THE REVOLT OF THE NETHERLANDS: RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLIC. (1572-1609.)
THE COUNTRY.--The term Netherlands (low-lands) was formerly applied to all
that low, marshy district in the northwest of Europe, sunk much of it
below the level of the sea, now occupied by the kingdoms of Holland and
Belgium. The entire strip of land is simply the delta accumulations of the
Rhine and other rivers emptying into the North Sea. Originally it was
often overflowed by its streams and inundated by the ocean. But this
unpromising morass, protected at last by heavy dykes against the invasions
of the ocean and the overflow of its streams, was destined to become the
site of cities which at one period were the richest and most potent of
Europe, and the seat of one of the foremost commonwealths of modern times.
No country in Europe made greater progress in civilization during the
mediæval era than the Netherlands. At the opening of the sixteenth century
they contained a crowded and busy population of 3,000,000 souls. The
ancient marshes had been transformed into carefully kept gardens and
orchards. The walled cities alone numbered between two and three hundred.
THE LOW COUNTRIES UNDER CHARLES V. (1515-1555).--The Netherlands were part
of those possessions over which Charles V. ruled by hereditary right.
Though Charles could not prevent the growth of Protestantism in Germany,
he resolved to root out the heresy from his hereditary possessions of the
Netherlands. By an Imperial edict he condemned to death all persons
presuming to read the Scriptures, or even to discuss religious topics. The
Inquisition was introduced, and thousands perished at the stake and upon
the scaffold, or were strangled, or buried alive. But when Charles retired
to the monastery at Yuste (see p. 534), the reformed doctrines were,
notwithstanding all his efforts, far more widely spread and deeply rooted
in the Netherlands than when he entered upon their extirpation by fire and
sword.
ACCESSION OF PHILIP II.--In 1555, in the presence of an august and
princely assembly at Brussels, and amidst the most imposing and dramatic
ceremonies, Charles V. abdicated the crown whose weight he could no longer
bear, and placed the same upon the head of his son Philip (see p. 534),
who was a most zealous Catholic. Philip remained in the Netherlands after
his coronation four years, employing much of his time in devising means to
root out the heresy of Protestantism. In 1559 he set sail for Spain, never
to return.
LONG LIVE THE BEGGARS.--Upon his departure from the Netherlands Philip
entrusted their government to his half-sister, Margaret, Duchess of Parma,
as Regent. Under the administration of Margaret (1559-1567) the
persecution of the Protestants went on with renewed bitterness. Philip
declared that "he would rather lose a hundred thousand lives, were they
all his own, than allow the smallest deviation from the standards of the
Roman Catholic Church." Thousands fled the country, many of the fugitives
finding a home in England. At last the nobles leagued together for the
purpose of resisting the Inquisition. They demanded of the Regent a
redress of grievances. When the petition was presented to the Duchess, she
displayed great agitation, whereupon one of her councillors exclaimed,
"Madam, are you afraid of a pack of beggars?"
The expression was carried to the nobles, who were assembled at a banquet.
Immediately one of their number suspended a beggar's wallet from his neck,
and filling a wooden bowl with wine, proposed the toast, "Long live the
Beggars." The name was tumultuously adopted, and became the party
designation of the patriot Netherlanders during their long struggle with
the Spanish power.
THE ICONOCLASTS (1566).--Affairs now rapidly verged towards violence and
open revolt. The only reply of the government to the petition of the
nobles was a decree termed the _Moderation_, which substituted hanging for
burning in the case of condemned heretics. The pent-up indignation of the
people at length burst forth in an uncontrollable fury. They gathered in
great mobs, and arming themselves with whatever implements they could
first seize, proceeded to demolish every image they could find in the
churches throughout the country. The rage of the insurgents was turned in
this direction, because in their eyes these churches represented the hated
Inquisition under which they were suffering. Scarcely a church in all the
Netherlands escaped. The monasteries, too, were sacked, their libraries
burned, and the inmates driven from their cloisters. In the province of
Flanders alone there were four hundred sacred buildings visited by the
mob, and sacked. The tempest destroyed innumerable art treasures, which
have been as sincerely mourned by the lovers of the beautiful as the
burned rolls of the Alexandrian Library have been lamented by the lovers
of learning.
These image-breaking riots threw Philip into a perfect transport of rage.
He tore his beard, and exclaimed, "It shall cost them dear! I swear it by
the soul of my father!"
THE DUKE OF ALVA AND WILLIAM OF ORANGE.--The year following the outbreak
of the Iconoclasts, Philip sent to the Netherlands a veteran Spanish army,
headed by the Duke of Alva. The duke was one of the ablest generals of the
age; and the intelligence of his coming threw the provinces into a state
of the greatest agitation and alarm. Those who could do so hastened to get
out of the country. William the Silent, Prince of Orange, fled to Germany,
where he began to gather an army of volunteers for the struggle which he
now saw to be inevitable. Egmont and Horn, noblemen of high rank and great
distinction, were seized, cast into prison, and afterwards beheaded
(1568).
