in which he had met with nothing but failure, and returned to England.
Nothing could have been worse than the position of the States at the beginning of 1588. Had Parma had a free hand, in all probability he would have crushed out the revolt and reconquered the northern Netherlands. But the Johan van Oldenbarneveldt. attention of the Spanish king was at this time concentrated upon the success of the Invincible Armada. The army of Parma was held in readiness for the invasion of England, and the United Provinces had a respite. They were fortunately able to avail themselves of it. The commanding abilities of Oldenbarneveldt, now advocate of Holland, gradually gathered into his hands the entire administration of the Republic. He became indispensable and, as his influence grew, more and more did the policy of the provinces acquire unity and consistency of purpose. At the same time Maurice of Maurice of Nassau. Nassau, now grown to man’s estate, began to display those military talents which were to gain for him the fame of being the first general of his time. But Maurice was no politician. He had implicit trust in the advocate, his father’s faithful friend and counsellor, and for many years to come the statesman and the soldier worked in harmony together for the best interests of their country (see Oldenbarneveldt, and Maurice, prince of Orange). At the side of Maurice, as a wise adviser, stood his cousin William Louis, stadholder of Friesland, a trained soldier and good commander in the field.
After the destruction of the Armada, Parma had been occupied
with campaigns on the southern frontier against the French,
and the Netherlanders had been content to stand on
guard against attack. The surprise of Breda by a
Campaign
of 1591.
stratagem (8th of March 1590) was the only military
event of importance up to 1591. But the two stadholders had
not wasted the time. The States’ forces had been reorganized
and brought to a high state of military discipline and training.
In 1591 the States-General, after considerable hesitation, were
persuaded by Maurice to sanction an offensive campaign. It
was attended by marvellous success. Zutphen was captured
on the 20th of May, Deventer on the 20th of June. Parma,
who was besieging the fort of Knodsenburg, was forced to retire
with loss. Hulst fell after a three days’ investment, and finally
Nymegen was taken on the 21st of October. The fame of
Maurice, a consummate general at the early age of twenty-four,
was on all men’s lips. The following campaign was signalized
Death of Parma.
New province of Stadt en Landen.
by the capture of Steenwyk and Koevorden. On the
8th of December 1592 Parma died, and the States
were delivered from their most redoubtable adversary.
In 1593 the leaguer of Geertruidenburg put the seal on Maurice’s
reputation as an invincible besieger. The town fell after an
investment of three months. Groningen was the
chief fruit of the campaign of 1594. With its dependent
district it was formed into a new province under the
name of Stadt en Landen. William Louis became
the stadholder (see Groningen). The soil of the northern
Netherlands was at last practically free from the presence of
Spanish garrisons.
The growing importance of the new state was signalized by the conclusion, in 1596, of a triple alliance between England, France and the United Provinces. It was of short duration and purchased by hard conditions, but it Triple Alliance of France, England and the United Provinces. implied the recognition by Henry IV. and Elizabeth of the States-General, as a sovereign power, with whom treaties could be concluded. Such a recognition was justified by the brilliant successes of the campaign of 1597. It began with the complete rout of a Spanish force of 4500 men at Turnhout in January, with scarcely any loss to the victors. Then in a succession of sieges Rheinberg, Meurs, Groenlo, Bredevoort, Enschedé, Ootmarsum, Oldenzaal and Lingen fell into the hands of Maurice.
The relations of the Netherlands to Spain were in 1598 completely changed. Philip II. feeling death approaching, resolved to marry his elder daughter, the Infanta Isabel Clara Eugenia, to her cousin, the Cardinal Archduke Albert of Austria, who Albert and Isabel, Sovereigns of the Netherlands. had been governor-general of the Netherlands since 1596, and to erect the Provinces into an independent sovereignty under their joint rule. The instrument was executed in May; Philip died in September; the marriage took place in November. In case the marriage should have no issue, the sovereignty of the Netherlands was to revert to the king of Spain. The archdukes (such was their official title) did not make their joyeuse entrée into Brussels until the close of 1599. The step was taken too late to effect a reconciliation with the rebel provinces. Peace overtures were made, but the conditions were unacceptable. The States-General never seriously considered the question of giving in their submission to the new sovereigns. The traders of Holland and Zeeland had thriven mightily by the war. Their ships had penetrated to the East and West Indies, and were to be found in every sea. The year 1600 saw the foundation of the Chartered East India Company (see Dutch East India Company). The question of freedom of trade with the Indies had become no less vital to the Dutch people than freedom of religious worship. To both these concessions Spanish policy was irreconcilably opposed.
Dunkirk, as a nest of freebooters who preyed upon Dutch
commerce, was made the objective of a daring offensive campaign
in 1600 by the orders of the States-General under the
influence of Oldenbarneveldt in the teeth of the opposition
The Battle
of Nieuport.
of the stadholders Maurice and William Louis.
By a bold march across Flanders, Maurice reached
Nieuport on the 1st of July, and proceeded to invest it. The
archduke Albert, however, followed hard on his steps with an
army of seasoned troops, and Maurice, with his communications
cut, was forced to fight for his existence. A desperate combat
took place on the dunes between forces of equal strength and
valour. Only by calling up his last reserves did victory declare
for Maurice. The archduke had to fly for his life. Five thousand
Spaniards were killed; seven hundred taken, and one hundred
and five standards. To have thus worsted the dreaded Spanish
infantry in open fight was a great triumph for the States troops
and their general, but it was barren of results. Maurice refused
to run further risks and led back his army to Holland. For the
following three years all the energies alike of the archdukes and
Siege of Ostend.
the States-General were concentrated on the siege
of Ostend (15th of July 1601–20th of Sept. 1604), the
solitary possession of the Dutch in Flanders. The
heroic obstinacy of the defence was equalled by the perseverance
of the attack, and there was a vast expenditure, especially on
the side of the Spaniards, of blood and treasure. At last when
reduced to a heap of ruins, Ostend fell before the resolution of
Ambrosio de Spinola, a Genoese banker, to whom the command
of the besiegers had been entrusted (see Spinola). A month
before the surrender, however, another and more commodious
seaport, Sluis, had fallen into the possession of the States army
under Maurice, and thus the loss of Ostend was discounted.
Spinola proved himself to be a general of a high order, and the campaigns of 1606 and 1607 resolved themselves into a duel of skill between him and Maurice without much advantage accruing to either side. But the archdukes’ treasury was now empty, and their credit exhausted; both sides were weary of fighting, and serious negotiations Negotiations for Peace. for peace were set on foot. The disposition of the Spaniards to make concessions was further quickened by the destruction of their fleet at Gibraltar by the Dutch admiral Heemskerk, (April 1607). But there were many difficulties in the way. The peace party in the United Provinces headed by Oldenbarneveldt was opposed by the stadholders Maurice and William Louis, the great majority of the military and naval officers, the Calvinist preachers and many leading merchants. The Spaniards on their side were obdurate on the subjects of freedom of trade in the Indies and of freedom of religious worship. At last, after the negotiations had been repeatedly on the point of breaking off, a compromise was effected by the mediation of the envoys of France and England. On the 9th of April 1609
