In 1600,
prince Maurice gained a decisive victory at Nieuport near Ostend: it was
followed by other important successes. In 1607, Admiral Heemskirk
obtained a complete victory over the Spanish fleet, though protected by
the batteries of Cadiz, and seized their ships and treasures.
[Sidenote: Armistice between Spain and the United Provinces.]
The war between Spain and the United Provinces had now continued forty
years: the resources of Spain were so exhausted, that she herself was
forced to solicit an armistice. Prince Maurice objected to it, as the
continuance of the war was essential to the furtherance of his own
ambitious views. On this account, the truce was promoted by Barneveldt
and the republican party. They justly thought that the aggrandizement of
the house of Orange would be the extinction of the liberties of their
country, so that the result of the war would only be, that the United
Provinces would change their masters. After a long negotiation, an
armistice of twelve years was agreed upon in 1609, and England and
France guaranteed the execution of the treaty.