USA > New York > History of the state of New York Vol I > Part 44
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It was quickly perceived that the people were on the eve of a revolt; and the nobles, wishing to provide for their own security by leading public opinion, framed the famous 1566. bond of alliance known as the " Compromise." By this March.
* Meteren, ii., 39; Davies, i., 520. It was on this occasion that a coin was issued from the Zealand Mint, stamped on the one side with the device of a dismasted ship. without a rudder, drifting on the waves, surrounded by the legend "INCERTUM QUO FATA FERENT ;" and on the other with the effigy of Hope holding her anchor, and point- ing to heaven, with the motto " SPES ALMA SUPERSIT."-Bizot, Med. Hist., 13; Van Loon, i., 72.
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440
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
1566. Alliance of the nobles.
CH. XIII. instrument, they bound themselves on oath to resist, "to the utmost of their power, the establishment of the In- quisition, under what name or pretext soever; to sup- port and assist each other as faithful friends and brothers; and if any one of them were disquieted or molested on ac- count of this alliance, to devote their lives and properties to his protection."
1
5 April.
Origin of the " Gueux."
The confederated nobles soon took occasion to present a remonstrance on the state of public affairs to the Duchess of Parma, as governess of the Netherlands. As they ap- proached the court at Brussels, on foot, plainly dressed, and unarmed, the Count of Barlaimont remarked to the governess that she had no cause of fear, since "they were only a troop of beggars (gueux)." The taunting expres- sion was eagerly caught up, and went from mouth to mouth .. " It is no shame," said the patriotic noblemen, "to be beggars for our country's good." A feast was given the same evening by the Lord of Brederode, at which nearly three hundred guests were present. "Vivent les gueux," resounded through the apartment. Brederode, bringing in a wooden vessel, such as the pilgrims used, pledged the company to the health of the " gueux ;" the cup went round ; the Prince of Orange, and the Counts of Egmont and Hoorn, joined in the pledge ; and the epi- thet that levity suggested was soon seriously adopted as a party appellation and watch-word by all who were hostile to the measures of Philip's government. The gray garb of beggars became a political uniform. The taxes were no longer paid. A great Revolution was at hand .*
The Duke of Alva sent erlands. Philip immediately prepared to send the Duke of Alva to the Neth- with a vast army into the Netherlands, to chastise his re- bellious subjects. The " beggars" began to lay in stores of arms; and as the news of Alva's coming reached Brus- August. The Icono- clasts. sels, the "Iconoclasts" began to destroy the images of the saints. With electric rapidity the impulse spread through all the provinces. Religious enthusiasm soon ran into riotous excess. In nearly every town and village the
* Meteren, ii., 40, 41 ; Brandt, vi., 294 ; Davies, i., 520-523.
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THE REVOLUTION IN THE NETHERLANDS.
441
churches were attacked ; images were thrown down ; CH. XIII. monuments were defaced ; windows of painted glass, the unrivaled magnificence of which challenged the admira- 1566. tion of Europe, were destroyed. Within three days, more than four hundred churches, including those at the Hague, Leyden, and Amsterdam, were despoiled .*
The Duke of Alva presently began his bloody work. 1567. The patriot Counts of Egmont and Hoorn were arrested. The Inquisition was established, and the penal ediets en- forced with the utmost rigor. . Aspirations after civil and religious freedom were punished as treason against the king. The privileges and liberties which the Duteh had so long and so devotedly cherished were annihilated by the ereetion of a " Couneil of Troubles," which soon re- ceived the name it well merited, "The Council of Blood." The Coun- From the irresponsible decrees of this terrible tribunal there was no appeal. In the execution of its sanguinary judgments there was no mercy. The whole land was covered with gibbets ; and in a few weeks eighteen hund- red vietims perished by the hand of the executioner.t
cil of Blood.
The spirit of the Netherlanders rose against the tyran- The Dutch ny of their oppressors. Louis of Nassau, brother of the against rebel
Spain.
Prinee of Orange, entered the province of Groningen at the head of a party of the "Gueux," and routed the dis- 24 May. ciplined troops of Spain. This was the commencement of actual hostilities. Exasperated at the defeat of his forces, Alva instantly brought the Counts of Egmont and 3 June. Hoorn to a moek trial. They were at onee condemned to death; and on the morning of the fifth of June, 1568, the 1568. 5 June. proto-martyrs for the Dutch Republie were beheaded in Execution of Egmont the great square before the Hotel de Ville at Brussels. and Hoorn. As soon as the fatal work was done, the people pressed around the scaffold, and dipped their handkerchiefs in the blood ; vowing, after the manner of their forefathers, to leave their beards and hair uneut until the wrongs of their country and the murders of her sons were avenged.# And they nobly kept their faith.
