At the great ceremony which marked this event three famous persons took part: Charles himself; the Stadtholder of Holland, William, Prince of Orange, on whose arm Charles leaned; and Philip the new sovereign, who inherited all his father's bigotry, and added a cruelty which exceeded it.
IV—ACCESSION OF PHILIP II. OF SPAIN
It was only a short time before William discovered that Philip had planned a massacre of all the Protestants of Holland; although himself a Catholic, he quietly returned home at once and gave warning of the danger; it was then that he obtained the title of William the Silent. The Dutch had received Philip in their country, but now, while pledging loyalty to him, they asked the withdrawal of the Spanish troops, which so angered the King that he left the country, vowing vengeance. Read from Motley the account of the memorable scene of the parting between Philip and William, and also his estimate of Philip.
Philip left behind him Margaret of Parma, his half-sister, as regent. Holland begged her to suspend the Inquisition. Have a paper on the banquet at which the petition was presented, and the founding there of the famous order of "The Beggars of Holland," who did such wonderful things on land and sea. Close the program with a sketch of William, who now becomes one of the foremost men of history of any period.
V—THE WAR
Philip was determined to uproot Protestantism in Holland at all costs. He sent there the merciless Duke of Alva with more than ten thousand picked troops; he established himself at Antwerp, formed the terrible "Blood Council," pronounced sentence of death on all the people of the Netherlands, and summoned William to appear before him. Margaret withdrew from the country; William fled to Germany, and was outlawed; ten thousand Hollanders escaped to England. William, directing the war from Germany, placed his brother Louis at the head of the troops; a great battle, Heiliger Lee, followed, in which by a stratagem the Spanish were utterly defeated. Declaring himself a Protestant, William returned and took the field.
Read the story of Egmont and Hoorn and their fate in Motley and in Goethe's drama. Have selections from these novels bearing on the time: Lysbeth, by H. Rider Haggard, and Jan van Elselo, by G. and M. Coleridge.
Alva fought and defeated William at Geta and dispersed his army. Believing victory his, he had a great statue of himself erected at Antwerp; but twenty-four vessels of the little new navy manned by the "Water Beggars" turned the tide against him, and at this point the great struggle really began.
Only the few leading events can be touched upon here, but clubs should take up the whole wonderful story of the conflict, in many respects the most interesting war of history.
The seven months' siege of Haarlem, with its heroic defense and final destruction, was followed by the siege of Alkmaar, when women and boys helped fight in the trenches; the dikes were cut and the Spaniards driven out by the sea.