Starting position
At the beginning of the sixteenth century, there were seventeen provinces under the Netherlands, which differed among themselves. Because these regions were situated far below the surface of the sea, hence they were also called as low-lying regions. In these, the people of the seven provinces of the north were called 'Dutch' and in these northern provinces, Holland and Zeeland were dominant. The inhabitants of the provinces of Brevant and Flanders in the middle were called 'Flemings' who were mainly of the Teutonic race. Namur, Heno, Artwa etc. were prominent in the provinces of South, in which people of 'Celt' race lived, who were called 'Walloons'. In this way, there was diversity in the provinces of Netherlands from all points of view like caste, language, living etc.
Charles V Era
When Charles V became the ruler of the Netherlands, he established three central councils to strengthen the administration of the Netherlands, in which the 'Council of State' was very important. Brussels located in the center of the Netherlands was declared the capital. To protect the revenue and general interests of the provinces, a parliament called 'States General' was established, in which the representatives of the provincial councils were there. Thus Emperor Charles V tried to organize the administration of the Netherlands. Apart from this, due to his birth in the Flanders province of the Netherlands, his rule was popular and he ruled as a national ruler in the Netherlands. Emperor Charles V adopted a policy of repression against the religious reformation movement in the Netherlands and tried to stop the spread of Protestantism. He also used religious courts to suppress the Protestants, but during his reign, the people of the Netherlands did not oppose him collectively.
Era of Philip ii
The situation changed after the accession of Philip II, the son of Emperor Charles V, because the inhabitants of the Netherlands considered him a foreigner because King Philip II was a Spaniard by birth. He no longer had the same sympathy for King Philip II that he had for Emperor Charles V. On the other hand, King Philip II also had no sympathy for the needs and aspirations of the inhabitants of the Netherlands. He followed the administrative and economic policy neglecting the interests of the people of the Netherlands. He imposed restrictions on the trade and commerce of the Netherlands and adopted a policy of repression against the Protestant provinces. Therefore, being forced, the people of Netherlands rebelled against these policies of King Philip II.
Causes of rebellion
Due to economic, political, religious, personal reasons, the people of the Netherlands organized an armed rebellion against the ruler of Spain, Philip II.
1. Economic reasons
The main basis of the prosperity and splendor of the Netherlands were industry-business and trade-commerce. During the reign of Emperor Charles V, there was an increase in the burden of taxes on the Netherlands. But due to the approval of the Parliament called 'States General' there could not be a mass opposition to this tax increase. Apart from this, during his reign, Emperor Charles V had also tried to make the Netherlands industry-business and trade-commerce prosperous by encouraging them. Due to this effort of Emperor Charles V, the popularity of his rule remained in the Netherlands. But after that, King Philip II increased the taxes in the Netherlands for the purpose of obtaining money for the administrative expenses of the Spanish Empire and for the conduct of wars. But this time the Parliament called 'States General' refused to approve funds for these wars of Spain and said that the Netherlands had nothing to do with these wars. Apart from this, the restrictions imposed by King Philip II on the trade-commerce of the Netherlands were also intolerable to the people of the Netherlands, because these restrictions blocked the economic and industrial development of the Netherlands. Therefore, the residents of the Netherlands first opposed this economic policy of King Philip II and revolted.
2. Religious reason
Since the reign of Emperor Charles V, the influence of the religious reformation movement was increasing rapidly in the Netherlands. He used the religious courts to protect Catholicism and suppress Protestantism, but the enthusiasm of the Protestants did not decrease even through the tyranny of the religious courts of Emperor Charles V, but the promotion of Calvinism began to happen at a faster pace. Philip II, who succeeded Emperor Charles V as ruler of the Netherlands, was a staunch Catholic. For him the spread of Protestantism in his kingdom was intolerable. Therefore, he resolved to completely destroy Protestantism from the Netherlands. For this purpose, he increased the number of nominated bishops and archbishops and their rights in the Netherlands. He used the religious courts as a major weapon against Protestantism. The Protestants were suffering from the tyranny of these religious courts, but along with them, the Catholics also became opposed to the unrighteousness done by these courts. King Philip II was not ready for any amendment in this policy and he did not pay any attention to the demands of the people. As a result, Protestants rebelled to protect their religious freedom.
3. Political reasons
Political reason was also prominent among the reasons for the rebellion of the Netherlands. King Philip II abolished many traditional rights of feudal lords and cities for the purpose of centralization of governance. He also stopped calling a meeting of Parliament called 'States General' and without its approval, he burdened the people of the Netherlands with many taxes, which were not ready for this. He removed the feudal lords and other citizens of the Netherlands from the influential posts of governance and started appointing Spaniards in their place. In this way, the foreignness of King Philip II became the reason for the dissatisfaction of the people there. He had left the responsibility of the administration of the Netherlands in the hands of most of the Spanish officials and after 1559 he himself never went to the Netherlands. His Spanish officials neglected the interests of the people of the Netherlands and started atrocities there. Therefore, there was great discontent among the people of the Netherlands and they revolted.
4. Military Reason
Apart from this, the presence of the Spanish army in the Netherlands also became a reason for the rebellion. In 1559 AD, in the wars between Spain and France, the Spanish forces came to the Netherlands. But even after the end of the war, these armies did not go back to Spain and remained in different cities of Netherlands whose expenses had to be borne by the people there. This caused great discontent among the people of the Netherlands and it became unbearable for them to bear the financial burden of the army for a long time. As a result, he started opposing this policy of King Philip II. Finally, after some time King Philip II, influenced by his protest, called back his army from the Netherlands.
5. Personal reasons
Emperor Charles V's rule was popular in the Netherlands. The reason for this was that he was born in the province of Flanders in the Netherlands and the people there saw him only from the point of view of a Dutchman. This was the reason that Emperor Charles V was regarded as a national ruler throughout the Netherlands. But due to the birth and upbringing of his son King Philip II in Spain, he could not get that position in the Netherlands. The residents of the Netherlands considered King Philip II as a foreigner. King Philip II also did not have any sympathy for the residents of the Netherlands, due to which he could not become popular in the Netherlands and people started opposing him, which resulted in a rebellion in the future.
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