Chapter XC: Part 90

In the spring of 1572, Alva having re-established friendly
relations with Queen Elizabeth, all the cruisers of the
rebellious Netherlanders—"Beggars of the Sea" as they had
styled themselves—were suddenly expelled from English ports,
where they had previously found shelter and procured supplies.
The consequence was unexpected to those who brought it about,
and proved most favorable to the patriotic cause. Desperately
driven by their need of some harbor of refuge, the fleet of
these adventurers made an attack upon the important seaport of
Brill, took it with little fighting and held it stubbornly.
Excited by this success, the patriotic burghers of Flushing,
on the isle of Walcheren, soon afterwards rose and expelled
the Spanish garrison from their town. "The example thus set by
Brill and Flushing was rapidly followed. The first half of the
year 1572 was distinguished by a series of triumphs rendered
still more remarkable by the reverses which followed at its
close. … Enkhuizen, the key to the Zuyder Zee, the principal
arsenal, and one of the first commercial cities in the
Netherlands, rose against the Spanish Admiral, and hung out
the banner of Orange on its ramparts. The revolution effected
here was purely the work of the people—of the mariners and
burghers of the city. Moreover, the magistracy was set aside
and the government of Alva repudiated without shedding one
drop of blood, without a single wrong to person or property.
By the same spontaneous movement, nearly all the important
cities of Holland and Zealand raised the standard of him in
whom they recognized their deliverer. The revolution was
accomplished under nearly similar circumstances everywhere.
With one fierce bound of enthusiasm the nation shook, off its
chain. Oudewater, Dort, Harlem, Leyden, Gorcum, Loewenstein,
Gouda, Medenblik, Horn, Alkmaar, Edam, Monnikendam,
Purmerende, as well as Flushing, Veer, and Enkhuizen, all
ranged themselves under the government of Orange as lawful
stadholder for the King. Nor was it in Holland and Zealand
alone that the beacon fires of freedom were lighted. City
after city in Gelderland, Overyssel, and the See of Utrecht,
all the important towns of Friesland, some sooner, some later,
some without a struggle, some after a short siege, some with
resistance by the functionaries of government, some by
amicable compromise, accepted the garrisons of the Prince and
formally recognized his authority. Out of the chaos which a
long and preternatural tyranny had produced, the first
struggling elements of a new and a better world began to
appear. … Not all the conquests thus rapidly achieved in the
cause of liberty were destined to endure, nor were any to be
retained without a struggle. The little northern cluster of
republics, which had now restored its honor to the ancient
Batavian name, was destined, however, for a long and vigorous
life. From that bleak isthmus the light of freedom was to
stream through many years upon struggling humanity in Europe,
a guiding pharos across a stormy sea; and Harlem, Leyden,
Alkmaar—names hallowed by deeds of heroism such as have not
often illustrated human annals, still breathe as
trumpet-tongued and perpetual a defiance to despotism as
Marathon, Thermopylae, or Salamis.
{2264}
A new board of magistrates had been chosen in all the redeemed
cities by popular election. They were required to take an oath
of fidelity to the King of Spain, and to the Prince of Orange
as his stadholder; to promise resistance to the Duke of Alva,
the tenth penny, and the Inquisition; 'to support every man's
freedom and the welfare of the country; to protect widows,
orphans, and miserable persons, and to maintain justice and
truth.' Diedrich Sonoy arrived on the 2nd June at Enkhuizen.
He was provided by the Prince with a commission, appointing
him Lieutenant-Governor of North Holland or Waterland. Thus,
to combat the authority of Alva, was set up the authority of
the King. The stadholderate over Holland and Zealand, to which
the Prince had been appointed in 1559, he now reassumed. Upon
this fiction reposed the whole provisional polity of the
revolted Netherlands. … The people at first claimed not an
iota more of freedom than was secured by Philip's coronation
oath. There was no pretence that Philip was not sovereign, but
there was a pretence and a determination to worship God
according to conscience, and to reclaim the ancient political
'liberties' of the land. So long as Alva reigned, the Blood
Council, the Inquisition, and martial law, were the only codes
or courts, and every charter slept. To recover this practical
liberty and these historical rights, and to shake from their
shoulders a most sanguinary government, was the purpose of
William and of the people. No revolutionary standard was
displayed. The written instructions given by the Prince to his
lieutenant Sonoy were to 'see that the Word of God was
preached, without, however, suffering any hindrance to the
Roman Church in the exercise of its religion.' … The Prince
was still in Germany, engaged in raising troops and providing
funds."

_J. L. Motley,
The Rise of the Dutch Republic,
part 3, chapters 6-7 (volume 2)._

NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1572-1573.
Capture of Mons by Louis of Nassau and
its recovery by the Spaniards.
Spanish massacres at Mechlin, Zutphen and Naarden.
The siege and capture of Haarlem.

