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Nederlandse Leeuw (talk | contribs) →Run-up to the Truce (1599–1609): Split off into a new separate article also containing material from Dutch Revolt, Eighty Years' War (1566–1609), and new material. |
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=== Run-up to the Truce (1599–1609) === |
=== Run-up to the Truce (1599–1609) === |
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{{excerpt|Eighty Years' War, 1599–1609}} |
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[[File:Siege of Groenlo November 9th 1606 Snayers.jpg|thumb|[[Siege of Groenlo (1606)|Groenlo]] relieved by [[Ambrogio Spinola, 1st Marquis of the Balbases|Spinola]], November 1606. Maurice's army (right) sounds the retreat.]] |
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However, peace with France and the secret peace negotiations had temporarily slackened Spain's resolve to pay its troops adequately and this had occasioned the usual widespread mutinies. The Army of Flanders now temporarily in disarray, Oldenbarnevelt forced a deep strike into Flanders on a reluctant Maurice in the direction of the port of [[Dunkirk]] that had grown into a hotbed of [[Dunkirkers]], privateers that did enormous damage to Dutch shipping. Maurice now flung his model army into Flanders after a large amphibious operation from Flushing and started his advance along the coast. This incursion ended the mutiny, enabling Albert to launch a strike into Maurice's flank. Maurice was now cornered by Albert near the port of [[Battle of Nieuwpoort|Nieuwpoort]] and forced to give battle on 2 July 1600, a tactical draw, after which he abandoned his offensive. A privateer fleet managed to break the blockade of Dunkirk and wreaked havoc on the Dutch herring fleet soon, destroying 10% of the fleet of Dutch [[Herring Buss]]es in August.<ref>Israel (1995), pp. 258–9</ref> |
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[[File:Sebastiaan Vrancx - Reitergefecht am Fuß eines Hügels.jpg|thumb|left|Cavalry engagement from the struggle of the Dutch against Spain c. 1605]] |
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The next four years showed an apparent stalemate. The Archdukes decided that before taking on the Republic it was important to subdue the last Protestant [[Enclave and exclave|enclave]] on the Flemish coast, the port of Ostend. [[Siege of Ostend|The siege]] took three years and eighty days. Meanwhile, the stadtholders mopped up some more Spanish fortresses, like [[Siege of Grave (1602)|Grave]] in Brabant and [[Siege of Sluis (1604)|Sluys and Aardenburg]] in what was to become [[Zeelandic Flanders|States Flanders]]. Though these victories deprived the Archdukes of much of the propaganda value of their own victory at Ostend, the loss of the city was a severe blow to the Republic, and it brought about another Protestant exodus to the North.<ref>Israel (1995), p. 260</ref> |
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The war expanded overseas, with the creation of the [[Dutch colonial empire]] beginning early in the 17th century with [[Dutch–Portuguese War|Dutch attacks on Portugal's overseas colonies]].{{efn|name=Portugal}} By attacking Portugal's overseas possessions, the Dutch forced Spain to divert financial and military resources away from its attempt to quell Dutch independence.<ref>Scammel, p. 20</ref> |
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The supreme command of the Army of Flanders had now been transferred to [[Ambrogio Spinola, marqués de los Balbases|Ambrosio Spinola]] who proved to be a worthy opponent of Maurice. In a brilliant campaign in 1605 he first outwitted Maurice by feigning an attack on [[Sluys]], leaving Maurice far in his rear while he actually attacked the eastern Netherlands by way of [[Münster (region)|Münster, Germany]]. He soon appeared before [[Oldenzaal]] (only recently captured by Maurice) and the predominantly Catholic city opened its gates without firing a shot. Next he captured Lingen. The Dutch had to evacuate [[Twente|Twenthe]] and retire to the IJssel river. Spinola returned the next year and caused a panic in the Republic when he invaded the [[Zutphen County|Zutphen quarter of Gelderland]], showing that the interior of the Republic was still vulnerable to Spanish attack. However, Spinola was satisfied with the psychological effect of his incursion and did not press the attack. Maurice decided on a rare autumn campaign in an attempt to close the apparent gap in the Republic's eastern defences. He retook Lochem, but his siege of Oldenzaal failed in November 1606. This was the last major campaign on both sides before the Truce that was concluded in 1609.<ref>Israel (1995), pp. 261–2</ref> |
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Both sides now embarked on an intensification of the fortress-building spree that had begun in the mid-1590s, enveloping the Republic in a double belt of fortresses on its outer borders (an outer Spanish and an inner Dutch belt).<ref>Israel (1995), p. 263, map</ref> The Dutch fortresses, mostly outside the provinces of the Union of Utrecht proper, were garrisoned with mercenary troops that, though paid for the account of individual provinces, were under federal command since 1594. The Dutch ''Staatse leger'' ([[Dutch States Army|States Army]]) had therefore become a truly federal army, consisting mostly of Scottish, English, German and Swiss mercenaries, but commanded by a Dutch officer corps. This standing army almost trebled in size to 50,000 between 1588 and 1607.<ref>Israel (1995), pp. 263–7; Glete, p. 155</ref> |
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==Twelve Years' Truce== |
==Twelve Years' Truce== |
Revision as of 21:51, 10 July 2022
Eighty Years' War Dutch War of Independence | |||||||
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Part of the European wars of religion | |||||||
Relief of Leiden after the siege, 1574 | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
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Spain Portugal[b] | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
c. 100,000 Dutch killed[3] (1568–1609) | Unknown |
The Eighty Years' War (Dutch: Tachtigjarige Oorlog; Spanish: Guerra de los Ochenta Años) or Dutch War of Independence (1568–1648)[4] was a revolt of the Seventeen Provinces of what are today the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg against Philip II of Spain, the sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands. After the initial stages, Philip II deployed his armies and regained control over most of the rebelling provinces. Under the leadership of the exiled William the Silent, the northern provinces continued their resistance. They eventually were able to oust the Habsburg armies, and in 1581 they established the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. The war continued in other areas, although the heartland of the republic was no longer threatened. This included the origins of the Dutch colonial empire, which began with Dutch attacks on Portugal's overseas territories. At the time, this was conceived as carrying the war with the Spanish Empire overseas due to Portugal and Spain's being in a dynastic union, making the war one of the first global wars.
