1 Early Days
The Sixteenth Century saw much change in the Hapsburg Netherlands. In the late mediaeval era, the Hapsburg Netherlands were part of and semi-autonomous within the Duchy of Burgundy. When they were acquired by the Hapsburgs they were a complex patchwork quilt of lordships and jurisdictions and of local privileges and customs of various nobility and landowners, a hangover from mediaeval times. Since 1516, during the reign of Emperor Charles V, governmental changes in the Hapsburg Netherlands resulted in reform and more unification. Standardised laws administered by provincial high courts, a newly created state service of highly trained bureaucrats with responsibility for unified jurisdictions, all were creating a more unified Hapsburg Netherlands. But at the same time these changes were antagonising the traditional nobility, who saw their local powers and privileges being increasingly eroded. Holland and Zeeland nobility in particular were upset about the practice of the new trend of officials from the other andāto the Holland and Zeeland nobilityālesser provinces being appointed to governmental and administrative posts in Holland and Zeeland.
Religious changes were also occurring. In 1559 and 1561, papal bulls, fully supported by Philip II, reorganised the bishopric structure throughout the Hapsburg Netherlands. These reforms created several new bishoprics under 3 archbishoprics whose seats were at Utrecht, Cambrai, and Mechelen, the archbishop of Mechelen becoming Primate of the Netherlands. Philip II fully supported these reforms, calculating that more bishops, provided they were zealous, would be effective in combating the growing heresies of Lutheranism and Calvinism. The reorganisation was opposed by the abbots of the wealthier monasteries, who would lose their independence as they would come under closer supervision of the new bishoprics, and the reorganisation also harmed their close relationships with the local nobility. The mandatory qualification of a high level of religious scholarship for the new bishops and the clergy under them upset the nobility, who previously had a say in the appointments of bishops and local clergy and had used the positions for placement of junior members of their family. The rural workers and peasants were confused and suspicious of the perceived upheaval within the church. One Dutch historian states that all classes of the Netherlands were united in their opposition to the new bishoprics.1
There were also adverse financial changes. Charles Vās various wars, all fought on behalf of the Holy Roman Empire, had proven extremely costly, and much of the financial burden had fallen on the Netherlandsās provinces. Collectively, the Netherlands were a comparatively rich part of the Hapsburgās domains, and they were looked to by Charles to furnish the needed revenues. By 1545, the deficit in Charlesās central treasury was over 700,000 florins. To offset this, the short-term remedy was heavy borrowing on the Antwerp market, with interest rates to service the debt as high as 30%. By 1556 the debt stood at over 7 million florins.2 To meet and service these rising debts and to finance further wars, imperial taxation on various parts of the Netherlands increased, causing bitter resentment amongst the Netherlanders.
The States-General, the representative body of the various provinces as well as the States of the individual provinces voiced increasing opposition to the taxes and financial demands called upon them. After Philip II succeeded to the throne of the Spanish Empire3 and he finished his tour of the Netherlands, he returned to Spain. His first fiscal decisions in Madrid were that no more revenues were to be sent to the Netherlands from Spain; the governance and maintenance of order there had to be paid for by revenues raised within the Netherlands. This meant that the States-General had to be convened to raise the revenues. However the States-General proved extremely recalcitrant, being resentful and weary of the financial demands. Also, they were encouraged by the States of Brabant, which included the powerful representatives from Brussels and which in 1566 had refused to blindly and obediently grant the amounts demanded; the Spanish had backed down. On 3 August 1557, the States-General convened and discussed and debated. In 1559 they agreed to provide for a period of revenues, or the so-called Nine Yearsā Aid. However, it was to be facilitated, collected, and distributed under the orders and authority of the States-General. This meant that the States-General had at any time the power to withhold funds, should they so choose. Philip II had left the Netherlands for Spain in 1559, leaving the government of the Netherlands in the hands of Regent Margaret of Parma. Margaret, the sister of Philip and illegitimate daughter of the former Emperor Charles V, was sensible, moderate, and well meaning. However, she had little practical experience in government. Philip had also ensured that 3,000 experienced Spanish troops were based in the Netherlands. In 1561, the States-General refused to grant any more money and halted the Nine Yearsā Aid programme until there were no Spanish troops in the Netherlands. Margaret, seeing the potential collapse of government through a lack of funds, acquiesced.
