“If 1066 is said to be the most important date in English history, what is the equivalent in another country?” History essay competition May 2020 After some debate with relatives and friends, I have chosen the date of 1579 as the most historically significant year in the history of the Netherlands. In 1566, the Iconoclasm reached northern Europe. This event was preceded by several responses of the Catholic church to the surge of Protestantism and Calvinism. In the large churches of cities like Antwerp and Ghent, countless statues and books were lost forever. It has been said that one could cross the river Leie in Ghent due to all the books that were thrown in the water. The Spanish occupier was outraged. He sent one of his mightiest men, the Duke of Alva, to the area to filter out these heretics. Alva tightened control and enforced new religious persecutions. He was not popular at all in the provinces, and even Catholics questioned his strategies. William of Orange, in all aspects his counterpart, did not agree with these policies at all. He was stadtholder (governor) of Holland and preferred tolerance between religions and wanted power to remain with the provinces. He fled to the Holy Roman empire, where he gathered resources to build an army to invade the Netherlands. On the 4th of November 1576, Antwerp was plundered. The Spanish mercenaries that were stationed there had not been payed in months, some even for years. In an act of mutiny, frustrated by there circumstances, Antwerp was raided. Allegedly, the Spanish mutineers screamed: “Santiago! España! A sangre, a carne, a fuego, a sacco!”, which roughly translates to Saint-Jacob! Spain! Murder, rape, burn and plunder! This later became known as the Spanish fury. However, it should be noted that most of the soldiers were hired mercenaries, from all over Europe. Frightened of these plunders, the provinces were quick to set up the Pacification of Ghent, to work together to fight the Spanish, and allow the States General to meet whenever they felt the need to. Previously, this had to be decided by the king. This decree was an accomplishment of William of Orange, who sought to unite the provinces. This pacification did not last long. The southern provinces, like West-Flanders and Hainaut, eventually chose the side of Philips II: most of their inhabitants were Catholics and saw Philips as their king. Even today, most of Belgium is Catholic, whereas Protestantism is still the main religion in the Netherlands today. Many Calvinists and protestants traded the cities of Antwerp, Ghent, and Louvain for the provinces, and took their wealth with them. The southern states had forged an agreement with Philips, the Union of Atrecht, a small town in Northern France. Now that the Pacification was deemed defunct, a new alliance was needed, and quick. Governors, stadtholder, and the richer nobility met together on the 23rd of January 1579 to create the Union of Utrecht. The provinces promised to create a mutual army, respect each other’s religious policy and be tolerant of other religions. This documented paved the way for the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, which would eventually evolve into the country now known as the Netherlands. This document was made during times of war, and was an alliance against the Spanish. However, it would take another two years to officially declare the independence from Spain. Philips sent the Duke of Parma to fight these rebellious heretics. Parma never got the time to finish his work: the new republic was on the verge of defeat when the third French religious war broke out, diverting attention to France in stead of Holland. During the ten years in which France was at war, the provinces used the opportunity to strengthen troups, set up military academics, fortify existing walls and protections. A Dutch historian: “the situation went from nearly lost for the Republic in 1588 to nearly won in 1598” The young Republic would continue fighting until 1648, when the peace treaty was finally signed. The Union of Utrecht is one of the most important documents in the Netherlands history, because it’s the first occasion on which the Netherlands can be regarded as a real country. The young Republic succeeded in several terrains, despite not having the same military might as its enemy.
