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Bricks History thavo/tvwo 2 summary
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Chapter 2.3+ 2.4 + 3.1 + 3.2
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§2.3 The prelude to the Dutch Revolt1555, Charles V stops being emperor and gives part of his empire to his son Phillip II, the rest
of his empire he gave to his brother Ferdinand I.
During the 16th century the seventeen Low Countries were not very organised. Every
province had its own laws and even their own currency. The provinces would come together
in the States General using representatives. This meeting was initially created to earn more
money, but under Charles the meeting was only arranged when he wanted one. The
provinces and nobles were happy with their personal power and control. However, Charles V
did not like this, he wanted centralisation. Brussels as capital Charles appointed a governor
to rule for him. He mostly did this to ask for higher taxes.
Charles failed his plan of centralisation because, he fought in many wars such as, against the
Ottomans. These wars caused high taxes in the Low Countries. 1540s Protestantism came to
the Low countries. Charles wanted a catholic Low Countries. However, the measures taken
were mild. By the time Phillip II rose to the throne, Catholics and Protestants had peace, they
practised tolerance.
Phillip II also wanted centralisation, but he took it to a higher level. The nobles were not
happy because, their power and control were being absorbed by a central government.
Phillip appointed Margaret of Parma as governor and ruler of this government. He also
appointed stadtholders, which were noblemen who represented Phillip in one or more
provinces. Phillip was involved in many wars, so he asked very high taxes from the Low
Countries. This made the citizens mad because, the tax money was not going to the Low
Countries.
Phillip was Catholic. He put pressure behind the Inquisition in the Low Countries, burning
heretics. 1564 he created new laws called Placards, which outlawed all protestants. The laws
were so strict that Catholics and Protestants opposed them. Changes in government and
especially the Inquisition caused unrest in the Low Countries. Thus, the Count of Egmont was
sent to ask Phillip to ease up his laws. Phillip refused, so in 1566 the nobles wrote a petition.
They asked for less taxes and return of some power for nobles. This is known as the
Compromise of Nobles. They showed it to Margaret of Parma, who sent it to Phillip.
During the shipping of the message, Protestants had to hide their churches from view, so
they moved them outside. During a sermon the preacher talked about taxes, placards, and
the excesses of the church, which made the Protestants there mad, so they destroyed
statues in a local monastery. This inspired other Protestants. In the next few weeks people
were destroying churches and paintings for religious beliefs, poverty, frustration, and
plunder. This is called the Iconoclastic Fury.
Phillip refused the demands of the Compromise. And when the Iconoclasm happened, he
was furious. He sent the Duke of Alva to the Low Countries with an army. This army put down
aggressive behaviour and had tight control over the Low countries. Alva set up the Council of
Troubles, which convicted all people involved in the Iconoclasm. They killed anyone with the
, slightest suspicion. Alva took control away from Margaret and increased taxes and pressure
on the Low Countries.
§2.4 The Dutch Revolt
1568, William of Orange invades the Low Countries, but is defeated, this is seen as the start
of the Dutch Revolt. His second invasion also failed, because he did not have enough money
to pay for more mercenaries.
Most Dutch cities did not rise with William, because they were not convinced he could beat
Alva. William was powerless without their support, until a group of Geuzen started
supporting William with his rebellion. After being told there were a few Spanish soldiers left
in Den Briel, they captured the city rising William’s flag. The Geuzen also captured Vlissingen,
which now gave them control over the Dutch delta, giving them an economical stronghold.
This made cities support William of Orange. 1572, representatives from cities meet to
appoint William of Orange as stadtholder under Phillip II instead of Alva. William’s army
continued fighting against Alva. The Spanish fought back, taking over rebel cities and killing
everyone inside.
Many cities in the Low Countries had high walls, some having water around them. To
conquer a city, you had to breach the wall or gate. This would take a lot of men and effort.
The Geuzen lost 700 of their 3000 men army when taking over. This was bad especially with
mercenaries, who fought for money and would not take fatal risks. A tactic was to besiege a
city: surround the city and make the people inside starve until they surrender. A problem
with this was money, the war was so long Phillip II did not have enough money to pay the
mercenaries. An example is the Spanish fury, where Spanish mercenaries, who hadn’t been
paid attacked Antwerp. The Geuzen used this as propaganda.
When the Spanish went to Leiden in 1576, Leiden nearly starved to the point of giving up.
However, the Geuzen were able to get food inside, so they could still resist. The Geuzen
broke the siege by breaching the dikes to flood the area. This stopped the Spanish.
1579, the northern provinces of the Low Countries signed the Union of Utrecht, promising to
support each other in the war against Spain. The southern provinces signed the Union of
Atrecht as well, promising to be loyal to Phillip II. 1581, the States General of the
Netherlands, the provinces who signed the Union of Utrecht, created, and signed the Act of
Abjuration. They wrote that Phillip oppressed his people and rights, and thus given up his
right to rule the Low Countries. This meant the Low Countries declared independence.
Phillip II was very upset by the Act of Abjuration and declared William of Orange as an
outlaw. This meant anyone could murder William and not get punished and would be
rewarded with 25000 crowns. 1584, Balthasar Gérard murdered William of Orange. Gérard
was caught and executed. After the Act of Abjuration, the Union of Utrecht became united.
They would search for a new king or queen without success. In 1588 they declared
themselves the Dutch Republic.
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