To assist and guide Margaret of Parma as regent, Philip created 3 advisory councils as part of the government, each one staffed by experienced councillors. However, also part of the government at Brussels was Antoine de Perronet, later Cardinal Granvelle. It was Granvelle who was the originator of the reorganisation of the bishoprics. Opposition in the Netherlands centred around hostility to Granvelle. It was led by a group of nobles who held lands inside and outside of the Netherlands. This group included a distinguished soldier and Catholic noble, Count van Egmont, William of Nassauāthe future William of Orange and soon to gain the immortal epithet āthe Silentāāand Philip de Montmorency, Count Hoorn. Hoorn was captain of Philip IIās bodyguards and had returned with Philip in 1559 to Spain. Disturbed by developments in the Netherlands, he left Spain and returned in 1561, joining the opposition to Granvelle. All 3 nobles made it clear to Margaret that they were loyal to Spaināand Egmont that he was loyal to Spain and a devout Catholicāthat they wished to assist her in governing, and that their opposition to Granvelle was that of opposing toxic policies, detrimental to all in the Netherlands. In their opposition, they were supported by all the other principal nobility of the Netherlands, all of whom were part of the nobility of the Knights of the Golden Fleece, a traditional and high-ranking order created by Hapsburg rulers and bestowed upon trusted nobles. Margaret saw the validity of their arguments and sent despatches to Philip, advising that Granvelle be recalled. In 1564, Granvelle was ordered to leave Brussels on a face-saving pretext. Spanish rule had encountered more opposition and had again backed down.
The religious reorganisation of the bishoprics was accompanied by a more repressive policy against heresy. By the 1550s, the Reformation had impacted upon the Netherlands and upon both Lutheran and Calvinist doctrines, and the more extreme Anabaptist creeds had taken root in several parts of the Netherlands. Since 1520 there had been a series of imperial anti-heresy laws passed relating to the Netherlands; an inquisitorial system authorised by the Pope and fully supported by Charles V had been set up in 1522. However, enforcement of the anti-heresy laws had been light, and only a small number of prosecutions had been pursued. In 1540 the inquisitorial system had been expanded, given extra resources, and granted increased powers of investigation and interrogation. Its activity increased in the 1550s, and by the 1560s, prosecutions, fines and confiscations, and executions by burning had dramatically increased. These caused resentment and discontent amongst wide sections of the population, with open demonstrations in favour of heresy and heretics. There were hostile demonstrations when individuals were condemned for heresy and while they were led to their execution. Condemned heretics were rescued by mobs from execution escorts and from jails in which they were being held. Against this rising tide, it was decided that van Egmont, of Margaretās Council, should travel to Spain and plead for a relaxation of the heresy laws. Egmont did so in early 1565. In Spain, van Egmont was treated courteously and was given some assurances there would be some form of revision and relaxation. He returned to the Netherlands in April 1565 and reported this to the nobles, including William of Orange, Hoorn, and Brederode. In fact, Egmont had been completely deceived. Philip II had had no intention of relaxing any policies. A month after Egmont returned and reported the good news, orders came from Madrid to Margaret and her Council that Anabaptist heretics who had repented had nonetheless to be executed. Further instruction letters addressed to Margaret stated that there was to be no change in any policies, that the powers of the Council remained, and that the heresy laws remained as they were and were to be enforced. To William of Orange, this was clear proof of Spanish intransigence, and from then on he never trusted Spain or Philip. Egmont and Hoorn remained trusting, and Margaret of Parma attempted to keep overall control. Furtive meetings among many of the nobles followed. The lesser nobility signed a petition urging Margaret to adopt a policy of leniency; most of the higher nobility avoided signing but did voice their concerns and stated the need for the Brussels government to be lenient. William of Orange did not sign but asked to be relieved of his position in the Council. Egmont and Hoorn, sincere and anxious, warned Margaret that they could not guarantee restoring order.
Margaret agreed and issued instructions to government officials and magistrates that heresy laws were not to be fully enforced and that a policy of a level of tolerance adopted. Back in Madrid, Philip and his councillors and ministers remained implacable and openly fulminated against William of Orange and the other nobles whom he deemed to be misleading his Regent Margaret. Against Margaret herself the King was increasingly angry, fulminating against her and her council for granting unacceptable concessions to subversives and heretics.
Despite Margaret and her councillorsā adopting a more flexible policy in dealing with heresy, the situation remained unstable. Indeed, Calvinist groups and other Anabaptist groups gained confidence from this policy, conducted mass open air services, and organised themselves into āconsisteriesā whose attitude and actions were militant. A meeting of Margaretās Council advocated more compromising measures including full toleration of non-Catholics. However, this was overtaken by militant demonstrations, riots, and rapidly spreading outbreaks of church invasions, iconoclasm, and destruction, centring at first in Ypres and Antwerp and spreading out, the latter as far as sāHertogenbosch. Iconoclasm, riots, and destruction also hit individual towns in the north, including Groningen, Amsterdam, and Utrecht. In some areas the militia, or schutters, stood idly by and refused to act against the rioters. Margaret and her councillors tried further policies of compromise and negotiations with leaders of the nobility, the lesser nobility, and the Calvinist leaders but made little progress.
