1574 - 1581 - William I, Governor
After fruitless negotiations with Philip, the estates of Holland, in November 1574, formally offered to William "the Silent," prince of Orange, full authority by land and sea, with the title of governor or regent. Conferences were also held, with a view to peace, at Breda; and on their failure, in summer 1575, Holland and Zealand drew up Articles of union, and an ordinance for their joint government under the prince of Orange. By it he received supreme command in war and absolute authority in all matters of defense, the control of all money voted by the Estates, the maintenance of the laws as count, in the king's name, the ultimate appointment (after nomination by the estates) of all judicial officers.
He undertook to protect Calvinism, and to suppress "all religion at variance with the gospel," while he forbade all inquisition into private opinions. These terms accepted, William became, in spite of their nominal recognition of Philip, the true prince of the two provinces. Still this union, brought about by the prince's personal character and ability, and by the popular faith in him, was distasteful to the larger cities. Already one may note the beginnings of that party division which was afterwards so prominent, and divided Holland between the land-party, popular, quasi-monarchical, Calvinistic, headed by the Orange-Nassau family, and the sea-party, the town-party, headed by the burghers of Amsterdam, Arminian, civic, and aristocratic.
Meanwhile the grand-commander made a successful attempt on the Zealand coast. His troops took Duiveland, and laid siege to Zierikzee, chief town of Schouwen, and key of the whole coast. The two provinces, unable to relieve the place, were driven to consider their position. So long as they paid any allegiance to Philip of Spain, against whom they were struggling for life, they could never get much help from any other prince, nor were they strong enough to assert their own sovereignty.
Three powers lay near them — the empire, already connected with them by old relations, and by the family connection of the house of Orange; France, with her restless Valois dukes, ready for any venture, whether in Poland, England, or Holland; and, lastly, England, whose queen knew well that Philip was her foe, and that the Low Countries might effectually hinder his efforts against her. The provinces, though William had suggested it, refused to deal with the emperor, and turned to Elizabeth; she brought them little real help, and they seemed to be on the very brink of ruin when fever carried Requesens off in March 1576.
The breathing space thus gained enabled them to strengthen their union under William; but before the question respecting the position of the duke of Anjou could be settled, the siege of Zierikzee drew to an end. Boisot perished in a too gallant attempt to break the siege, and the town yielded. Things looked ill for the patriots, and Zealand would have been at the mercy of the conqueror, had not another great mutiny neutralized the success of the victors; the Spanish and Walloon troops left Zealand and, headed, as usual, into the richer plains of Brabant, seizing Alost, whence they threatened both Brussels and Antwerp. One of the results of the panic they caused in Brabant was the capture of Ghent by William. Brussels was only saved from being pillaged by them by the vigor of the inhabitants, who armed in their own defense.
Suffering under a powerless administrative, and smarting from the curse of the foreign soldiery, the southerners now began to wish for freedom and union with the other provinces. The broad liberality of Orange, moderating the Calvinism of the people, enabled the two groups to draw together. In October 1576 a congress of the States General of the provinces met at Ghent; the council of state at Brussels was forcibly dissolved; the frightful "Spanish Fury" at Antwerp struck such terror into all hearts that a treaty was concluded in November 1576 under the title of the "Pacification of Ghent."
It was received with great enthusiasm; in it the provinces agreed first to eject the foreigner, then to meet in States General and regulate all matters of religion and defense; it was stipulated that nothing should be done against the Catholic religion; the Spanish king's name was still used; the prince of Orange was recognized only as stadtholder of Holland and Zealand. All the seventeen provinces accepted the Pacification; and for a brief space the "United Provinces" really did exist.