"While William of Orange was in Germany, raising money and
troops, he still directed the affairs of the Netherlands. His
prospects were again brightened by the capture, by his gallant
brother Louis of Nassau, of the important city of Mons. …
This last startling blow forced Alva to immediate action. He
at once sent his son, Don Frederic, to lay siege to Mons. Soon
after, the Duke of Medina Cœli, Alva's successor as governor
of the Netherlands [to whom, however, Alva did not surrender
his authority], arrived safely with his fleet, but another
Spanish squadron fell with its rich treasures into the hands
of the rebels. Alva was now so pressed for money that he
agreed to abolish the useless tenth-penny tax, if the
states-general of the Netherlands would grant him a million
dollars a year. He had summoned the states of Holland to meet
at the Hague on the 15th of July, but they met at Dort to
renounce his authority, at the summons of William of Orange,
who had raised an army in Germany, but was without means to
secure the necessary three months' payment in advance. While
still owning allegiance to the king, the states recognized
Orange as stadtholder, empowered him to drive out the Spanish
troops, and to maintain religious freedom. … Treating the
Emperor Maximilian's peace orders as useless, the prince
marched his army of 24,000 men to the relief of Mons. Most of
the Netherland cities on the way accepted his authority, and
everything looked favorable for his success, when an
unforeseen and terrible calamity occurred. The French king,
Charles IX., whose troops had been routed before Mons [by the
Spaniards], had promised to furnish further aid to the
provinces. Admiral Coligny was to join the forces of Orange
with 15,000 men. The frightful massacre of St. Bartholomew in
Paris, on the 24th of August, … was a terrible blow to the
prince. It broke up all his plans. He had reached the
neighborhood of Mons, which he was trying to reinforce, when a
night attack was made by the Spaniards on his lines, September
11. … Obliged to leave his gallant brother Louis to his fate
in Mons, Orange narrowly escaped being killed on his retreat.
… Deserted by the cities that had been so earnest in his
cause, sorrowful, but not despairing for his country, William
had only his trust in God and his own destiny to sustain him.
As Holland was the only province that clung to the hero
patriot, he went there expecting and prepared to die for
liberty. Louis of Nassau was forced, on the 21st of September,
to abandon Mons to the Spaniards, who allowed Noircarmes …
to massacre and pillage the inhabitants contrary to the terms
of surrender. This wretch killed Catholics and Protestants
alike, in order to secure their riches for himself. … The
city of Mechlin, which had refused to admit a garrison of his
troops, was even more brutally ravaged by Alva in order to
obtain gold. … Alva's son, Don Frederic, now proved an apt
pupil of his father, by almost literally executing his command
to kill every man and burn every house in the city of Zutphen,
which had opposed the entrance of the king's troops. The
massacre was terrible and complete. The cause of Orange
suffered still more by the cowardly flight of his
brother-in-law, Count Van den Berg, from his post of duty in
the provinces of Gelderland and Overyssel. By this desertion
rugged Friesland was also lost to the patriot side. Holland
alone held out against the victorious Spaniards. The little
city of Naarden at first stoutly refused to surrender, but
being weak was obliged to yield without striking a blow. Don
Frederic's agent, Julian Romero, having promised that life and
property should be spared, the people welcomed him and his
soldiers at a grand feast on the 2d of December. Hardly was
this over when 500 citizens, who had assembled in the town
hall, were warned by a priest to prepare for death. This was
the signal for the entrance of the Spanish troops, who
butchered everyone in the building. They then rushed furiously
through the streets, pillaging and then setting fire to the
houses. As the inmates came forth, they were tortured and
killed by their cruel foes. … Alva wrote boastfully to the
king that 'they had cut the throats of the burghers and all
the garrison, and had not left a mother's son alive.' He
ascribed this success to the favor of God in permitting the
defence of so feeble a city to be even attempted. … As the
city of Haarlem was the key to Holland, Don Frederic resolved
to capture it at any cost. But the people were so bent upon
resistance that they executed two of their magistrates for
secretly negotiating with Alva. …
{2265}
Ripperda, the commandant of the Haarlem garrison, cheered
soldiers and people by his heroic counsels, and through the
efforts of Orange the city was placed under patriot rule.
Amsterdam, which was in the enemy's hands, was ten miles
distant, across a lake traversed by a narrow causeway, and the
prince had erected a number of forts to command the frozen
surface. As a thick fog covered the lake in these December
days, supplies of men, provisions, and ammunition were brought
into the city in spite of the vigilance of the besiegers. The
sledges and skates of the Hollanders were very useful in this
work. But against Don Frederic's army of 30,000 men, nearly
equalling the entire population of Haarlem, the city with its
extensive but weak fortifications had only a garrison of about
4,000. The fact that about 300 of these were respectable
women, armed with sword, musket, and dagger, shows the heroic
spirit of the people. The men were nerved to fresh exertions
by these Amazons, who, led by their noble chief, the Widow
Kenau Hasselaer, fought desperately by their side, both within
and without the works. The banner of this famous heroine, who
has been called the Joan of Arc of Haarlem, is now in the City
Hall. A vigorous cannonade was kept up against the city for
three days, beginning December 18, and men, women, and
children worked incessantly in repairing the shattered walls.
They even dragged the statues of saints from the churches to
fill up the gaps, to the horror of the superstitious
Spaniards. The brave burghers repelled their assaults with all
sorts of weapons. Burning coals and boiling oil were hurled at
their heads, and blazing pitch-hoops were skilfully caught
about their necks. Astonished by this terrible resistance,
which cost him hundreds of lives, Don Frederic resolved to
take the city by siege." On the last day of January. 1573, Don
Frederic having considerably shattered an outwork called the
ravelin, ordered a midnight assault, and the Spaniards carried
the fort. "They mounted the walls expecting to have the city
at their mercy. Judge of their amazement to find a new and
stronger fort, shaped like a half-moon, which had been
secretly constructed during the siege, blazing away at them
with its cannon. Before they could recover from their shock,
the ravelin, which had been carefully undermined, blew up, and
sent them crushed and bleeding into the air. The Spaniards
outside, terrified at these outbursts, retreated hastily to
their camp, leaving hundreds of dead beneath the walls. Two
assaults of veteran soldiers, led by able generals, having
been repelled by the dauntless burghers of Haarlem, famine
seemed the only means of forcing its surrender. Starvation in
fact soon threatened both besiegers and besieged. Don Frederic
wished to abandon the contest, but Alva threatened to disown
him as a son if he did so. … There was soon a struggle for
the possession of the lake, which was the only means of
conveying supplies to the besieged. In the terrible
hand-to-hand fight which followed the grappling of the rival
vessels, on the 28th of May, the prince's fleet, under Admiral
Brand, was totally defeated. … During the month of June the
wretched people of Haarlem had no food but linseed and
rapeseed, and they were soon compelled to eat dogs, cats,
rats, and mice. When these gave out they devoured shoe-leather
and the boiled hides of horses and oxen, and tried to allay
the pangs of hunger with grass and weeds. The streets were
full of the dead and the dying." Attempts at relief by Orange
were defeated. "As a last resort the besieged resolved to form
a solid column, with the women and children, the aged and
infirm, in the centre, to fight their way out; but Don
Frederic, fearing the city would be left in ruins, induced
them to surrender on the 12th of July, under promise of mercy.
This promise was cruelly broken by a frightful massacre of
2,000 people, which gave great joy to Alva and Philip."

