|
The Netherlands formed part of the vast territories ruled over by
Charles V. For many reasons it was not to be wondered at that the
people should sympathise with the great religious revolt in Germany.
They were allied closely with the Germans by blood and language.
Like them, too, they looked upon Spain and upon the Spaniards with
feelings of distrust. Again, as in other parts of the world, so too
in the Netherlands the wealth of the Church had led to grave abuses as
well as to a loss of respect for ecclesiastical authority, the latter
of which was fostered in the minds of some by the spirit of mysticism
that flourished in the land of St. Thomas a Kempis.
Yet, notwithstanding these favourable circumstances, the Reformation
made little progress in the Netherlands during the reign of Charles
V. He was a man who understood the people and who respected their
rights and privileges. He visited the country frequently, was always
ready to listen to their demands, and he took care not to offend their
national instincts by a display of Spanish troops or Spanish
officials. Besides, having a freer hand to deal with the new
religious movement in the Netherlands than he had in Germany, he was
determined to preserve his hereditary dominions from the dimensions and
civil strife that had done so much to weaken the empire. He insisted
on the proclamation and execution of the decree of the Diet of Worms
against Luther, forbade the spread of heretical writings, introduced
the Inquisition, and punished with great severity those who were found
guilty of attempting to tamper with the faith of the people. But
despite his efforts the trouble that had broken out in the neighbouring
countries, France and Germany, could not fail to find an echo in the
Netherlands, and the views of Calvin and Luther found some support.
In 1555 Charles retired and was succeeded by his son Philip
II (1555- 98). The new ruler unlike his father made no
effort to win the affections of his subjects in the Netherlands, or to
attach them to himself by bonds of loyalty. On the contrary he came
amongst them only too seldom, and after 1559 he never set foot in
the country. He showed himself careless about their commercial
interests, regardless of their constitutional rights and privileges,
and indifferent to their national prepossessions. Instead of relying
on the native officials and nobles to carry on the administration of the
kingdom, he sought to strengthen his own power by appointing Spaniards
to offices of trust and by sending Spanish troops to suppress all
symptoms of discontent. He set aside the Grand Council which by
custom had the rights of a parliament, and without consultation with
the authorities in the Netherlands he decided upon a new ecclesiastical
division of the country. Hitherto there were only four bishops, whose
Sees were subject to foreign metropolitans. Philip decided that the
time had come when the number of bishoprics should be increased, and
the jurisdiction of foreign metropolitans should be abolished. The
main reason that influenced him to adopt this decision was the fact
that, as matters stood, a complete and far-reaching scheme of reform
could not be put into operation. In conjunction with Pope Paul
IV he arranged (1559) that the Spanish Netherlands should be
placed under the three newly-erected archiepiscopal Sees of Utrecht,
Cambrai, and Mechlin, and that suitable provision should be made for
the maintenance of the new bishops out of the possessions of the
monasteries and of the ecclesiastical institutions as well as from the
contributions of the laity.
Many of the nobles were already tired of the Spanish rule, and were
not unwilling to look favourably on the religious struggle as a means of
securing independence. They objected to several unconstitutional acts
of which the government of Philip II had been guilty. They
disliked Cardinal de Granvelle, the prime minister in the
Netherlands, and insisted on his recall. They objected to the
introduction of the Inquisition, and they protested against the new
diocesan division as unnecessary, burdensome to the country, and an
infringement of the rights and privileges of certain individuals. The
clergy and people, whose positions were affected by the new
arrangement, supported them strongly in their opposition to this
measure. The leaders of this movement were the Count of Egmont and
William of Orange,[94] the latter of whom was a clever politician
of boundless ambitions, who was not without hope that a rebellion
against Spain might be the means of securing supreme power in the
Netherlands. His brother, the Prince of Nassau, had adopted
Calvinism, and William himself was not troubled with any particularly
strong religious convictions. By his marriage with the daughter of
Maurice of Saxony he sought to assure himself of the support of the
German Protestant princes, while at the same time he was intimately
connected with the Huguenots of France, and was on terms of the
closest friendship with Counts Egmont and Horn, both of them,
though for different reasons, hostile to Philip II. For William
and for many of his abettors religion was but a secondary issue,
provided only that by means of a religious revolution the power of
Spain could be overthrown. Cardinal Granvelle, the minister of the
Duchess of Parma,[95] who was then regent of the country, was a
strong man and a dangerous opponent, for whose removal the party of
William of Orange strove with all their might. They succeeded at
last in 1564, but despite all their efforts they could not prevent
the publication of the decrees of the Council of Trent. They met
together in the following year (1565) and formed the union known
as the Compromise of Breda, nominally for the preservation of their
constitutional rights but in reality to promote a political and
religious rebellion. Many earnest Catholics unaware of the motives
that inspired the leaders of this movement lent them their support.
