The Revolt of the Netherlands - William the Silent VIII

Philip II of Spain

The Perpetual Edict

Don Juan did not learn the lesson, ignoring the power of the burghers his focus remained fixed on the nobility. He did however accept the Union of Brussels, leaving William with little to rebel against. Don Juan offered to comply with the majority of the rebel demands, but his final intention, as evidenced in his letters to Spain, was to hand back control of the Netherlands to Philip. Much to Don Juan’s dismay his letters were intercepted and used as propaganda for the rebels. The Spaniards claimed them as forgeries.

Queen Elizabeth let it be known that in her opinion William was;

‘The only man fit to be employed in so weighty a cause; without whose assistance she cannot hope that her affairs can take good success.’[i]

Even so Don Juan was able to pacify the delegates from the south and he signed the Perpetual Edict of Peace on 7^th February 1577. The edict was countersigned by all the provinces apart from Holland and Zealand; Don Juan was now the accepted Governor of the Netherlands.

Don Juan’s finessing of the Estates General dealt with the two most important aspects of rebel demands; he’d agreed to the removal of the Spanish troops and had agreed that a solution to the religious question was imperative. William’s policy of building up the power of the Estates General meant that Don Juan was dependent on the Estates ratifying his decisions in a way no previous Governor had been.

English Support

Both the religious question and the removal of Spanish troops from the Low Countries were matters on which Don Juan had no intention of keeping his word. He was surreptitiously taking control of key positions in the country. Every time he did this William pointed this out to the Estates General and expressed his doubts about Spanish intentions. Eventually he moved his own men into the fortress at Gertrudenberg in the late spring of 1577.

Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester

Don Juan immediately accused William of breaking the terms of the Pacification of Ghent. He tried and failed to trick William, who was suffering from a tertian fever, into declaring against the Perpetual Edict. Don Juan’s popularity turned out to be ephemeral as it became clear that he could not or would not fulfil his promises about removing the troops and finding a solution to the religious question. William wrote to one of Don Juan’s appointees;

‘We see now that you on your side are not keeping faith, that not one clause of the Pacification has been carried out, nay that you infringe it daily more and more as if it had never been made and sworn.’[ii]

Charlotte gave birth to her and William’s second child, Elisabeth van Nassau, on 26^th April 1577. Queen Elizabeth agreed to be her namesake’s godmother and sent presents via the Earl of Leicester who was eager to play a part in supporting the rebels; a jewel encrusted golden dove for Charlotte and a golden lizard for William. Elisabeth was christened on 30^th May 1577 and Philip Sidney, Leicester’s nephew, stood as proxy for his uncle. And like his uncle Sidney was an enthusiastic supporter of the rebels.

Breaking the Pacification of Ghent

I

Margot of Navarre

n July 1577, following a meeting at Spa with Margot of Navarre[iii], whose brother the Duke of Anjou had his eye on the provinces for himself, Don Juan and his troops rushed the citadel at Namur, breaking the Pacification of Ghent as well as his own Perpetual Edict. Don Juan denounced William and the Estates General for committing treason against Philip. The provinces rose up against the Spanish provocation; Don Juan had failed to gauge the depth of hatred that the Dutch had for their Spanish overlords.

The Spanish troops were few and far between and the towns and villages rose up; Antwerp led the way, its citizens razing the citadel. William was called south by the Estates General and, worried about his northern provinces, he reluctantly obliged. His former estate at Breda, stripped bare by the Spanish, was returned to him and William started planning for Charlotte and all his children[iv], now at Middelburg, to join him. Charlotte wrote to him of her step-children;

‘We love each other very much and are very happy together.’[v]

On 18^th September William entered Antwerp, surrounded by crowds of cheering citizens. Despite being begged to stay, William made his way on to Brussels where he was welcomed by, among others, the Duke of Aerschot and his son, both prominent supporters of Don Juan. William once again took possession of the Palace of Nassau, another of his properties gutted by the Spanish,

Provincial Splits





William's entry into Brussels

William hoped to reconcile the northern and southern provinces in the uprising against the Spanish crown. The northern provinces, where the Calvinists had taken control of the machinery of government, tended towards Protestantism and spoke Flemish, while the southern provinces remained Catholic and were Flemish or French speakers[vi]. The south was wary of William’s Calvinism.