_A. Young,
History of the Netherlands,
chapters 10-11._

ALSO IN:
_R. Watson,
History of Philip II.,
books 11-12._

NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1573-1574.
Siege and deliverance of Alkmaar.
Displacement of Alva.
Battle of Mookerhyde and death of Louis of Nassau.
Siege and relief of Leyden.
The flooding of the land.
Founding of Leyden University.

After the surrender of Haarlem, a mutiny broke out among the
Spanish troops that had been engaged in the siege, to whom 28
months' arrears of pay were due. "It was appeased with great
difficulty at the end of seven weeks, when Alva determined to
make a decisive attack on Holland both by land and water, and
with this view commanded his son, Don Frederic di Toledo, to
march to the siege of Alkmaar, and repaired in person to
Amsterdam. … Don Frederic laid siege to Alkmaar at the head
of 16,000 able and efficient troops; within the town were
1,300 armed burghers and 800 soldiers, as many perhaps as it
was at that time capable of containing. With this handful of
men the citizens of Alkmaar defended themselves no less
resolutely than the Haarlemmers had done. The fierce
onslaughts of the Spaniards were beaten back with uniform
success on the part of the besieged; the women and girls were
never seen to shrink from the fight, even where it was
hottest, but unceasingly supplied the defenders with stones
and burning missiles, to throw amongst their enemies. … But
as there were no means of conveying reinforcements to the
besieged from without, and their supplies began to fail, they
resolved, after a month's siege, on the desperate measure of
cutting through the dykes. Some troops sent by Sonnoy having
effected this, and opened the sluices, the whole country was
soon deluged with water. Don Frederic, astounded at this novel
mode of warfare, and fearing that himself and his whole army
would be drowned, broke up his camp in haste, and fled, rather
than retreated, to Amsterdam. It seemed almost as though the
blessing which the Prince of Orange had promised his people
had come upon them. The capture of Geertruydenberg, about this
time, by one of his lieutenants, was followed by a naval
victory, as signal as it was important. The Admiral Bossu, to
whom was given the command of the [Spanish] fleet at
Amsterdam, having sailed through the Pampus with the design of
occupying the Zuyderzee, and thus making himself master of the
towns of North Holland, encountered the fleet of those towns,
consisting of 24 vessels, commanded by Admiral Dirkson,
stationed in the Zuyderzee to await his arrival." After
several days of skirmishing, the Dutch fleet forced a close
fight, "which lasted with little intermission from the
afternoon of the 11th of October to midday of the 12th, during
which time two of the royalist ships were sunk and a
third captured.
{2266}
"The remainder fled or surrendered, Bossu, himself, being
taken prisoner. "On intelligence of the issue of the battle,
Alva quitted Amsterdam in haste and secrecy. This success
delivered the towns of North Holland from the most imminent
danger, and rendered the possession of Amsterdam nearly
useless to the royalists." Alva was now forced to call a
meeting of the states-general, in the hope of obtaining a vote
of money. "Upon their assembling at Brussels, the states of
Holland despatched an earnest and eloquent address, exhorting
them to emancipate themselves from Spanish slavery and the
cruel tyranny of Alva, which the want of unanimity in the
provinces had alone enabled him to exercise. … Their
remonstrance appears to have been attended with a powerful
effect, since the states-general could neither by threats or
remonstrances be induced to grant the smallest subsidy. …
Alva, having become heartily weary of the government he had
involved in such irretrievable confusion, now obtained his
recall; his place was filled by Don Louis de Requesens, grand
commander of Castile. In the November of this year, Alva
quitted the Netherlands, leaving behind him a name which has
become a bye-word of hatred, scorn, and execration. … During
the six years that he had governed the Netherlands, 18,000
persons had perished by the hand of the executioner, besides
the numbers massacred at Naarden, Zutphen, and other conquered
cities." The first undertaking of the new governor was an
attempt to raise the siege of Middleburg, the Spanish garrison
in which had been blockaded by the Gueux for nearly two years;
but the fleet of 40 ships which he fitted out for the purpose
was defeated, at Romers-waale, with a loss of ten vessels.
"The surrender of Middleburg immediately followed, and with it
that of Arnemuyden, which put the Gueux in possession of the
principal islands of Zealand, and rendered them masters of the
sea." But these successes were counterbalanced by a disaster
which attended an expedition led from Germany by Louis of
Nassau, the gallant but unfortunate brother of the Prince of
Orange. His army was attacked and utterly destroyed by the
Spaniards (April 14, 1574) at the village of Mookerheyde, or
Mook, near Nimeguen, and both Louis and his brother Henry of
Nassau were slain. "After raising the siege of Alkmaar, the
Spanish forces, placed under the command of Francesco di
Valdez on the departure of Don Frederic di Toledo, had for
some weeks blockaded Leyden; but were recalled in the spring
of this year to join the rest of the army on its march against
Louis of Nassau. From that time the burghers of Leyden … had
not only neglected to lay up any fresh stores of corn or other
provision, but to occupy or destroy the forts with which the
enemy had encompassed the town. This fact coming to the
knowledge of Don Louis, he once more dispatched Valdez to
renew the siege at the head of 8,000 troops. … Mindful of
Haarlem and Alkmaar, the Spanish commander … brought no
artillery, nor made any preparations for assault, but, well
aware that there were not provisions in the town sufficient
for three months, contented himself with closely investing it
on all sides, and determined to await the slow but sure
effects of famine." In this emergency, the States of Holland
"decreed that all the dykes between Leyden and the Meuse and
Yssel should be cut through, and the sluices opened at
Rotterdam and Schiedam, by which the waters of those rivers,
overflowing the valuable lands of Schieland and Rhynland,
would admit of the vessels bringing succours up to the very
gates of Leyden. The damage was estimated at 600,000 guilders.
… The cutting through the dykes was a work of time and
difficulty, as well from the labour required as from the
continual skirmishes with the enemy. … Even when completed,
it appeared as if the vast sacrifice were utterly unavailing.
A steady wind blowing from the north-east kept back the
waters. … Meanwhile the besieged, who for some weeks heard
no tidings of their deliverers, had scarcely hope left to
enable them to sustain the appalling sufferings they endured.
… 'Then,' says the historian, who heard it from the mouths
of the sufferers, 'there was no food so odious but it was
esteemed a dainty.' … The siege had now lasted five months.
… Not a morsel of food, even the most filthy and loathsome,
remained … when, on a sudden, the wind veered to the
north-west, and thence to the south-west; the waters of the
Meuse rushed in full tide over the land, and the ships rode
triumphantly on the waves. The Gueux, attacking with vigour
the forts on the dykes, succeeded in driving out the garrisons
with considerable slaughter. … On the … 3rd of October …
Valdez evacuated all the forts in the vicinity. … In memory
of this eventful siege, the Prince and States offered the
inhabitants either to found an university or to establish a
fair. They chose the former; but the States … granted both:
the fair of Leyden was appointed to be held on the 1st of
October in every year, the 3rd being ever after held as a
solemn festival; and on the 8th of February in the next year,
the university received its charter from the Prince of Orange
in the name of King Philip. Both proved lasting monuments."

