The split of the Low Countries into the Spanish Netherlands and the United Republic

Religious discontent and economic hardship had led to the Iconoclastic Riots and the Spanish response. Philip II dispatched the Duke of Alva to the Low Countries with "unlimited power for extirpation of heretics." Soon after his arrival, he had the Counts Hoorne and Egmont executed, causing great consternation across the board. He established a tribunal, locally called the Court of Blood (or the court of Troubles) to "try all persons who had been engaged in the late commotions."

Duke of Alva

In Alva's "reign of terror," nobles were rounded up and sent before the Council; they were released upon signing a form of submission. Eighty of Brussels leading citizens were executed in January of 1568 and the terror continued through 1573 with 9000 inhabitants condemned by the Council and 1000 either executed or exiled. In addition to the toll that this terror took on the populace, Alva sought to increase taxes without the consent of the ruling elite, further alienating the inhabitants.

By this time William I, Prince of Orange, who had fled to Nassau upon hearing that Alva would be coming to the Low Countries, had emerged as the focal point of the resistance to the Spanish.

William I, Prince of Orange

Developments in the struggle between the years 1568 and 1586 are illustrated in the chart below. I will provide additional detail on a few of the salient events.

Spain was over-extended in 1576 and had not paid its soldiers. These soldiers mutinied, visiting their wrath on the Low Country inhabitants. This state of affairs resulted in the provinces from the north and south getting together to seek a solution. The supporters of William and the Catholic Loyalists met in Ghent in October, 1576. The Spanish Loyalists agreed to suspend the heresy laws and a compact -- The Pacification of Ghent -- was drawn up and ratified quickly after a second mutiny in which 8000 inhabitants were killed.

At that time Philip appointed his half-brother Don Juan of Austria to replace the dead Requessens. Don Juan was charged with forging a temporary settlement with the rebels.

The cooperation between the Loyalists and William supporters did not hold, however; even with assistance from England and France. William was untrusting of Don Juan while the Loyalists were very open to his advances. Eventually the northern provinces formed the Union of Utrecht while the southern provinces of Hainault and Artois formed the Union of Arras. These two provinces, plus the late-joining Walloon, plus the provinces already under Spanish control, remained loyal to Philip II.

The United Provinces then began casting about for a ruler. They offered the position to the Duke of Anjou but he proved unsatisfactory and returned to France in 1583.

Upon the assassination of William of Orange, Queen Elizabeth I of England sent Robert Dudley, First Earl of Leicester, to aid the United Provinces. The leaders of the United Provinces appointed Dudley Governor-General with the implication that Queen Elizabeth would become their sovereign. Dudley communicated this offer to the Queen and, after failing to receive a timely response, accepted the position. The queen was livid and sent one of her aides with a letter which was to be read to the States-General, in the presence of Dudley, declining the offer.

The Duke of Parma saw William's assassination as an opportunity to retake territory. On the 17th of August, 1585, he accepted the capitulation of Antwerp, "the most important Calvinist bastion of the revolt of the Netherlands." This capitulation signaled the effective partition of the Low Countries:

• The rebellious provinces remained behind the natural barriers of the rivers Scheldt, Meuse, and Rhine
• The Spanish stood a good chance of making further inroads but they were caught up in issues like the Spanish Armada and, thus, took their eye off this ball.

After the reconquest of the southern Netherlands, the Calvinist section of the population was given the option of submitting to Spain and Rome again or leaving the territory. The time for deportation differed from town to town. For example, it was four years in the case of Antwerp and that town saw its population fall from over 100,000 to less than 50,000 after 1585. This was an economic disaster for the town as most of those who left were influential merchants, industrialists and skilled artisans. These emigrees went to the north, the Pfalz region of Germany, and England.

After William's assassination, the United Provinces declared themselves a republic. The form of government was a confederation within which each province remained independent but they were all governed by a Stadtholder responsible for the common defense and a pensioner responsible for foreign affairs.

The Stadtholder position was offered to Maurice of Nassau, the second son of William of Orange. Maurice was a master of siege warfare and showed that prowess by capturing eight towns between 1590 and 1597. He also defeated the Spanish convincingly in two open-field battles -- Tournhont (1597) and Nieuwpoort (1600) -- the first of which cleared the territories of foreign troops and the latter securing the border.

Maurice of Nassau

On the religious front the Reformed Church was officially recognized as was individual religious freedom. The main religion was Calvinism.

As the turn of the century approached, there were leadership changes of the Spanish side of the border: the Duke of Parma died in France in 1592 and was replaced by Archduke Albert in 1596.

These 17 provinces, melded together by actions of the Dukes of Burgundy and the Habsburgs, were now in the throes of what would turn out to be an 80-year war of independence. I will pick up on the 17th-century aspects of that war, and how it shaped the Spanish Netherlands and the Dutch Republic, in subsequent posts.


©EverythingElse238