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HISTORY OF THE UNITED NETHERLANDS
From the Death of William the Silent to the Twelve Year's Truce—1609
By John Lothrop Motley
MOTLEY'S HISTORY OF THE NETHERLANDS, Project Gutenberg Edition, Volume 39
History of The United Netherlands, 1585
Position and Character of Farnese—Preparations for Antwerp Siege—
Its Characteristics—Foresight of William the Silent—Sainte
Aldegonde, the Burgomaster—Anarchy in Antwerp—Character of Sainte
Aldegonde—Admiral Treslong—Justinus de Nassau—Hohenlo—Opposition
to the Plan of Orange—Liefkenshoek—Head—Quarters of Parma at
Kalloo—Difficulty of supplying the City—Results of not piercing
the Dykes—Preliminaries of the Siege—Successes of the Spaniards—
Energy of Farnese with Sword and Pen—His Correspondence with the
Antwerpers—Progress of the Bridge—Impoverished Condition of Parma
—Patriots attempt Bois-le-Duc—Their Misconduct—Failure of the
Enterprise—The Scheldt Bridge completed—Description of the
Structure
The negotiations between France and the Netherlands have been massed, inorder to present a connected and distinct view of the relative attitudeof the different countries of Europe. The conferences and diplomaticprotocolling had resulted in nothing positive; but it is very necessaryfor the reader to understand the negative effects of all thisdissimulation and palace-politics upon the destiny of the newcommonwealth, and upon Christendom at large. The League had now achieveda great triumph; the King of France had virtually abdicated, and it wasnow requisite for the King of Navarre, the Netherlands, and QueenElizabeth, to draw more closely together than before, if the last hopeof forming a counter-league were not to be abandoned. The next step inpolitical combination was therefore a solemn embassy of the States-General to England. Before detailing those negotiations, however, it isproper to direct attention to the external public events which had beenunrolling themselves in the Provinces, contemporaneously with the secrethistory which has been detailed in the preceding chapters.
By presenting in their natural groupings various distinct occurrences,rather than by detailing them in strict chronological order, a clearerview of the whole picture will be furnished than could be done byintermingling personages, transactions, and scenery, according to thearbitrary command of Time alone.
The Netherlands, by the death of Orange, had been left without a head.On the other hand, the Spanish party had never been so fortunate in theirchief at any period since the destiny of the two nations had been blendedwith each other. Alexander Farnese, Prince of Parma, was a general and apolitician, whose character had been steadily ripening since he came intothe command of the country. He was now thirty-seven years of age—withthe experience of a sexagenarian. No longer the impetuous, arbitrary,hot-headed youth, whose intelligence and courage hardly atoned for hisinsolent manner and stormy career, he had become pensive, modest, almostgentle. His genius was rapid in conception, patient in combination,fertile in expedients, adamantine in the endurance or suffering; fornever did a heroic general and a noble army of veterans manifest more