_C. M. Davies,
History of Holland,
part 2, chapters 8-9 (volumes 1-2)._

ALSO IN:
_J. L. Motley,
The Rise of the Dutch Republic,
part 4, chapters 1-2 (volume 2)._

_W. T. Hewett,
The University of Leiden
(Harper's Magazine, March, 1881)._

_C. M. Yonge,
Cameos from English History,
series 5, chapter 16._

NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1575-1577.
Congress at Breda.
Offer of sovereignty to the English Queen.
Death of Requesens.
Mutiny of the Soldiery.
The Spanish Fury.
Alliance of Northern and Southern provinces under
the Pacification of Ghent and the Union of Brussels.
Arrival of Don John of Austria.

"The bankrupt state of Philip II.'s exchequer, and the
reverses which his arms had sustained, induced him to accept
… the proffered mediation of the Emperor Maximilian, which
he had before so arrogantly rejected, and a Congress was held
at Breda from March till June 1575. But the insurgents were
suspicious, and Philip was inflexible; he could not be induced
to dismiss his Spanish troops, to allow the meeting of the
States-General, or to admit the slightest toleration in
matters of religion; and the contest was therefore renewed
with more fury than ever. The situation of the patriots became
very critical when the enemy, by occupying the islands of
Duyveland and Schouwen, cut off the communication between
Holland and Zealand; especially as all hope of succour from
England had expired.
{2267}
Towards the close of the year envoys were despatched to
solicit the aid of Elizabeth, and to offer her, under certain
conditions, the sovereignty of Holland and Zealand. Requesens
sent Champagny to counteract these negociations, which ended
in nothing. The English Queen was afraid of provoking the
power of Spain, and could not even be induced to grant the
Hollanders a loan. The attitude assumed at that time by the
Duke of Alençon, in France, also prevented them from entering
into any negociations with that Prince. In these trying
circumstances, William the Silent displayed the greatest
firmness and courage. It was now that he is said to have
contemplated abandoning Holland and seeking with its
inhabitants a home in the New World, having first restored the
country to its ancient state of a waste of waters; a thought,
however, which he probably never seriously entertained, though
he may have given utterance to it in a moment of irritation or
despondency. … The unexpected death of Requesens, who
expired of a fever, March 5th 1576, after a few days' illness,
threw the government into confusion. Philip II. had given
Requesens a carte blanche to name his successor, but the
nature of his illness had prevented him from filling it up.
The government therefore devolved to the Council of State, the
members of which were at variance with one another; but Philip
found himself obliged to intrust it 'ad interim' with the
administration, till a successor to Requesens could be
appointed. Count Mansfeld was made commander-in-chief, but was
totally unable to restrain the licentious soldiery. The
Spaniards, whose pay was in arrear, had now lost all
discipline. After the raising of the siege of Leyden they had
beset Utrecht and pillaged and maltreated the inhabitants,
till Valdez contrived to furnish their pay. No sooner had
Requesens expired than they broke into open mutiny, and acted
as if they were entire masters of the country. After wandering
about some time and threatening Brussels, they seized and
plundered Alost, where they established themselves; and they
were soon afterwards joined by the Walloon and German troops.
To repress their violence, the Council of State restored to
the Netherlanders the arms of which they had been deprived,
and called upon them by a proclamation to repress force by
force; but these citizen-soldiers were dispersed with great
slaughter by the disciplined troops in various rencounters.
Ghent, Utrecht, Valenciennes, Maestricht were taken and
plundered by the mutineers; and at last the storm fell upon
Antwerp, which the Spaniards entered early in November, and
sacked during three days. More than 1,000 houses were burnt,
8,000 citizens are said to have been slain, and enormous sums
in ready money were plundered. The whole damage was estimated
at 24,000,000 florins. The horrible excesses committed in this
sack procured for it the name of the 'Spanish Fury.' The
government was at this period conducted in the name of the
States of Brabant. On the 5th of September, De Hèze, a young
