what was the revolt of the netherlands?

Answer 1

The Revolt of the Spanish Netherlands lead to the collapse of Spain as a major European power. By 1618 - the start of the Thirty Years War - no catholic country saw Spain as a useful ally.

The area concerned was part of the Habsburg Empire and known as the Spanish Netherlands. Up to his abdication in 1555, the area was run by Charles V and for all his faults - especially his financial burdening of the region with regards to taxes - he was a Burgundian and he spoke Flemish. His successor, Philip II did not and he was also not a Burgundian. He was seen as being cold and arrogant and after 1559 he never visited the Spanish Netherlands.

The population of the Spanish Netherlands was 3 million with about 300 cities. There was immense local patriotism in the area which was split by language. There were seventeen provinces. The fourteen northern provinces spoke Dutch dialects while the three southern ones spoke Walloon. The nobles spoke French though more so in the South than in the North.

Philip needed the region for its wealth. Antwerp was the centre from which bullion from the New World was distributed and its financiers were experts in raising loans - a point not lost on Philip.

By the mid-C16, the spread of Calvinism in the Low Countries had taken hold. The Habsburg-Valois Wars had ended in 1559 so movement throughout western Europe was easier. Calvinism found support from the lower classes, lesser nobles and town leaders. In 1566, Calvinism within the region was based in Antwerp. The religion spread rapidly. The flood of Calvinism took place after Charles V’s reign. As a strong catholic, Philip had to be seen to be taking on Calvinism. Philip determined to rid The region of heresy.

To start with the Inquisition was barely effective in the region. However, Philip believed that if Calvinism was successfully tackled it would enhance his power and put the region very much under his power. Philip was astute enough to move cautiously.

He appointed wealthy and powerful magnates as provincial governors. Technically they were responsible to Madrid. The provincial governors were known as stadtholders. William of Orange became stadtholder of Holland, Utrecht and Zeeland while the Count of Egmont took charge of Flanders and Artois. The Estates-General had power in the Spanish Netherlands and Philip had little power over them. The logic was for the stadtholders to control the Estates-General and therefore rule them on Philip's behalf This control did not happen.

In 1558, Philip was in need of money. William of Orange persuaded the Estates-General to grant Philip a 9 year subsidy. In return, Philip had to accept a remonstrance setting out liberties required by the Spanish Netherlands. Philip agreed to pull out Spanish troops stationed there and this took place in 1561. This was an example of the magnates dictating terms to Philip when he was in need of money. But a far more important example took place.

Philip's regent in the region was Margaret of Parma - an illegitimate daughter of Charles V. She was advised by a Council of State which comprised of the great magnates and leading officials within the region. The real power lay with the Council’s president. At the time, this was held by an Erasmian-influenced Burgundian called Anthony Perrenot, Lord of Granvelle. He was seen by the nobles of the Spanish Netherlands to be the mouth-piece of Philip II and the magnates believed that their power was being diminished by him. The magnates called for his dismissal. The three leading were William of Orange, the Count of Egmont and the Duke of Aerschot. All three men were very wealthy but they were conservative. They were not consciously revolutionary but they saw Philip as being a damaging influence to the Spanish Netherlands "liberties which they identified with their own interests" (Lockyer).

In 1559 it was decided to appoint three new archbishops and fourteen new bishops for the Spanish Netherlands. This would include new Low Countries sees and if pushed through would create an autonomous ecclesiastical organisation for the region. There was nothing wrong with this but the magnates real fear was that it might lead to a government shake-up which would result in a more centralised administration which would take power away from the stadtholders. The bishops were also to be appointed by the crown and as they sat on the Estates-General they would increase royal power there. The town leaders were not keen on this as they wielded much power in the Estates-General. The ordinary people were also fearful that the appointments would lead to greater religious persecution and that the Inquisition would start to asset itself All three sectors of society were angered - the rich, the merchants and the general population. The new bishops had to travel with an armed guard for their own protection. How did this affect Granvelle ? He was appointed a cardinal and became the first primate of the Netherlands.

There was general unrest throughout the region. Margaret of Parma was prompted to call the Assembly of the Knights of the Golden Fleece n June 1562. This was made up of magnates who enjoyed freedom of speech while the assembly was in session. They sent a magnate to Spain to see Philip II criticised Granvelle and called for Margaret to call the Estates-General. Philip did nothing and in March 1563, William of Orange (effectively leading the Estates-General) demanded Granvelle’s dismissal. This did not happen and William resigned from the Council of State along with other magnates. Margaret was powerless to maintain law and order as she had no Spanish troops in the region and relied on the magnates to ensure law and order was maintained. Philip was too concerned in the Mediterranean to get involved and ordered that Margaret should make concessions. In 1564, Granvelle was dismissed. Egmont and William of Orange rejoined the Council of State and all seemed stable.

Answer 2

Hi, well "heavyhand002" is essentially correct, however, the article he pasted while covering the important events of the Dutch Revolt, did not go into the most basic causes.
1) What was the called the Hapsburg Netherlands in 1572 was actually the remains of the great Duchy of Burgundy that played a key role in the culture late middle ages. Based on the French Duchy of Burgundy, an off-shoot of the French Royal family of Valois-Capet, began to acquire (by marriage and purchase) control over the lands of Flanders and Brabant (modern Belgium.) This area called the Low or Nether - lands (from their flatness) held the area of greatest urban and trade development in Northern Europe, the merchants of the cities had often revolted against the political control of their royal masters. The Dukes of Burgundy stuck a famous compromise called the Joyeuse Entree ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joyeuse_Entree )
That established the rights of the cities to make laws and to be consulted in cases of war or taxes - in other words the cities of the Netherlands got a degree of self-rule and the Dukes got money. As the Duchy got larger, hese rights were extended to all the Netherlander cities. In 1477 the last male ruler died and his daughter had married the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian of Hapsburg. After a war with France the lands were split, the old French duchy of Burgundy went back to France, but the new area acquired by the dukes went to the Hapsburgs - this was "the Netherlands" or 17 provinces ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventeen_Provinces ) covering modern Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg. A wealthy area with a long "tradition" of self-government.
2) The rule of the Netherlands had passed from Maximilian to his grandson Charles V to Charles son King Philip of Spain (of the Spanish Armada and Inquisition fame) in 1555. Philip had as his goals: A) the centralization of his vast inheritance (Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, parts of Italy, Spanish America.) B) the destruction of the Protestant (1519) movement. He attempted to enforce a form of inquisition on the Netherlands and tax the cities to pay for it. When some nobles protested against the breaking of the traditional freedoms of the Netherlands, King Philip sent a 10,000 man army to occupy the Netherlands and enforce his will. This led to events of the Dutch revolt narrated above.
So the revolt of the Netherlands was an attempt of urban merchants under the leadership of local nobles to maintain their liberties against the centralizing policies of the new "national" monarchies. The political revolt became involved in a religious revolt because Spain was the main Catholic power, so the rebels turned to the Protestants for support. You can read more fully about the revolt here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eighty_Years'_War

Answer 3

People finally got tired of wearing all those wooden shoes and revolted. They started wearing tennis shoes and flip flops. It was a lot more comfortable and far less noisy.