Texts concerning the Revolt of the Netherlands

39 Discourse of Elbertus Leoninus, councillor of State, to the States General at Antwerp, 11 April 1579 ¹

Elbertus Leoninus, born in Gelderland, was a professor of law at Louvain and one of the delegates of the States General at the negotiations for the Pacification of Ghent (Document 23). He was a member of the Council of State under Matthias in 1578 and delivered in April 1579 the following address to the States General. His thinking was so exclusively political that he did not even mention the religious issue.

From His Highness's² proposition Your Honours have sufficiently realised that the need of the country has come to such an unhappy pass that in none of your previous meetings so much distress or such great difficulties have been represented to you as at this time. In former times the general assemblies of the country gathered to bid a new lord or prince a joyous welcome or to see the late emperor, Charles V, blessed be his memory, resign the provinces to his son and heir, their prince³ or for similar purposes. At that time the provinces were at peace with each other and were flourishing. But nowadays the States assemble in very dangerous and alarming times when the provinces are disarrayed, harassed, ruined, engaged in war and oppressed by the Spaniards and other enemies. This present meeting has been called to give advice and take measures to protect our lives, possessions, wives and children from the danger which is threatening us and to avert eternal, unbearable slavery and the complete ruin of the provinces. This is apparently at hand now if you choose to persevere in the old bad ways with every one seeking to pursue his own interests and no one prepared to appease the domestic quarrels or obey and contribute readily, if need be. But if Your Honours (in whom all the provinces put their faith) proceed sincerely and assiduously in this

1 ‘Oratie van doctor Elbertus Leoninus, raedsheere van State, aen de Generale Staten, 1579’, Bor, Oorsprongk, ii, pp. 49ff.

2 Archduke Matthias.

3 At the meeting at Brussels on 25 October 1555.

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assembly and show in fact that you take the preservation of your own country to heart, as is your bounden duty, then in spite of the aforementioned difficulties, there is a sure way of putting things straight again and of not only giving assistance to our compatriots and allies who are now closely besieged, but also of preventing further troubles and dangers by means of a good war and safe peace. This is sure to follow if the enemy sees that we remain united, and that our fixed intention is indeed to employ all means, allowed by God, to keep our persons, possessions and privileges in lawful freedom. If, however, we show ourselves to be cowardly and faint-hearted, if we give way in any respect through fear, then we shall multiply the pride and wilfulness of our enemies and increase our misery and distress. It is appropriate to quote the saying of our forefathers: those who desire freedom, must not negotiate for conditions of peace before they have defeated the bulk of the enemy or before they have made their forces equal to those of the enemy. For the character of the peace depends on the outcome of the war.

Almighty God has given us the opportunity of aiding and relieving the inhabitants of Maastricht, who desire this.⁴ If we desert them and let them fall piteously into the hands of the enemies, then these will impose their will upon us when making the peace, the negotiations for which started at Cologne.⁵ But if united we put all our forces into the field to help them, as we can and should do, then we shall gain honour and our enemies will readily be satisfied with such reasonable conditions as we shall offer them. Therefore I ask Your Honours on behalf of His Highness and his councillors to consider the matter and to come to a conclusion soon, as is fitting, and I assure you that you can never perform a more profitable and honourable act nor will such an excellent opportunity for your rescue offer itself again. For you may meet your obligations and fulfil the oath concerning your allies and loyal compatriots⁶ who have persistently held out against the common enemy and still do, and at the same time hold an important and fine town, on which in this union the prosperity and safety of all the provinces depends. You will moreover deliver

4 Since the beginning of March 1579 Maastricht had been invested by Parma's troops.

5 Negotiations for peace in the Netherlands were conducted through the intermediary of the emperor at Cologne in 1579.

6 Because of the threatening situation Matthias and the Council of State wished to strengthen the general union of the provinces which was still in existence. The provinces of Hainault, Artois etc. which had concluded the separate union of Arras on 6 January 1579, were however absent from this meeting.

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the provinces from oppression and have the proper means to comfort the poor subjects, so long tormented, by the good and safe peace which will undoubtedly ensue, if the town of Maastricht is relieved and retained. This should be seen to. And provinces which formerly so readily accorded millions of guilders to enable the duke of Alva, the Great Commander⁷ and other oppressors of their freedom to oppress them still more cruelly, should accord even more now and should show the love in which every one holds the common prosperity, liberty and safety of their lives, possessions, wives and children. This can be well accomplished if they be willing and determined to execute this. For all the damage and disorders which happened in the past, were caused not by lack of means or the weakness of the provinces, nor by the power and strength of the enemies, but by carelessness, inaptitude and lack of determination and delay in providing the necessary contributions. Formerly when the provinces were separate,⁸ each one had individual means of self-protection and of waging open war against kings and potentates: the chronicles of Brabant, Gelderland, Flanders, Utrecht, Friesland and other provinces give evidence of this and the examples are so well-known and still so fresh in our memory that there is no need to relate them at length. For that reason it would be to our everlasting shame and ignominy if all these rich provinces now united and assembled could not find the means of taking a firm stand and raising a considerable army to help the afore-said town of Maastricht with all their resources and to put order into their affairs generally. Therefore I pray Your Honours to persevere in this union, and not to let slip this opportunity, which will never again occur. And I pray you to take a prompt, beneficial resolution on the items and articles proposed by His Grace,⁹ in particular and above all on the decrees of war and on the relief of Maastricht, without starting a discussion about privileges or other matters in detail. For this war concerns all provinces alike and if a prompt decision is taken, you may expect that this miserable war will be happily and laudably brought to an end with a safe peace. If this is not done, you must expect a protracted war with endless harm and distress. But we can now deliver the provinces from such disasters by fighting determinedly and briefly for three or four months.

7 Alva as well as his successor Requesens made heavy financial demands on the States of the loyal provinces in the years 1572-4 (see Documents 16 and 20).

8 Before their union under the Burgundian-Austrian rule.

9 Matthias had laid these matters before the States General, the religious peace being among them.