The eyes of all Netherlanders were now turned to the Prince of Orange as
their only deliverer. Towards the close of the year 1568, he marched from
Germany against Alva, at the head of an army of 30,000 men, which he had
raised and equipped principally at his own expense. The war was now fully
joined. The struggle lasted for more than a generation,--for thirty-seven
years.
[Illustration: WILLIAM OF ORANGE (the Silent). (After a copper-plate by
William Jacobz Delff, 1580-1638.)]
The Spanish armies were commanded successively by the most experienced and
distinguished generals of Europe,--the Duke of Alva, Don John of Austria
(the conqueror of the Moors and the hero of the great naval fight of
Lepanto), and the Duke of Parma; but the Prince of Orange coped ably with
them all, and in the masterly service which he rendered his country, thus
terribly assaulted, earned the title of "the Founder of Dutch Liberties."
ISOLATION OF THE PROVINCES.--The Netherlanders sustained the unequal
contest almost single-handed; for, though they found much sympathy among
the Protestants of Germany, France, and England, they never received
material assistance from any of these countries, excepting England, and it
was not until late in the struggle that aid came from this source.
Elizabeth did, indeed, at first furnish the patriots with secret aid, and
opened the ports of England to the "Beggars of the Sea"; but after a time
the fear of involving herself in a war with Philip led her to withhold for
a long period all contributions and favors. As regards the German states,
they were too much divided among themselves to render efficient aid; and
just at the moment when the growing Protestant sentiment in France
encouraged the Netherlanders to look for help from the Huguenot party
there, the massacre of St. Bartholomew extinguished forever all hope of
succor from that quarter (see p. 576). So the little revolted provinces
were left to carry on unaided, as best they might, a contest with the most
powerful monarch of Christendom.
The details of this memorable struggle we must, of course, leave
unnoticed, and hurry on to the issue of the matter. In so doing we shall
pass unnoticed many memorable sieges and battles. [Footnote: Read in
Motley's _Rise of the Dutch Republic_ the siege and sack of Harlem
and the relief of Leyden.]
PACIFICATION OF GHENT (1576).--The year 1576 was marked by a revolt of the
Spanish soldiers, on account of their not receiving their pay, the costly
war having drained Philip's treasury. The mutinous army marched through
the land, pillaging city after city, and paying themselves with the
spoils. The beautiful city of Antwerp was ruined. The horrible massacre of
its inhabitants, and the fiendish atrocities committed by the frenzied
soldiers, caused the awful outbreak to be called the "Spanish Fury."
The terrible state of affairs led to an alliance between Holland and
Zealand and the other fifteen provinces of the Netherlands, known in
history as the Pacification of Ghent (1576). The resistance to the Spanish
crown had thus far been carried on without concerted action among the
several states, the Prince of Orange having hitherto found it impossible
to bring the different provinces to agree to any plan of general defence.
But the awful experiences of the Spanish Fury taught the necessity of
union, and led all the seventeen provinces solemnly to agree to unite in
driving the Spaniards from the Netherlands, and in securing full liberty
for all in matters of faith and worship. William of Orange, with the title
of Stadtholder, was placed at the head of the union. It was mainly the
strong Catholic sentiment in the Southern provinces that had prevented
such a union and pacification long before.
THE UNION OF UTRECHT (1579).--With the Spanish forces under the lead first
of Don John of Austria, the hero-victor of Lepanto, and afterwards of
Prince Alexander of Parma, a commander of most distinguished ability, the
war now went on with increased vigor, fortune, with many vacillations,
inclining to the side of the Spaniards. Disaffection arose among the
Netherlanders, the outcome of which was the separation, of the provinces.
The Prince of Orange, seeing the impossibility of uniting all the states,
devoted his efforts to effecting a confederation of the Northern ones. His
endeavors were fortunately crowned with success, and the seven Protestant
states of the North, [Footnote: The ten Catholic provinces of the South,
although they continued their contest with Philip a little longer,
ultimately submitted to Spanish tyranny. A portion of these provinces were
absorbed by France, while the remainder, after varied fortunes amidst the
revolutions and dynastic changes of the European states, finally became
the present kingdom of Belgium] the chief of which were Holland and
Zealand, by the treaty of Utrecht (1579), were united in a permanent
confederation, known as the Seven United Provinces of the Netherlands. In
this league was laid the foundation of the Dutch Republic.
Fortunate would it have been for the Netherlands, could all of the states
at this time have been brought to act in concert. Under the leadership of
the Prince of Orange, the seventeen provinces might have been consolidated
into a powerful nation, that might now be reckoned among the great powers
of Europe.
THE "BAN" AND THE "APOLOGY."--William of Orange was, of course, the
animating spirit of the confederacy formed by the treaty of Utrecht. In
the eyes of Philip and his viceroys he appeared the sole obstacle in the
way of the pacification of the provinces and their return to civil and
ecclesiastical obedience. In vain had Philip sent against him the ablest
and most distinguished commanders of the age; in vain had he endeavored to
detach him from the cause of his country by magnificent bribes of titles,
offices, and fortune.
