Download The Revolt of the Spanish Netherlands lead to the collapse of Spain

The Revolt of the Spanish Netherlands (the Dutch Revolt)
The Revolt of the Spanish Netherlands lead to the collapse of Spain as a major European power. By 1618 the start of the Thirty Years War - no catholic country saw Spain as a useful ally.
The area concerned was part of the Habsburg Empire and known as the Spanish Netherlands. Up to
his abdication in 1555, the area was run by Charles V and for all his faults - especially his financial
burdening of the region with regards to taxes - he was a Burgundian and he spoke Flemish. His successor,
Philip II did not and he was also not a Burgundian. He was seen as being cold and arrogant and after 1559
he never visited the Spanish Netherlands. The population of the Spanish Netherlands was about 3 million
with about 300 cities. There was immense local patriotism in the area which was split by language. There
were seventeen provinces. The fourteen northern provinces spoke Dutch dialects while the three southern
ones spoke Walloon. The nobles spoke French though more so in the South than in the North. Philip needed
the region for its wealth. Antwerp was the centre from which bullion from the New World was distributed
and its financiers were experts in raising loans - a point not lost on Philip.
By the mid-16th C, the spread of Calvinism in the Low Countries had strongly taken hold. The
Habsburg-Valois Wars had ended in 1559 so movement of trade and ideas throughout western Europe was
easier. Calvinism found support from the lower classes, lesser nobles and town leaders, but more so as a
liberating force from the rigid hold the Catholic Church had politically and economically. In 1566, Calvinism
within the "Spanish Netherlands" was based in Antwerp. The religion spread rapidly. The flood of Calvinism
took place mostly after Charles V’s reign. As a strong Catholic, Philip had to be seen to be taking on
Calvinism. As a consequence, one of Philip II's three major goals was that he was determined to rid the
region of what he perceived as heresy.
To start with, the Counter-Reformation's creation and use of the Inquisition was barely effective
in the region. However, Philip believed that if Calvinism was successfully tackled, it would enhance his power
and put the region very much under his power. Philip was astute enough to move cautiously. He appointed
wealthy and powerful magnates as provincial governors. Technically they were responsible to Madrid. The
provincial governors were known as stadtholders. William of Orange became stadtholder of Holland,
Utrecht and Zeeland, while the Count of Egmont took charge of Flanders and Artois. The Dutch EstatesGeneral had power in the Spanish Netherlands and Philip had little power over them. The logic was for the
stadtholders to control the Estates-General and therefore rule them on Philip's behalf. This attempt at
control through local government did not happen.
In 1558, Philip was in dire need of money. His maritime campaigns against the Ottomans, expansion
in the Americas and Asia, were more expensive than even the receipts of American silver and gold could
cover. William of Orange persuaded the Estates-General to grant Philip a nine year subsidy. In return,
Philip had to accept a remonstrance setting out liberties required by the Spanish Netherlands. Philip
agreed to pull out Spanish troops stationed there and this took place in 1561. This was an example of the
magnates dictating terms to Philip when he was in need of money. But a far more important example took
place.
Philip's regent in the region was Margaret of Parma - an illegitimate daughter of Charles V. She was
advised by a Council of State which comprised of the great magnates and leading officials within the region.
The real power lay with the Council’s president. At the time, this was held by an Erasmian-influenced
Burgundian called Anthony Perrenot, Lord of Granvelle. He was seen by the nobles of the Spanish
Netherlands to be the mouth-piece of Philip II and the magnates believed that their power was being
diminished by him. The magnates called for his dismissal. The three magnates leading this effort were
William of Orange, the Count of Egmont and the Duke of Aerschot. All three men were very wealthy but
they were conservative. They were not consciously revolutionary, but they saw Philip as being a damaging
influence to the Spanish Netherlands "liberties which they identified with their own interests."