William took his place in the Estates General and refused the offer of Governor of the Netherlands when it was offered to him. The Estates General sent the Marquis d’Havré to England to ask for aid; Elizabeth was most accommodating[vii]. On 29^th September she agreed to a further loan of £100,000[viii] and offered 1,000 cavalry and 5,000 foot soldiers under Leicester’s command. The Estates General thanked her for the loan but wrote querying the wisdom of sending troops at the onset of winter when warfare stalled.




Capture of Duke of Aerschot

Aerschot and his fellow travellers were suspicious of William’s motives and, jealous of William, they invited the Holy Roman Emperor’s brother Matthias[ix] to replace Don Juan as governor. Leicester was discouraged at the splits between the rebels;

‘If they show themselves thus irresolute, for my part I [would] rather…..abide the worst at home than hazard life and hand with such unstable men abroad.’[x]

Aerschot, upon being requested to restore the ancient privileges of Ghent by two prominent citizens, immediately refused to please a crowd of ‘rascally burghers’ and claimed that he would not do it even if the Prince of Orange supported them. The citizens of Ghent were aroused to wrath and broke into Aerschot’s house and dragged him off and locked him up in the citadel.

William did not rush to have his opponent released until he’d pressured Aerschot to resign his Stadtholdership in Flanders. But the Calvinists who replaced Aerschot as rulers of Ghent went overboard and their punitive actions against Catholics raised fears in the other southern provinces of the potential problems in a joint Netherlands ruled by Calvinists.

Choices

Alessandro Farnese

Archduke Matthias arrived in the Netherlands on 8^th October 1577 and found himself being played by William against Don Juan quartered in Luxembourg. Over the winter it seemed distinctly possible that Philip would hand over control of the Netherlands to his young cousin.

But William had another possibility on hand as ruler of the provinces, the Duke of Anjou, brother of the King of France. Catholic, vain and dishonest, Anjou could barely have been a worse choice to rule William’s homeland.



The autumn of 1577 saw a further 20,000 Spanish troops brought in to retaliate against the Dutch provocation towards their Spanish rulers. They were commanded by Philip’s nephew, Alessandro Farnese[xi], Prince of Parma. English spies reported back home;

‘If the King [Philip} be able to make war, there is no peace to be attended.’[xii]

In view of the threat imbued by Parma, a gifted military commander, William agreed to the easily led Matthias being made governor of the provinces.

On 9^th January 1578 William escorted Matthias from Antwerp to Brussels and presented him to the Estates General. William was the first of the nobles to swear fealty. Eleven days later Parma attacked the rebels’ army camp at Gembloux while the officers were celebrating in Brussels. The resultant battle was a walkover for the Spanish and a death knell for the rebels’ unity.

Bibliography

The Age of Religious Wars – Richard S Dunn, Weidenfeld & Nicholson 1971

The Revolt of the Netherlands – Pieter Geyl, Cassell History 1988

The Spanish Inquisition – Henry Kamen, Phoenix 1998

Philip of Spain – Henry Kamen, Yale University Press 1998

The Spanish Armada – Colin Martin and Geoffrey Parker, Guild Publishing 1988

The Grand Strategy of Philip II – Geoffrey Parker, Yale University Press 1998

Elizabeth – Anne Somerset, Phoenix Giant 1999

William the Silent – CV Wedgewood, Readers Union Ltd 1945

www.wikipedia.en

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[i] Elizabeth - Somerset

[ii] William the Silent - Wedgewood

[iii] Wife of the future Henri IV of France

[iv] Apart from Philip William still interned in Spain

[v] William the Silent - Wedgewood

[vi] Calling themselves Walloons while the southern provinces called themselves Flemings

[vii] It is believed that the Dutch had passed copies of Don Juan’s plans to invade England to the English

[viii] In 2014 the relative: historic opportunity cost of that project is £25,400,000.00 labour cost of that project is £331,900,000.00 economic cost of that project is £10,120,000,000.00 www.measuringworth.com

[ix] Future Holy Roman Emperor

[x] Elizabeth - Somerset

[xi] Son of Margaret of Parma

[xii] William the Silent - Wedgewood

The Revolt of the Netherlands - William the Silent VII

Charlotte de Bourbon-Montpensier

Marriage Number Three

In March 1572, although the divorce had not been publicised, the first news appeared of William’s impending remarriage. His chosen wife was the former Abbess of Jouarre[i], Charlotte de Bourbon-Montpensier, a daughter of Louis II of Bourbon, Duke of Montpensier, and his first wife, Jacqueline de Longwy. Anna of Saxony’s Hessian and Saxon relatives were infuriated by the rumours and on 1^st October 1572 they arranged for her transfer to Beilstein castle with Christine[ii].