In 1609, the two sides agreed a Twelve Years' Truce; when it expired in 1621, fighting resumed as part of the broader Thirty Years' War. An end was reached in 1648 with the Peace of Münster (a treaty part of the Peace of Westphalia), when Spain recognised the Dutch Republic as an independent country. The Peace of Münster is sometimes considered the beginning of the Dutch Golden Age. Nevertheless, despite achieving independence, from the end of the war in 1648 there was considerable opposition to the Treaty of Münster within the States General of the Netherlands since it allowed Spain to retain the Southern Provinces and permitted religious toleration for Catholics.[5]
Causes of the war
There were numerous causes that led to the Eighty Years' War but the primary reasons could be classified into two: resentment towards the Spanish authority and religious tension. The first was initially articulated by the Dutch nobility who wanted to regain power and privileges lost in favour of the King, so they settled the thought that Phillip II was surrounded by evil advisors.[6] This eventually developed into an overarching discontent against the absolutist Spanish regime. Religious resistance, on the other hand, came with the imposition of an ecclesiastical hierarchy for all of the Spanish territories. This created resistance in the Dutch provinces, which had already embraced the Reformation.[citation needed]
In the decades preceding the war, the Dutch became increasingly discontented with Spanish rule. A major concern involved the heavy taxation imposed on the population, while support and guidance from the government was hampered by the size of the Spanish empire. At that time, the Seventeen Provinces were known in the empire as De landen van herwaarts over and in French as Les pays de par deça—"those lands around there". The Dutch provinces were continually criticised for acting without permission from the throne, while it was impractical for them to gain permission for actions, as requests sent to the throne would take at least four weeks for a response to return. The presence of Spanish troops under the command of the Duke of Alba, who was brought in to oversee order,[7] further amplified this unrest.[citation needed]
Spain also attempted a policy of strict religious uniformity for the Catholic Church within its domains, and enforced it with the Inquisition. The Reformation meanwhile produced a number of Protestant denominations, which gained followers in the Seventeen Provinces. These included the Lutheran movement of Martin Luther, the Anabaptist movement of the Dutch reformer Menno Simons, and the Reformed teachings of John Calvin. This growth led to the 1566 Beeldenstorm, the "Iconoclastic Fury", in which many churches in northern Europe were stripped of their Catholic statuary and religious decoration.[citation needed]
Prelude
In October 1555, Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire began the gradual abdication of his several crowns. His son Philip II took over as sovereign of the Habsburg Netherlands,[8] which at the time was a personal union of seventeen provinces with little in common beyond their sovereign and a constitutional framework. This framework, assembled during the preceding reigns of Burgundian and Habsburg rulers, divided power between city governments, local nobility, provincial States, royal stadtholders, the States General of the Netherlands, and the central government (possibly represented by a Regent) assisted by three councils: the Council of State, the Privy Council and the Council of Finances. The balance of power was heavily weighted toward the local and regional governments.[9]
Philip did not govern in person but appointed Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy, as governor-general to lead the central government. In 1559 he appointed his half-sister Margaret of Parma as the first Regent, who governed in close co-operation with Dutch nobles like William, Prince of Orange; Philip de Montmorency, Count of Hoorn; and Lamoral, Count of Egmont. Philip introduced a number of councillors in the Council of State, foremost among these Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle, a Burgundian cardinal who gained considerable influence in the council, much to the chagrin of the Dutch council members.[citation needed]
When Philip left for Spain in 1559 political tension was increased by religious policies. Not having the liberal-mindedness of his father Charles V, Philip was a fervent enemy of the Protestant movements of Martin Luther, John Calvin and the Anabaptists. Charles had outlawed heresy in special placards that made it a capital offence, to be prosecuted by a Dutch version of the Inquisition, leading to the executions of over 1,300 people between 1523 and 1566.[11] Towards the end of Charles' reign enforcement had reportedly become lax. Philip, however, insisted on rigorous enforcement, which caused widespread unrest.[12] To support and strengthen the attempts at Counter-Reformation Philip launched a wholesale organisational reform of the Catholic Church in the Netherlands in 1559, which resulted in the inclusion of fourteen dioceses instead of the old three. The new hierarchy was to be headed by Granvelle as archbishop of the new archdiocese of Mechelen. The reform was especially unpopular with the old church hierarchy, as the new dioceses were to be financed by the transfer of a number of rich abbeys.[13] Granvelle became the focus of the opposition against the new governmental structures and the Dutch nobles under the leadership of Orange engineered his recall in 1564.[citation needed]
