Theorigins of the Eighty Years' War are complicated, and have been a source ofdisputes amongst historians for centuries.[1]
TheHabsburg Netherlands emerged as a result of the territorial expansion of theBurgundian State in the 14th and 15th centuries. Upon extinction of the Burgundian State in 1477/1482, these lands were inherited by theHouse of Habsburg, whoseCharles V became both King ofSpain[a] andHoly Roman Emperor. By conquering the rest of what would become the "Seventeen Provinces" during theGuelders Wars (1502–1543), and seeking to combine these disparate regions into a single political entity, Charles aspired tocounter theProtestant Reformation and keep all his subjects obedient to theCatholic Church.
KingPhilip II of Spain, in his capacity as sovereign ofHabsburg Netherlands, continued the anti-heresy and centralisation policies of his father Charles V. Resistance grew among the moderate nobility and population (both Catholic and dissenting) of the Netherlands.[b] This mood first led to peaceful protests (as from theCompromise of Nobles), but the summer of 1566 erupted in violent protests byCalvinists, known as theiconoclastic fury, or (Dutch:Beeldenstorm) across the Netherlands. The Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands,Margaret of Parma, as well as lower authorities, feared insurrection and made further concessions to the Calvinists (such as designation of churches for Calvinist worship), but in December 1566 and early 1567 the first actual battles between Calvinist rebels and Habsburg governmental forces took place, in what would become known as theEighty Years' War.[2]
In a series of marriages and conquests, a succession ofdukes of Burgundy expanded their original territory by adding to it a series of fiefdoms, including theSeventeen Provinces.[3] Under the Burgundians (and their Habsburg successors), their holdings in theLow Countries were formally referred to as "De landen van herwaarts over" and in French "Les pays de par deçà". Translated, the phrases mean "those lands around here" for the Dutch and "those lands around there" for the French.[citation needed]
The death of Burgundian dukeCharles the Bold during theBattle of Nancy (5 January 1477) created an instant crisis for theBurgundian State. He had no male heirs, and the French and Swiss immediately invaded his lands, starting theWar of the Burgundian Succession (1477–1482/93). TheDuchy of Burgundy itself was lost to France in 1477, but theBurgundian Netherlands were still intact whenCharles of Habsburg, heir to the Netherlands via his grandmotherMary, was born inGhent in 1500. Charles was raised in the Netherlands and spoke fluentDutch,French, andSpanish, along with someGerman.[4] In 1506, he became lord of the Netherlands. In 1516, he inherited the kingdoms of Spain, which had become a worldwide empire with theSpanish colonization of the Americas, and in 1519, he inherited theArchduchy of Austria. Finally, he was electedHoly Roman Emperor in 1530.[5] AlthoughFrisia andGuelders offered prolonged resistance underGrutte Pier andCharles of Egmond respectively during theGuelders Wars (1502–1543), virtually all of the Netherlands had been incorporated into the Habsburg domains by the early 1540s.[citation needed]
The shifting balance of power in the lateMiddle Ages meant that besides the local nobility, many of the Dutch administrators by now were not traditionalaristocrats; they were from non-noble families that had risen in status over previous centuries. By the 15th century,Brussels had thus become thede facto capital of the Seventeen Provinces. Dating to the Middle Ages, the districts of the Netherlands, represented by its nobility and the wealthy city-dwelling merchants, had a large measure of autonomy in appointing administrators. The first meeting of theStates General of the Netherlandsoccurred in 1464 during the reign ofPhilip the Good. On 11 February 1477, the States-General managed to forceMary of Burgundy to grant them theGreat Privilege, a collection of rights and privileges that the Burgundian dukes and duchesses were supposed to respect. Charles V and Philip II set out, by contrast, to improve management of the empire by increasing the authority of the central government, in matters like law and taxes.[6] This caused suspicion among the nobility and the merchant class; for example in the city ofUtrecht in 1528, when Charles V supplanted the council ofguild masters governing the city, installing his ownstadtholder, who took worldly powers in the whole province from thearchbishop of Utrecht. Charles then ordered the construction of the heavily fortifiedcastle of Vredenburg for defence against theDuchy of Gelre and to control the citizens of Utrecht.[7]
By the time of the governorship ofMary of Hungary (1531–1555), traditional power had largely been removed from both the stadtholders of the provinces and the high noblemen, replaced by professional jurists in theCouncil of State.[8]
Flanders had long been a very wealthy region,covetedby French kings. The other regions of the Netherlands had also grown wealthy andentrepreneurial.[9] Charles V's empire had become a worldwide empire with large American and European territories. The latter were, however, distributed throughout Europe, which made control and defense difficult. The realm was almost continuously at war with its neighbors in the European heartlands, most notably against France in theItalian Wars, and fought theOttoman Empire in theMediterranean Sea. Other wars were fought against Protestant princes inGermany. The Dutch paid heavytaxes to fund these wars,[10] but saw them as unnecessary and sometimes downright harmful because they were against their most important trading partners.[citation needed]
During the 16th century,Protestantism rapidly gained ground in northern Europe, including theAnabaptism of the Dutch reformerMenno Simons and the teachings of foreign Protestant leaders likeMartin Luther andJohn Calvin. Dutch Protestants, after initial repression, were tolerated by local authorities.[11] By the 1560s, the Protestant community had gained significant influence in the Netherlands, though still as a minority.[12] In a society dependent on trade, freedom and tolerance were considered essential. Nevertheless, Charles V, and from 1555 his successorPhilip II, felt it was their duty to defeat Protestantism,[5] which was branded a heresy by the Catholic Church and viewed as a threat to the entire political system. On the other hand, the intensely moralistic Dutch Protestants insisted their theology, sincere piety, and humble lifestyle was morally superior to what they considered the luxurious habits and superficial religiosity of the ecclesiastical nobility.[13] Harsh suppression led to increasing grievances in the Netherlands, where local governments had embarked on a course of peaceful coexistence. Although Philip failed in his attempts to introduce theSpanish Inquisition directly, theInquisition of the Netherlands (existed until 1566) was nevertheless sufficiently severe and arbitrary to provoke fervent dislike.[14] In the second half of the century, the situation escalated to rebellion, and troops were sent to crush resistance and make the Netherlands Catholic once again.