Having strengthened themselves by negotiations with some of the
Protestant princes of Germany, the revolutionary party presented
themselves before Margaret of Parma at Brussels to demand redress
(1566). During the course of the interview Count de Berlaymont
referred to them as a crowd of "gueux" or beggars, and this was the
name they adopted to designate their party ("Les Gueux").
Though they professed themselves willing to maintain the Catholic
religion the friends of William of Orange had strong leanings towards
Protestantism. Calvinist preachers flocked in from France;
Calvinist communities began to be formed; and in districts where the
party found itself powerful enough to do so, attacks were made on
Catholic churches and Catholic worship. These outrages served to
indicate the real tendency of the movement, and to drive into the
opposite camp many Catholics who had joined the party merely to secure
redress of political grievances. The Duchess of Parma, having
failed to put an end to the disturbances by friendly negotiations,
determined to employ force against the rebels. She was completely
successful. William of Orange fled to Germany, and Counts Egmont
and Horn surrendered themselves to the mercy of the king (1567).
Had Philip II known how to take advantage of this victory he might
have put an end to Calvinism in the Netherlands, for as yet the vast
majority of the inhabitants were at heart loyal to the Catholic
church.
But instead of coming to make a personal appeal for the allegiance of
his subjects and of trying to win over the malcontents by a policy of
moderation Philip II, more concerned for the suppression of heresy
than for the maintenance of Spanish rule, sent the Duke of
Alva[96] (1567-72) with an army of ten thousand men to
punish the offenders and to wipe out all traces of Calvinism. Alva
was a soldier who had distinguished himself on many a field against the
Turks and against France. His character is sufficiently indicated by
the title "the iron duke" given him by those who knew him best. He
had no faith in diplomacy or concession. For him martial law was the
only means of reducing rebels to subjection. The Duchess of Parma,
unwilling to share the responsibility of government with such an
associate, petitioned for her recall, and the Duke of Alva was
appointed regent of the Netherlands. Two leaders of the rebellion,
Counts Egmont and Horn, were tried and put to death (1568),
as were also many of their followers. The goods of the rebels were
confiscated, soldiers were quartered on the districts which were
supposed to be sympathetic with the movement, and martial law became
the order of the day. But the cruel measures adopted by the Duke of
Alva did not put an end to the rebellion in the Netherlands. On the
contrary, the contempt shown by him for the constitution of the country
and the rights of individual citizens, the excessive taxation, and the
license given to the soldiers in their treatment of civilians served
only to embitter the issue and to drive even moderate men into the path
of rebellion. William of Orange, backed by his brother, Louis of
Nassau, made descents upon the country, while vessels manned by their
supporters set themselves to do as much harm as possible to Spanish
trade. With the aid of England they managed to capture the city and
port of Briel (1572). Several of the northern states threw off
the yoke of Spain and acknowledged William of Orange as their ruler,
so that in a short time the Provinces of Holland and Zeeland were
practically lost to Philip II. William of Orange tried to obscure
the religious nature of the campaign by proclaiming religious freedom,
but his followers could not be restrained. The Catholic churches were
attacked, the clergy were expelled, and in 1572 nineteen priests
were martyred for the faith at Gorcum. Holland and Zeeland went over
completely to Calvinism, nor were the southern provinces, which were
still Catholic, contented with the rule of Alva. Driven to
desperation by his taxation and unconstitutional policy they formed a
league with the followers of William of Orange to put an end to
Spanish rule in the Netherlands. Philip II began to realise that
he had been unfortunate in his selection of a governor. A deputation
that was sent from the insurgents was received kindly, and Alva's
resignation of his office was accepted.
In his place Don Louis Requesens was sent as governor of the
Netherlands (1573-5). Though inferior to Alva in military
skill he was much superior to him in the arts of diplomacy and
conciliation. He withdrew promptly the financial decrees that had
caused such general discontent, yielded to most of the demands made by
the people, and offered a general amnesty to those who would return to
their allegiance. It required all the skill of William of Orange to
prevent the submission of his adherents. Disappointed by the removal
of the grievances that had provoked a national uprising, he was forced
to have recourse more and more to the religious issues in order to
maintain his power. He proclaimed himself the protector and champion
of Calvinism, and as such he could still count on the aid of the
northern provinces. Unfortunately, too, at the very time when the
success of his policy of mildness seemed assured, Requesens died
leaving it to his successor to complete his work.