After the recall of Granvelle, Orange persuaded Margaret and the council to ask for a moderation of the placards against heresy. Philip delayed his response, and in this interval the opposition to his religious policies gained more widespread support. Philip finally rejected the request for moderation in his Letters from the Segovia Woods of October 1565. In response, a group of members of the lesser nobility, among whom were Louis of Nassau, a younger brother of Orange, and the brothers John and Philip of St. Aldegonde, prepared a petition for Philip that sought the abolition of the Inquisition. This Compromise of Nobles was supported by about 400 nobles, both Catholic 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.[14]
First forty years (1566–1609)
Insurrection, repression and invasion (1566–1572)
Calvinists were an important component of the iconoclastic fury (Dutch: Beeldenstorm) across the Netherlands. Margaret feared insurrection and made further concessions to the Calvinists, such as designating certain churches for Calvinist worship. Some provincial governors took decisive action to quell the disturbances. In March 1567 at the Battle of Oosterweel Calvinists under John of St. Aldegonde were defeated by a royalist army and all rebels summarily executed. In April 1567, Margaret reported to Philip that order had been restored.[15] However, by the time this news reached Philip in Madrid the Duke of Alba had already been dispatched with an army to restore order.[16] Alba took over command and Margaret resigned in protest. Alba established the Council of Troubles (soon to be nicknamed the Blood Council) on 5 September 1567, which conducted a campaign of repression of suspected heretics and people guilty of insurrection. Many high-ranking officials were arrested on various pretexts, among them the Counts of Egmont and Horne who were executed for treason on 5 June 1568. Of the 9,000 accused, about 1,000 were executed, and many fled into exile, including William of Orange.[17]
Orange's exile in Dillenburg became the center for plans to invade the Netherlands. Louis of Nassau crossed into Groningen from East Friesland and defeated a small royalist force at Heiligerlee on 23 May 1568. Two months after, the Dutch rebels were smashed at the Battle of Jemmingen. Shortly thereafter, a Sea Beggars squadron defeated a royalist fleet in a naval battle on the Ems. However, a Huguenot army invading Artois was pushed back into France and annihilated by the forces of Charles IX of France in June. Orange marched into Brabant, but with money running out he could not maintain his mercenary army and had to retreat.[18]
Philip was suffering from the high cost of his war against the Ottoman Empire, and ordered Alba to fund his armies from taxes levied in the Netherlands.[19] Alba confronted the States General by imposing sales taxes by decree on 31 July 1571, which alienated even loyal lower governments from the central government.[20]
Rebellion (1572–1576)
To counteract a potential French invasion, Alba removed troops from garrisons in the north and concentrated them in the Southern Netherlands.[21] This left the port of Brill almost undefended and allowed the Sea Beggars to capture the city on 1 April 1572, [22] while Flushing and Veere defected to the rebels on 3 May.[23] Acting in his role as "stadtholder", Orange sent delegates from Holland and Zeeland to take over their administration on his behalf.[24] His supporters Diederik Sonoy and Lumey then persuaded towns including Enkhuizen, Hoorn, Medemblik, Edam, Haarlem, Alkmaar, Oudewater, Gouda, Gorinchem and Dordrecht to follow suit, as did Leiden, followed by Rotterdam. The States of Holland now convened in rebel-held Dordrecht,[25] and by 18 July, only Amsterdam and Schoonhoven still supported the Crown, while Delft remained neutral.[26]
Willem IV van den Bergh, Orange's brother-in-law, captured Zutphen along with other cities in Gelderland and Overijssel, while rebels quickly occupied much of Friesland.[27] When Louis of Nassau seized Mons on 24 May, Orange marched to support him, but was forced to withdraw. He left a garrison at Mechelen, which was soon captured and looted by Spanish troops, leading many towns in the southern Netherlands to assure Alba of their loyalty.[28]
Alba then ordered sent his son Fadrique to reclaim Gelderland and Holland. Hundreds of civilians died when he recaptured Zutphen, encouraging other cities in Gelderland, Overijssel and Friesland to yield in order to avoid a similar fate.[29] The destruction of Naarden by Spanish troops in October solidified Dutch resistance and prompted the garrison of Haarlem to hold out until 13 July 1573, when starvation forced them to surrender.[30] However, in what is often seen as a key turning point, Fadrique withdrew from Alkmaar in October 1573 after rebels flooded the surrounding areas and instead besieged Leiden.[31]
Elsewhere, a Sea Beggar squadron defeated the Royalist fleet on 11 October 1573, securing control of the Zuiderzee, while rebel victories at Borsele and Reimerswaal established their naval superiority in Zeeland, and ultimately led to the fall of Middelburg in 1574.[32] In April 1574, Spanish troops defeated a force of German mercenaries led by Louis of Nassau and Henry of Nassau-Dillenburg at Mookerheyde, [33] before a Sea Beggar fleet relieved Leiden on 2 October 1574.[34] With little to show for his heavy expenditure of men and money, in 1575 Alba was replaced by Requesens. He ordered Cristobal de Mondragon to attack Zierikzee, which surrendered on 2 July 1576 before the unpaid Spanish troops mutinied and abandoned the town to march on Brussels.[35]
From Pacification of Ghent to Union of Utrecht (1576–1579)
