2 33 
HOLLAND. 
fifcated his eftate, upbraided him with ingratitude, and 
attempted to ftain his character with ignominy. He even 
promised a reward of 25,000 crowns to whoever fhould 
bring the prince of Orange to Madrid, either dead or alive ; 
the lame to his heirs, in cafe the perfon perilhed in the 
enterprife; and he declared all thofe profcribed, their 
elhttes confifcated, their honours and dignities abolifhed, 
who adhered to William prince of Orange a month after 
the publication of this edift. 
The following year the States, after long deliberations 
at the Hague, published an edict, excluding king Philip 
from any l'overeignty, right, or authority, over the Ne¬ 
therlands. This writing appeared on the 26th of July 
1581, under the title of The Abdication of Philip king of Spain. 
It was extremely well drawn up; ftated in the ltrongeft 
terms the mutual privileges of the king and people; proved 
that the allegiance of the latter was voided by the breach 
of contract on the fide of the former; enumerated the op- 
preflive and tyrannical a< 5 ts of his government; fet afide 
his authority for the mod cogent reafons; forbade money 
to be coined in his name; and took every other ftep to¬ 
wards independence. It was in vain for Philip to remon- 
ftrate: he knew the States were to be convinced only by 
the fword; to this therefore he reforted. The duke of 
Parma blocked up Cambray fo clofely, that the garrifon 
was reduced to the extremity of living upon horfes, dogs, 
and cats, and all the vermin they could catch. At length 
the duke of Anjou marched with a body of ten thoufand 
foot and four thoufand horfe, and approached Cambray. 
The vifcount de Turenne, and count Voulandois, under¬ 
took to force themfelves with a body of men into the 
town; but they were l'urrounded and taken prifoners by 
the Spaniards. This difappointment did not difcourage 
the duke of Anjou; he Hill preffed forward with inten¬ 
tion to attack the Spanifh lines: but the duke of Parma, 
not caring to hazard a battle, deferted his works, and re¬ 
tired to Bouchain. As foon as the duke of Anjou en¬ 
tered the city, he took an oath to govern it agreeably to 
its ancient laws, and to preferve the citizens in the full 
poffefiion of all their rights. 
On the 10th of February 1582, the duke of Anjou ar¬ 
rived at Flufhing, where he was received by the princes 
of Orange and d’Efpinoi. Next day they fet out for 
Antwerp with a magnificent retinue, and went up the 
Scheld attended by fifty barges. His reception at Antwerp 
was lplendid, and even exceeded the preparations made 
for Philip himfelf on his being appointed to the govern¬ 
ment in the Netherlands by Charles V. his father. A 
theatre was erefted before the walls of the citadel, in which 
was placed a chair of ftate, covered with cloth of gold. 
There the duke was feated, and the conditions were read 
to him, upon which he was received as duke of Brabant. 
When he had fworn to obferve the articles, he was clothed 
with the ducal robe, and his head adorned with the ducal 
coronet by the prince of Orange. The feftivity however 
was damped by a Bifcayan merchant, named Gafpar 
Anaftra, who villainoufly confpired the death of the prince 
of Orange. He corrupted one of his domeftics, by the 
promife of half the reward, to ftrike the blow. The af- 
faffin entered the citadel; and as the prince was palling 
after dinner into another room, difcharged a piftol, and 
dangeroufly wounded him behind the ear. The prince 
was ftunned with the force of the ball, and, before he re¬ 
covered, the alfalfin was cut to pieces by his attendants. 
But, though for this time the prince efcaped, he was, in 
1584, alfallinated at Delft, by Balthazar Gerrard or Guion, 
a perfon who had before lerved him with fidelity and zeal. 
He was at that very time employed by the prince to carry 
letters into France, and had received money to bear his 
expences, with which he purchafed piftols to murder his 
benefaftor. His punifhment and mode of death was the 
mod cruel of all the tortures that could be invented. 
