Editing History of the Netherlands (section)

==The Eighty Years' War (1568–1648)==
{{Main|Eighty Years' War}}
[[File:Slag bij Nieuwpoort.jpg|thumb|[[Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange|Prince Maurits]] at the [[Battle of Nieuwpoort]], 1600 CE, by Paulus van Hillegaert]]
[[File:Sitting Leo Belgicus - Visscher.jpg|thumb|[[Leo Belgicus]], a map of the [[low countries]] drawn in the shape of a lion, by [[Claes Jansz. Visscher]] (II), 1611 CE]]
The Dutch War for Independence from Spain is frequently called the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648). The first fifty years (1568 through 1618) were a war solely between Catholic Spain and the Protestant rebels of the Netherlands. It was a military conflict with integral religious elements. During the last thirty years (1618–1648) the conflict between Spain and the Netherlands was submerged in the general European War that became known as the [[Thirty Years' War]].<ref>Geoffrey Parker, ed. ''The Thirty Years' War'', New York: Routledge Press, 1987, p. 2.</ref> The seven rebellious provinces of the Netherlands were eventually united by the [[Union of Utrecht]] in 1579 and formed the [[Republic of the Seven United Netherlands]] (also known as the "United Provinces"). The [[Act of Abjuration]] or ''Plakkaat van Verlatinghe'' was signed on 26 July 1581, and was the formal [[declaration of independence]] of the northern [[Low Countries]] from the Spanish king.  [[Religious toleration]] was a key element of Protestant ideology.

[[William the Silent|William of Orange]] (1533–1584), the founder of the Dutch royal family, led the Dutch during the first part of the war. The very first years were a success for the Spanish troops. However, the Dutch countered subsequent sieges in [[Holland]]. In November and December 1572, all the citizens of [[Zutphen]] and [[Naarden]] were slaughtered by the Spanish. From 11 December that year the city of [[Haarlem]] was besieged, holding out for seven months until 13 July 1573. [[Oudewater]] was conquered by the Spanish on 7 August 1575, and most of its inhabitants were killed. Maastricht was besieged, sacked and destroyed twice in succession (in 1576 and 1579) by the Spanish.

In a war largely of sieges rather than battles, [[Alexander Farnese, Prince of Parma|Governor-General Alexander Farnese]] proved his mettle. His strategy was to offer generous terms for the surrender of a city: there would be no more massacres or looting; historic urban privileges were retained; there was a full pardon and amnesty; return to the Catholic Church would be gradual. Conservative Catholics in the south and east supported the Spanish. Farnese recaptured [[Antwerp]] and nearly all of what became Belgium.<ref>Violet Soen, "Reconquista and Reconciliation in the Dutch Revolt: The Campaign of Governor-General Alexander Farnese (1578–1592)", ''[[Journal of Early Modern History]]'' (2012) 16#1 pp. 1–22.</ref> Most of the Dutch-speaking territory in the Netherlands was taken from Spain, but not in [[Flanders]], which to this day remains part of [[Belgium]]. Flanders was the most radical anti-Spanish territory. Many Flemish fled to Holland, among them half of the population of Antwerp, 3/4 of Bruges and Ghent and the entire population of Nieuwpoort, Dunkerque and countryside.<ref>Bart de Groof, "Alexander Farnese and the Origins of Modern Belgium", ''Bulletin de l'Institut Historique Belge de Rome'' (1993) Vol. 63, pp. 195–219.</ref> His successful campaign gave the Catholics control of the lower half of the Low Countries, and was part of the [[Counter-Reformation|Catholic Counter-Reformation]].

The war dragged on for another half century, but the main fighting was over. The [[Peace of Westphalia]], signed in 1648, confirmed the independence of the United Provinces from Spain. The Dutch people started to develop a national identity, beginning in the 15th century, but they officially remained a part of the Holy Roman Empire until 1648. National identity was mainly formed by the province people came from. Holland was the most important province by far.

The Catholics in the Netherlands were an outlawed minority that had been suppressed by the Calvinists. After 1572, however, they made a striking comeback (also as part of the Catholic Counter-Reformation), setting up seminaries, reforming their Church, and sending missionaries into Protestant districts. Laity often took the lead; the Calvinist government often arrested or harassed priests who seemed too effective. Catholic numbers stabilized at about a third of the population in the Netherlands; they were strongest in the southeast.<ref>see [http://www.quirksmode.org/politics/kuyper.html religion map]</ref><ref>Charles H. Parker, Charles H. ''Faith on the Margins: Catholics and Catholicism in the Dutch Golden Age'' (Harvard University Press, 2008)</ref>