* Meteren, ii., 44. + Davies, i., 548, 553. # Meteren, ii:, 58; Davies, i., 561.
442
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
refused a refuge in England.
CH. XIII. Driven from their own country, many of the Gueux 1568. sought refuge in England. But Alva peremptorily re- quired Elizabeth not to afford encouragement to the rebel The Gueux subjects of Spain. The queen assented to Alva's demand, and ordered the Gueux to quit her ports. Thus expelled from their last refuge, a party of the patriots under the command of William van de Marck, who had joined in the romantic vow to avenge the murders of Egmont and 1572. Hoorn, suddenly appeared before the town of Brielle, at the mouth of the Maese, and captured it with little oppo- sition. The Gueux were once more on their native land.
1 April. Capture of the Brielle.
The standard of revolt was soon openly set up in Hol- land. Alva attempted to enforce a levy of one penny in The people every ten. But the people-faithful to their hereditary refuse to pay Alva's arbitrary tax. principle of "Taxation only by consent"-resisted the de- mand. It was not the payment of the tax itself that they resisted so much as the mode of its levy. "Omnia dabant ne decimam darent."* They periled every thing to stop the exaction of an arbitrary tithe. Deputies from the no- June. bles and from the towns, meeting at Dordrecht, acknowl- edged the Prince of Orange as stadtholder, and voted lev- ies of money and of men to oppose the encroaching tyran- ny of Spain.t Haerlem was closely besieged by the Span- iards, and forced to surrender, after seven months of almost
Haerlem and Alck- maer be- sieged. 1573. unparalleled suffering. Yet the conquest cost the victors 14 July. twelve thousand men. Alckmaer, too, was invested ; but 10 October. the people, cutting through the dikes, deluged the Spanish camp, and the besieging army fled. The Prince of Orange and the States of Holland, in a long letter to the king, which was soon printed and distributed among the people, complained of the open violation of their liberties, under The people pretense of securing the Roman religion. "We contend demand lib- erty of con- for nothing less," said the States, "than for freedom of con- science. science, our wives and children, our lives and fortunes."#
* Grotius, Annals, ii., 49.
t The famous Dutch national song, " Wilhelmus van Nassauwen," is said to have been composed this year. Its author is not known with certainty. Some ascribe it to Philip van Marnix, lord of Saint Aldegonde ; others to Dirck Volkertsen Koornheet .- Brandt, x., 535 ; Davies, ii., 362. # Brandt, x., 545.
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443
THE UNIVERSITY OF LEYDEN FOUNDED.
Alva was now recalled, though Philip did not relax his CH. XIII. efforts to subjugate the people of the Netherlands. Ley- den, besieged by an enormous Spanish army, was bravely November. 1573. defended by its burgher guards alone. The States of Hol. Alva re- called. land, assembled at Rotterdam, finding that it was idle to 1574. think of breaking the blockade with any forces which they sieged. could muster, resolved, at the suggestion of the Prince of Orange, to cut the dikes and open the sluices, so as to admit vessels with supplies up to the gates of the famish- ed city. The damage was estimated at an enormous sum ; " but," said the patriotic deputies, "it is better that the country should be ruined than lost." The dikes were cut; The people the waters of the Meuse rushed over the land ; flat-bot- dikes. cut the tomed boats, loaded with provisions, rode in triumph over the waves ; the Spaniards abandoned the sixty-two forts they had erected around the besieged city ; and Leyden was saved. The liberated inhabitants repaired to their 3 October. principal church, to offer thanks to that God " who had made for them a sea upon the dry land." In commemo- ration of the siege, the States of Holland offered to found either a university or a fair at Leyden. The citizens Leyden chose a university, which was established the next year, founded. University and in the learning of Grotius, Scaliger, Boerhaave, and others of its sons, has proved a noble monument to the heroic cause which gave it birth .*
Negotiations were presently opened, on the part of Hol- 1575. land, for an accommodation with Philip. But Don Louis de Requesens, the new Spanish viceroy,t insisting, as a Requesens preliminary, that the service of the Reformed Church viceroy. should wholly cease, and that the Reformed clergy should leave the country, it soon became evident that no recon- ciliation could take place with the bigoted king. A year 1576. afterward, the atrocious sack of Antwerp aroused the ab- Antwerp. Sack of
* Meteren, v., 107 ; Davies, ii., 14, 15.