Brabant gentleman who was in secret intelligence with the
Prince of Orange, had, at the head of 500 soldiers, entered
the palace where the Council of State was assembled, and
seized and imprisoned the members. William, taking advantage
of the alarm created at Brussels by the sack of Antwerp,
persuaded the provisional government to summon the
States-General, although such a course was at direct variance
with the commands of the King. To this assembly all the
provinces except Luxemburg sent deputies. The nobles of the
southern provinces, although they viewed the Prince of Orange
with suspicion, feeling that there was no security for them so
long as the Spanish troops remained in possession of Ghent,
sought his assistance in expelling them; which William
consented to grant only on condition that an alliance should
be effected between the northern and the southern, or Catholic
provinces of the Netherlands. This proposal was agreed to, and
towards the end of September Orange sent several thousand men
from Zealand to Ghent, at whose approach the Spaniards, who
had valorously defended themselves for two months under the
conduct of the wife of their absent general Mondragon,
surrendered, and evacuated the citadel. The proposed alliance
was now converted into a formal union by the treaty called the
Pacification of Ghent, signed November 8th 1576; by which it
was agreed, without waiting for the sanction of Philip, whose
authority however was nominally recognised, to renew the edict
of banishment against the Spanish troops, to procure the
suspension of the decrees against the Protestant religion, to
summon the States-General of the northern and southern
provinces, according to the model of the assembly which had
received the abdication of Charles V., to provide for the
toleration and practise of the Protestant religion in Holland
and Zealand, together with other provisions of a similar
character. About the same time with the Pacification of Ghent,
all Zealand, with the exception of the island of Tholen, was
recovered from the Spaniards. … It was a mistake on the part
of Philip II. to leave the country eight months with only an
'ad interim' government. Had he immediately filled up the
vacancy … the States could not have seized upon the
government, and the alliance established at Ghent would not
have been effected, by which an almost independent
commonwealth had been erected. But Philip seems to have been
puzzled as to the choice of a successor; and his selection, at
length, of his brother Don John of Austria [a natural son of
Charles V.], caused a further considerable delay. … The
state of the Netherlands compelled Don John to enter them, not
with the pomp and dignity becoming the lawful representative
of a great monarch, but stealthily, like a traitor or
conspirator. In Luxemburg alone, the only province which had
not joined the union, could he expect to be received; and he
entered its capital a few days before the publication of the
treaty of Ghent, in the disguise of a Moorish slave, and in
the train of Don Ottavio Gonzaga, brother of the Prince of
Melfi. Having neither money nor arms, he was obliged to
negociate with the provincial government in order to procure
the recognition of his authority. At the instance of the
Prince of Orange, the States insisted on the withdrawal of the
Spanish troops, the maintenance of the treaty of Ghent, an act
of amnesty for past offences, the convocation of the
States-General, and an oath from Don John that he would
respect all the charters and customs of the country. The new
governor was violent, but the States were firm, and in January
1577 was formed the Union of Brussels, the professed objects
of which were, the immediate expulsion of the Spaniards, and
the execution of the Pacification of Ghent; while at the same
time the Catholic religion and the royal authority were to be
upheld.
{2268}
This union, which was only a more popular repetition of the
treaty of Ghent, soon obtained numberless signatures. …
Meanwhile Rodolph II., the new Emperor of Germany, had offered
his mediation, and appointed the Bishop of Liege to use his
good offices between the parties; who, with the assistance of
Duke William of Juliers, brought, or seemed to bring, the new
governor to a more reasonable frame of mind. … Don John
yielded all the points in dispute, and embodied them in what
was called the Perpetual Edict, published March 12th, 1577.
The Prince of Orange suspected from the first that these
concessions were a mere deception."