The Spanish mutineers marched on Brussels, on the way sacking the city of Aalst. The loyal provinces had reluctantly backed the royal government against the Rebellion so far, but now Philipe de Croÿ, Duke of Aerschot, stadtholder of Flanders allowed the States-General to start peace negotiations with the States of Holland and Zeeland. All agreed that the Spanish troops should be withdrawn. There was also agreement on the suspension of the placards against heresy and freedom of conscience. The Pacification of Ghent was signed after the Spanish mutineers went on a murderous rampage in the city of Antwerp on 4 November.[36] The next regent, Juan de Austria, arrived on 3 November, too late to influence events. The States-General induced Juan de Austria's agreement to the Pacification of Ghent in the Perpetual Edict on 12 February 1577. The Spanish troops were withdrawn. Juan broke with the States-General in July, and fled to the safety of the citadel of Namur.[37]
Philip's improved finances enabled him to send a new Spanish army from Italy, under Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma. Parma routed the States-General's troops in the Battle of Gembloux on 31 January 1578, allowing royalist forces to advance to Leuven. New troops raised by the States General with support of Elizabeth of England defeated the Spanish armies at the Rijmenam.[38] Parma became the new governor general after the death of Juan de Austria and took Maastricht on 29 June 1579.[39]
The remaining royalist cities in Holland were won over to the rebel cause.[40] The interest of the States of Holland formalised the defensive Union of Utrecht with its eastern and northern neighbour provinces on 23 January 1579. The treaty is often called the "constitution" of the Dutch Republic, providing an explicit framework for the budding Confederation.[citation needed]
Secession and reconquest (1579–1588)
Catholic Walloon provinces signed their own defensive Union of Arras on 6 January 1579. Grievances against Spain of Catholics who were becoming more and more concerned about Calvinist violence were satisfied and they could make a separate peace in the form of the Treaty of Arras in May 1579, in which they renewed their allegiance to Philip.[41]
Meanwhile, Orange and the States-General in Antwerp were less than enthusiastic about the Union of Utrecht. They would far prefer a broader based union, still based on the Pacification and the "religious peace", which both the unions of Utrecht and Arras implicitly rejected. However, by the time of the Treaty of Arras it was clear that the split had hardened, and Orange signed the Union of Utrecht on 3 May 1579 while encouraging the Flemish and Brabant cities in Protestant hands to also join the Union.[42]
At this time, on the initiative of Emperor Rudolph II a final attempt was made to attain a general peace between Philip and the States-General in the German city of Cologne. As both sides insisted on mutually exclusive demands these peace talks only served to make the irreconcilability of both parties obvious; there appeared to be no more room for the people who favoured the middle ground, like Count Rennenberg. Rennenberg, a Catholic, now made up his mind to go over to Spain. In March 1580 he called for the provinces in his remit to rise against the "tyranny" of Holland and the Protestants. However, this only served to unleash an anti-Catholic backlash in Friesland and Overijssel. The States of Overijssel were finally convinced to adhere to the Union of Utrecht. Nevertheless, Rennenberg's "treason" posed a severe strategic threat for the Union, especially after Parma sent him reinforcements in June. He managed to capture most of Groningen, Drenthe and Overijssel in the next months.[43]
The territory under nominal States-General control was steadily shrinking in other parts also. Parma seized Kortrijk in February 1580.[44] Orange persuaded the States-General to offer sovereignty over the Netherlands to the younger brother of King Henri of France, François, Duke of Anjou, and conclude the Treaty of Plessis-les-Tours in September 1580. Anjou arrived in Antwerp in January 1581, where he took an oath to in effect govern as a "constitutional monarch", and was acclaimed by the States-General as Protector of the Netherlands.[45]
The secession of the States-General and the area under their nominal control from the Spanish Crown was formalised by the Act of Abjuration of 26 July 1581. The Act intensified the propaganda war between both sides, as it took the form of a manifest, setting out the principles of the Revolt, just as Orange's Apologie in answer to Philip's ban of June 1580, outlawing him, had done. Both documents are redolent of resistance theories that were also disseminated by the Huguenot Monarchomachs. As such they alienated yet another group of moderates.[46]
Holland and Zeeland acknowledged Anjou perfunctorily, but mainly ignored him, and of the other members of the Union of Utrecht, Overijssel, Gelderland and Utrecht never even recognised him. In Flanders his authority never amounted to much either, which meant that only Brabant fully supported him. Anjou himself concentrated his French troops in the south, unable to staunch Parma's inexorable advance.[47]
By October 1582, Parma had an army of 61,000 troops available, mostly of high quality. In June 1581 Parma had already captured Orange's own town of Breda, thereby driving a wedge into the territory of the States-General in Brabant. In 1582 he made further advances into Gelderland and Overijssel.[47] Rennenberg was ably replaced by Francisco Verdugo, who captured the fortress city of Steenwijk, the key to the north-east of the Netherlands.[48]
Anjou attempted to seize power in Flanders and Brabant by way of a military coup. He seized Dunkirk and several other Flemish cities, but in Antwerp the citizens massacred the French troops in the French Fury of 17 January 1583. Anjou left for France in June 1583.[49]
Morale in the cities still held by the States-General in the South sagged. Dunkirk and Nieuwpoort fell without a shot to Parma, leaving only Ostend as a major rebel enclave along the coast. Orange now established his headquarters in the Dutch city of Delft in July 1583, followed by the States-General in August.[50]