t Requesens was perhaps the ablest of the Spanish governors of the Low Countries. To him the Netherlands are, at all events, indebted for the introduction, in 1575, of the uniform system of reckoning the year as beginning on the 1st of January. The States of Holland had long before adopted this calculation, and endeavored, as early as 1532, to bring it into general use. The Gregorian, or new style, was adopted by Holland in 1582 ; but it was not by England until the year 1753.
Leyden be-
444
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
1576. Pacification of Ghent.
CH. XIII. horrence of Europe, and hastened the signature of an agreement among the provinces, commonly known as the " Pacification of Ghent." The articles of this treaty pro- vided for a full amnesty for all offenses; for a firm alliance between the provinces, and mutual assistance to expel the Spaniards ; for the toleration of both Catholics and Prot- estants ; for the suspension of the penal edicts; and that no decrees of the king were to be published without the con- sent of the Prince of Orange and the States of the several provinces. The publication of this instrument was re- ceived with the liveliest joy throughout the Netherlands ; and the great charter of union was thenceforward consid- ered as the fundamental law of the country. An envoy was immediately sent to England to solicit the assistance of the queen ; and Elizabeth promptly agreed to a loan of one hundred thousand pounds to the States, upon condition that they should not make any treaty without her partici- pation .*
8 Nov.
Elizabeth assists the Dutch.
Don John, of Austria, viceroy. 1577. 17 Feb.
Contin- gents of troops fur- nished by Elizabeth.
Early the next year, Don John of Austria, who had suc- ceeded Requesens as viceroy, accepted the Pacification of Ghent, and issued the famous " Perpetual Edict," by which he consented to the assembling of the States General, and to the departure of the Spanish forces.t But Don John was only dissembling. He had secretly dispatched letters to Spain, asking for new supplies of troops; and these let- ters having been intercepted, were published by the Prince of Orange. No time was now to be lost. The citadel of Antwerp, and other important fortresses, were immediate- ly occupied by the troops of the States. William of Or- ange was invited to Brussels, and elected Governor of Bra- bant. An embassy was again dispatched to London; and Elizabeth engaged to send troops into the Netherlands, and supply them with another hundred thousand pounds. The queen likewise obtained the concession that the command- er of her forces should have a seat in the Council of State, and that any disputes which might arise between the prov- inces should be referred to her.#
* Meteren, vi., 125, 131. t Ibid., vi., 132. t Ibid., vii., 144.
445
THE UNION OF UTRECHT.
Open war was now declared. The Pope proclaimed a Cu. XIII. crusade against the heretics in the Netherlands, and bless- ed the crucifix in the banner of Don John. The bull of 1578.
18 Feb. Gregory XIII. influenced the Walloon provinces, the most Open war of the inhabitants of which were attached to the Roman The south proclaimed. religion, to withdraw from the common cause, and adopt inces with- ern prov- a policy of neutrality. William of Orange soon saw that draw. the real hope for safety and success was a cordial and firm alliance of the northern provinces of the Netherlands. A new Assembly was therefore convoked at Utrecht, under the auspices of his brother, Count John of Nassau, which was attended by delegates from the provinces of Holland, Zealand, Utrecht, Guelderland, and the Ommeland of Gron- ingen. After waiting several days for deputies from the 1579. other provinces, those assembled proclaimed, on their own Union of 23 January. the north authority, the famous " UNION OF UTRECHT," framed, as its ern prov- preamble declared, "for the purpose of protecting them- Utrecht inces at selves against the attempts of the Spaniards to separate and dismember the provinces, and to render the Pacifica- tion of Ghent of none effect, and thereby to bring them into subjection and slavery."* This "Union," which was soon afterward acceded to by the provinces of Friesland, Overyssel, and Groningen, became the fundamental basis of the Dutch Republic ; virtually disowning the authority of Spain ; preserving to each province its own sovereign- ty, and its own peculiar laws and privileges ; granting to all the unmolested exercise of their own religion ; provid- ing for a uniform currency ; restraining any one province from making foreign alliances without the consent of the rest ; and consolidating an indissoluble connection of all the " United Provinces of the Netherlands," for mutual defense and protection, in the spirit of their patriotic mot- to, " Eendragt maakt magt"-UNITY MAKES MIGHT.
