Texts concerning the Revolt of the Netherlands

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57 A warning to all honest inhabitants of the Netherlands, who are united and allied to protect the freedom of their religion, and all persons, privileges and old usages against the tyranny of the Spaniards and their adherents, 1583 ¹

This pamphlet was published in May 1583. The reconciliation with the duke of Anjou which it recommends corresponds with the Advice given by the prince of Orange on 7 February. It apparently comes from the prince of Orange's circle.

There is no reason in the world why supporters of the true religion and the freedoms of the country and its privileges should accept that an agreement with the Spaniards or Malcontents² (which means the same thing, because they are tarred with the same brush) is desirable. Whatever favourable conditions the Spaniards might put forward regarding freedom of religion and the army, these would not be observed for long. Patriots thinking to achieve a good and lasting peace by such an agreement, as is promised them, would in reality not only be led into eternal slavery and unrest but also into an open and difficult war against our allies, as the inhabitants of Hainault and Artois have experienced.³ For Holland and Zeeland, not the smallest but the mightiest and strongest provinces, have often warned the other provinces that they are firmly resolved never to be united with the Spaniards and their adherents.

There are people who may be made to believe that the united provinces could be transformed into a republic on the lines of the Swiss or Venetian. If possible and feasible, this would indeed be an excellent solution. Yet one should bear in mind that the nature of these provinces is wholly different from that of Switzerland and Venice. Switzerland is mountainous and barren, not rich and difficult to reach with armed forces. Venice is situated on an island. It has often been attacked by its neighbours and in the past lost all its inland-towns to the Emperor Maxi-

1 Waerschouwinghe aen alle goede inghesetenen van den Nederlanden, die tot beschermenisse van de vrijheydt van hunne religie, persoonen, previlegien, ende oude hercomen, teghens die tyrannie van de Spaingnaerden ende heuren aenhanck t'samen verbonden ende vereenicht sijn (Knuttel, no. 655).

2 The Walloons who since 1579 had sided with the Spaniards.

3 These provinces had concluded the Union of Arras in January 1579.

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milian.⁴ If the neighbours of the Venetians were really strong and if the Venetians were not allied to the Turks (to whom in fact they pay tribute), they would be bound to lose their country gradually, as they lost the kingdom of Cyprus some years ago.⁵ It must be emphasised that the Netherlands lie wholly open especially on the French side, that they are rich and powerful and have many powerful kings and princes as neighbours. There are very many powerful provinces and towns in the Netherlands, and these are accustomed to seeking their own advantage and robbing one another of their navigation and trade (on which the prosperity of the country chiefly depends) in order to aggrandise themselves. And while some are prepared to pay war-taxes, others are not. Moreover their contributions come in very tardily and they are so slow in coming to a decision that sometimes towns and provinces are lost whilst they deliberate, as experience has indeed shown. Even towns situated in the same province are often involved in disputes and quarrels and have difficulty in coming to terms with each other. Consequently it is totally impossible to rule the provinces in harmony without an overlord and prince, or to issue good ordinances for everything, for example coinage,⁶ trade and other political matters which should be made uniform in a state. Moreover, when more than one person is entrusted with the government, they often quarrel among themselves, each of them trying to be the most respected and often instead of one tyrant there are many. This phenomenon has often manifested itself under republican forms of government and this is why most of them were overthrown.

It would take us far too long to list all the reasons why the monarchy with a prince or lord has been considered of old and according to all wise people experienced in politics to be the best, safest and most lasting form of government for a country or state. This is especially so when the monarchy is so conditioned and restricted that the prince may not use tyrannical methods or improper and unlawful violence against his subjects. In these provinces and especially in Brabant these requirements have been met thanks to the Joyeuse Entrée and recently the treaty of Bordeaux concluded with His Highness⁷ and relating to all the united

4 This happened when all Venice's enemies united in the league of Cambrai in 1508.

5 The Turks took Cyprus from the Venetians in 1570.

6 This was settled in article xii of the Union of Utrecht.

7 By the treaty of Bordeaux of 23 January 1581 the duke of Anjou accepted these conditions in return for which the States General entrusted the sovereignty to him.

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provinces. Moreover, as the country is flat and open and the enemy has taken possession of many places and towns in its heart, many towns have to be garrisoned for their protection and to withstand the enemy a large army has to be fed. For this exorbitant sums of money and many soldiers are necessary. Without the help of a powerful prince, all this could hardly be accomplished. For these and other reasons, which it would take us far too long to sum up here and which are surely well-known to every one, we were induced, when all the provinces were still united and the country was incomparably more prosperous and powerful than now, to ask the Emperor and the princes of the Empire for help in order to escape the danger of being again brought under the yoke of the Spaniards. We offered to put ourselves under their rule and, to make them more favourably disposed, we asked that the Emperor's brother, the Archduke Matthias, come here and handed the entire government of the country over to him. We would have been glad to maintain him as our ruler if His Majesty the Emperor and the princes of the Empire had been willing to help and assist us against the violence of the Spaniards. But they refused the requests transmitted to them by various official envoys sent by the States General of the country and by the Archduke Matthias himself.⁸ After long and mature deliberations the States and their members could not find a better or more fitting solution than to come to an agreement with the duke of Anjou, the only brother of the king of France, on the terms and conditions included in the treaty of Bordeaux, and to entrust the country to him, on condition that he use the power of the king his lord and brother⁹ for its defence.

8 See Document 44.

9 Henri III.