Cardinal Granvelle had been very serviceable in this juncture. He had written to Philip to assure him that, in his, opinion, the Netherlands had no claim, under the transaction of Augsburg, to require the observance within their territory of the decrees of the Empire. He added, that Charles the Fifth had only agreed to the treaty of Passau to save his brother Ferdinand from ruin; that he had only consented to it as Emperor, and had neither directly nor indirectly included the Netherlands within its provisions. He stated, moreover, that the Emperor had revoked the treaty by an act which was never published, in consequence of the earnest solicitations of Ferdinand.
It has been seen that the King had used this opinion of Granvelle in the response presented to the Archduke. Although he did not condescend to an argument, he had laid down the fact as if it were indisputable. He was still more delighted to find that Charles had revoked the treaty of Passau, and eagerly wrote to Granvelle to inquire where the secret instrument was to be found. The Cardinal replied that it was probably among his papers at Brussels, but that he doubted whether it would be possible to find it in his absence. Whether such a document ever existed, it is difficult to say. To perpetrate such a fraud would have been worthy of Charles; to fable its perpetration not unworthy of the Cardinal. In either case, the transaction was sufficiently high-handed and exceedingly disgraceful.
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MOTLEY'S HISTORY OF THE NETHERLANDS, PG EDITION, VOLUME 17. THE RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLIC By JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY 1855 [ [!-- H2 anchor --] ]
CHAPTER V. 1569-70
Quarrel between Alva and Queen Elizabeth of England—Spanish funds
seized by the English government—Non-intercourse between England
and the Netherlands—Stringent measures against heresy—Continued
persecution—Individual cases—Present of hat and sword to Alva from
the Pope—Determination of the Governor—general to establish a
system of arbitrary taxation in the provinces—Assembly of estates
at Brussels—Alva's decrees laid before them—The hundredth, tenth,
and fifth pence—Opposition of Viglius to the project—Estates of
various provinces give a reluctant consent—Determined resistance of
Utrecht—The city and province cited before the Blood Council—
Sentence of confiscation and disfranchisement against both—Appeal
to the King—Difficulty of collecting the new tax—Commutation for
two years—Projects for a pardon-general—Growing disfavour of the
Duke—His desire to resign his post—Secret hostility between the
Governor and Viglius—Altered sentiments of the President—Opinions
expressed by Granvelle—The pardon pompously proclaimed by the Duke
at Antwerp—Character of the amnesty—Dissatisfaction of the people
with the act—Complaints of Alva to the King—Fortunes and fate of
Baron Montigny in Spain—His confinement at Segovia—His attempt to
escape—Its failure—His mock trial—His wife's appeal to Philip—
His condemnation—His secret assassination determined upon—Its
details, as carefully prescribed and superintended by the King—
Terrible inundation throughout the Netherlands—Immense destruction
of life and property in Friesland—Lowestein Castle taken by De
Ruyter, by stratagem—Recapture of the place by the Spaniards—
Desperate resistance and death of De Ruyter.
It was very soon after the Duke's return to Brussels that a quarrel between himself and the Queen of England took place. It happened thus. Certain vessels, bearing roving commissions from the Prince of Conde, had chased into the ports of England some merchantmen coming from Spain with supplies in specie for the Spanish army in the Netherlands. The trading ships remained in harbor, not daring to leave for their destination, while the privateers remained in a neighbouring port ready to pounce upon them should they put to sea. The commanders of the merchant fleet complained to the Spanish ambassador in London. The envoy laid the case before the Queen. The Queen promised redress, and, almost as soon as the promise had been made, seized upon all the specie in the vessels, amounting to about eight hundred thousand dollars—[1885 exchange rate]—and appropriated the whole to her own benefit. The pretext for this proceeding was twofold. In the first place, she assured the ambassador that she had taken the money into her possession in order that it might be kept safe for her royal brother of Spain. In the second place, she affirmed that the money did not belong to the Spanish government at all, but that it was the property of certain Genoese merchants, from whom, as she had a right to do, she had borrowed it for a short period. Both these positions could hardly be correct, but either furnished an excellent reason for appropriating the funds to her own use.
The Duke of Alva being very much in want of money, was furious when informed of the circumstance. He immediately despatched Councillor d'Assonleville with other commissioners on a special embassy to the Queen of England. His envoys were refused an audience, and the Duke was taxed with presumption in venturing, as if he had been a sovereign, to send a legation to a crowned head. No satisfaction was given to Alva, but a secret commissioner was despatched to Spain to discuss the subject there. The wrath of Alva was not appeased by this contemptuous treatment. Chagrined at the loss of his funds, and stung to the quick by a rebuke which his arrogance had merited, he resorted to a high-handed measure. He issued a proclamation commanding the personal arrest of every Englishman within the territory of the Netherlands, and the seizure of every article of property which could be found belonging to individuals of that nation. The Queen retaliated by measures of the same severity against Netherlanders in England. The Duke followed up his blow by a proclamation (of March 31st, 1569), in which the grievance was detailed, and strict non-intercourse with England enjoined. While the Queen and the Viceroy were thus exchanging blows, the real sufferers were, of course, the unfortunate Netherlanders. Between the upper and nether millstones of Elizabeth's rapacity and Alva's arrogance, the poor remains of Flemish prosperity were well nigh crushed out of existence. Proclamations and commissions followed hard upon each other, but it was not till April 1573, that the matter was definitely arranged. Before that day arrived, the commerce of the Netherlands had suffered, at the lowest computation, a dead loss of two million florins, not a stiver of which was ever reimbursed to the sufferers by the Spanish government.