." This all confirmed the fears of Philip II and to prevent even the merest chance of this happening, Philip agreed to the enforcement of the reforms. [17] Subsequent reforms met with much opposition, which was mainly directed at Granvelle. "Catholicism and Resistance to the Reformation in the Northern Netherlands". The Roman Catholic religion was restored in much of this area. Geyl, Pieter. Because of this duplicity, the Catholic nobles from the southern Low Countries arranged for the Austrian Archduke Matthias (1557–1619) to replace Don Juan as governor-general, but this arrangement was never recognized by Philip II.
By now, it had become clear that Spanish control of the Southern Netherlands was strong. [10] In a society dependent on trade, freedom and tolerance were considered essential. Refer to each style’s convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. Charles V and Philip II set out to improve the management of the empire by increasing the authority of the central government in matters like law and taxes,[13] a policy which caused suspicion both among the nobility and the merchant class. The acceptance of a non-monarchic country by the other European powers in 1648 spread across Europe, fueling resistance against the divine power of Kings.
An example of this is the takeover of power in the city of Utrecht in 1528, when Charles V supplanted the council of guild masters governing the city by his own stadtholder, who took over worldly powers in the whole province of Utrecht from the archbishop of Utrecht. While not all of Holland and Zeeland could accept William's position (Amsterdam remained loyal to Philip), the two provinces united in the summer of 1575 with William of Orange as their leader. The northern provinces became independent, first in 1581 de facto, and in 1648 de jure. One of the most notable features of this war are the number of mutinies by the troops in the Spanish army because of arrears of pay. William's nominal purpose was to remove misguided ministers like Alba, end rebellion, and thus restore the proper authority of King Phillip. [11] The harsh measures of suppression led to increasing grievances in the Netherlands, where the local governments had embarked on a course of peaceful coexistence. The fate of the Spanish Armada is well-known, but this naval defeat did not hamper Spanish abilities on land. This large realm was almost continuously at war with its neighbors in its European heartlands, most notably against France in the Italian Wars and against the Ottoman Empire in the Mediterranean Sea.
The Dutch imposed a rigid blockade on the southern provinces that prevented Baltic grain from relieving famine in the southern towns, especially from 1587 to 1589.
Charles was raised in the Netherlands and spoke fluent Dutch, French, and Spanish, along with some German. ships out to get aid from exiled Calvinist communities in England, but it was too late and Louis's "Sea Beggars" (Watergeuzen) eventually turned to privateering. [6] He continued the policy of his father of appointing members of the high nobility of the Netherlands to the Raad van State (Council of State), the governing body of the seventeen provinces that advised the governor. He was recognized as Governor-General and Stadholder of Holland, Zeeland, Friesland, and Utrecht at a meeting in Dordrecht in July 1572. The Dutch East India Company was founded to administer all Dutch trade with the East, while the Dutch West India Company did the same for the West.
During the ceasefire the Dutch made great efforts to build their navy, which was later to have a crucial bearing on the course of the war. Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). In January 1579 the northern provinces (Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Friesland, Gelderland, and Ommelanden) concluded the Union of Utrecht, effectively establishing the United Provinces.