Meanwhile, Parma captured Ypres in April 1584, Bruges in May, and Ghent in September. In this desperate situation Orange started to entertain thoughts of finally accepting the title of Count of Holland. This became moot when Orange was assassinated by Balthasar Gérard on 10 July 1584.[51]
The assassination for a while put the States of Holland in disarray, which left the initiative to the much diminished States of Flanders and Brabant in the States-General. The latter were by now getting desperate as they controlled only slivers of their provinces (Parma had by now put Antwerp under siege). They believed that their only succour could come from France. On their behest the States-General therefore started a debate on the merit of once more offering sovereignty to King Henri III of France in September, and over Hooft's and Amsterdam's objections a Dutch embassy was sent to France in February 1585. But the situation in France had deteriorated, the religious strife between Huguenots and Catholics flaring up again, and Henri did not feel strong enough to defy Philip, so he declined the honour.[52]
Brussels surrendered to Parma in March 1585. After a Dutch amphibious assault (during which an attempt was made to blow up a ship-bridge blocking the Scheldt river with the use of "Hellburners") failed in April, besieged Antwerp surrendered in August. Many Protestants fled to the northern provinces causing the economic strength of the reconquered provinces to steadily decline, while that of Holland and Zeeland mightily increased.[53]
The States-General now offered the English queen Elizabeth I sovereignty. Elizabeth instead decided to extend an English protectorate over the Netherlands, sending an expeditionary force of 6,350 foot and 1,000 horse under Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, to act as governor-general. In the Council of State, the English would have two voting members. The fortress ports of Flushing and Brill would be an English surety. The States-General agreed to this in the Treaty of Nonsuch of 20 August 1585, the first time the rebel state was diplomatically recognised by a foreign government.[54]
Dutch regents, led by the Land's Advocate of Holland, Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, opposed Leicester but he was supported by hard-line Calvinists, the Dutch nobility, and factions in the other provinces, such as Utrecht and Friesland, that heartily resented Holland's supremacy.[55]
In Friesland and Groningen William Louis, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg, was appointed stadtholder, and in Utrecht, Gelderland and Overijssel Adolf van Nieuwenaar. Holland and Zeeland appointed the second legitimate son of Orange, Maurice of Nassau, stadtholder just before Leicester arrived. This limited Leicester's authority.[56]
Leicester also clashed with Holland over matters of policy like the representation of the States of Brabant and Flanders, who by now no longer controlled any significant areas in their provinces, in the States-General. From 1586 on they were barred from taking part in the deliberations over Leicester's objection, though he managed to retain their seats in the Council of State for them. Once the States-General were thus deprived of the membership of the last Southern provinces, one may in effect start using the name Dutch Republic for the new state.[57]
In January 1587 the English garrisons at Deventer and Zutphen were bribed to defect to Spain, followed by those in Zwolle, Arnhem and Ostend. This contributed to anti-English feeling. Leicester occupied Gouda, Schoonhoven and a few other cities in September 1587, but eventually gave up and returned to England in December 1587. Thus ended the last attempt to keep the Netherlands a "mixed monarchy", under foreign government. The northern provinces now entered a period of more than two centuries of republican government.[58]
The Ten Years (1588–1598)
Run-up to the Truce (1599–1609)
Twelve Years' Truce
The military upkeep and decreased trade had put both Spain and the Dutch Republic under financial strain. To alleviate conditions, a ceasefire was signed in Antwerp on 9 April 1609, marking the end of the Dutch Revolt and the beginning of the Twelve Years' Truce. The conclusion of this Truce was a major diplomatic coup for Holland's advocate Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, as Spain by concluding the Treaty, formally recognised the independence of the Republic.[62] In Spain the truce was seen as a major humiliation—she had suffered a political, military and ideological defeat, and the affront to its prestige was immense.[63] The closure of the river Scheldt to traffic in and out of Antwerp, and the acceptance of Dutch commercial operations in the Spanish and Portuguese colonial maritime lanes were just a few points that the Spanish found objectionable.[64]
Although there was peace on an international level, political unrest took hold of Dutch domestic affairs. What had started as a theological quarrel resulted in riots between Remonstrants (Arminians) and Counter-Remonstrants (Gomarists). In general, regents would support the former and civilians the latter. Even the government got involved, with Oldenbarnevelt taking the side of the Remonstrants and stadtholder Maurice of Nassau their opponents. In the end, the Synod of Dort condemned the Remonstrants for heresy and excommunicated them from the national Public Church. Van Oldenbarnevelt was sentenced to death, together with his ally Gilles van Ledenberg, while two other Remonstrant allies, Rombout Hogerbeets and Hugo Grotius received life imprisonment.[65]
Final phase of the war
The years 1621–1648 constituted the final phase of the Eighty Years' War (c. 1568–1648) between the Spanish Empire and the emerging Dutch Republic. It began when the Twelve Years' Truce (1609–1621) expired, and concluded with the Peace of Münster in 1648.