Philip now resolved to employ assassination for the removal of the
invincible general and the incorruptible patriot. He published a ban
against the prince, declaring him an outlaw, and offering to any one who
should kill him the pardon of all his sins, a title of nobility, and
25,000 gold crowns.
The prince responded to the infamous edict in a remarkable paper, entitled
"The Apology of the Prince of Orange,"--the most terrible arraignment of
tyranny that was ever penned. The "Apology" was scattered throughout
Europe, and everywhere produced a profound impression. The friends of the
prince, while admiring his boldness, were filled with alarm for his
safety. Their apprehensions, as the issue shows, were not unfounded.
ASSASSINATION OF THE PRINCE OF ORANGE.--"The ban soon bore fruit." Upon
the 10th day of July, 1584, five previous unsuccessful attempts having
been made upon his life, the Prince of Orange was fatally shot by an
assassin. The heirs of the murderer received substantially the reward
which had been offered in the ban, being enriched with the estates of the
prince, and honored by elevation to the ranks of the Spanish nobility.
The character of William the Silent is one of the most admirable portrayed
in all history. [Footnote: He was not, however, without faults. The most
serious of these was his habit of dissimulation. Some charge to this the
separation of the Northern and Southern provinces after the Pacification
of Ghent. The Southern provinces would not trust the "double-dealer." For
references to various writers on this point, consult Young's _History of
the Netherlands_, p, 320.] His steadfast and unselfish devotion to the
cause of his country deservedly won for him the love of all classes. His
people fondly called him "Father William."
PRINCE MAURICE: SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.--Severe as was the blow sustained by
the Dutch patriots in the death of the Prince of Orange, they did not lose
heart, but continued the struggle with the most admirable courage and
steadfastness. Prince Maurice, a youth of seventeen years, the second son
of William, was chosen Stadtholder in his place, and proved himself a
worthy son of the great chief and patriot. The war now proceeded with
unabated fury. The Southern provinces were, for the most part, in the
hands of the Spaniards, while the revolutionists held control, in the
main, of the Northern states.
Substantial aid from the English now came to the struggling Hollanders.
Queen Elizabeth, alarmed by the murder of the Prince of Orange,--for she
well knew that hired agents of the king of Spain watched likewise for her
life,--openly espoused the cause of the Dutch. Among the English knights
who led the British forces sent into the Netherlands was the gallant Sir
Philip Sidney, the "Flower of Chivalry." At the siege of Zutphen (1586),
he received a mortal wound. A little incident that occurred as he rode
from the field, suffering from his terrible hurt, is always told as a
memorial of the gentle knight. A cup of water having been brought him, he
was about to lift it to his lips, when his hand was arrested by the
longing glance of a wounded soldier who chanced at that moment to be
carried past. "Give it to him," said the fainting knight; "his necessity
is greater than mine."
PROGRESS OF THE WAR: TREATY OF 1609.--The circle of war grew more and more
extended. France as well as England became involved, both fighting against
Philip, who was now laying claims to the crowns of both these countries.
The struggle was maintained on land and on sea, in the Old World and in
the New. The English fleet, under the noted Sir Francis Drake (see p. 560,
n.), ravaged the Spanish settlements in Florida and the West Indies, and
intercepted the treasure-ships of Philip returning from the mines of
Mexico and Peru; the Dutch fleet wrested from Spain many of her
possessions in the East Indies and among the islands of the South Pacific.
Europe at last grew weary of the seemingly interminable struggle, and the
Spanish commanders becoming convinced that it was impossible to reduce the
Dutch rebels to obedience by force of arms, negotiations were entered
into, and by the celebrated treaty of 1609, comparative peace was secured
to Christendom.
The treaty of 1609 was in reality an acknowledgment by Spain of the
independence of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, although the
Spanish king was so unwilling to admit the fact of his being unable to
reduce the rebel states to submission, that the treaty was termed simply
"a truce for twelve years." Spain did not formally acknowledge their
independence until forty years afterwards, in the Peace of Westphalia, at
the end of the Thirty Years' War (1648) (see p. 586).
DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROVINCES DURING THE WAR.--One of the most remarkable
features of the war for Dutch independence was the vast expansion of the
trade and commerce of the revolted provinces, and their astonishing growth
in population, wealth, and resources, while carrying on the bitter and
protracted struggle. When the contest ended, notwithstanding the waste of
war, the number of inhabitants crowded on that little patch of sea-bottom
and morass constituting the Dutch Republic, was equal to the entire
population of England; that is to say, to three or four millions. But the
home-land was only a small part of the dominions of the commonwealth.
Through the enterprise and audacity of its bold sailors, it had made
extensive acquisitions in the East Indies and other parts of the world,
largely at the expense of the Spanish and the Portuguese colonial
possessions. The commerce of the little republic had so expanded that more
than one hundred thousand of its citizens found a home upon the sea. No
idlers or beggars were allowed a place in the industrious commonwealth.
And hand in hand with industry went intelligence. Throughout the United
Provinces it was rare to meet with a person who could not both read and
write.