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The first stage of the Dutch War of Independence

The Dutch War of Independence did not succeed all at once, but was divided into two phases. The first stage of independence and anti-independence, from 1568 to 1609, signed a twelve-year truce in 1609, but the maritime competition did not stop.

On May 23, 1568, the Royal Army led by the Duke of Alva encountered William of Orange at Heilichele in the province of Groningen, resulting in heavy casualties. The Battle of Heliherai is often seen as the beginning of the Eighty Years’ War. Alva’s Royal Army was victorious at the Battle of Hemmingen two months later. 10,000 men led by Louis de Nassau (Louis of Nassau), brother of William of Orange, were annihilated by the Duke of Alva.

After the defeat of the Battle of Hemmingen, Wilhelm of Orange once again went into exile in Germany, regrouping and preparing for another battle. In order to continue to resist the brutal repression of Philip II, the Protestants reorganized and sought foreign aid, and finally won the support of the English Protestants. But the massacre of 1572 hit the Huguenots so badly that it was impossible to give the Netherlands any further support. Moreover, the military resources were extremely scarce, so the combat effectiveness of William of Orange’s army gradually weakened.

In 1573, the “sea beggars” annihilated Le Alva’s fleet in Xu Dehai. Alva was recalled to Spain in order to hold him accountable for the failure of the military operation and the mutiny caused by the withholding of wages. In October 1574, the Dutch fleet broke through the blockade and brought supplies into the city, and the hopeless Spaniards were forced to retreat. The failure of the siege of Leiden was a turning point in the Spanish cause in the Netherlands, and since then they have never been so close to total victory as they had in 1569 and 1572, and the cause of the Prince of Orange could no longer be suppressed by force alone.

On September 1, 1575, Spain, with debts as high as more than 50 million ducats, declared bankruptcy again, and the treasury terminated the payment of all bills. The bankruptcy order caused a storm in the financial centers of Genoa and Antwerp, with disastrous consequences. For Rexons and the Netherlands, this is the end of the road.

In 1576 Don Juan was appointed governor of the Netherlands, and on 3 October 1576 a brutal robbery by the Spanish army took place in Antwerp. Therefore, the 10 southern states, which used to have an ambiguous attitude towards Spain, took that robbery as an opportunity to favor and support William of Orange. And on November 8th, it surpassed the barriers of race and language, and signed the “Ghent Agreement”, abolishing all decrees issued by the Duke of Alva and restoring the city’s original autonomy. The representatives of the provinces vowed to unite to drive out the Spanish army and to give the provinces legislative powers to grant amnesty to those arrested for insurgents.

At the beginning of 1577, Don Juan began to negotiate with the representatives of the provinces and signed the “Permanent Decree” on February 17, after which Philip II withdrew the infantry regiment to Italy. On the death of Don Juan in October 1578, Philip II appointed Alexander Farnese governor of the Netherlands on the advice of Don Juan during his lifetime. Alexander Farnese skillfully used the conflict of interest between the north and the south of the Netherlands, and carefully used the strategy of alienation. He first ensured political freedom for the Southern Trinity, centered on the Catholic aristocracy.

In 1579, the Catholic “Arras League” was successfully established in 10 southern states separated from the north, which is now Belgium. Therefore, the seven northern states immediately formed the “Utrecht League”, and in 1581 issued a declaration of independence from Spain, thus giving birth to the Federal Republic of the Netherlands, electing William of Orange as the first ruling.

Philip II was brooding about the “Utrecht League”, and he died soon after. So, on July 10, 1584, a fanatical French Catholic was dispatched to assassinate William of Orange. Then, his son, 18-year-old Maurice of Nassau, succeeded the Dutch government. In July 1584, Alexander Farnese led an army to occupy Amberes, and the British decided to send troops to support, and the British took over as the protector of the Dutch insurgents. Among a range of other things to consider, most notably the British invasion of the Spanish New World, which exposed Philip II to a new threat.

By the time the Duke of Parma left the stage (he died in 1592), Maurice of Nassau had grown into one of the greatest military strategists of his day, and he was even approached from abroad. After a series of struggles, the Spaniards retreated from all fronts, and the territory of the Dutch Republic began to take on a contemporary situation.

The East India Company was founded in 1602 by Johan van Alden Barnefeldt. In 1607 the Dutch fleet attacked the port of Gibraltar, causing serious damage to a Spanish squadron anchored there. Spain was financially bankrupt that year. Both sides were exhausted and eager for a truce, eventually reaching a twelve-year truce in 1609.