Although the Dutch and Spanish were both involved in opposite sides of the War of the Jülich Succession (June 1609 – October 1610; May–October 1614) in Jülich-Cleves-Berg, they carefully avoided each other, and thus the hostilities never spread back into the Habsburg Netherlands, and the truce held firm.[66] Nevertheless, attempts to negotiate a definitive peace also failed, and the war resumed as anticipated in 1621.[67] Essentially, it became a side theatre of the wider Thirty Years' War that had already broken out with the Bohemian Revolt in 1618 in eastern parts of the Holy Roman Empire (Bohemia and Austria), pitting Central Europe's Protestant Union against the Catholic League, although the two conflicts never fully merged.[68] With several back and forths – notably, the Spanish conquered Breda in 1625, but the Dutch took it back in 1637[68] – the Dutch Republic was able to conquer the eastern border forts of Oldenzaal (1626) and Groenlo (1627), the major Brabantian city of 's-Hertogenbosch (1629), the fortified cities of Venlo, Roermond and Maastricht along the Meuse (1632), and Sas van Gent (1644) and Hulst (1645) in Zeelandic Flanders.[68]
Nevertheless, peace talks in 1629–1630 came to nothing. More ambitious plans to conquer Brussels in 1632–1633 with the help of anti-Spanish nobility in the Southern Netherlands never came to fruition. Several attempted Northern republican surprises and sieges of Antwerp were parried by the Spanish royal Army of Flanders.[69]
Nor did the Franco-Dutch alliance bring significant changes to the situation on the ground. It began with a disastrous Franco-Dutch invasion of the southern Netherlands in 1635. This in fact made matters worse for the Dutch when French and Dutch troops sacked the city of Tienen, which cost them the sympathies of the southern Netherlands population.[70]
However, French intervention and internal discontent at the costs of the war in the Low Countries led to a change in Spain's 'Netherlands First' policy. Instead Spain focused on suppressing the French-backed Reapers' War in Catalonia.[71] The resulting stalemate and financial troubles, plus Spanish military exhaustion and Dutch desire for formal political recognition, eventually convinced both sides in the mid-1640s to hold peace talks.[69]
The outcome was the 1648 Peace of Münster, which confirmed most agreements already reached with the Truce of 1609.[72]Peace of Münster
The negotiations between Spain and the Republic formally started in January 1646 as part of the more general peace negotiations between the warring parties in the Thirty Years' War. The States General sent eight delegates from several of the provinces as none trusted the others to represent them adequately. They were Willem van Ripperda (Overijssel), Frans van Donia (Friesland), Adriaen Clant tot Stedum (Groningen), Adriaen Pauw and Jan van Mathenesse (Holland), Barthold van Gent (Gelderland), Johan de Knuyt (Zeeland) and Godert van Reede (Utrecht). The Spanish delegation was led by Gaspar de Bracamonte, 3rd Count of Peñaranda. The negotiations were held in what is now the Haus der Niederlande in Münster.[citation needed]
The Dutch and Spanish delegations soon reached an agreement, based on the text of the Twelve Years' Truce. It therefore confirmed Spain's recognition of Dutch independence. The Dutch demands (closure of the Scheldt, cession of the Meierij, formal cession of Dutch conquests in the Indies and Americas, and lifting of the Spanish embargoes) were generally met. However, the general negotiations between the main parties dragged on, because France kept formulating new demands. Eventually it was decided therefore to split off the peace between the Republic and Spain from the general peace negotiations. This enabled the two parties to conclude what technically was a separate peace (to the annoyance of France, which maintained that this contravened the alliance treaty of 1635 with the Republic).[citation needed]
The text of the Treaty (in 79 articles) was fixed on 30 January 1648. It was then sent to the principals (King Philip IV of Spain and the States General) for ratification. Five provinces voted to ratify (against the advice of stadtholder William) on 4 April (Zeeland and Utrecht being opposed). Utrecht finally yielded to pressure by the other provinces, but Zeeland held out and refused to sign. It was eventually decided to ratify the peace without Zeeland's consent. The delegates to the peace conference affirmed the peace on oath on 15 May 1648 (though the delegate of Zeeland refused to attend, and the delegate of Utrecht suffered a possibly diplomatic illness).[73]
In the broader context of the treaties between France and the Holy Roman Empire, and Sweden and the Holy Roman Empire of 14 and 24 October 1648, which comprise the Peace of Westphalia, but which were not signed by the Republic, the Republic now also gained formal "independence" from the Holy Roman Empire, just like the Swiss Cantons. In both cases this was just a formalisation of a situation that had already existed for a long time. France and Spain did not conclude a treaty and so remained at war until the peace of the Pyrenees of 1659. The peace was celebrated in the Republic with sumptuous festivities. It was solemnly promulgated on the 80th anniversary of the execution of the Counts of Egmont and Horne on 5 June 1648.[citation needed]
Aftermath
New border between North and South
The Dutch Republic made some limited territorial gains in the Spanish Netherlands but did not succeed in regaining the entire territory lost before 1590. The result of the war therefore was a permanent split of the Habsburg Netherlands into two parts: the territory of the Republic roughly corresponds with present-day Netherlands and the Spanish Netherlands corresponds approximately with present-day Belgium, Luxembourg and Nord-Pas-de-Calais. Overseas, the Dutch Republic gained, through the intermediary of its two chartered companies, the United East India Company (VOC) and the Dutch West India Company (WIC), important colonial possessions, largely at the expense of Portugal. The peace settlement was part of the comprehensive 1648 Peace of Westphalia, which formally separated the Dutch Republic from the Holy Roman Empire. In the course of the conflict, and as a consequence of its fiscal-military innovations, the Dutch Republic emerged as a Great Power, whereas the Spanish Empire lost its European hegemonic status.[citation needed]
