H O L 1 
of Orange. However unimportant the conqueft of fo in- 
confiderable a place might appear, it alarmed the duke of' 
Alva, and produced the happiefi effeft in Bruffels. The 
duke, regarding it as the harbinger of further oppofition, 
dropped his taxes for the prefent, and diligently applied 
himfelf to fupprefs the growing fpirit of revolt. He with¬ 
drew the garrifon from Bruffels, and detached it, under 
the command of Maximilian Hermin Boflu, againlh the 
fliips of war which were called Gueux. This officer, en¬ 
deavouring to force Briel, was defeated by the Orange 
faction, and forced to retire with confiderable lofs to the 
iiland of Beyerland. The prince of Orange, lenfible of 
the advantage of pofTeffing this iiland, exhorted the nobi¬ 
lity of his party to fortify and garrifon it; his orders were 
obeyed, by which means he f’oon became mafier of Delfs- 
haben on the oppofite- banks of the Meufe. 
The duke of Alva now ordered a fquadron of fhips to 
be equipped at Amfterdam, to bridle the infolence of the 
Zealanders, while he bufied himfelf in raifing an army to 
oppofe the prince of Orange and Louis of Nall'au, who 
were raifing auxiliaries in Germany and France. To aug¬ 
ment the army in the field, he had draughted moil of the 
garrifons; by which means the prince’s friends gained 
pofleffion of North Holland; and Louis of Naflau was 
projecting a fcheme to furprife Molts, with the inhabitants 
of which he held a fecret correfpondence. The defign 
lhcceeded; which emboldened molt of the cities and towns 
in Holland to declare againit the Spaniards. The count 
de Bergues gained over feveral cities in Overyflel, Guel- 
derland, and Frielland. In a word, the revolt became fo 
general, that the duke of Alva foon found he could not 
long refill the torrent. He therefore publilhed an edift to 
. appeafe the people; fetting forth, that he would content 
to remit the moll opprefiive taxes, if the Hates could fug- 
gelt any other means of raifing the necefl'ary lupplies. He 
commanded the States-general to meet at the Hague, but 
his orders were difregarded; and the States, in contempt 
of his authority, alfembled at Dordrecht, inviting depu¬ 
ties from the prince of Orange, the nobility, and the towns 
that had declared againll the governor. The prince of 
Orange, in the mean while, loft no time in concentrating 
his army, and infpiring all ranks with the fpirit of liberty. 
He had long laboured to have the States-general convoked ; 
and he now faw them not only aflembied, but preparing 
to make head againll the Spaniards. United in councils 
againll the common enemy, every meal'ure was taken for 
reducing the citadels of Ghent, Antwerp, and Maeftricht, 
the chief places that now remained in the hands of the 
Spaniards. Ghent was taken on the 27th of November, 
by the aififiance of a Itrong reinforcement of troops and 
artillery fent by the prince of Orange. At Antwerp the 
Hates of Brabant were lefs fuccefsful. The citadel was 
vigoroully attacked; but, the mutineers and mercenaries 
of the Spanilh army entering the citadel, a fally was made, 
the befiegers were driven from their trenches, great part 
of the town was confumed by fire, and the refi pillaged 
for three days with every fpecies of brutality. It is af¬ 
firmed that the treafure carried off amounted to four mil¬ 
lions of money, befides an infinity of rich mercharidife. 
This ficandalous aft of plunder and robbery of the defence- 
lets inhabitants, feerned to unite all parties with the prince 
of Orange, to form the Pacification of Ghent: which was 
a confederacy of all the provinces to expel foreign foldiers ; 
to reffore the ancient form of government; to refer mat¬ 
ters of religion to the feveral Hates of the provinces; for 
ever to unite in one common intereH with the provinces 
of Holland and Zealand, and renew the commerce and 
amity between them; to affemble the Hates in the manner 
praftifed under the houfe of Burgundy and the emperor 
Charles V. to fufpend all the rigorous edifts of the duke 
of Alva on the fubjeft of religion, until the States-general 
fhould take the matter into confideration; to releafe all 
the natives made priloners, mutually, without ranfom ; 
and to reftore all things upon the fame footing as before 
the war, and the tyrannical government of the duke of 
.AND, 531 
Alva. To this pacification the other provinces of the 
Netherlands all'o united. 