For a time, the Dutch preserved some show of respect for the person and the name of the king. But finding, be- fore long, that instead of relieving them from the evils which they had suffered, he was resolved to oppress them still
* Meteren, viii., 148 ; Davies, il., 74-79.
446
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
26 July.
Provinces declare their inde- pendence.
CH. XIII. further, they determined to affix the seal to their charter 1579. of liberty, by openly renouncing all allegiance to Philip II. Following the example of the province of Holland, the States General solemnly executed their deliberate purpose. 1581. Assembling in large numbers at the Hague, they publish- The United ed a declaration, asserting the great truth that " subjects are not created for the prince, but the prince for the. sub- jects," who have always the right to abjure allegiance to a bad sovereign; and, after enumerating the offenses com- mitted by Philip against the laws and the liberties of the Netherlands, declaring him, " ipso jure," deposed from his sovereignty, right, and heritage in the Low Countries, and the inhabitants released from all fealty to their repudiated king. This remarkable State Paper, which for its clear conceptions of the principles of political freedom, and its distinct assertion of the rights and powers of the people, was the wonder of its age, had scarcely a parallel in his- tory-except, perhaps, the " Declaration of Right" of 1688, under which the Prince of Orange, a native Dutchman, ascended the English throne as William III .- until nearly two centuries afterward, when the representatives of the 1776. United States of America threw off the yoke of Great Brit- ain, and published their Declaration of Independence .*
It is needless to trace, in detail, the progress of public events in the Netherlands for the next sixty-seven years. During the first part of that period, the nominal sovereign- ty of the country was vested, for a short time, in, the Duke of Anjou, but the executive power was virtually exercised by William, prince of Orange, the stadtholder of Holland, 1584. Zealand, and Utrecht. The assassination of the prince at Delft, in the midst of his friends, and in the heart of a country where he was loved almost to veneration, com- pelled new arrangements. William's second son, Maurice, was immediately named governor by the States General, and was also created stadtholder of the provinces of Hol- land and Zealand. It soon became obvious, however, from the unremitted exertions of the King of Spain, that foreign
10 July. Murder of William of Orange.
Maurice created stadthold- er.
* Meteren, x., 209 ; Davies, ii., 102-111. See also Appendix, note P.
447
THE DUTCH DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
aid must be obtained, or the Netherlands would be in CH. XIII. danger of subjugation. A solemn embassy, headed by the patriot Olden Barneveldt, was therefore sent to England, 1584. and Elizabeth consented to the appointment of her favor- The Earl ite Leicester as governor general of the provinces in her governor name. The queen also sent a large army to assist the general. Dutch, from whom she obtained the pledge of Flushing, Rammekens, and the Brielle, until her expenses should be 1585. repaid. But Leicester soon rendered himself so unpopu- lar with the Dutch, that within two years he was recall- ed. The campaigns of the Dutch armies were conducted with splendid success by the youthful stadtholder, Prince Maurice, and the Dutch fleets were almost invariably vic- Constant torious on the seas. The proud King of Spain, ruined by of the successes constant losses, was obliged to declare his insolvency ; and Dutch. soon afterward the baffled and humiliated monarch sunk into the grave. Philip III. was, if possible, still more hos- 1598. tile toward the Dutch than his father had been; but it was his fate to see them achieve the political independence for which they panted. In 1609, he was obliged to sign 1609. a truce for twelve years with his victorious foes, and to ad- mit them formally to a participation in the Indian trade. At the end of the truce, hostilities were renewed, only to 1621. end in the full, free, and unequivocal acknowledgment of the sovereignty of the Netherlands by Philip IV., in the treaty at Munster, of 1648. Thus, inch by inch, and year 1648. by year, through nearly three generations of men, and triumpli. against three successive kings of Spain, the Dutch con- tended for their liberties; and their unanimous spirit of popular freedom at last obtained its noble and triumphant reward.
