Texts concerning the Revolt of the Netherlands

26 Letters written by His Highness to the States, prelates, nobles, towns and some private persons of the provinces of the Netherlands, 14 August 1577 ¹

These letters were published by the governor Don John at Namur on 14 August 1577 in order to justify his attack of 24 July on the citadel of this town.

Now see that there are some peace-breakers and malcontents who have too much influence with these States. Some of them all ill-affected towards our Catholic religion or prompted by distrust caused by their bad conscience, others want to profit by the war, as they did the last time. They try in all possible ways to involve you in a new civil war, without knowing what purpose it would serve or how the country can derive profit from it - for, as you know, it is only deep misery, terrible disasters and total ruin which it can produce. We are surprised that such a small number of ill-advised evil-minded people have acquired so much credit and authority that they could get so many honest men, prelates, churchmen, seigniors, nobles, wise men, notabilities and good subjects, even though Catholics, to arm themselves against their own religion, their legitimate prince, their parents, friends, their fatherland and themselves, their flesh and blood.

If one examines the matter carefully, it is obvious that the war they want you to wage (for we will not begin it and we will wage it only de-

1 Lettres escriptes par son Altesse aux Estatz, prelatz, nobles, villes et aucuns particuliers des provinces du pays bas (Knuttel, no. 318).

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fensively, if we are forced to do so) is inevitably directed against the Catholic religion or against the king our sovereign seignior and legitimate prince or against ourselves. And it must be concluded that you want to change either your religion or your prince or your governor, or all three of them, If you oppose the religion, of what use is the promise of all the States, repeated so many times,² that they do not want to change it for anything in the world? In that case you fight God, His ordinances, His doctrine, the holy tradition of our holy mother church in which you have been born, baptised, instructed and bred, your own salvation; and you support the sectarians, the heretics, your sworn enemies who have brought about your destruction and ruin and will always do so. And if you intend to wreck the true religion (which we shall never believe), you may rest assured that His Majesty will avail himself of all means God has given him, to keep you from doing so and to maintain the Catholic religion of which he rightly calls himself the protector and defender. If it is against your king and sovereign prince, that you intend to make war and if you want to change your lawful seignior (which we cannot imagine either), consider first of all if human and divine law permit this and what just and legitimate reasons you have. Consider what His Majesty has done against you and your country, especially after the recent accord³ and consider too whether you will be better off with another when you have forsaken your lawful seignior and what profit you will derive from this change. And if you do want to fight the king, you can take it that His Majesty will not tolerate it and that you cannot attempt it without incurring the opprobrium of rebellion and of lèse-majesté, with which, I believe, you would not like to be charged, nor to be everywhere defamed.

If you fight us, you must explain in what respect we have contravened the accord, and whether we have not done all that we have promised. We sent the Spaniards home, returned the fortresses to the inhabitants, restored the privileges, and we have shown the utmost patience. We have even tolerated insults and indignities for which we had no redress at law as the legal system is totally undermined by the audacity of the people, and we wanted to avoid new riots.⁴ If we are told of instances where we broke the accord we are willing to seek an appropriate solution. But if all the good things we have done for the country, first in Spain where we

2 The first Union of Brussels and the Perpetual Edict expressly intended to maintain the prevailing Roman Catholic religion.

3 The Perpetual Edict of February 1577.

4 Don John no longer felt safe in Brussels and Mechlin and consequently left these towns.

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spoke and acted on your behalf before our arrival here⁵ and then in the Netherlands where we drew up and scrupulously carried into effect the treaties and accords ratified by His Majesty - if all this does not satisfy the States and if they think that another governor will be more beneficial for them, then God forbid that our person should be the cause of another war.

5 The governor arrived at Luxemburg at the beginning of November 1576 after staying in Spain for some months.