2.3: the prelude to the Dutch Revolt

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5. The Time of Discoverers and Reformers

2.3. Prelude to the Dutch Revolt 

What is this lesson about?

In the sixteenth century, the seventeen provinces of the Low Countries were not unified. Charles V and Philip II tried to centralise this region of their empire and eliminate Protestants. This brought the Low Countries to the point of civil unrest. While the nobles tried to attain a compromise with governor Margaret of Parma, a violent Iconoclasm took place. This drove Philip to take extreme measures against Protestants.

Main Questions

1. What political and religious changes did Charles V want to make in his empire?
2. What were the Low Countries like in the 16th century?
3. What were the Dutch nobles' reasons to write the Petition?
4. What were the events leading to Philip II sending an army to the Netherlands?

people in this lesson

Margareth of Parma

Philip II

Charles V

emperor Holy Roman Empire

governor of king Philip II in the Netherlands

 king of Spain and the Netherlands

Important dates in this lesson:

1555: Charles V abdicates the throne

1555: Philip II becomes king of Spain and the Netherlands

1566: The Petition (Compromise of Nobles)

1566: Iconoclastic Fury (Beeldenstorm)

1567: Alva arrives in the Netherlands

Word Duty

KEY WORDS

Gewesten: the seventeen provinces that formed the Low Countries (the Netherlands)

States-General: a meeting of representatives from the 17 Provinces.

centralisation: different areas whom at first were separated are brought 

together and are now ruled by 1 person. 

Governor: the person who rules an area for the King while he is away

Tolerance: to allow things that are forbidden by the government of your country, or that are not common

Stadtholder: a nobleman who represented the king in one or more provinces

to abdicate: a monarch stepping down from the throne

Petition (or: Compromise of Nobles): a document that 200 nobles handed to Margaret of Parma, asking the king to end the inquisition, lower taxes and give back more power to the Dutch nobles.

Geuzen (Beggars): protestants who fled from Alva and supported William of Orange and his rebellion.

Compromise: a deal in which both sides give in a little to reach an agreement.

Iconoclastic Fury (Beeldenstorm): the event in which Protestants destroyed images and statues in Catholic Churches in 1566.

Centralising the Low Countries 

During the sixteenth century, the seventeen provinces – ‘gewesten’ in Dutch - that made up the Low Countries were far from the united whole they are today. Every province had its own laws and even their own currency. The only time they would come together was when they each sent representatives to the States General. This general meeting was first created in 1386 with the direct goal of gathering more money. However, under Charles V these meetings only were arranged when he called them together, which rarely happened. The provinces and their nobles were very pleased with their personal control and power. Their lord, Charles V, had different opinions on this matter. All that power and control had to be brought to one place in the Low Countries and put firmly in Charles’s hands. We call this centralisation. He chose Brussels as his capital. Here he appointed a governor to rule in his name. He mainly did this to have more control over his provinces so he could ask for more taxes.

1a. Which of these modern countries did NOT belong to
The Netherlands under Charles V

1. The Netherlands
2. Belgium
3. Germany
4. Luxembourg

1b. What was the capital city of
The Netherlands under Charles V

1. Amsterdam
2. Brussels
3. The Hague
4. Antwerp

1c. In the 16th century, the States-General was a meeting of representatives from the 17 Dutch provinces

1. true
2. false

a meeting of the States General in "de Ridderzaal" the 17th century

"de Ridderzaal" in 2017. During the "Troonrede" the king always starts with the words: "leden der Staten Generaal..."

a session of the "Tweede Kamer der Staten Generaal" in The Hague.

STATES GENERAL

Click the blue text
STATES GENERAL in the previous slide to find the answers to these questions:

2a. How many seats does the "Tweede Kamer" have?

1. 75
2. 100
3. 125
4. 150

2b. How many seats does the "Eerste Kamer" have?

1. 75
2. 100
3. 125
4. 150

2c. Another word for the States General is:

1. government
2. parliament
3. council
4. president

2d. A parliament is basically the people's:

1. representatives
2. subjects
3. government
4. monarchy

2e. How do members of parliament get appointed?