It was not only Anna’s relations who were annoyed by the impending remarriage; William’s brother John refused to release the divorce papers and William had the evidence re-examined by a theological commission in Holland. In April 1573 William returned to the faith of his childhood. William married the penniless Charlotte on 24^th June 1575[iii]; he was in love. He wrote to John;

‘[I am tired] of this state of widowhood in which to my great regret, I have had to remain for so long.’[iv]

Anna’s Uncle August ordered the immediate transfer of his niece from Nassau to Saxony.  In December 1575 Anna learned of her forthcoming transfer to Saxony and she attempted suicide. After a long stay in Zeitz, she was taken to Dresden in December 1576. There, the windows of her room was walled up and fitted with additional iron bars[v].

Spanish Desperation

The battle of Mookerheyde

Philip William, far from home and family and a victim of Philip’s fears, was moved from fortress to fortress in Spain. His friends and trusted servants were taken away from the 19 year old; Philip William wrote to his father secretly and sent his correspondence via a washerwoman whose son was fighting in the Netherlands. William had his son’s letter by the spring; it was not the only time letters from Philip William came this same route. William could only hope that he would be able to rescue his son in an exchange of prisoners at some point.

Philip believed that as Medinaceli and Alba’s methods were incompatible they would both have to be replaced. Medinaceli’s successor as Governor was Luis de Requesens y Zúñiga who arrived in Brussels on 17^th November 1573. Alba returned to Spain in December, a defeated man. Requesens launched a new military campaign.



Louis of Nassau

As a free people, the Dutch willingly accepted far higher levels of taxation to fund their freedom than had ever been imposed by Alba. The port of Middelburg fell to the rebels on 18^th February 1574, with the active assistance of the Sea Beggars.

Requesens' army obtained a victory against Louis’ troops at the Battle of Mookerheyde, during which two of William's brothers, Louis and the youngest of the Nassau-Dillenberg brood Henry, were killed. William wrote to John

‘Pray you to give me good counsel what am I to tell my lady my mother, knowing not whether to condole her on the loss of my brothers, being still ignorant whether they be dead or living; I would not distress her without cause..’[vi]

But no trace of either brother’s body was found and William waited in hope for either Louis or Henry to turn up. Louis had been their mother’s favourite child and William’s grief rarely allowed him to talk of his brother again.

Bankruptcy

Luis de Requesens y Zuniga

Over the next two years the rebels made many gains until William and his supporters ruled over much of the north of the provinces. Requesens felt he had to come to an agreement with William and invoked Maximilian’s mediation; the negotiations were held in Breda. Requesens declared himself ready to remove his troops from Flanders, but in exchange Catholicism was to be the only religion. He also lifted the much Tenth Penny tax and proposed to pardon all who bowed down to Philip.

The proposals were rebuffed by the Dutch, unable to accept the religious dictat. Requesens approached William privately offering a private peace between himself and Philip; William informed Requesens that he was no longer a private person and could not accept.

Requesens restarted the military campaign and his troops occupied much of Zeeland. In 1575 the cost of maintaining a standing army, of 60,000 men, in the Netherlands was too much for the Spanish treasury and in September declared itself bankrupt, despite the monies pouring in from the Americas.

One Spanish fleet had been wrecked on the Dutch coast during 1572, the loss of which was a huge blow to the treasury. 400,000 florins[vii] for payment of the troops was held in England when the ships carrying the troops’ pay took shelter there from a storm.

When the flow of money to Flanders abruptly stopped the troops mutinied. Requesens wrote despairingly;

‘No treasury in the world would be equal to the cost of this war.’[viii]

But his master was obdurate; following mass desertions military operations were halted for one year. Requesens died suddenly at Brussels on 5^th March 1576, to be replaced as Governor of the Netherlands by Don Juan of Austria[ix]. Ten days later William’s wife Charlotte bore their first child on 15^th March 1576, Louise Juliana van Nassau.