In 1559, Philip II decided to appoint three new archbishops and fourteen new bishops for the
Spanish Netherlands. This would include new sees in the Low Countries and, if pushed through, would create
an autonomous ecclesiastical organization for the region. There was nothing wrong with this but the
magnates real fear was that it might lead to a government shake-up which would result in a more
centralized administration which would take power away from the stadtholders, and transfer it indirectly
to Philip II. The bishops were also to be appointed by the crown and as they sat on the Estates-General
they would increase royal power there. The town leaders were not keen on this as they wielded much power
in the Estates-General. The ordinary people were also fearful that the appointments would lead to greater
religious persecution and that the Inquisition would start to asset itself. All three sectors of society were
angered - the rich, the merchants and the general population. The new bishops had to travel with an armed
guard for their own protection. How did this affect Granvelle? He was appointed a cardinal and became the
first primate of the Netherlands.
Thus, a general unrest grew and spread throughout the region. Margaret of Parma was prompted to
call the Assembly of the Knights of the Golden Fleece in June of 1562. This was made up of magnates who
enjoyed freedom of speech while the assembly was in session. They sent a magnate to Spain to implore
Philip II to reconsider his policies towards the Dutch, criticized Granvelle and called for Margaret to call
the Estates-General into session. Philip did nothing, and in March 1563, William of Orange (effectively
leading the Estates-General) demanded Granvelle’s dismissal. This did not happen and William resigned from
the Council of State along with other magnates. Margaret was powerless to maintain law and order as she
had no Spanish troops in the region and had relied on the magnates to ensure law and order was maintained.
Philip was too concerned in the Mediterranean to get involved and ordered Margaret to make concessions,
which he considered temporary in secret; Margaret was left to believe these concessions would be
permanent. In 1564, Granvelle was dismissed. Egmont and William of Orange rejoined the Council of State
and all seemed stable. But the "Issue of the Bishops" led to six assumptions within the population of the
Spanish Netherlands:
1) Philip was incapable of asserting his authority.
2) The magnates could get what they wanted with apparent ease.
3) The magnates were associated with the maintenance of law and order.
4) There was a natural dislike in the region for the Spanish.
5) Philip was extremely unpopular among all classes.
6) The Catholic Church apparently was of an absolute nature - which had major implications for Calvinists.
The Religious problem
Most of the nobility were Catholic with Erasmian sympathies. They objected to religious
persecution as it led to disorder in a society dominated by them. That disorder could threaten their
dominance. Calvinism was strong among the lesser nobles who had developed a hated of the privileges that
the Catholic Church had. Their later influence in the struggle against the Spanish was strong. France had
already experienced the powerful impact a noble/Calvinist movement could have on the government.
Free from trouble in the Mediterranean, Philip decided to bring the region into line. A catholic university
was established at Douai, Jesuits were encouraged to go to the Low Countries and the instructions of the
Council of Trent were to be put into operation. That Philip acted as an absolute monarch was to be
expected and he did not ask the magnates for their thoughts on these issues. In 1564, the Council of State
asked Philip to reconsider his policies.
"The king errs if he thinks the Netherlands, surrounded as they are by
countries where religious freedom is permitted, can indefinitely support
these sanguinary edicts. I cannot approve of princes attempting to rule the
consciences of their subjects and wanting to rob them of the liberty of
faith."
William of Orange - a catholic
Count Egmont was sent to Spain where he was warmly received by Philip. But the king would not change his
policies towards the Netherlands. William of Orange, Egmont and Admiral Horn, the Admiral of the
Netherlands, all withdrew from the Council of State in protest but both Egmont and Horn were known to be
loyal to the crown so they were not expected to do anything too extreme. William of Orange was less loyal
to Philip but he was not an extremist. He was in a difficult position as the lesser nobles were embracing
religious radicalism and becoming more extreme in their talk. These men had lost a lot of money as a result
of price rises - money which they could not recover. William could not be seen to be openly supportive of
men who were becoming radical and potentially de-stabilizing. These men turned to Louis of Nassau - the
brother of William of Orange. In 1565 they formed the Compromise. It had two main aims:
1) to end the power of the Inquisition in the Netherlands
2) to get Philip to withdraw his orders to enforce the findings of the Council of Trent.