_T. H. Dyer,
History of Modern Europe,
book 3, chapters 7-9 (volume 2)._

ALSO IN:
_Sir W. Stirling-Maxwell,
Don John of Austria,
volume 2, chapters 4-5._

NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1577-1581.
The administration of Don John.
Orange's well-founded distrust.
Emancipation of Antwerp.
Battle of Gemblours.
Death of Don John and appointment of Parma.
Corruption of Flemish nobles.
Submission of the Walloon provinces.
Pretensions of the Duke of Anjou.
Constitution and declared independence of the Dutch Republic.

"It now seemed that the Netherlands had gained all they asked
for, and that everything for which they had contended had been
conceded. The Blood Council of Alva had almost extirpated the
Reformers, and an overwhelming majority of the inhabitants of
the Low Countries, with the exception of the Hollanders and
Zelanders, belonged to the old Church, provided the
Inquisition was done away with, and a religious peace was
accorded. But Don John had to reckon with the Prince of
Orange. In him William had no confidence. He could not forget
the past. He believed that the signatures and concessions of
the governor and Philip were only expedients to gain time, and
that they would be revoked or set aside as soon as it was
convenient or possible to do so. … He had intercepted
letters from the leading Spaniards in Don John's employment,
in which, when the treaty was in course of signature, designs
were disclosed of keeping possession of all the strong places
in the country, with the object of reducing the patriots in
detail. … Above all, William distrusted the Flemish nobles.
He knew them to be greedy, fickle, treacherous, ready to
betray their country for personal advantage, and to ally
themselves blindly with their natural enemies. … As events
proved, Orange was in the right. Hence he refused to recognize
the treaty in his own states of Holland and Zeland. As soon as
it was published and sent to him, William, after conference
with these states, published a severe criticism on its
provisions. … In all seeming however Don John was prepared
to carry out his engagements. He got together with difficulty
the funds for paying the arrears due to the troops, and sent
them off by the end of April. He caressed the people and he
bribed the nobles. He handed over the citadels to Flemish
governors, and entered Brussels on May 1st. Everything pointed
to success and mutual good will. But we have Don John's
letters, in which he speaks most unreservedly and most
unflatteringly of his new friends, and of his designs on the
liberties of the Netherlands. And all the while that Philip
was soothing and flattering his brother, he had determined on
ruining him, and on murdering the man [Escovedo] whom that
brother loved and trusted. About this time, too, we find that
Philip and his deputy were casting about for the means by
which they might assassinate the Prince of Orange, 'who had
bewitched the whole people!' An attempt of Don John to get
possession of the citadel of Antwerp for himself failed, and
the patriots gained it. The merchants of Antwerp 'agreed to
find the pay still owing to the soldiers, on condition of
their quitting the city. But while they were discussing the
terms, a fleet of Zeland vessels came sailing up the Scheldt.
Immediately a cry was raised, 'The Beggars are coming,' and
the soldiers fled in dismay [August 1, 1577]. Then the
Antwerpers demolished the citadel, and turned the statue of
Alva again into cannon. After these events, William of Orange
put an end to negotiations with Don John. Prince William was
in the ascendant. But the Catholic nobles conspired against
him, and induced the Archduke Matthias, brother of the German
Emperor Rodolph, to accept the place of governor of the
Netherlands in lieu of Don John. He came, but Orange was made
the Ruwaard of Brabant, with full military power. It was the
highest office which could be bestowed on him. The 'Union of
Brussels' followed and was a confederation of all the
Netherlands. But the battle of Gemblours was fought in
February, 1578, and the patriots were defeated. Many small
towns were captured, and it seemed that in course of time the
governor would recover at least a part of his lost authority.
But in the month of September, Don John was seized with a
burning fever, and died on October 1st. … The new governor
of the Netherlands, son of Ottavio Farnese, Prince of Parma,
and of Margaret of Parma, sister of Philip of Spain, was a
very different person from any of the regents who had hitherto
controlled the Netherlands. He was, or soon proved himself to
be, the greatest general of the age, and he was equally,
according to the statesmanship of the age, the most
accomplished and versatile statesman. He had no designs beyond
those of Philip, and during his long career in the
Netherlands, from October, 1578, to December, 1592, he served
the King of Spain as faithfully and with as few scruples as
Philip could have desired. … Parma was religious, but he had
no morality whatever. … He had no scruple in deceiving,
lying, assassinating, and even less scruple in saying or
swearing that he had done none of these things. … He had an
excellent judgment of men, and indeed he had experience of the
two extremes, of the exceeding baseness of the Flemish nobles,
and of the lofty and pure patriotism of the Dutch patriots.
Nothing indeed was more unfortunate for the Dutch than the
belief which they entertained, that the Flemings who had been
dragooned into uniformity, could be possibly stirred to
patriotism. Alva had done his work thoroughly. It is possible
to extirpate a reformation. But the success of the process is
the moral ruin of those who are the subjects of the
experiment. Fortunately for Parma, there was a suitor for the
Netherland sovereignty, in the person of the very worst prince
of the very worst royal family that ever existed in Europe,
i. e., the Duke of Anjou, of the house of Valois.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1577-1578.