Political situation
Soon after the conclusion of the peace the political system of the Republic entered a crisis. The same forces that had sustained the Oldenbarnevelt regime in Holland, and that had been so thoroughly shattered after Maurice's 1618 coup, had finally coalesced again around what was to become known as the States-Party faction. This faction had slowly been gaining prominence during the 1640s until they had forced Frederick Henry to support the peace. And now they wanted their peace dividend. The new stadtholder, William II, on the other hand, far less adept as a politician than his father, hoped to continue the predominance of the stadtholderate and the Orangist faction (mostly the aristocracy and the Counter-Remonstrant regents) as in the years before 1640. Above all, he wanted to maintain the large wartime military establishment, even though the peace made that superfluous. The two points of view were irreconcilable. When the States-Party regents started to cut down the size of the standing army to a peacetime complement of about 30,000, a struggle for power in the Republic ensued. In 1650 stadtholder William II finally followed the path of his uncle Maurice and seized power in a coup d'état, but he died a few months later from smallpox. The power-vacuum which followed was quickly filled by the States-Party regents, who founded their new republican regime that has become known as the First Stadtholderless Period.[74]
Dutch trade on the Iberian Peninsula and the Mediterranean exploded in the decade after the peace, as did trade in general, because trade patterns in all European areas were so tightly interlocked via the hub of the Amsterdam Entrepôt. Dutch trade in this period reached its pinnacle; it came to completely dominate that of competing powers, like England, that had only a few years previously profited greatly from the handicap the Spanish embargoes posed to the Dutch. Now the greater efficiency of Dutch shipping had a chance to be fully translated into shipping prices, and the competitors were left in the dust. The structure of European trade therefore changed fundamentally in a way that was advantageous to Dutch trade, agriculture and industry. One could truly speak of Dutch primacy in world trade. This not only caused a significant boom for the Dutch economy, but also much resentment in neighbouring countries, like first the Commonwealth of England and, later, France. Soon, the Republic was embroiled in military conflicts with these countries, which culminated in their joint attack on the Republic in 1672. They almost succeeded in destroying the Republic in that year, but the Republic rose from its ashes and by the turn of the century, she was one of the two European power centres, together with the France of King Louis XIV.[75]
Portugal was no party in the peace and the war overseas between the Republic and that country resumed fiercely after the expiration of the ten-year truce of 1640. In Brazil and Africa the Portuguese managed to reconquer most of the territory lost to the WIC in the early 1640s after a long struggle. However, this occasioned a short war in Europe in the years 1657–60, during which the VOC completed its conquests in Ceylon and the coastal areas of the Indian subcontinent. Portugal was forced to indemnify the WIC for its losses in Brazil.[76]
Psychological impact
The success of the Dutch Republic in its struggle to get away from the Spanish Crown had damaged Spain's Reputación, a concept that, according to Olivares' biographer J. H. Elliot,[77] strongly motivated that statesman. In the minds of Spaniards the land of Flanders became linked to war. The idea of a second Flanders—a place of "endless war, suffering and death"—haunted the Spanish for many years after the war ended. In the 16th and 17th centuries the concept of a second or "another" Flanders was variously used while referring to the 1591 situation in Aragón, the Catalan Revolt and the 1673 rebellion in Messina. Jesuit father Diego de Rosales described Chile from a military point of view as "Indian Flanders" (Flandes indiano), a phrase that was later adopted by historian Gabriel Guarda.[78]
See also
History of the Netherlands |
---|
Netherlands portal |
- Gallery of maps of the Eighty Years' War (in Dutch)
- Battles of the Eighty Years' War
- Bioko
- Colonial Brazil
- Dutch Ceylon
- Dutch East Indies
- Dutch Formosa
- Dutch India
- European wars of religion
- Martyrs of Gorkum
- Merck toch hoe sterck
- Portuguese India
- Saint Martin (island)
- Spanish Formosa
- Spanish Road
- Union of Delft
Notes
- ^ Scotland became part of a personal union with England in 1603.
- ^ Portugal was part of a dynastic union with Spain until 1640. Portugal and the Netherlands battled for control of Portugal's overseas territories.
References
- ^ The Battle of Heiligerlee is often considered as the first engagement of the war. War between the Dutch and Spaniards already started with the Iconoclastic Fury of August 1566. Following the Siege of Valenciennes (1567), the Spaniards invaded the Provinces and executed the religious opposition. The Dutch led by William the Silent began their resistance campaign in 1568.
- ^ The war ended with the Peace of Münster. It was ratified by the States General on 5 June.
- ^ Clodfelter, M. Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492–2015, 4th ed. p. 17.
- ^ The Dutch States General, for dramatic effect, decided to promulgate the ratification of the Peace of Münster (which was actually ratified by them on 15 May 1648) on the 80th anniversary of the execution of the Counts of Egmont and Horne, 5 June 1648. See Maanen, Hans van (2002), Encyclopedie van misvattingen, Boom, p. 68. ISBN 90-5352-834-2.
- ^ "The Treaty of Münster, 1648" (PDF). University of Massachusetts. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
- ^ Turner, Barry (2009). The Statesman's Yearbook 2010: The Politics, Cultures and Economies of the World. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 910. ISBN 9781349586349.
- ^ Jonathan Israel, The Dutch Republic: its Rise, Greatness, and Fall 1477–1806 (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1995), pp. 159–160.