A New Hand at the Tiller

Don Juan of Austria

Don Juan arrived in the Netherlands in the autumn; he was a man with a plan (albeit unrealistic); he would clear out the rats nest in Antwerp, settle the revolt, invade England, set free and marry Mary Queen of Scots and restore Catholicism to the British Isles. He was taken aback to discover the sixteen provinces ranged against him, united by the Pacification of Ghent, signed on 18^th November 1576.

On 8^th November 1576 the unpaid Spanish troops had sacked Antwerp with a savage brutality which became a byword for Spanish dealings with their foreign subjects.

‘They neither spared age nor sex; time nor place; person nor country; young nor old; rich nor poor…..and as great respect they had to the church and churchyard as the butcher has to his shambles. They spared neither friend nor foe, Portugal nor Turk; the Jesuits must give their ready coin and all other religious house both corn and plate.’[x]

Don Juan was relatively perspicacious in his initial actions; he sought to woo the nobles living in the southern provinces, and separate them off from the more rebellious north. Nobles like the Duke of Aerschot were ready to accept Don Juan’s promises. William stayed away from the estates General, leaving the work there to Marnix and Paul Buys, the Pensionary of Leiden.

Paulus Buys

Marnix and Buys were easily able to play the fault lines in the Estates, exacerbating the differences between the often arrogant Aerschot and his friends and the burghers. Aerschot’s unveiled ambitions led to the Second Union of Brussels, consolidating the agreements of the Pacification of Ghent. In December 1576 Queen Elizabeth offered the rebels a loan of £20,000[xi] to pay for immediate necessities and further monies if Philip proved intractable.

Bibliography

The Age of Religious Wars – Richard S Dunn, Weidenfeld & Nicholson 1971

The Revolt of the Netherlands – Pieter Geyl, Cassell History 1988

Walsingham – Alan Haynes, Sutton Publishing 2004

The Holy Roman Empire – Friedrich Heer, Phoenix 1995

The Spanish Inquisition – Henry Kamen, Phoenix 1998

Philip of Spain – Henry Kamen, Yale University Press 1998

The Spanish Armada – Colin Martin and Geoffrey Parker, Guild Publishing 1988

The Grand Strategy of Philip II – Geoffrey Parker, Yale University Press 1998

Elizabeth – Anne Somerset, Phoenix Giant 1999

William the Silent – CV Wedgewood, Readers Union Ltd 1945

The Hapsburgs – Andrew Wheatcroft, Folio Society 2004

www.wikipedia.en

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[i] Her father had placed her in the convent, ignoring her protests, possibly because Charlotte and her mother espoused the reformed doctrines

[ii] Christine was removed from her mother’s care three years later

[iii] Outraged at this news, some of Anna's relatives demanded the return of large wedding gifts despite her infidelity. Her Uncle August also demanded of William, whom he now called ‘Head of all the rogues and rebels’, one of the counties of Nassau, Hadamar and Diez. He also insisted that the marriage was not legally ended yet, and thus William had no right to remarry.

[iv] William the Silent - Wedgewood

[v] At the door was a square hole in the top panel that provided a narrow grid, which was closed off outside. Through this hole food and drinks were served to her. In front of the door there was an iron gate, virtually guaranteeing that Anna had no chance of escape In May 1577 Anna started having hemorrhages which continued until her death on 18^th December, shortly before her 33^rd birthday

[vi] William the Silent - Wedgewood

[vii] In 2014 the relative: historic standard of living value of that income or wealth is £289,900,000.00 economic status value of that income or wealth is £10,490,000,000.00 economic power value of that income or wealth is £181,800,000,000.00 www.measuringworth.com

[viii] The Spanish Armada – Martin & Parker

[ix] Another of Philip’s half-siblings and the hero of the Battle of Lepanto

[x] William the Silent - Wedgewood

[xi] In 2014 the relative: historic standard of living value of that income or wealth is £5,519,000.00 economic status value of that income or wealth is £172,000,000.00 economic power value of that income or wealth is £1,775,000,000.00 www.measuringworth.com

The Revolt of the Netherlands - William the Silent VI

William II de la Marck

The Sea Beggars

Guerrilla fighters, members of the Beggars’ bands, lived in the woods and harassed the Spanish whenever they could. Their disorderly conduct on land had made them unwelcome visitors wherever they landed, but their piratical conduct filled William’s treasury anew.

