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The word Netherlands literally means “Low Countries,” and that label is still used to identify the broader region that is today the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. In the 16th century the Netherlands were some 17 provinces, the largest and most prosperous being Holland, the name by which the country is commonly identified today.
In the 16th century, as today, the provinces were divided by both language and culture. The seven northern provinces (today the Netherlands) were Dutch-speaking and predominantly Protestant (Calvinist). The most important northern cities were Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Leyden, Delft, and The Hague. The wealth of the northern provinces was based on trade and manufacture of woolens, linen, lace, carpets, and tapestries, as well as fishing and shipping. The southern ten provinces (today Belgium) spoke both French and Flemish and were predominantly Catholic. The most important southern cities were Antwerp, Ghent, Bruges, Louvain, and Brussels. The wealth of the southern provinces likewise came from textile manufacture. Antwerp in 1500 was the financial center of northern Europe, rivaling such banking cities as Augsburg and Florence. So important was the woolen industry to the prosperity of the Netherlands that it was celebrated in a knightly honor first bestowed on Dutch nobility in 1429 – the Order of the Golden Fleece. When the Burgundian possessions passed to Charles V in 1519, the emblem of the Golden Fleece was added to the Hapsburg coat of arms.
The Netherlands had a long tradition of political autonomy wherein their hereditary ruler, the Duke of Burgundy, recognized their constitutional rights, privileges, and liberties. These liberties included the virtual independence of each province within which an elected assembly of nobles made decisions relating to law, justice, and the collection of taxes. Executive authority was minimal but was held by an elected officer called the “Stadholder.” The same Stadholder could be elected to exercise administrative authority in more than one province. When the hereditary lord of the Netherlands, the Duke of Burgundy, needed money or manpower, a States-General (assembly) representative of all 17 provinces would meet to rule on his request. Thus, the provinces had some degree of experience with confederation and acting in cooperation. If relations with the Burgundians were good, as most often they were, the Dutch were generous in their financial support.
In 1519 the Netherlands were inherited by Charles V, who was content to allow them their traditional liberties. In fact, Charles had been born in the Netherlands and was much beloved there. It was in the Netherlands in 1555 that he announced his intention to abdicate and that the provinces would pass to his son, Philip as the future King of Spain. Things would change under Philip.
The Dutch Rebellion: A Chronological Narrative
Key, William of Orange, c.1580
1556 The 17 provinces of the Netherlands succeeded to Spain as hereditary possessions of the Spanish Hapsburg monarchy.
Philip’s policy was to centralize royal control over his dominions. To this end he revoked the provinces’ liberties and placed them under a regent (his half-sister, Margaret) and council directly responsible to him. As the Netherlands were wealthy, Philip expected them to contribute to his taxes, but, angry with his centralization policy, they refused to grant him the amounts required. Adding to the discontent was Philip’s religious policy. Protestantism had spread into the Netherlands, particularly in the northern provinces. In 1560 Philip issued an edict against heresy and announced his intention to send the Inquisition to the region. In 1566 discontent turned violent.
1566 Anti-Spanish rioting broke out across the provinces. Among the leaders of the opposition was William of Orange. William had served as an officer in Charles’ court and been a loyal supporter of the Habsburg emperor. Philip disliked William but had accepted him as the Stadholder of Holland, Zeeland, and Utrecht. As a member of the States-General, William had been a strong advocate of maintaining traditional provincial liberties. William, as did other Dutch leaders, pledged loyalty to Philip as hereditary ruler and appealed to him to uphold their constitutional rights. Their king, however, was not to be defied.
Philip responded to the unrest by sending to the Netherlands some 10, 000 Spanish troops under the command of the Duke of Alba. Alba immediately imposed martial law and ordered the arrest of the Dutch leaders, several of whom were denied the right to a trial under Dutch law and publicly executed. William of Orange escaped and was declared an outlaw. The Spanish Inquisition was sent to the Netherlands to impose Catholic uniformity. Confident that their forces could easily suppress any opposition, the Spanish contemptuously referred to the Dutch as “Beggars.”
1568 - 1579 Anti-Spanish discontent became open rebellion. Led by William of Orange, the Dutch fought a guerrilla war against the Spanish. Without formal armies, the Dutch resisted by any means they could, including opening the dikes and flooding large areas of farmland. Unable to defeat the opposition, the Spanish responded with frustration and fury. Alba reported to Philip that the situation in the Netherlands was the bloodiest war he had ever known. Rebellious towns, once taken, were sacked and burned, and their citizens, including women and children, were slaughtered. William called upon Dutch merchants and fishermen to arm their ships and attack the Spanish at sea. The Dutch “sea beggars” took to their task with ferocity. Alarmed, Philip made changes in command. Alba was replaced by Don Juan (the victor of Lepanto). Following Don Juan’s death in 1578, Philip sent 20,000 more troops under the Duke of Parma.
1578 The southern ten provinces made peace with Spain and accepted Spanish sovereignty as the Spanish Netherlands. The southern provinces were largely Catholic in religion and did not have spiritual reasons to remain at war with Spain as did the northern Calvinist provinces. Parma, hoping to isolate the rebellion of the northern provinces, promised that Philip would restore and respect the southern provinces' traditions of economic and political autonomy. This he did, and the southern provinces withdrew from the conflict.
1579 The northern seven provinces (the Dutch Netherlands) formed the Union of Utrecht, a political union in opposition to Spain. The war continued. William formally proclaimed himself a Protestant.
1581 The Dutch Netherlands declared their independence from Spain as the United Provinces of the Netherlands (UPN). The new state, a republic, would be a federation of provinces, each retaining a high degree of autonomy, as had been traditional. Philip offered a bounty of 25, 000 gold crowns for William’s capture or death.