{2269}

This person was favoured by Orange, probably because he had
detected Philip's designs on France, and thought that national
jealousy would induce the French government, which was
Catherine of Medici, to favour the low countries. Besides,
Parma had a faction in every Flemish town, who were known as
the Malcontents, who were the party of the greedy and
unscrupulous nobles. And, besides Anjou, there was the party
of another pretender, John Casimir, of Poland. He, however,
soon left them. Parma quickly found in such dissensions plenty
of men whom he could usefully bribe. He made his first
purchases in the Walloon district, and secured them. The
provinces here were Artois, Hainault, Lille, Douay, and
Orchies. They were soon permanently reunited to Spain. On
January 20, 1570, the Union of Utrecht, which was virtually
the Constitution of the Dutch Republic, was agreed to. It was
greater in extent on the Flemish side than the Dutch Republic
finally remained, less on that of Friesland [comprising
Holland, Zeland, Gelderland, Zutphen, Utrecht, and the Frisian
provinces]. Orange still had hopes of including most of the
Netherland seaboard, and he still kept up the form of
allegiance to Philip. The principal event of the year was the
siege and capture of Maestricht [with the slaughter of almost
its entire population of 34,000]. … Mechlin also was
betrayed by its commander, De Bours, who reconciled himself to
Romanism, and received the pay for his treason from Parma at
the same time. In March, 1580, a similar act of treason was
committed by Count Renneberg, the governor of Friesland, who
betrayed its chief city, Groningen. … In the same year,
1580, was published the ban of Philip. This instrument, drawn
up by Cardinal Granvelle, declared Orange to be a traitor and
miscreant, made him an outlaw, put a heavy price on his head
(25,000 gold crowns), offered the assassin the pardon of any
crime, however heinous, and nobility, whatever be his rank.
… William answered the ban by a vigorous appeal to the
civilized world. … Renneberg, the traitor, laid siege to
Steenwyk, the principal fortress of Drenthe, at the beginning
of 1581. … In February, John Norris, the English general,
… relieved the town. Renneberg raised the siege, was
defeated in July by the same Norris, and died, full of
remorse, a few days afterwards. But the most important event
in 1581 was the declaration of Dutch Independence formally
issued at the Hague on the 26th of July. By this instrument,
Orange, though most unwillingly, felt himself obliged to
accept the sovereignty over Holland and Zeland, and whatever
else of the seven provinces was in the hands of the patriots.
The Netherlands were now divided into three portions. The
Walloon provinces in the south were reconciled to Philip and
Parma. The middle provinces were under the almost nominal
sovereignty of Anjou, the northern were under William. …
Philip's name was now discarded from public documents … ;
his seal was broken, and William was thereafter to conduct the
government in his own name. The instrument was styled an 'Act
of Abjuration.'"

_J. E. T. Rogers,
The Story of Holland,
chapters 11-12._

ALSO IN:
_J. L. Motley,
The Rise of the Dutch Republic,
part 5, chapters 4-5,
and part 6, chapters 1-4._

_Sir W. Stirling-Maxwell,
Don John of Austria,
volume 2, chapters 8-10._

NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1581-1584.
Refusal of the sovereignty of the United Provinces by Orange.
Its bestowal upon the Duke of Anjou.
Base treachery of Anjou.
The "French Fury" at Antwerp.
Assassination of the Prince of Orange.

"What, then, was the condition of the nation, after this great
step [the Act of Abjuration] had been taken? It stood, as it
were, with its sovereignty in its hand, dividing it into two
portions, and offering it, thus separated, to two distinct
individuals. The sovereignty of Holland and Zealand had been
reluctantly accepted by Orange. The sovereignty of the United
Provinces had been offered to Anjou, but the terms of
agreement with that Duke had not yet been ratified. The
movement was therefore triple, consisting of an abjuration and
of two separate elections of hereditary chiefs; these two
elections being accomplished in the same manner by the
representative bodies respectively of the united provinces and
of Holland and Zealand. … Without a direct intention on the
part of the people or its leaders to establish a republic, the
Republic established itself. Providence did not permit the
whole country, so full of wealth, intelligence, healthy
political action—so stocked with powerful cities and an
energetic population, to be combined into one free and
prosperous commonwealth. The factious ambition of a few
grandees, the cynical venality of many nobles, the frenzy of
the Ghent democracy, the spirit of religious intolerance, the
consummate military and political genius of Alexander Farnese,
the exaggerated self-abnegation and the tragic fate of Orange,
all united to dissever this group of flourishing and kindred
provinces. The want of personal ambition on the part of
William the Silent inflicted, perhaps, a serious damage upon
his country. He believed a single chief requisite for the
united states; he might have been, but always refused to
become that chief; and yet he has been held up for centuries
by many writers as a conspirator and a self-seeking intriguer.
… 'These provinces,' said John of Nassau, 'are coming very
unwillingly into the arrangement with the Duke of Alençon
[soon afterwards made Duke of Anjou]. The majority feel much
more inclined to elect the Prince, who is daily, and without
intermission, implored to give his consent. … He refuses
only on this account—that it may not be thought that,
instead of religious freedom for the country, he has been
seeking a kingdom for himself and his own private advancement.
Moreover, he believes that the connexion with France will be
of more benefit to the country and to Christianity.' … The
unfortunate negotiations with Anjou, to which no man was more
opposed than Count John, proceeded therefore. In the meantime,
the sovereignty over the united provinces was provisionally
held by the national council, and, at the urgent solicitation
of the states-general, by the Prince. The Archduke Matthias,
whose functions were most unceremoniously brought to an end by
the transactions which we have been recording, took his leave
of the states, and departed in the month of October. … Thus
it was arranged that, for the present, at least, the Prince
should exercise sovereignty over Holland and Zealand; although
he had himself used his utmost exertions to induce those
provinces to join the rest of the United Netherlands in the
proposed election of Anjou.
{2270}
This, however, they sternly refused to do. There was also a
great disinclination felt by many in the other states to this
hazardous offer of their allegiance, and it was the personal
influence of Orange that eventually carried the measure
through. … By midsummer [1581] the Duke of Anjou made his
appearance in the western part of the Netherlands. The Prince
of Parma had recently come before Cambray with the intention
of reducing that important city. On the arrival of Anjou,
however, … Alexander raised the siege precipitately and
retired towards Tournay," to which he presently laid siege,
and which was surrendered to him in November.