In April 1565, Louis and the Count Brederode presented a petition to Margaret of Parma in Brussels. The
support from the magnates had been patchy. William offered his brother support but Egmont and Horn did
not. Less than 50% of those who had signed the petition turned up to support Brederode. When Brederode
presented the petition to Margaret an advisors to her said allowed "What, madam ! Afraid of these
beggars?" The word "beggars" stuck and Brederode rode round Antwerp in triumph. Antwerp was a city in
turmoil as there was high unemployment and religious radicalism was common. Such a combination could be
volatile.
In response to this threat, Margaret suspended all religious decrees. The magnates were invited
back to the Council of State who were still absent after Egmont’s rebuttal in Spain. In 1566, Calvinists
were holding open-air meetings guarded by armed sympathizers. In July 1566, the radical section of the
Compromise agreed to co-operate with the Calvinists. They both had the same objective - to pressurize
Philip II into relaxing his oppressive rule. They were curious bed-fellows as the Compromise were lesser
nobility who wanted to recover their social and economic status while the Calvinists wanted religious
toleration to be followed by the establishment of Calvinism throughout the Netherlands.
How did William view the Compromise? He did not welcome social disorder or the cause of it. He did
not want the Netherlands to be broken up into camps. He viewed many of the lesser nobles and the
Calvinists as dangerous hot-heads who could destroy any chance of increased political liberty. He tried to
settle the discontent that was rife in Antwerp. He went to Mass to re-assure the Catholics and he
introduced public works schemes to give employment. By doing this he tried to satisfy both sides. But there
were problems elsewhere.
1565 saw a bad harvest. Prices greatly increased. The urban workers were hit the hardest. War in
the Baltic severely affected sea trade and in August 1566 the Iconoclastic Riots took place. Churches seen as the bastion of the rich - were wrecked, as were churches and monasteries. The riots spread quickly
and much religious property was damaged. The magnates and the lesser nobility feared that property in
general would be attacked and they were appalled at the fury of the mob. In August 1566, Margaret came
to an agreement with the leaders of the Compromise which lead to an accord. The Compromise had to lay
down its weapons and not interfere with catholic worship while Protestant preachers were allowed to
continue work where they had already established a foothold. The violence quickly ended as grain prices fell
but many property owners reacted to it in that they would not be drawn into religious or political
movements or anything that hinted at dissent. Margaret exploited this weakness. She asked Philip II for
troops and tried to hire mercenaries from Germany. She believed that the Accord had been forced on her
and she was not willing to keep it. William of Orange’s apparent dabbling with rebellion had failed primarily
because Egmont had remained loyal to Philip.
Why did not William ally himself with Calvinism? First, he was a Catholic and he was also very aware
that the Calvinism did not have sufficient money, arms, or supplies for a successful rebellion. The princes in
northern Germany were Lutheran and were not willing to help the Calvinism. Also by joining the Calvinism,
William would have lost the support of the Catholic majority in the Netherlands and his relatives in
Germany. The leadership of the Calvinists went to Brederode. In March 1567, he gathered an army and
marched into Zeeland. Margaret immediately called on the magnates to swear an oath of loyalty to Philip II.
They all did except William of Orange. However, he would not commit himself to the Calvinism. Brederode’s
force was easily beaten by mercenaries just outside of Antwerp. Brederode fled to Germany. So did
William and many lesser nobility as they expected severe repression. Up to 1567, there had been four
separate levels of resistance:
1) The magnates who wanted greater liberty.
2) The lesser nobles who wanted to regain their social and political status.
3) The Calvinism who wanted religious freedom
4) Poor urban workers who wanted to alleviate their poverty.
These four separate groups had four separate aims and there was no obvious link between them all. Not all
of them wanted independence from Spain. The magnates had demonstrated their loyalty with their oath of
allegiance while the lesser nobles were now less openly rebellious after the shock of the Iconoclastic Riots.
