The first campaign in the war of freedom had thus terminated entirely in favour of the Spaniards.
On the 5th of June of this year 1568 an event took place which more than all the blood of humble citizens that had been shed drew the attention of civilised Europe to what was transpiring in the Netherlands. This was the death on the scaffold in the great square of Brussels of the counts Egmont and Hoorn, who had been condemned by the Council of Blood for having been somewhat dilatory in upholding despotism. They were both earnest Catholics, and Egmont in particular had rendered great services to the king. He was the general who had won the victories of Saint Quentin and Gravelines. But the death of these prominent noblemen was resolved upon by Philippe, because it would strike terror into all classes, and would prove that the least hesitation to carry out any of his wishes would meet with the most terrible punishment. All their possessions were confiscated. Their death had no effect upon the patriotic cause, except for the horror which it created abroad, as they were not the men to throw in their lot with William of Orange in resistance to tyranny.
Historical Sketches.
The baron Montigny, brother of Count Hoorn, had been sent with the marquis Berghen to Madrid in May 1566 by the regent Margaret of Parma to represent to Philippe the ruin which the inquisition was bringing upon the Netherlands and the difficulty caused by it to her administration. They were instructed to suggest its abolition and the modification of the king’s edicts. Both of these noblemen were devout Catholics, and were most faithful subjects of their sovereign. They might have reasoned that if his sister and representative was compelled by force of circumstances to pause in the deadly work, they could not be blamed for acting under her instructions. The king received them apparently in a friendly manner. But they were not permitted to return, and after a time were placed in confinement. Berghen died, it was reported of home sickness, but many believed by violent means. Montigny was kept a prisoner more than four years, was then in his absence condemned to death by the Council of Blood for favouring heresy, and on the 16th of October 1570 was strangled privately by order of the king.
An awful calamity, but not by the hand of man, overtook the Northern Netherlands in the year 1570. In a gale of tremendous violence on the first and second of November of this year the sea was driven high upon the coast, the dykes burst in many places, and the waters poured over the land. Fully a hundred thousand persons were drowned, and property to an immense amount was destroyed.
Imposition of Heavy Taxes.
And now came another trouble. Alva had been disappointed in his expectations of an abundant revenue from the confiscation of property, for much as he gathered by that means, the cost of maintenance of his army and the charges of his administration were so enormous that his treasury was always empty, and creditors had become clamorous. To remedy this defect, he imposed taxes of one per cent of the value of all property in the country, to be paid only once, of five per cent transfer duty on all land and houses sold thereafter, and of ten per cent on every movable article that should be sold. This last tax was regarded by the people as equivalent to a prohibition to carry on trade of any kind, it affected every one, and in many of the towns the shops as well as the wholesale stores, even the breweries, the butcheries, and the bakeries were closed. The streets swarmed with mendicants, and riots were only suppressed by military force. If he had tried to compel the people to take part with William of Orange, the governor-general could not have devised a more efficient plan.
II.
The War in the Netherlands to the Union of Utrecht.
Historical Sketches.
Many of the men who had been obliged to leave their homes had turned to the sea for refuge. Legitimate commerce could not absorb them all, even if it had been flourishing as formerly, and so in their desperate condition they became buccaneers. The prince of Orange took advantage of this, and issued a commission to a reckless fugitive noble named William de la Marck to act as his admiral and attack Spanish ships wherever he could find them. De la Marck was a distant relative of Egmont, and had sworn not to clip his hair or beard till he had avenged the count’s death. In March 1572 he was lying at anchor at Dover with a fleet of twenty-four vessels, when by order of Queen Elizabeth all supplies of provisions were refused to him. He was then compelled to do something desperate at once, or starve, so he resolved to sail to Enkhuizen, and try to get possession of that port. The wind failed him, however, so on the 1st of April he put into the Maas and anchored in front of Brill (Brielle), a walled and fortified town on the island of Voorne. The Spanish garrison had just been sent to Utrecht. The Sea Beggars were only a few hundred in number, but Pieter Koppelstok, who was sent by De la Marck to demand the surrender of the town, when questioned as to their strength replied about five thousand. The authorities and adherents of the government fled in fear, and the half-famished rovers battered in the gates and took possession of the place. This was the beginning of the second campaign against the Spaniards.