_J. L. Motley,
The Rise of the Dutch Republic,
part 6, chapters 4-5 (volume 3)._

Meantime, the Duke of Anjou had visited England, paying court
to Queen Elizabeth, whom he hoped to marry, but who declined
the alliance after making the acquaintance of her suitor.
"Elizabeth made all the reparation in her power, by the
honours paid him on his dismissal. She accompanied him as far
as Canterbury, and sent him away under the convoy of the earl
of Leicester, her chief favourite; and with a brilliant suite
and a fleet of fifteen sail. Anjou was received at Antwerp
with equal distinction; and was inaugurated there on the 19th
of February [1582] as Duke of Brabant, Lothier, Limbourg, and
Guelders, with many other titles, of which he soon proved
himself unworthy. … During the rejoicings which followed
this inauspicious ceremony, Philip's proscription against the
Prince of Orange put forth its first fruits. The latter gave a
grand dinner in the chateau of Antwerp, which he occupied, on
the 18th of March, the birth-day of the duke of Anjou." As he
quitted the dining hall, he was shot in the cheek by a young
man who approached him with the pretence of offering a
petition, and who proved to be the tool of a Spanish merchant
at Antwerp, with whom Philip of Spain had contracted for the
procurement of the assassination. The wound inflicted was
severe but not fatal. "Within three months, William was able
to accompany the duke of Anjou in his visits to Ghent, Bruges,
and the other chief towns of Flanders; in each of which the
ceremony of inauguration was repeated. Several military
exploits now took place [the most important of them being the
capture of Oudenarde, after a protracted siege, by the Prince
of Parma]. … The duke of Anjou, intemperate, inconstant, and
unprincipled, saw that his authority was but the shadow of
power. … The French officers, who formed his suite and
possessed all his confidence, had no difficulty in raising his
discontent into treason against the people with whom he had
made a solemn compact. The result of their councils was a
deep-laid plot against Flemish liberty; and its execution was
ere-long attempted. He sent secret orders to the governors of
Dunkirk, Bruges, Termonde, and other towns, to seize on and
hold them in his name; reserving for himself the infamy of the
enterprise against Antwerp. To prepare for its execution, he
caused his numerous army of French and Swiss to approach the
city." Then, on the 17th of January, 1583, with his body guard
of 200 horse, he suddenly attacked and slew the Flemish guards
at one of the gates and admitted the troops waiting outside.
"The astonished but intrepid citizens, recovering from their
confusion, instantly flew to arms. All differences in religion
or politics were forgotten in the common danger to their
freedom. … The ancient spirit of Flanders seemed to animate
all. Workmen, armed with the instruments of their various
trades, started from their shops and flung themselves upon the
enemy. … The French were driven successively from the
streets and ramparts. … The duke of Anjou saved himself by
flight, and reached Termonde. His loss in this base enterprise
[known as the French Fury] amounted to 1,500; while that of
the citizens did not exceed 80 men. The attempts
simultaneously made on the other towns succeeded at Dunkirk
and Termonde; but all the others failed. The character of the
Prince of Orange never appeared so thoroughly great as at this
crisis. With wisdom and magnanimity rarely equalled and never
surpassed, he threw himself and his authority between the
indignation of the country and the guilt of Anjou; saving the
former from excess and the latter from execration. The
disgraced and discomfited duke proffered to the states excuses
as mean as they were hypocritical. … A new treaty was
negotiated, confirming Anjou in his former station, with
renewed security against any future treachery on his part. He
in the mean time retired to France," where he died, June 10,
1584. Exactly one month afterwards (July 10), Prince William
was murdered, in his house, at Delft, by Balthazar Gerard, one
of the many assassins whom Philip II. and Parma had so
persistently sent against him. He was shot as he placed his
foot upon the first step of the great stair in his house,
after dining in a lower apartment, and he died in a few
moments.

_T. C. Grattan,
History of the Netherlands,
chapter 13._

ALSO IN:
_J. A. Froude,
History of England: Reign of Elizabeth,
chapters 26, 29, 31-32 (volume 5-6)._

_D. Campbell,
The Puritan in Holland, England, and America,
chapter 4 (volume 1)._

NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1584-1585.
Limits of the United Provinces and the Spanish Provinces.
The Republican constitution of the United Provinces,
and the organization of their government.
Disgraceful surrender of Ghent.
Practical recovery of Flanders and Brabant by the Spanish king.