Early European History

by Hutton Webster

237. REVOLT OF THE NETHERLANDS

THE NETHERLANDS

The seventeen provinces of the Netherlands occupied the flat, low country along the North Sea—the Holland, Belgium, and northern France of the present day. During the fifteenth century they became Hapsburg possessions and thus belonged to the Holy Roman Empire. As we have learned, Charles V received them as a part of his inheritance, and he, in turn, transmitted them to Philip II.

CONDITION OF THE NETHERLANDS

The inhabitants of the Netherlands were not racially united. In the southernmost provinces Celtic blood and Romance speech prevailed, while farther north dwelt peoples of Teutonic extraction, who spoke Flemish and Dutch. Each province likewise kept its own government and customs. The prosperity which had marked the Flemish cities during the Middle Ages [27] extended in the sixteenth century to the Dutch cities also. Rotterdam, Leyden, Utrecht, and Amsterdam profited by the geographical discoveries and became centers of extensive commerce with Asia and America. The rise of the Dutch power, in a country so exposed to destructive inundations of both sea and rivers, is a striking instance of what can be accomplished by a frugal, industrious population.

PROTESTANTISM IN THE NETHERLANDS

The Netherlands were too near Germany not to be affected by the Reformation. Lutheranism soon appeared there, only to encounter the hostility of Charles V, who introduced the terrors of the Inquisition. Many heretics were burned at the stake, or beheaded, or buried alive. But there is no seed like martyr's blood. The number of Protestants swelled, rather than lessened, especially after Calvinism entered the Netherlands. As a Jesuit historian remarked, "Nor did the Rhine from Germany or the Meuse from France send more water into the Low Countries than by the one the contagion of Luther, and by the other that of Calvin, were imported into these provinces."

POLICY OF PHILIP II

In spite of the cruel treatment of heretics by Charles V, both Flemish and Dutch remained loyal to the emperor, because he had been born and reared among them and always considered their country as his own. But Philip II, a Spaniard by birth and sympathies, seemed to them only a foreign master. The new ruler did nothing to conciliate the people. He never visited the Netherlands after 1559 A.D., but governed them despotically through Spanish officials supported by Spanish garrisons. Arbitrary taxes were levied, cities and nobles were deprived of their cherished privileges, and the activity of the Inquisition was redoubled. Philip intended to exercise in the Netherlands the same absolute power which he enjoyed in Spain.

ALVA SENT TO THE NETHERLANDS, 1567 A.D.

The religious persecution which by Philip's orders raged through the Netherlands everywhere aroused intense indignation. The result was rioting by mobs of Protestants, who wrecked churches and monasteries and carried off the treasure they found in them. Philip replied to these acts by sending his best army, under the duke of Alva, his best general, to reduce the turbulent provinces into submission.

OUTBREAK OF THE REVOLT

Alva carried out with thoroughness the policy of his royal master. A tribunal, popularly known as the "Council of Blood," was set up for the punishment of treason and heresy. Hundreds, and probably thousands, perished; tens of thousands fled to Germany and England. Alva, as governor-general, also raised enormous taxes, which threatened to destroy the trade and manufactures of the Netherlands. Under these circumstances Roman Catholics and Protestants, nobles and townsfolk, united against their Spanish oppressors. A revolt began which Spain could never quell.

WILLIAM THE SILENT, 1533-1584 A.D.

The Netherlands found a leader in William, Prince of Orange, later known as William the Silent, because of his customary discreetness. He was of German birth, a convert to Protestantism, and the owner of large estates in the Netherlands. William had fair ability as a general, a statesmanlike grasp of the situation, and above all a stout, courageous heart which never wavered in moments of danger and defeat. To rescue the Netherlands from Spain he sacrificed his high position, his wealth, and eventually his life.

[Illustration: WILLIAM THE SILENT]

SEPARATION OF THE NETHERLANDS

The ten southern provinces of the Netherlands, mainly Roman Catholic in population, soon effected a reconciliation with Philip and returned to their allegiance. They remained in Hapsburg hands for over two centuries. Modern Belgium has grown out of them. The seven northern provinces, where Dutch was the language and Protestantism the religion, formed in 1579 A.D. the Union of Utrecht. Two years later they declared their independence of Spain. Thus the republic of the United Netherlands, often known as Holland, the most important of the seven provinces, came into being.

[Illustration: Map, THE NETHERLANDS IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY]

COURSE OF THE REVOLT

The struggle of the Dutch for freedom forms one of the most notable episodes in history. At first they were no match for the disciplined Spanish soldiery, but they fought bravely behind the walls of their cities and on more than one occasion repelled the enemy by cutting the dikes and letting in the sea. Though William the Silent perished in a dark hour by an assassin's bullet, the contest continued. England now came to the aid of the hard-pressed republic with money and a small army. Philip turned upon his new antagonist and sent against England the great fleet called the "Invincible Armada." Its destruction interfered with further attempts to subjugate the Dutch, but the Spanish monarch, stubborn to the last, refused to acknowledge their independence. His successor, in 1609 A.D., consented to a twelve years' truce with the revolted provinces. Their freedom was recognized officially by Spain at the close of the Thirty Years' War in 1648 A.D.

THE DUTCH REPUBLIC

The long struggle bound the Dutch together and made them one nation. During the seventeenth century they took a prominent part in European affairs. The republic which they founded ought to be of special interest to Americans, for many features of our national government are Dutch in origin. To Holland we owe the idea of a declaration of independence, of a written constitution, of religious toleration, and of a comprehensive school system supported by taxation. In these and other matters the Dutch were pioneers of modern democracy.