The most noteworthy of a series of unruly captains was William II de la Marck, a genial ruffian descended from a line of robber barons. William regularly changed the leaders of the Sea Beggars in the vain attempt of bringing them under control.

On 21^st February 1572 the Sea Beggars were expelled from English ports where they had been allowed refuge. Being expelled from England had one unexpected and welcome result for the Sea Beggars; on 1^st April 1572 they captured Brielle, providing the first foothold on land for the rebels.

Vlissigen

Brielle harboured about 25 ships and 7-800 fighting men. The Dutch punned on the Flemish meaning of the word brielle;

‘The Duke of Alva lost his spectacles on All Fools Day.’[i]

Louis and the rest of the fleet sailed up the Schedlt and went on to capture Vlissingen on 6^th April. He followed this victory up by taking Mons in May 1572. The capture of the towns was the inspiration for uprisings throughout the provinces. Zealand Friesland and part of Holland all declared for the Prince of Orange.

Seizing the Moment

Frankfurt

William seized the moment and ordered that all Spanish taxes be remitted, all privileges restored, there was to be liberty of conscience for all[ii] and there was to be no plundering (something the Sea Beggars did not think pertained to themselves) or victimisation. The German princes gathered at Dillenburg, were unwilling to commit themselves.

The Dutch merchants sent one of their own with 100,000 florins[iii] as a loan for William’s war expenses. Impressed by the Dutch fervour the princes granted William recruitment rights in their lands. William spent June in Frankfurt raising money from every banker who was prepared to, however little the loan.

On 28^th June William left Dillenburg with 1,000 horse. At Siegen a further 4,000 were waiting; by the time he reached Essen he had 20,000 men. In July the deputies of the cities involved in the revolt met at Dordrecht and William was chosen as the commander in chief of the rebel armies. From Guelderland in August William wrote to his brother John;

‘I have come to make my grave in this land.’

He was never to leave the Netherlands again.

Blow and Counterblow

Council of Blood

Alba had filled the senior positions at his court with Spaniards, Spanish was the language of the court and although Philip issued a pardon for those who were marginally involved in the uprising, Alva did not publish it for six months. Even then it was a very imprecise document and those owning up could very well find themselves in further trouble. The preferment of all things Spanish caused an intense hatred of the Spanish to start percolating through the Netherlands.

By 1572 the Council of Blood had sent over 6,000 Dutch citizens to the execution block or gallows. And bone fires burned with impressive regularity in Dutch towns for those who would not abjure their Protestant faith. Regular caravans of emigrants left for the Rhineland and by the shipload for England, from whence arms and ammunition were imported.

Alba’s attempt early in 1572 to introduce a new tax called the Tenth Penny was a dismal failure. The tax was detested and when the burghers of Gouda called upon the guard to defend the town against the rebels they were told;

‘No; for the Tenth Penny we won’t lift a finger.’[iv]

In the spring of 1572 Juan de la Cerda, Duke of Medinaceli, was sent to the Netherlands as governor; Philip had lost faith in Alba’s blood bath. Medinaceli was not impressed by Alba’s methods, reporting back to Madrid;

‘Excessive rigour, the misconduct of some officers and soldiers, and the Tenth Penny, are the cause of all the ills and not heresy or rebellion.’[v]

Medinaceli believed in following the more conciliatory policies of Philip’s father Charles V. He lobbied Philip for Alba to be replaced as military commander; his brutal policies were clearly only turning the Dutch to support their hero the Prince of Orange. Alba by this time was desperately weary of the fight and desperate to return home to Spain.

William determined to take the provinces one by one and made a fortress in the north where the Sea Beggars could protect them from incursions by the Spanish. The invasion had been predicated on a[vi] diversionary invasion from the south by the Huguenots.

Spanish Revenge

St Bartholomew's Day Massacre

On 24^th August, when William took Roermond[vii], the faction in France supporting the Duc de Guise[viii] had Admiral Coligny assassinated; the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre  of prominent Huguenots[ix] had begun[x]. The Huguenots were placed on the back foot as most of their number were murdered in Paris. Now they were in no position to follow up on their promises to support the Dutch in their rebellion.