1. they are appointed by the king
2. they are elected by the Dutch people
3. their jobs are give to the highest bidders
4. their parents were also parlementarians, so they inherited the job

3a. What do you notice about the spread of protestantism in the Netherlands?

3b. Lutheranism spread from Germany into Scandinavia and the Netherlands

1. true
2. false

Religion and politics

The Low Countries were however not Charles’s only priority and he failed to create the order he wanted. This was because his attention was constantly drawn away by the wars he was fighting with France and Italy, or in stopping the advancing Ottoman Turks in Eastern Europe. This was also felt in the Low Countries in the form of high taxes.

In the 1540s, Protestantism arrived in the Low Countries and proved to be quite popular. Charles V swore to make the Low Countries Catholic again. Despite this, the measures taken against these Protestants were quite mild. By the time Philip II rose to the throne, the provinces had Catholics and Protestants living together in peace. The Dutch practised tolerance.

a woman is being publicely burned after she was found guilty of herecy by the Inquisition.

graph of the Inquisition in Flanders

The government of Philip II

Philip II continued the plans of his father to centralise the Low Countries, but he was a lot more fanatical. In this he ignored the nobles and their rights. This upset them, as their individual power and control were absorbed by a central government. This central government was filled with Spanish and foreign members, not the Dutch nobles. Philip II appointed his half sister Margaret of Parma as governor and ruler of this government. Philip also appointed stadtholders. A stadtholder was a nobleman who represented the monarch in one or more provinces. William of Orange for example was stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland and Utrecht. The stadtholders also took power away from the Dutch nobles.

Philip II was involved in many wars, especially with France. He relied on the Low Countries for its wealth. He set very high taxes to cover the costs of the wars. This was hard to accept for the people of the Low Countries, especially for those in the provinces that traded over sea, like Holland. Philip would regularly be involved in wars against important trading partners, just like his farther.

Top: The empire that Philip II inherited from his father, Charles V.

Bottom left: Margaret of Parma. She was Philip's half sister.

Bottom right: Philip II of Spain, painted by Sofonisba Anguissola (1565).

4a. Philip II tried to centralise the Low Countries

1. true
2. false

4b. This took away power from the Dutch nobles

1. true
2. false

4c What term fits this statement?

"the king makes the rules that all 17 provinces must obey"

make sure you understand what centralisation means. If you don't, then ask...!

1. centralisation
2. de-centralisation

4d What term fits this statement?

"the king allows the 17 provinces to make their own rules"

make sure you understand what centralisation means. If you don't, then ask...!

1. centralisation
2. de-centralisation

4e. Philip II was at war with France

1. true
2. false

4f. Philip II did not need the Low Countries to finance his wars

1. true
2. false

Inquisition and the Compromise of Nobles (Petition)

Like his father, Philip was a devout Catholic. He put even more pressure behind the Inquisition in the Low Countries, burning more and more heretics. In 1564 he created new laws called the Placards, which outlawed all Protestants. These laws were so severe that both Catholics and Protestants opposed them.

These changes in government and especially the persecution of Protestants caused a lot of unrest in the Low Countries. Because of this, the count of Egmont was sent to ask Philip to ease up his laws. Philip reacted negatively, and thus in 1566 the lower nobles gathered and wrote a petition. In it they asked for a reduction of taxes, a return of some of the power to the provinces and and end to the persecution of protestants. This petition is known as the Compromise of Nobles (‘Smeekschrift der edelen’), or the Compromise, for short. They presented it to Margaret of Parma, with 300 signatories present. Margaret promised to send the Compromise to King Philip in Spain.

Dutch nobles hand the Petition to Margaret of Parma at her palace in Brussels.

5. What actions did Philip take to make the Low Countries Catholic again?

6a. Study the graph.
Which three years had the most
prosecutions?

6b. Study the graph.
Which three years had the most executions?

6c. Study the graph.
Was the Inquisition
succeeding in Flanders?
Explain your answer.

7. Which of the following was NOT a reason for the Dutch nobles to hand a Petition to Margaret?

1. to stop the inquisition
2. to lower the taxes
3. to reduce the policy of centralisation
4. to end the power of the nobles

When the compromise was presented, a member of her council said to Margaret of Parma: 'N'ayez pas peur Madame, ce ne sont que de gueux', which means: 'Don't worry madame, they are but beggars.' The nobles took this name as a title of honor, calling themselves: Geuzen (in English: beggars).