1584 William was assassinated in Delft by Balthassar Gérard, a young Catholic Dutchman disguised as a Calvinist beggar. Immediately arrested, Gérard was later tried and executed. Parma saw to it that his family received the 25,000 crowns. William, honored as the father of his country, was buried in the New Church in Delft. William's 17-year old son Maurice assumed leadership of the Dutch war for independence. (The House of Orange has continued to provide the Dutch leadership to the present.)
1585 Elizabeth I of England recognized the independence of the UPN. England began providing financial and military aid to the Dutch. “Sea dogs,” English privateers commissioned by Elizabeth, began attacking Spanish shipping in coastal waters and in the Caribbean. While of great moral value to the Dutch, English support was limited. Only a small armed force of 6000 troops was sent to the Netherlands. The Dutch, however, by now had the upper hand in the war. The Spanish had been beaten back to the south across the Rhine into the Spanish Netherlands. And, Philip’s attention was now focused on a new enemy, England. (For the reasons why England supported the Dutch Rebellion, see below.)
1587 Spain declared war on England. The state of war between Spain and England would last 17 years.
1588 The Spanish Armada, a massive invasion force sent against England, was defeated by the English fleet. With the loss of the Armada, Spain's ability to continue its war against the Dutch rebellion was considerably weakened. (The story of the Spanish Armada is the subject of the next reading.)
By 1600 the UPN was, for all practical purposes, an independent sovereign country. While the state of war continued, the Dutch were developing as a significant maritime commercial power. Dutch shipping was moving Europe’s goods. The towns and cities devastated by the war were reviving. Amsterdam would replace Antwerp as a major center of trade and finance. The Calvinist Dutch Reformed Church was made the established church, but other religions, including Catholicism, were tolerated.
1609 The Twelve Years Truce: Spain accepted the partition of the Netherlands (the UPN and the southern Spanish Netherlands) and agreed to a cessation of the fighting for a period of at least twelve years. Through this agreement Spain accepted the existence of the UPN, although it did not recognize Dutch independence.
1618 War between Spain and the UPN resumed as part of the greater international conflict called the Thirty Years War. (The Thirty Years War is the subject of a later reading.)
1648 The Treaty of Westphalia ended the Thirty Years War. Spain recognized the independence of the UPN as a sovereign state.
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Reasons for England’s Support of the Dutch War for Independence
In 1581 the United Provinces of the Netherlands (UPN) formally declared their independence from Spain. The seven Dutch provinces had been in rebellion against the King of Spain since 1568. They had been waging a guerrilla war against some 20,000 Spanish troops sent to crush the Dutch resistance. The increasing Spanish political and military presence in the Netherlands and the prospect that the Dutch might be defeated caused Queen Elizabeth I to view the situation in the Low Countries with concern. In 1585 Elizabeth formally recognized the independence of the United Provinces and began providing the Dutch with direct financial and military assistance. Why did England cast its lot with the Dutch and risk war with Spain? The reasons are threefold.
1) Economic Considerations
England and the Netherlands were mutual trading partners engaged in a highly profitable woolen textile trade. English wool was purchased by the Dutch who processed it into finished textiles. The Dutch-made textiles were then sold to customers throughout northern Europe, including England. The Dutch war with Spain disrupted that trade and its decline hurt English wool producers and merchants. The prospect of a Spanish victory was even more alarming. Were the Dutch defeated, there were two disturbing possibilities. Spanish tariffs on imported English wool would further deter Dutch purchases. Or, the Spanish might end the purchase of English wool altogether in order to punish the English for their Protestantism.
2) Religious Considerations
The Dutch were Protestant Calvinists. The English were Anglicans, also Protestant. Spain, as Europe’s most powerful Catholic state, was committed to a policy of militant opposition to Protestantism throughout Europe. Philip II would not tolerate “heresy” in his own dominions. He also wanted to punish Elizabeth for moving England away from Catholicism by creating the Anglican Church. Philip made it no secret that he would be the agent that would restore England to Catholicism.
3) Political Considerations
If Spain were to win in the Netherlands, England would be threatened by a powerful enemy only a short distance away. Spain could use the Netherlands as a staging area for a military campaign against England. It would be relatively easy for a Spanish invasion fleet to ferry troops across the Channel and up the Thames Estuary to attack London. For reasons of its own security, England could not allow a strong hostile state to dominate the Low Countries. Consequently, ever since the 1580s the strategic defense of England has been in part dependent on a weak or friendly political presence in the Low Countries. From the late 1600s to 1815 most of Britain’s wars were fought to prevent French control of the region. In 1914 Britain declared war on Germany when that country invaded Belgium.
From Elizabeth’s perspective, therefore, it was in England’s vital interest to support the Dutch war for independence. With English money and a few troops, Dutch resistance would be encouraged and renewed resulting in the continued draining of Spanish will and resources. The policy was risky, however, and Philip did declare war on England in 1587. In 1588 he would send his mighty Armada in an ambitious attempt to invade and conquer England. The Armada’s unexpected defeat would mark a turning point in the history of both Spain and England. It also meant the inevitable victory of the Dutch in their war for independence.
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The image is from the Wikipedia source on William of Orange.
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Sources for the Revolt of the Netherlands
Durant, Will and Ariel. The Age of Reason Begins. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1961.
Elliott, J. H. Imperial Spain, 1469 – 1716. New York: New American Library, 1966.
Knapton, Earnest. Europe 1450 – 1815. New York: Scribners, 1958.
Langer, William. An Encyclopedia of World History. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1968.
Merriman, John. A History of Modern Europe. New York: Norton, 1996.
Palmer, Robert R. et al. A History of the Modern World. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2002.
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