The Calvinism had no love of the Catholic church while the poor urban workers had no love of the church or
Spain. Each group had reasons to distrust the others so the chances of independence in 1567 looked very
remote - even if the groups were calling for it which most were not. With William of Orange in Germany,
the rebels looked weak. With the problems that he had at home as well as in the Netherlands, Philip's best
policy would have been one of tolerance and reconciliation. On Philip's orders, the Duke of Alva marched
9,000 men from Milan to the Netherlands. They arrived in August 1567. Alva had four secret orders:
1) to make all areas loyal to Brussels - this would end the power of the magnates.
2) all town rights were to end which would end the power of the merchants
3) there was to be religious uniformity
4) the Netherlands was to pay its full share to finance Philip's policies.
Alva started a reign of terror. The nobles were arrested (despite being convinced that they were free
from such problems) and sent to the Council of Troubles which was nick-named the 'Council of Blood' by
the locals. Most were released after signing a form of submission. All leaders or potential leaders of
resistance were arrested. Town leaders were shown no mercy. In January 1568, eighty leading citizens
were executed in Brussels. Philip wrote to Alva that:
"The towns must be punished for their rebelliousness with the loss of
their privileges everyone must be made to live in constant fear."
A further blow for the resistance movement came in February 1568, when Brederode died. William of
Orange was now the obvious leader. In 1568 he published his "Justification" which claimed loyalty to Philip,
called for a united front against Alva and blamed all problems in the Netherlands on "evil counsellors".
William planned a three-pronged attack on Alva using Louis of Nassau and the French Huguenots. Louis
made some progress in Groningen but the two other prongs failed. It was left for Louis to feel the full
force of Alva and the force of Louis fell back into Germany. On his way to meet Louis in battle, Alva had
arrested and executed Horn and Egmont as an example to others.
In October 1568, William tried again this time using German mercenaries. He marched into Brabant
but found that there was no general popular support for him in the region. This was a sign that Alva’s reign
of terror was paying off. William retreated into France. Alva wrote to Philip that
"We may regard the Prince of Orange as a dead man."
The terror continued to 1573. 9,000 were condemned by the Council of Blood and 1,000 were executed or
exiled. Thousands were made into refugees. Alva needed the royal government to be financially secure so in
March 1569, he forced the Estates-General to approve a 10% sales tax which was to be outside of their
control. The whole country reacted against the "Tenth Penny". The Council of Utrecht refused to
implement it. It was summoned to the Council of Blood which ended its privileges. However, this did not
stop the opposition to the tax and Alva realized that he simply did not have the force to brutalize the
population into paying it. Alva postponed its introduction and it probably never came into operation.
At the time of the tax, William and Louis were fighting with the Huguenots in France. Refugees from the
north of the Netherlands had formed a piratical force known as the "Sea Beggars", and Coligny, the leader
of the French Huguenots, suggested that William should offer protection to them. He, as a sovereign
prince, authorized them to prey on Spanish shipping. The Sea Beggars were from the north where William
was a stadtholder. However, he had concentrated on cities in the south such as Ypres, Ghent and Antwerp
where religious dissent was strongest. However, these cities were easily policed. This was not true with the
northern region with its many inlets and harbors. The region had a very complicated coast line with many
islands just off-shore. Only those knowledgeable about the area could sail there with a degree of safety.
William shifted his emphasis to the north and allied himself to the Sea Beggars. This did not lead to the
independence of the Netherlands but to the creation of a new state.
The Sea Beggars had for a number of years used ports in south-east England for shelter and
safety. In 1572, Elizabeth kicked them out fearing that their presence might antagonize Philip II. As they
sailed, a storm forced the fleet into Brill in Holland. The Sea Beggars found it undefended as Spanish
troops were in Utrecht putting down riots. The Sea Beggars claimed the city for William of Orange. News
of this success was sent to William at La Rochelle and Louis of Nassau immediately sailed with the rest of
the Sea Beggars force and took Flushing in Zeeland. Many northern cities went over to the Sea Beggars.