Hendrik of Brederode hands the Petition of Nobles to Margaret of Parma. Engraving by Famiano Strada (first half 17th century)

coin from 1567 with a portrait of Margaret of Parma

8. Write down an example of a
compromise you made yourself.

9. Why did the supporters of the Petition
call themselves "Beggars"?

Protestants did not have their own churches. Therefore they gathered in the open fields. These sermons were called "hagepreken".

Of course, these open field sermons were not allowed by Philip II.

Iconoclastic Fury

While the message was underway however, an event took place that would shake the Low Countries down to its foundations. Protestants had to hide their churches from view, so they moved them outside, preaching their sermons in the fields and forests. During one of these sermons in the Flemish village of Steenvoorde, the preacher talked about the taxes, placards and excesses of the Church. This was during a famine in 1566. The Protestants present got furious, and went to a local monastery, destroying the altar and statues.

This inspired many other Protestant groups. Over the next few weeks the unrest would spread to the tip of Groningen. People charged and destroyed churches, not only for their religious convictions but also out of poverty, frustration or just to plunder. This event is called the Iconoclastic Fury (‘Beeldenstorm’) or the Iconoclasm. Most of the time the city militias did not even bother to stop them. Margaret quickly agreed to the demands of the nobles as long as they helped to restore order.

two pictures illustration the Iconoclasm in 1566

7. Copy this overview into your notebook and fill in the empty boxes.

In Utrecht you can still see the results of the Iconoclasm. These images on the "Domkerk" were destroyed.

left: an engraving of the iconoclasts at work, made in the 1580's. 

right: the same picture, with letters A-I for the next question:

10. Connect the numbers 1-8 to 

the letters A-K

men breaking open a tomb, presumably containing the relics of a saint

1

men destroying an altar

2

people leaving with loot

3

men taking the altar cloth

4

are dressed as soldiers; they don’t seem to be trying to stop the iconoclasts.

5

men breaking stained glass windows

6

men with weapons - probably iconoclasts

7

men using a rope to pull down a statue

8

11. Was the prosecution of protestants by the Inquisition
the only reason for the Iconoclasm?
Explain your answer.

Philip’s rage

When the Compromise reached Philip II, he refused to give in to the demands. And when the news of the Iconoclasm reached him, he became enraged. He sent the Duke of Alva to the Low Countries with an army. Alva’s army would put down any aggressive behaviour and keep tight control over the Low Countries. Alva also set up the Council of Troubles, a special tribunal to convict all the people involved in the Iconoclasm. This council was soon nicknamed the Council of Blood. They killed anyone, even if they were only slightly suspected of being part of the Iconoclasm. After arriving, Alva took more control away from Margaret, driving up taxes and putting more and more pressure on the Low Countries.

When he heard that Alva was coming, William of Orange left for his lands in Nassau, Germany. His friends, the count of Horne and the count of Egmont stayed and tried to get William to stay too, telling him he would lose all his power and land. Their last words to him are said to have been: 'Farewell count without land', to which William answered: 'Farewell counts without heads.' 

The duke of Alva arrives in Brussels on 

August 22, 1567.

He brings 10,000 Spanish soldiers with him and he is determined to restore order to the Netherlands and punish the iconoclasts.

12a. At the top, in the centre of the source, you see a group
of men in a meeting. Who do you think they are?
Use at least one element from the source to
explain your answer.

12b. Did a Catholic or a Protestant create this source?
Explain how you know and what opinion he or she is
trying to put across.

Make your own summary using the main questions:

1. What political and religious changes did Charles V want to make in his empire?
2. What were the Low Countries like in the 16th century?
3. What were the Dutch nobles' reasons to write the Petition?
4. What were the events leading to Philip II sending an army to the Netherlands?

Here you can see links to five video fragments we watched in class

Verleden van Nederland:

Fragment 1

Fragment 2

Fragment 3

Fragment 4

Fragment 5

Which question(s) would you like to be discussed
in class when we check this lesson?

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