WhenEmperor Charles V began the gradual abdication of his several crowns in October 1555, his sonPhilip II took over as overlord of the conglomerate of duchies, counties and other feudalfiefs known as the Habsburg Netherlands. Technically they formed theBurgundian Circle that, under theTransaction of Augsburg of 1548 andPragmatic Sanction of 1549, was to be transferred as a unit in hereditary succession in theHouse of Habsburg. At the time, this was a personal union of seventeen provinces with little in common beyond their overlord and a constitutional frameworkpainfully assembled during the preceding reigns ofBurgundian and Habsburg rulers. This framework divided power between city governments and local nobility, provincial States and royalstadtholders, and a central government of three collateral councils – the Council of State, Privy Council and Council of Finances – assisting (usually) a Regent, and theStates-General of the Netherlands. The balance of power was heavily weighted toward the local and regional governments. Like his predecessors, Philip II had to ceremonially affirm those constitutional documents (like theJoyous Entry of Brabant) before his accession to the ducal throne. Beyond these constitutional guarantees, the balance of power between local and central government was guaranteed by the dependence of the central government on extraordinarylevies (Beden) granted by the States-General when ordinary tax revenues fell short of the financing requirements of the central government (which occurred frequently, due to the many wars Charles waged).[15]
In 1556 Charles passed on his throne to his sonPhilip II of Spain.[5] Charles, despite his harsh actions, had been seen as a ruler sympathetic to the needs of the Netherlands. Philip, on the other hand, was raised in Spain and spoke neither Dutch nor French.[citation needed]
Though he was in the Netherlands in January, 1556, Philip II did not assume the reins of government in person, as he had to divide his attentions between England (where he was king-consort ofMary I of England), the Netherlands, and Spain. He therefore appointed a governor-generalEmmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy, and subsequently from 1559 on, a Regent (his half-sisterMargaret of Parma) to lead the central government on a day-to-day basis. As in the days of Charles V, theseregents governed in close cooperation with Netherlandishgrandees, such asWilliam, Prince of Orange,Philip de Montmorency, Count of Hoorn, andLamoral, Count of Egmont. But (other than Charles) he also introduced a number of non-Netherlandish councillors into the Council of State, foremostAntoine Perrenot de Granvelle, a cardinal fromFranche-Comté. These people gained a preponderant influence in the Council, much to thechagrin of the Netherlandish old guard.[citation needed]
When Philip left for Spain in 1559 (as it turned out, permanently) the central government experienced political strains, and these were exacerbated by questions of religious policy. Like his father, Philip was a fervent enemy of the Protestant teachings ofMartin Luther,John Calvin, and theAnabaptists. Charles had legally definedheresy as "treason against God" (or Frenchlèse-majesté divine) an "exceptional crime" that was outside the purview of normal legal procedures in the Netherlands. He outlawed heresy in specialplacards that made it a capital offence, to be prosecuted by aNetherlandish version of the Inquisition. Between 1523 and 1566, more than 1,300 people were executed asheretics, far more relative to the overall population than, for instance, in France.[16]
The anti-Protestantplacards, and the policy of repression of heresy in general, were highly unpopular, not just with prospective adherents of the Protestant faiths, but also with the Catholic population and the local governments, who considered it an intrusion on their prerogatives. Towards the end of Charles' reign, enforcement had become quite lax, but Philip insisted on rigorous enforcement, and this caused more and more popular unrest. In the province of Holland, for instance, there were riots in the late 1550s during which the mob freed some condemned persons before their execution.[17]
To support and strengthen theCounter-Reformation that began with theCouncil of Trent, Philip launched a wholesale organizational reform of the Catholic Church in the Netherlands in 1559, with Papal approval. Fourteen newdioceses replaced the old three, and were headed by Granvelle asarchbishop of the new archdiocese ofMechelen. The reform was especially unpopular with the old church hierarchy as the new one was to be financed by transfer of a number of rich abbeys that were traditionally in the gift of the high aristocracy. The new bishops were then to take the lead in enforcement of the anti-heresyplacards, and intensify the Inquisition.[18]