Philip was jubilant at this strike at the heretics, while the Pope struck a medal in the assassins’ honour. Alba alone was not heartened by the attack; William reorganised his plans with an attempted assault on Jemappes, deep in Flanders. One of Alba’s lieutenants, Julian Romero[xi], led a raid on the rebel camp and William was almost killed. He was woken from sleep by his dog Kuntze, who barked at the attackers. Louis, who had barricaded himself in Mons, was allowed to march out with the honours of war on 19^th September.

Don Fadrique de Toledo

Don Fadrique de Toledo, Alba’s son and heir, led the Spanish counter-surge with orders to spare the rebels; men or women or cities. They retook Zutphen, sacking the city and hanging the soldiers of the garrison over the walls by their feet. Mechelen too was retaken and the townspeople massacred. By the time winter arrived, to freeze the armies in position, William and his supporters held one third of Holland, the coastline of Zealand and parts of Friesland.

Amsterdam was not part of the general uprising; the merchants there felt that stability was only to be found with the Spanish and invited them in. This killed off their sea trade routes through the Zuider Zee[xii], controlled by the Sea Beggars. Don Fadrique commanded the Spanish troops against the town of Haarlem, which under the leadership of Wigbolt van Ripperda withstood the Spanish siege for seven months. William hoped that Louis would be able to create a diversion and draw off the besiegers, he wrote to his brother;

‘The whole country awaits your coming like the Angel Gabriel.’[xiii]

Wigbolt van Ripperda

But Louis was in France trying to wheedle support out of Catherine de’ Medici; an embassy too important to abandon. Haarlem surrendered on 12^th July 1573, after the relieving force had been annihilated on 7^th. Wigbolt and his associates were beheaded.

The Spanish next turned their attention on Alkmaar, hoping to divide the provinces and seal off the rebels. The siege began on 21^st August; the garrison included a detachment of English and Scots soldiers and included a few survivors from the Haarlem siege. By October the joint forces had seen off the Spanish and the hated Don Fadrique

Bibliography

The Age of Religious Wars – Richard S Dunn, Weidenfeld & Nicholson 1971

The Revolt of the Netherlands – Pieter Geyl, Cassell History 1988

The Holy Roman Empire – Friedrich Heer, Phoenix 1995

The Spanish Inquisition – Henry Kamen, Phoenix 1998

Philip of Spain – Henry Kamen, Yale University Press 1998

The Spanish Armada – Colin Martin and Geoffrey Parker, Guild Publishing 1988

The Grand Strategy of Philip II – Geoffrey Parker, Yale University Press 1998

Elizabeth – Anne Somerset, Phoenix Giant 1999

William the Silent – CV Wedgewood, Readers Union Ltd 1945

The Hapsburgs – Andrew Wheatcroft, Folio Society 2004

www.wikipedia.en

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[i] William the Silent - Wedgewood

[ii] This was revoked in the spring of 1573 in the interests of public order

[iii] In 2014 the relative: historic standard of living value of that income or wealth is £29,510,000.00 economic status value of that income or wealth is £1,049,000,000.00 economic power value of that income or wealth is £11,170,000,000.00 www.measuringworth.com

[iv] The Revolt of the Netherlands - Geyl

[v] Philip of Spain - Kamen

[vi] Five days after the king’s sister had married King Henri III of Navarre (the future Henry IV of France); believed to have been instigated by the Queen Mother Catherine de’ Medici. The Huguenot nobility and upper classes had gathered for the wedding

[vii] Later recaptured by Don Fadrique and made the centre of the Counter Reformation

[viii] Grandson of Anne of Brittany and Louis XII’s daughter Renée see Anne of Brittany VI. Ironically Renée was a supporter of Protestantism and an ally of John Calvin

[ix] The massacre took place five days after the king’s sister had married King Henri III of Navarre (the future Henry IV of France); it is believed to have been instigated by the Queen Mother Catherine de’ Medici. The Huguenot nobility and upper classes had gathered for the wedding

[x] William had offered to stand proxy for the bridegroom but the incipient invasion had led him to withdraw his offer

[xi] One of the few Spanish senior military commanders not to emerge from the aristocracy

[xii] Now the Ijsselmeer (or inland lake)

[xiii] William the Silent - Wedgewood