The United Provinces were now in' a moll deplorable 
fituation. The duke of Anjou had been totally unable to 
refill the duke of Parma ; in confequence of which many 
towns had been taken 5 and in other refpefts the States had 
Vol. X. No. 656. 
fuftained immenfe Ioffes. The duke of Anjou, chagrined 
and difappointed, retired into France, where he died. But 
the lol’s of the prince of Orange feemed to give the finifh- 
ing ftroke to the affairs of the States; and confufion and 
anarchy began to reign in their councils. The provinces of 
Zealand and Holland alone endeavoured to repair the lofs, 
and Ihow their gratitude to prince William, by electing 
his fon Maurice their ftadtholder and captain-general by 
fea and land. Maurice was only eighteen years of age; 
but appeared in every refpeft worthy of the high dignity 
which had been conferred upon him. The firft ftep taken 
by the confederates was a folemn renewal of the union of 
Utrecht; after which the moft vigorous preparations were 
made for the defence of the country. But, before any 
thing of confequence could be done, the duke of Parma 
had reduced Liikenfhouk, Dendermonde, Vilvorde, Ghent, 
and Antwerp ; which ftruck the States with fuch terror, 
that they again offered the fovereignty to queen Elizabeth 
of England. This was again refufed, though that princefs 
engaged, by anew treaty, to affift the States both with men 
and money. An army w r as accordingly fent into the Ne¬ 
therlands under the command of the earl of Leicefter ; 
but it does not appear that this was of very eflential fer- 
vice to the caufe; for the conduit of that general was fo 
exceedingly unfortunate, that he was not only baffled in, 
every military enterprife, but drew upon himfelf a general 
odium. It is very probable indeed that the States could 
not long have fupported themfelves in fuch circumftances, 
had not Philip raffily engaged in a war with England, with 
whole naval power he could lcarcely be enabled to cope 
by any fureriofity in numbers whatever. The defeat of 
the Spanifli armada, in 1588, gave fuch a blow to the 
power of that nation, as totally difabled them from car¬ 
rying on the war in the Netherlands. Inltead of fending 
the proper affiftance to the duke of Parma, that general 
received orders to haften to the aid of the duke of May- 
ence, who had been defeated by the French king Henry IV. 
The duke was obliged to comply with this order, though- 
he was fenfible the lofs of the United Provinces muft be 
the confequence. Prince Maurice foon carried every thing 
before him; and by the end of the year 1591, the Dutch 
faw their frontiers extended, the whole country fecured 
by rivers, and covered by fortified towns. Thefe advan¬ 
tages were followed by a decifive victory gained by prince 
Maurice, in the year 1600, over the archduke Albert,, 
who had been appointed the Spanilh governor of the Ne¬ 
therlands. Philip II. of Spain died in 1598, leaving the 
affairs of his kingdom in the moft diftreffed fituation ; 
notwithftanding which, his fucceflor Philip III. was too 
haughty to conlent to peace, or allow that the States were 
free, though he was totally unable to keep them in fub- 
jeftion. At length, in 1606, the courts of Madrid and 
Bruflels began to think of peace; a fufpenfion of hoftili- 
ties took place; and in 1609 a treaty was concluded. In 
the firft article of the treaty, the archduke, in his own and 
the king of Spain’s name, acknowledged the United Pro¬ 
vinces, and renounced all claim to fovereignty over them, 
but in fuch general terms as would admit of altercation. 
In the fecond, a truce for twelve years, by fea and land, 
through all the dominions of both parties, was concluded. 
By the third article, the parties were to remain in poffef- 
fion of what they now held, without ceffion or exchange. 
In the fourth, a general amnefty was ftipulated, and full 
freedom of trade by fea and land to each others’ dominions- 
granted. Philip of Naffau, by the truce, entered into 
poffefiion of all his paternal eftates in the Spanifh Nether¬ 
lands and Burgundy; while the States rewarded the faith¬ 
ful fervices of Maurice with a penfion of 25,000 florins, 
to be paid annually out of the public treafury, befides an 
appointment of 60,000 francs as governor-general. 
No fooner were the Dutch freed from their extreme 
danger, and felt the bleflings of liberty, than diffenfions 
took place among themfelves. The difputes betwixt the 
Arminians and Calvinifts produced violent difturbances, 
which frequently ended in the perfecution of the former. 
In 1621 war was renewed with Spain; and it may be re- 
3 O marked. 