The Sea Beggars had sparked off a major rebellion in the north.
Curiously, William tried to raise a rebellion in the south once again. Louis and the Huguenots occupied Mons
while William struck into Brabant and Flanders. Once again, he found that there was no enthusiasm for
rebellion and he had to retreat after disbanding his army. After this rebuttal in the south, William decided
to concentrate in the north and he put himself at the head of resistance there. He had no love for the Sea
Beggars as they were mostly Calvinism and iconoclasts. Most were fanatics which meant that they were
difficult to predict. Most town leaders feared what the Sea Beggars would do to their towns as they
seemed as ruthless as the Spanish. Both Amsterdam and Middelburg refused to admit the Sea Beggars.
The Catholics in the region feared their approach for obvious reasons. But the lower social classes felt that
they had nothing to lose from change and they possibly stood to make from change. When they combined
with the Sea Beggars they could force the hand of the town leaders.
Some Catholics did support the Sea Beggars such was the hatred caused by the Tenth Penny. The
Sea Beggars played on this patriotism and promised to let the Catholics worship in peace. But as the Sea
Beggars got stronger, they started to persecute Catholics, Anabaptists and Lutherans. They believed that
freedom of worship should apply only to Calvinism. Non-Calvinist churches were destroyed and clergy were
killed by the Sea Beggars. Non-Calvinist religions were forced underground and Calvinism was imposed on
the people of the Northern Provinces. But even by 1587, only about 10% of Holland’s population were
Calvinists. William still wanted a united Netherlands based on religious toleration and he tried to restrain
the activities of the Sea Beggars by dismissing their leader in 1573. But their single-mindedness of purpose
and their total commitment made them the only successful rebels and in April 1573, William of Orange
joined the Calvinist Church.
For many months, Alva had been pressured by the Huguenots on the Netherlands southern border.
But in August 1572, the Huguenots had been badly weakened by the Massacre of St. Bartholomew. Alva was
left free to move north. Haarlem (Holland) was besieged early in 1573 for seven months. Magistrates
wanted to negotiate with Alva but a popular uprising replaced them. William could do nothing to help and
Haarlem fell. This could have proved a decisive blow to the rebels. They were actually saved by the Turks.
Philip was involved in an expensive war with the Turks in the Mediterranean and his stretched finances
meant that Spanish soldiers in the Netherlands were not paid. They mutinied and refused to fight. They
rampaged through Antwerp thus making the Spanish even more hated. By 1574, Philip had the money to pay
his soldiers, but William had been given the necessary breathing space to reorganize and rearm and there
was no love for the Spanish after Antwerp. Alvadecided to besiege Leyden in Holland. He was attacked by
Louis of Nassau (who was killed doing this) but this was not enough to relieve Leyden. Submissive
magistrates were dismissed and William took the decision to cut the dykes and deliberately flood the area
surrounding Leyden. The plan worked and Alva had to retreat. William’s prestige soared and popular opinion
once again swung behind the resistance movement.
In November 1573, Alva was replaced by Don Luis de Requesens. He had been ordered to reverse
the policy of repression. He issued a general pardon to all those involved in rebellion and he officially
withdrew the "Tenth Penny". But he had nothing to offer on religion as Philip refused to compromise:
"I would rather lose the Low Countries than reign over them if
they ceased to be Catholic."
The northern provinces were now firmly Calvinist and they could not accept this as at the least they wanted
freedom of worship. To impose royal will, Requesen had to use force. However, in 1575, Philip announced his
effective bankruptcy. His army in the Netherlands was composed of his own soldiers and many mercenaries.
Without being paid they turned to pillaging. Requesen died in 1576. There was a time delay before his
successor was appointed and the Council of State took charge. They purged the council of pro-Spanish
members and summoned the Estates-General. This decided to establish an army of self-defense under the
Duke of Aerschot. In 1576, it appeared as if the unity of the magnates had been achieved. However, the
unity was deceptive in appearance. William offered to put his army under the control of the EstatesGeneral. But the northern army was mostly made up of Calvinists who were socially radical. The southern
army was made up a aristocrats who were Catholic and conservative.