Don Juan of Austria, the natural son of Charles V, who had won
renown throughout the world by his annihilation of the Turkish fleet at
Lepanto, was appointed in his place. Before his arrival the southern
and northern provinces had bound themselves together in the
Pacification of Ghent (1576). Don Juan was obliged to accept
the terms of the Pacification and to dismiss the Spanish troops before
his authority would be recognised. William of Orange, secure in the
north, determined to occupy the southern provinces, but his public
profession of Calvinism and the religious intolerance of his followers
prevented a combined national effort. The Catholic nobles of the
Walloon provinces objected to the Protestant campaign that was being
carried on in the name of liberty, and showed themselves not unwilling
to come to terms with Don Juan. The latter, only too glad to meet
them half- way, issued a very conciliatory decree (1577), which
secured him the support of many of the Catholic party, and partly by
force, partly by negotiation he succeeded in winning back much of what
had been lost.
On the death of Don Juan (1578) Alexander Farnese, son of
the former regent Margaret of Parma, was appointed his successor.
Being something of a statesman as well as a soldier he lost no
opportunity of endeavouring to break the power of the Prince of
Orange. He devoted a great deal of his energies to the work of
detaching the southern provinces, which still remained Catholic, from
the northern, which had gone over to Calvinism. The intolerance of
the Calvinists and their open violation of the religious freedom
guaranteed to all parties tended to the success of his plans. During
his term of office Belgium returned its allegiance to Spain, and this
step put an end to the hopes entertained by the Calvinists of winning
that country to their side. Meanwhile the northern provinces were
entirely in the hands of William of Orange. In 1579 the five
provinces Holland, Zeeland, Friesland, Geldern, and Zutphen
bound themselves together by a solemn compact in the Union of Utrecht
under the name of the United Provinces, and practically speaking
established a Dutch republic. They agreed to make common cause in war
and in peace, and appointed William of Orange as Stadtholder for
life. A short time later (1581) William of Orange,
notwithstanding all his proclamations regarding religious liberty,
forbade the public exercise of the Catholic religion, and refused to
allow the new Archbishop of Utrecht to take possession of his See.
In these circumstances nothing remained for the Pope except to appoint
a vicar-apostolic to take charge of the religious interests of the
Catholics, who formed two-fifths of the population of Holland, but
even the vicar-apostolic was soon banished from the country.
In 1584 William of Orange was assassinated, and his son Maurice
was appointed to succeed him. The English Government anxious to
strike a blow at Spain encouraged the Dutch to continue the war, and
despatched troops to their assistance. After the defeat of the
Spanish Armada the situation was much more favourable to the rebels,
and at last in 1609 a twelve years' truce was concluded. On the
expiration of the truce the war was renewed without any very striking
success on either side. Finally in the Peace of Westphalia
(1648) the independence of the Dutch republic was acknowledged by
Spain. From the very beginning of the religious revolt in the
Netherlands Calvinism was the sect most favoured by the people, as is
evidenced by the "Confessio Belgica" in 1562. The University
of Leyden decided in its favour, as did also the Synods of Dordrecht
in 1574 and 1618. The Catholic minority in Holland were
treated with the greatest severity, but in spite of all the efforts to
induce them to change their faith many of the districts remained
completely Catholic.
The Catholic provinces, which remained true to Spain and to the
Catholic Church, suffered very severely from the long-drawn-out
struggle, but despite the ravages of war they were soon the centre of a
great religious, literary and artistic revival. The University of
Louvain, founded in 1425, developed rapidly under the generous
patronage of the civil rulers. During the sixteenth century it was
recognised as an important centre of learning whither scholars flocked
not merely from the Low Countries but from all parts of Europe.
Throughout the Reformation struggle Louvain and Douay, the latter
of which was founded in 1562 by Philip II to assist in stemming
the rising tide of Calvinism, remained staunch defenders of Catholic
orthodoxy, though the unfortunate controversies waged round the
doctrines of Baius and Jansenius did something to dim the glory of the
university to which both belonged. The Jesuits, too, rendered
invaluable service to religion and learning, particularly the men who
hastened to offer their services to Father van Bolland in his famous
"Acta Sanctorum". Nor can it be forgotten that it was in these
days Catholic Belgium gave to the world the great Flemish school of
artists, amongst whom must be reckoned such men as Rubens, Van
Dyck, and Jordaens.
|
|