The States-general began with foliciting aid from the 
queen of England. Their ambaflador had a gracious re¬ 
ception; and Elizabeth advanced them ao,oool. fierling, 
on condition that the French fhould not be invited into 
the Netherlands; that they would accept of reafonable 
terms of accommodation if offered ; and that the loan 
fhould be repaid the enfuing year. Next a ceffation of 
hollilities was agreed upon with don John of Auffria, go¬ 
vernor of the Netherlands; and the terms of the pacifi¬ 
cation were proclaimed at BrujTels and Antwerp, on the 
17th of February, 1576. 
It mult be obl'erved, however, that, when this edict was 
figned, the provinces of Holland and Zealand, by the ad¬ 
vice of the prince of Orange, made the following objec¬ 
tions, viz. That the States-general had not efiablifhed the 
right of affembling this fovereign tribunal in the perfons 
originally invefted with that power by the conflitutiou; 
that in fome particular infiances they had fuffered an in- 
fraftion of their privileges; that the Spanilh troops were 
allowed to carry off the immenfe wealth they had acquired 
in the Netherlands, and by the dellruftion of the city of 
Antwerp in particular; that no llipulation was made in 
favour of thofe difpoffeffed of their ellates, &c. For thefe 
reafons the Hates and the prince refufed to fign the edict, 
though they confented to all the articles that did not 
contradift thofe fpecified. This raifed a contention, by 
which the public peace was foon broken. Don John was 
firenuous in recommending violent meafures againfi the 
prince and his party. To this purpol’e he wrote a letter 
in cipher to the king of Spain, and preparations were 
made for a new and vigorous war. The Spanilh troops 
were ordered to affemble at Milan; levies were made in 
Burgundy and Luxemburg; and a refolution was taken 
of fupporting don John with the whole power of the Spa- 
nifli monarchy. To oppofe this formidable power, the 
Hates, in 1578, entered into a new treaty with the queen 
of England ; by which that princefs agreed to advance 
them ioo,oool. lterling, and to aflifi the provinces with five 
thoulhnd foot and one thouland horfe, on condition that 
the loan ihould be repaid with intereH in eight months; 
that certain towns Ihould be ceded to her in fecurity ; 
and that the Hates fhould defray the expence of tranfport- 
ing their troops, and take them into pay, while they afted 
in their fervice. Elizabeth, however, afterwards departed 
from thefe conditions, under pretence that the French 
would fufpeft her having fome defigns on the Nether¬ 
lands, and would for that reafon unite their forces with 
thofe of Spain againfi her. Infiead of the Englifli troops. 
Hie now propoled to fend John Cafimir, count palatine, 
with three thouland foot and three thoufand horfe; re- 
fufmg at the fame time to pay the money Hipulated, until 
the Hates had confented to this alteration. 
Before this treaty was concluded, don John was joined 
by an army of fixteen thouland foot and two thoufand 
horfe, all chofen veterans, commanded by Alexander Far- 
nefe, duke of Parma, the befi general in the Spanilh fervice. 
Being thus luperior to the prince of Orange, the Spaniards 
gained feveral advantages; which, however, were more 
than balanced by the lofs of the city of Amfierdam. This 
place had been clofely blocked up for feveral months by- 
Tea and land, and at lall concluded a treaty with the 
friends of the prince of Orange. That prince, however, 
perceiving that little confidence was to be placed in the 
unanimity of aifiant provinces rent by faftion, different 
in religion, and divided by ambition, political maxims, 
and private intereH, formed the lcherne of more clofely 
uniting the provinces, of which he was governox-, and 
cementing them with thofe more contiguous, in which 
the protefiant intereH prevailed. Such an alliance was 
fubjeft to fewer difficulties than attended the more gene¬ 
ral one of uniting with the Netherlands; it was in fact 
the only meafure that could be propefed with fafety, and 
it was profecuted with that alacrity and addrefs for which 