The Spanish army succeeded in uniting the two. In 1576, Spanish soldiers devastated Antwerp.
7,000 of the city’s population were killed and a third of the city was destroyed by troops who were there
to save the city from northern rebels!! The north and southern armies united in the ‘Pacification of Ghent"
which suspended all religious issues until a time that the Estates-General could agree on a religious
settlement. Early in 1577 a new governor-general arrived - Don John of Austria. Alva's methods had not
produced the desired results, and Philip had tired of his failure to pacify the Dutch. Don Juan was the
illegitimate son of Philip II, and was given a chance to show what he could do, and possibly gain an
inheritance. In February 1577, he issued the ‘Perpetual Edict" which agreed to withdraw Spanish troops
from the Netherlands and agreed with the Pacification of Ghent. This was good enough for the southern
magnates but not for William and Zeeland and Holland. The Perpetual Edict wanted to restore Catholicism
throughout the Netherlands. Both Holland and Zeeland promised to continue the fight. Don John took
Namur, declared that William was a traitor and wanted to purge the Estates-General of those who had
expressed anti-Spanish sentiment. Rather than cultivate a relationship with the southern magnates, Don
John pushed them into an alliance with William. This unity proved to be short-lived as popular revolts broke
out in the south and the magnates feared for their property. A "Council of Eighteen" took over Brussels
and called on William to take control.
Aerschot was suspicious of William’s intentions and he withdrew to Ghent to rally Catholic nobles the Malcontents. Ghent had a radical Calvinist council and they arrested Aerschot and sent him to Germany.
Ghent set up a council based on the model of Brussels. The south was not prepared to accept this spread of
Calvinism and in January 1579, Artois, parts of Flanders (the Walloon area) and Hainault signed the Union
of Arras which bluntly stated that it would uphold the Catholic faith. Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht and
Gelderland signed the Union of Utrecht. However, William still hoped for unity by subordinating religious
issues to political ones. Reconciliation looked doubtful though. In October 1578, Don John died. He was
replaced by Alex Farnese, Duke of Parma. He was known to be a great soldier, of great integrity and of high
birth. This made him very acceptable to the southern aristocrats. He promised no punishments to towns or
men who swore allegiance to Philip. In May 1579, the Treaty of Arras was signed which upheld the
privileges of provinces in Walloon and withdrew Spanish troops from provinces that signed the treaty. The
nobles did not recover their political power but their social position was maintained. The southern
aristocracy had now become very fearful of the north’s social radicalism. William realized that he was a
major factor in the failure to unite the provinces. He therefore needed to find someone as leader who was
acceptable to both north and south. The brother of the king of France was chosen - the Duke of Anjou.
This was a logical appointment as France had always been an enemy of Spain and Anjou was a strong
Catholic. Therefore, he should have appealed to both sides. In 1581, thirteen provinces out of seventeen
offered their allegiance to Anjou. This was done at a meeting of the Estates-General in the Hague.
Unfortunately, Anjou proved a poor choice as he was arrogant and unprincipled. He disliked the power of
the provincial Estates and wanted their power transferred to him. In January 1583, he marched to
Antwerp to assert his authority but his attack was beaten. This clearly alienated him from the people.
However, William remained convinced that the rebels needed foreign support. Anjou’s death in January
1584 took him out of the picture. In February 1584, William of Orange was assassinated. His death was a
very heavy blow to the resistance movement.
The revolt after the death of William
William’s death might have destroyed the resistance movement if it had happened earlier in the campaign.
But by 1584, the hatred of Spain had become so entrenched in the northern regions and the rebels were so
well organized that they continued the struggle. Despite this, Parma continued his advance and in August
1584, Ghent fell. Brussels fell in March 1585 and Antwerp in August 1585. The only main areas not to fall
were Zeeland and Holland. These two areas were protected by the sea, numerous canals and dikes, and
rivers. The rebels were in need of overseas aid if they were to continue to resist Spanish domination.