The Dutch manifesto of 1581 was the necessary result The Dutch of that irrepressible spirit of civil liberty which ever ani- erning peo- a self-gov- mated the descendants of the Batavians. The declara- ple. tion of their independence of Spain was merely a formal assertion of their right to govern themselves. Practically, Holland had governed herself long before ; practically, she had governed herself from the time her toil-trained burgh-
of Leicester
Their final
448
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
1648. Character of the Dutch.
CH. XIII. ers first maintained the right of self-assessment, and wrung from Mary of Burgundy the " Great Charter" of 1477. For many ages the Dutch had been accustomed to think for themselves, to do, and to endure; to rely with calm courage upon their own unaided efforts; to act with stern energy and firm will ; to fight, from youth to age, " their fathers' fight" against the inexorable elements ; to med- itate toilsome enterprises at their firesides, and counsel great deeds together in their villages and towns ; to trust with undoubting confidence their neighbor's word ; to be- lieve, with steady faith, that work is the true lot of man, in which each one is bound to be diligently employed. They were earnest, self-relying men, in whom the habit of personal independence had created the desire of sep- arate nationality .* It was not the revolt of the Nether- land Provinces from Spain, nor the union of the Nether- land Provinces at Utrecht, which made the Dutch a nation of heroes, and statesmen, and patriots, any more than it was the revolt of the American colonies from England, or the confederation of the American States, which made the people of the United States a brave, capable, and patriotic people. The characters of both nations had been gradual- ly formed by long years of experience in self-government, and by long endurance of oppression and suffering, before they openly renounced their allegiance to their sovereigns, and took the administration of their own affairs entirely into their own hands.
Their sys- tom of ad- ministra- tion as a re- public.
The States General.
With the declaration of the national independence of the Dutch came the necessity of modifying their system of ad- ministration ; and the people of the United Provinces soon matured a form of government better adapted to their po- litical condition as a commonwealth. The management of the affairs of the republic was vested in five chief pow- ers : the States General; the Council of State ; the Cham- ber of Accounts; the Stadtholder, and the Colleges of the Admiralty. Each province appointed its own deputies to sit in the assembly of the States General, and regulated
* Richesse de la Holl., i., pref., 9 ; McCullagh, ii., 235, 237, 238.
449
THE STATES GENERAL OF THE NETHERLANDS.
their numbers, the modes of their choice, and the periods CH. XIII. of their service. But, in conformity to established regu- lation, each province had only one suffrage in the States 1648. General, whatever might be the number of its deputies.
The States General usually sat at the Hague. It was Character not, in a true sense, a representative body, but rather a tions of the and func- deputation. It had no claim to sovereignty. It obeyed eral. the instructions of its constituents to the letter. When a
States Gen- new subject was introduced, new directions were applied for to the provinces. Neither war nor peace could be made without the unanimous consent of these provinces. Nei- ther money nor troops could be raised without the same unanimity. Yct, with all the restrictions on its power, the States General had much influence and authority. It received and appointed ambassadors, and conducted the foreign relations of the republic ; and the reports which it addressed to the different provinces usually had great ef- feet upon the resolutions which each adopted. The aver- age number of deputies at the ordinary meetings of the States General was about twelve or fourteen. These meet- ings were held in an oblong and beautifully-decorated apartment in the old palace of the Binnenhof, or "inner court," which formed a part of the ancient residence of the Counts of Holland at the Hague. The Grand Pensionary of Holland, who was always a member, the "Greffier," or Clerk of the States General, the Treasurer of the Union, and the Secretary of the Council of State, formed what may perhaps be called the "ministry." Of these, the Gref- fier was generally the man of affairs ; and in his small, modestly-furnished office, adjoining the decorated apart- ment of the States General, the gravest concerns of the re- publie were often arranged, and foreign ambassadors fre- quently transacted their most important business. In the assembly of the States General, each provinee presided in turn for a week. The presiding deputy proposed all ques- tions ; directed the Greffier to read all papers ; put the question, and announced the conclusion. The States Gen- eral were frequently denominated the " Generaletiet ;"
FF
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HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
CH. XIII. their formal title was " Hoogh Mogende Heeren," " High and Mighty Lords."
1648. Council of State.
The Council of State, which was next in authority to the States General, was established in 1584, and consist- ed of twelve members, exclusive of the Treasurer General. It was composed of three members from Holland, two from Zealand, two from Friesland, two from Guelderland, one from Utrecht, one from Overyssel, and one from Gronin- gen. The authority of this council was confined to mili- tary and financial affairs, and in most instances it could adopt no resolution without the concurrence of the States General.
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