In an effort to build a stable and trustworthy government of the Netherlands, Philip appointed his half-sisterMargaret of Parma as governor.[5] He continued his father's policy of appointing members of the high nobility of the Netherlands to theRaad van State (Council of State), the governing body of the seventeen provinces that advised the governor. He made his confidantAntoine Perrenot de Granvelle head of the council. However, in 1558 the States of the provinces and theStates-General of the Netherlands already started to contradict Philip's wishes by objecting to his tax proposals. They also demanded, with eventual success, the withdrawal of Spanish troops left by Philip to guard the Southern Netherlands' border with France; seeing them as a threat to their own independence (1559–1561).[19]
Subsequent reforms met with much opposition, mainly directed at Granvelle. In 1561, the ten most powerful Netherlandish noblemen formed theLeague against Granvelle [nl].[20][21] The core of the League was the triumvirate ofLamoral, Count of Egmont,Philip de Montmorency, Count of Horne, andWilliam "the Silent", Prince of Orange, later joined byBerghes,Montigny,Megen,Mansfeld,Hoogstraten,Philippe, Count of Ligne [nl] andHachicourt.[21] All tenLigueurs were knights in theOrder of the Golden Fleece, and almost all of them werestadtholders. High noblemen who opposed the League, and thus more or less backed Granvelle, wereinter aliaPhilippe III de Croÿ (Aarschot),Guillaume de Croy, Marquis de Renty,Charles de Berlaymont andJean de Ligne, Duke of Arenberg.[21]
Petitions to King Philip by the high nobility went unanswered. Some of the most influential nobles, includingLamoral, Count of Egmont,Philip de Montmorency, Count of Hoorn, andWilliam the Silent, withdrew from the Council of State until Philip recalled Granvelle.[5]
Granvelle's perceived aggrandizement helped focus the opposition against him, and the grandees under the leadership of Orange engineered his recall in 1564. Emboldened by this success Orange intensified his attempts to engineer religious toleration. He persuaded Margaret and the Council to ask for a moderation of theplacards against heresy. Philip delayed his response, however, and opposition against his religious policies gained more widespread support.
In late 1564, the nobles noted the growing power of the reformation and urged Philip to devise realistic measures to prevent violence. Philip answered that sterner measures were the only answer. Subsequently, Egmont, Horne, and Orange withdrew once more from the council, andBergen andMeghem resigned their Stadholdership. Meanwhile, religious protests were increasing despite increased oppression.
Philip finally rejected the request for policy moderation in hisLetters from the Segovia Woods of October 1565. In response, a group of members of the lesser nobility, among whom wereLouis of Nassau, a younger brother of Orange, and the brother's John andPhilip of St. Aldegonde, prepared a petition for Philip that sought the abolition of theInquisition. ThisCompromise of Nobles was supported by about 400 aristocrats, bothCatholic and Protestant, and was presented to Margaret on 5 April 1566. Impressed by the massive support for the compromise, she suspended the placards, awaiting Philip's final ruling.[22]
One of Margaret's courtiers,Count Berlaymont, called the presentation of this petition an act of "beggars" (French "gueux"), a name then taken up by the petitioners themselves (they called themselves theGeuzen).
The period between the start of theBeeldenstorm in August 1566 until early 1572 (before theCapture of Brielle on 1 April 1572) contained the first events of a series that would later be known as theEighty Years' War between theSpanish Empire and disparate groups of rebels in theHabsburg Netherlands.[c] Some of the first pitched battles and sieges between radicalCalvinists and Habsburg governmental forces took place in the years 1566–1567, followed by the arrival and government takeover byFernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba (simply known as "Alba" or "Alva") with an army of 10,000 Spanish and Italian soldiers. Next, an ill-fated invasion by the most powerful nobleman of the Low Countries, the exiled but still-CatholicWilliam "the Silent" of Orange, failed to inspire a general anti-government revolt. Although the war seemed over before it got underway, in the years 1569–1571, Alba's repression grew severe, and opposition against his regime mounted to new heights and became susceptible to rebellion.
Although virtually all historians place the start of the war somewhere in this period, there is nohistorical consensus on which exact event should be considered to have begun the war. Consequently, there is no agreement whether the war really lasted exactly eighty years. For this and other reasons, some historians have endeavoured to replace the name "Eighty Years' War" with "Dutch Revolt", but there is also no consensus either to which period the term "Dutch Revolt" should apply (be it the prelude to the war, the initial stage(s) of the war, or the entire war).[24]| Pre-18th century conflicts | |||||||||
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