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What was the beginning of the Dutch War of Independence

Facing Spain’s autocratic rule and religious persecution, the anti-feudal struggle of the Dutch people, led by religious struggle, gradually rose. Calvinism grew rapidly in the Netherlands, and armed Calvinists clashed with the authorities and the church from time to time.

In 1531, the Schmalkalden League was formed against the dictatorship of Charles V. The Schmalkalden League consisted of 10,000 infantry and 2,000 knights, allied with France in 1532 and Denmark in 1538. Although the Schmalkalden League did not openly declare war on the Habsburg dynasty represented by Charles V, it fully supported Martin Luther’s religious revolution. They confiscated the territories and properties occupied by the church and expelled bishops and Catholic princes.

In 1544, Charles V and France truce, the two sides formed an alliance, and with the support of Pope Paul III, they assembled the army and began to suppress the Dutch revolution. The internal disputes of the Schmalkalden Union provided a good opportunity for Charles V to counterattack. On April 24, 1547, the army of Charles V defeated the army of the Union of Schmalkalden at the Battle of Mühlberg. However, the Schmalkalden alliance was not reconciled to failure and continued to expand its forces to fight against the Habsburg army.

In order to consolidate his rule in the Netherlands, Charles V established the Treasury and the Privy Council, and sent the governor to assist him in managing the affairs of the Netherlands, which made the Netherlands lose the high degree of autonomy that it had in the past. He also established religious courts to unify the religious beliefs of the Dutch people and to control and persecute infidels. In 1550, Charles V issued an edict to hide and help heretics with the same crime as heretics. People refer to this edict as the “Bloody Edict”.

Charles V also increased taxes in the Netherlands and extorted people’s wealth. Half of Spain’s total annual treasury revenue came from the Netherlands. Charles V tried his best to implement an expansionary policy. In order to support the huge military expenditure, the government increased the taxation of the Netherlands, which further aggravated social conflicts. At that time, Charles V had no fear of foreign expansion, and even the Pope was disturbed, and to some extent began to sympathize with and support the struggle of the Schmalkalden Union.

In 1552, the army of Charles V was defeated. In 1555, Charles V concluded the “Augsburg Peace Treaty” through the Schmalkalden Alliance, which recognized the right of the Dutch princes to decide their own religious beliefs. Land and property confiscated and occupied by the Protestants remain theirs. But according to the decree of Charles V, bishops and monks who converted to Protestantism no longer enjoyed their old offices and salaries.

After the signing of the Treaty of Augsburg, many Dutch princes converted to Protestantism. The religious revolution of the Dutch people achieved partial victory, but the Habsburg dynasty did not give up the persecution of paganism.

Charles V began to fade out of government after his last attempt to defeat the Protestant princes in 1555 failed. Since his territory was too vast and scattered, he divided it between his younger brother Ferdinand and his son Philip. Among them he gave his personal empire – Spain and the Low Countries – to his son Philip II.

From 1566, the main problem facing Philip II was that of the Netherlands. This is a complex issue intertwined with religious, ideological and ethnic contradictions, and it is also a thorny issue left over by Charles V.

In 1559, before Philip II left the Netherlands to come to Spain, he handed over the power to the illegitimate daughter of Charles V, Margarita, Duke of Parma. For this purpose, a committee headed by Cardinal Gravilla was specially established. Auxiliary. Governor Margarita, with the connivance of Cardinal Gravella, used the Inquisition to continue suppressing the Protestant Reformation and persecuting Protestants. Protestant organizations around the world launched armed struggles against the Margarita regime.

The aristocracy represented by William of Orange, Prince of Orange, and Earl of Egmont supported the Calvinist Protestant Reformation, distrusted Cardinal Gravilla, and demanded that Philip II give them more suffrage. Philip II was forced to transfer the Cardinal of Gravilla, but also rejected the demands of freedom of belief put forward by the Dutch aristocracy. At that time the doctrinal reformation in the Netherlands had made great progress, and Philip II did not want to make any concessions to the Protestant demands for Protestant freedom.

In order to eliminate the influence of Calvinism and the teachings of Martin Luther, he ordered the establishment of 17 small Christian parishes in the Netherlands, replacing the original three parishes, and used force to maintain Jesus’ activities by force. On April 5, 1565, William and Earl of Egmont of Orange submitted a petition to Governor Margarita, demanding the repeal of the “Bloody Edict”, the abolition of the Inquisition, and the granting of freedom of religion.

Governor Margarita was forced to make concessions, but Philip II was very tough, rejecting the demands of the Protestant leaders and giving these Protestants the nickname “beggars”.

Protestants acted violently. In mid-August 1566, under the leadership of the Fierce Faction, the people launched the famous “Destruction of the Statues” movement. Its leaders were artisans, commoners and peasants. The movement developed rapidly. By October, the uprising wave swept almost half of the Netherlands, and spread to 12 of the 17 provinces, with tens of thousands of participants. ”

The slogan “Long live the beggars” rang all over the country with unprecedented momentum. 5,500 churches and monasteries were destroyed in the Netherlands, which opened the prelude to the Dutch revolution.