France was not a possibility; the only possibility was England.
The rebels came to an agreement with Elizabeth that she would provide an army of 4,000 men
under the Earl of Leicester. However, Leicester was out of his depth and he failed to understand the
complexities of the issues being fought over. In the two regions not yet taken by Parma, the old style town
leaders were swept out of power by more extreme and committed men from the Sea Beggars. It was at this
critical time that the Calvinists split into two camps: there were the moderate and socially conservative
Libertists and the rigid and more radical Precisians. The revolt which originally had but one target was now
complicated by what was essentially a class struggle. Leicester became identified with the Precisians who
wanted a total ban on trade with Spain. Even at this time there was trade going on between the two as
Spain needed the Dutch mercantile knowledge and fleet to send supplies to the region and the Dutch used
the revenues from this service to finance their campaign. Amsterdam - a city with Libertists leanings flourished during this time. In 1586, Leicester used his power to ban all Dutch trade with the Spanish.
This decision was supported by Holland. They found a new spokesman in Johan van Oldenbarneveld
who was the Advocate of Holland. He was also supported by the son of William of Orange, Maurice of
Nassau. Leicester was caught between the two and in November 1586 he returned to England. In 1587,
Leicester returned to make one more attempt to impose his authority but he failed once again. He left in
1588, though his troops remained there financed by Elizabeth.
By 1588, the rebels were badly divided. Parma had the perfect opportunity to take advantage of
this. But Philip needed his force for the Armada and this Spanish disaster gave the rebels the space they
needed to re-organize themselves. In 1589, Henry III of France was assassinated and Parma was ordered
by Philip to invade France to impose a pro-Spanish monarchy or even Philip as king of Spain. The legal heir
to the French throne was Henry of Navarre - a Calvinist. This removal of the skilled Parma gave the rebels
two years to re-build themselves as Parma was kept in France from 1590 to 1592. In fact, he died in 1592
and the Spanish lost one of their most accomplished military commanders. In this time Maurice managed to
re-organize the Dutch resistance and he had a series of successes from which the Spanish never
recovered. In 1590, Breda was re-taken by the rebels. In 1591, Zutphen, Deventer and Nymegan were all
re-taken. In 1600 the important ports of Ostend and Sluys were retaken.
The death of Philip in 1598 should have brought the war to an end. However, his son, Philip III saw
himself as a great leader and appointed Ambrosio Spinola to lead the drive to bring the Dutch to heel.
Spinola was a capable general and in 1604 he recaptured Ostend. By this time, Spain was all but financially
exhausted and war weary. Philip III was in the difficult position of having to recognize the existence of
what were now called the United Provinces. This he refused to do. The southern areas were given a form of
self-government under Albert of Austria who had married the Infanta Isabella (Philip II's daughter). He
governed under the title of governor-general. Spanish troops remained in the southern regions and Albert
and Isabella had to respect Spanish wishes. The two were popular with the people of the south.
Their attempts at reconciliation with the northern regions failed mainly due to religious problems as
the north was not prepared to tolerate Catholicism there. To all intents, the area had split into two distinct
camps by from 1598 on. In 1606, Albert agreed to treat the north as an independent state which would be
called the United Provinces. In March 1609, a twelve year truce was agreed between the Catholic south and
the Protestant north. This truce allowed the United Provinces to trade with Spain and the West Indies and
the state did not have to guarantee freedom of worship for Catholics. The truce also gave the United
Provinces international recognition. This was not a de facto peace treaty as Spain wanted better treatment
for the Catholics in the United Provinces. The truce was due to end in 1621 and when it did it was not
renewed and the war re-started but as part of the Thirty Years War. By 1621, the United Provinces was a
rich state while Spain had never recovered from the financial chaos brought on by both Charles V and Philip
II. The Treaty of Munster of 1648 confirmed the 1609 cease-fire - by which time Spain was a third-rate
European power while the Dutch were one of the richest European states with a professional army and navy
to match.
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