By late 1566, Philip II and his ministers in Spain were determined on robust action. The decision was made to send the Duke of Alva and Spanish troops. (All Spanish troops had left the Netherlands under the terms of the financial agreement of the States-General in 1561 for their continuation to implement the Nine Yearsā Aid.) Egmont, Hoorn, and William of Orange were identified by Philip as the instigators of the disturbances and were marked men. Meanwhile in the Netherlands, an uprising had begun, with groups of Calvinists supported and led by the Calvinist nobles such as Henry, baron van Brederode, and Louis of Nassau, Williamās brother. Egmont, loyal to the government, refused to join, refused point-blank to raise troops against Spain, and retired to his estates; Hoorn also refused and retired to his estates. William remained undecided, alarmed by the excesses of the iconoclastic mobs. The two main armies of rebels materialised, one in the north-west under Louis of Nassau, backed by forces from German Protestants and mercenaries, and another in the south backed by French Huguenot forces. Also, some individual towns such as Tournai and Valenciennes declared for the Revolt and made ready for siege.
Margaret quickly acted, adopting a robust policy. She and her commanders raised troops and levies from the many towns still loyal and declared the towns and populaces of Tournai and Valenciennes guilty of treason unless they surrendered and accepted a royal garrison. Forces were deployed and besieged these towns. The Calvinist forces moved to relieve Tournai, plundering and destroying churches and villages as they went. They were defeated at an engagement at Wattreloos, just north of Lille, and then when they tried to obtain access to the town of Lannoy the cowed town population refused them entry. Outside Lannoy they were completely defeated by Margaretās forces. These two victories ended the revolt in Flanders. Still some towns defied the government, and van Brederode was mustering rebel forces in Brabant and around Antwerp. Margaretās government troops advanced upon them. Significantly, a large contingent of these government forces had been raised by Egmont, fully loyal to the government on Brussels; also, William of Orange intervened to stop a Calvinist force being raised in Antwerp. The rebel main base in Flanders was attacked by government forces and completely defeated. Some Calvinist leaders, including the nobles who had sided with them, were killed (but not van Brederode who survived to rebel another day). The town of Valenciennes surrendered and submitted to Margaret and Brussels. The town of Maastricht expelled the Calvinist clergy and rebellious councillors and declared itself loyal in March 1567; in April 1567 the Calvinist rebels in sāHertogenbosch fled, and at the end of this month in 1567, Antwerp accepted a garrison of government troops. Apart from some pockets of resistance and groups of rebels who laid low, the revolt had been effectively suppressed. It had been suppressed due to prompt action by Margaretās government at Brussels and the loyalty of most of the nobles including William of Orange, van Egmont, and Hoorn.
Margaret of Parma had proven herself fully capable of decisive action. In Aalst, she had sanctioned troops being sent to apprehendāand strangle in publicāa Calvinist preacher who was inciting the crowds. She supported firm action in Furnes, facing down the Calvinists who threatened to bring in 15,000 of their own forces. Haarlem, Leiden Brielle, and Delft had all appeared to be heading towards insurrection, yet eventually pacified themselves and arranged a rapprochement with the Brussels government. By a combination of quick action and restraint, she had managed to restore peaceful rule. On 27 April 1567 Margaret sent a letter to Philip II of Spain stating that the disturbances had been effectively suppressed and were at an end and that no Spanish troops were needed.
It was too late. Philip II, fanatically sincere in his Catholicism and the Catholic mission of the Spanish Empire, was incensed at the outbreaks of Calvinism and at their iconoclasm. He was angry that the Brussels government had adopted policies of compromise and leniency, even though these policies had been later replaced by decisive and robust action that had quelled the disturbances. From distant Madrid he was convinced of the complicity of the Netherlands nobles, especially William of Orange, Egmont, and Hoorn, and he was unable to differentiate between the varying loyalties amongst the nobles. Both he and his councillors were always conscious of the value and strategic importance of the Netherlands within the Spanish Empire, so that there could be absolutely no risk of its loyalty to Spain. Alva, implacable, was on his way with 8,000 Spanish troops based in Milan to make sure that a...