- ^ They formed the Burgundian Circle that under the Pragmatic Sanction of 1549 was to be transferred as a unit in hereditary succession in the House of Habsburg.
- ^ Cf. Koenigsberger, pp. 184–192
- ^ Motley, John Lothrop (1885). The Rise of the Dutch Republic. Vol. I. Harper Brothers. Archived from the original on 27 March 2013. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
As Philip was proceeding on board the ship which was to bear him forever from the Netherlands, his eyes lighted upon the Prince. His displeasure could no longer be restrained. With angry face he turned upon him, and bitterly reproached him for having thwarted all his plans by means of his secret intrigues. William replied with humility that every thing which had taken place had been done through the regular and natural movements of the states. Upon this the King, boiling with rage, seized the Prince by the wrist, and shaking it violently, exclaimed in Spanish, "No los estados, ma vos, vos, vos!—Not the estates, but you, you, you!" repeating thrice the word vos, which is as disrespectful and uncourteous in Spanish as "toi" in French.
- ^ Tracy, p. 66
- ^ Tracy, p. 68
- ^ Tracy, pp. 68–69
- ^ Tracy, pp. 69–70
- ^ Tracy, pp. 71–72
- ^ Tracy, p. 72
- ^ Tracy, pp. 77–78
- ^ Tracy, pp. 78–79
- ^ Parker, pp. 118–120
- ^ Israel (1995), pp. 167–168
- ^ Tracy, p. 80
- ^ Tracy, pp. 80–81
- ^ Tracy, p. 82
- ^ Israel (1995), p. 175
- ^ Israel (1995), pp. 174–175
- ^ Tracy, p. 83
- ^ Israel (1995), p. 177
- ^ Israel (1995), g. 178; Tracy, p. 86
- ^ Israel (1995), p. 178
- ^ Tracy, pp. 92–93
- ^ Israel (1995), p. 180
- ^ Israel (1995), p. 181
- ^ Tracy, p. 95
- ^ Tracy, p. 97
- ^ Koenigsberger, p. 262; Parker, p.127
- ^ Koenigsberger, pp. 260–272; Tracy, pp. 135–136
- ^ Tracy, pp. 137–138
- ^ Tracy, p. 141
- ^ Tracy, p. 142
- ^ Tracy, p. 152
- ^ Koenigsberger, pp. 290–291
- ^ Israel (1995), pp. 201–2
- ^ Israel (1995), pp. 205–208
- ^ Israel (1995), p. 208
- ^ Israel (1995), pp. 208–9
- ^ Israel (1995), pp. 209–11
- ^ a b Israel (1995), p. 212
- ^ Tracy, pp. 168–169
- ^ Israel (1995), p. 213
- ^ Israel (1995), pp. 213–4
- ^ Israel (1995), pp. 214–6
- ^ Israel (1995), pp. 218–9
- ^ Israel (1995), p. 219
- ^ Israel (1995), pp. 219–20
- ^ Israel (1995), pp. 221–2
- ^ Israel (1995), p. 224
- ^ Israel (1995), pp. 225–6
- ^ Israel (1995), pp. 228–30
- ^ Fruin 1899, p. 3.
- ^ Blokker, Jan (2006). Waar is de Tachtigjarige Oorlog gebleven? (in Dutch) (1st ed.). De Harmonie. ISBN 90-6169-741-7.
- ^ a b Groenveld 2009, p. 90.
- ^ Israel (1995), pp. 399–405
- ^ Lynch, John (1969). Spain Under the Habsburgs: Spain and America, 1598–1700 Volume 2 of Spain Under the Habsburgs. B. Blackwell. p. 42.
- ^ Lindquist, Thea L (2001). The Politics of Diplomacy: The Palatinate and Anglo-Imperial Relations in the Thirty Years' War. University of Wisconsin. pp. 98–99.
- ^ Israel (1995), pp. 458–9
- ^ Israel 1995, pp. 407–408.
- ^ "Twaalfjarig Bestand". Encarta Encyclopedie Winkler Prins (in Dutch). Microsoft Corporation/Het Spectrum. 1993–2002.
- ^ a b c Groenveld 2009, p. 25.
- ^ a b Groenveld 2009, p. 26.
- ^ Lesaffer 2006, pp. 2–4.
- ^ Parker, Geoffrey (1972). The Army of Flanders and the Spanish Road 1567–1659: The Logistics of Spanish Victory and Defeat in the Low Countries' Wars (2004 ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 221. ISBN 978-0521543927.
- ^ Groenveld 2009, p. 142.
- ^ Israel (1995), pp. 596–7
- ^ Israel (1995), pp. 597–609
- ^ Israel (1989), pp. 197–292
- ^ Israel (1989), pp. 248–50
- ^ Elliot, J.H. (1986) The Count-Duke of Olivares. The Statesman in an Age of Decline. Yale University: New Haven and London
- ^ Baraibar, Alvaro (2013). "Chile como un "Flandes indiano" en las crónicas de los siglos VI y VII". Revista Chilena de Literatura (in Spanish). 85. Archived from the original on 26 January 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
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- Israel, Jonathan (1989). Dutch Primacy in World Trade, 1585–1740. Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-821139-2.
- Israel, Jonathan (1990). Empires and Entrepôts: The Dutch, the Spanish Monarchy, and the Jews, 1585–1713. Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 1-85285-022-1.
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