Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 12.djvu/86

74 74 HOLLAND [HISTORY. over seventeen provinces : that is, over four duchies- Brabant, Guelderland, Limburg, and Luxembourg ; seven counties Flanders, Artois, Hainault, Holland, Zealand, Namur, and Zutphen ; the margraviate of Antwerp ; and five lordsbips Friesland, Mechlin, Utrecht, Overyssel, and Groningen, with the Ommeland. After the death in 1530 of Margaret, who had con tinued to act for him with her accustomed wisdom and prudence, Charles V. at first treated the provinces with studied moderation : he redressed some of their griefs, re formed the administration and the coinage, issued sump tuary edicts, regulated their commerce, while he also re-enacted the severe laws against heresy, and gave full powers to the supreme court of Holland a body completely Mary of under his control. He then appointed his sister Mary, Hungary q ueen O f Hungary, regent of the Netherlands. She had at ^S 6 first no easy task ; for the provinces had on hand a war with Denmark, and Anabaptist troubles at home ; before long also she had to ask for increased supplies ; and while the Hollanders granted a large annual subsidy, they refused her a hearth tax which she demanded. Similar monetary questions in 1539 produced that famous struggle between the court and Ghent which was only ended by the personal intervention of the emperor ; after punishing severely the rebellious burghers, he passed on into Holland, and in 1540, in defiance of the acknowledged rights of the provinces, established a foreigner, Rene&quot; of Chalons, prince House of of Orange, as stadtholder of Holland, Zealand, and Utrecht. Orange- jj e } ms f or ced on them that great family which has &amp;gt;au- both shed lustre on the history of Holland, and defended there and elsewhere the liberties of Europe. Rene&quot; himself ruled but a short time ; he perished in France in 1544, leaving his territories to a little cousin, William of Nassau. In 1545-46 the estates gave the emperor men and money for his war against the Protestant princes of Germany ; after Miihlberg, the Netherlander hoped that they might now be freed from the foreign troops Charles had quartered among them. He, however, had other plans on hand, and determined to place permanently in the pro vinces 4000 horse, entirely at his own orders; he also laid before the estates in 1548 a scheme of incorporation, which aimed at making the Netherlands an integral portion of the empire, under the na:ne of the circle of Burgundy, and which he abandoned only after the refusal of the seven electors to Philip of make Philip king of the Romans. In 1549 he revisited the Spain, provinces and called Philip thither also, that they might see their future master; the young prince swore to main tain their rights and customs ; and so began between the Netherlands and him the formal relation which under cir cumstances elsewhere related (vol. v. 416, 417) became so real on October 25, 1555. After appointing Margaret of Parma, a natural daughter of Charles V., to be regent in the Netherlands, in 1559 Philip set sail for Spain, leaving, in spite of the remon strances of the estates, 4000 foreign troops, nominally to protect the frontiers, really to check the indepond- ence of the people, and to support the policy of religious persecution which had been resolved on. The real direc tion of all affairs was in the hands of the Burgundian Gran- churchman Antony Perrenot, bishop of Arras (afterwards so well known as Cardinal Granvella), who was chief of the &quot; consulta &quot; or secret council of three. A sharp attack on the Reformers now began. The first step, the proposal (which had originated with Charles) to reorganize the bishoprics of the Netherlands, was announced at once. Hitherto ecclesiastical affairs had been in the charge of four bishops, Arras, Cambray, Tournay, Utrecht, the last under the archbishop of Cologne, the others under Rheims. It was proposed now to establish a new and national hierarchy, independent of Germany and France, vella. with three archbishops and fifteen bishops : Mechlin, The nen the chief archbishopric, having under it Antwerp, Herzo- bishop- genbusch, Roermond, Ghent, Bruges, and Ypres ; Cam- ncs- bray, with Tournay, Arras, St Omer, and Namur ; Utrecht, with Haarlem, Middelburg, Leeuwarden, Groningen, and Deventer. Each bishop was to appoint nine new pre bendaries to help him in his diocese ; of the nine two should be inquisitors, specially told off to sniff out and hunt down heresy. Nor was this all ; it was believed that not merely would these new bishoprics strengthen the old episcopal inquisition, but that a more stringent form of inquisition was to be introduced, organized after the Spanish system, which had been long known for its efficient severity. The Netherlanders regarded the change, in fact, as part of a general plan for the subjection of the provinces from abroad, by means of foreign troops and ecclesiastics, with contempt of their feelings, rights, and liberties. All classes nobles, clergy, burghers, peasants disliked the new ecclesiastical system, and regarded Granvella, who became first archbishop of Mechlin, with detestation. Though the Spanish troops were withdrawn in 1560, the ferment was not quieted ; the nobles were uneasy, and, finding their position uncertain between the court and the populace, began to form confederacies and to head the resistance. Even such leading men as William of Orange, who tried to mediate between Government and the pro vinces, were driven into opposition ; in 1561 Granvella s overbearing acts alienated them still more, and Orange and Horn withdrew from the council. Even Margaret felt she could no longer rule with Granvella at her side ; and he at last, seeing that a crisis was coming on, withdrew into Burgundy in 1563. Now things were easier ; party badges were dropped, and men felt cooler. But at this moment the long labours of the Council of Tri- Trent were ending ; and, when in 1565 it finally pro- dentim mulgated its decrees, Philip determined to enforce their decrees acceptance throughout his dominions. Accordingly, he now made a more vehement attack on the Reformers ; and then it was that, in 1566, the Netherland nobles, led by Count Brederode, signed the famous &quot; Compromise,&quot; The with which the open rebellion of the provinces begins. &quot;Com Orange, Egmont, and Horn stood aloof. When, in their P romi first interview with the regent, the nobles appeared on foot, in sedulously plain guise and without arms, Berlay- raont standing by her side begged her not to be alarmed, &quot; for they were but a pack of beggars ;&quot; and the phrase being overheard, at Brederode s banquet that night it was gaily adopted by the young nobles as a party name, &quot; les gueux,&quot; and it became the fashion for patriots to wear beggar s garb, and a medal round the neck, bearing Philip s image on one side and a wallet on the other, with two hands crossed, and the legend u Fideles au roy jusqu a la besace.&quot; Orange, Egmont, and Horn, who dropped in on the revelry at Brederode s house, joined the merry scene and drank the beggars health. To deprecate Philip s anger at the &quot; Compromise,&quot; the Deput council of state sent the marquis of Bergen and Horn s tion tc brother, the lord of Montigny, Knights of the Golden Fleece PMl P and men of high repute, to Spain, where Philip received them kindly, but took good care that they should never again see their homes. Meanwhile he gathered forces with which to suppress the disturbances, which had become very serious. Open air preachings, guarded by armed men, were taking place throughout the provinces, and raised the excitement to such a height that it at last found vent in iconoclastic tumults, similar to those of France. This gave the court party only too good an excuse ; it could now interpose with authority on behalf of public order. Matters threatened war. Margaret played with the dis contented nobles, having orders from Spain to decoy