The fight for independance

When King Philip II of Spain submitted new laws to suppress Protestant sympathies from spreading and introduced the inquisition, the Dutch rebelled. An opposition party was formed and led by three members of the Council of State : the counts of Egmond and of Hoorne and William, Prince of Orange. William of Orange was born in his family's ancestral home in Dillenburg (Germany), as the son of count William of Nassau and Juliana of Stolberg. Following the death of his French cousin Rene de Chalon in 1544, he inherited valuable estates in France and in the Low Countries as well as the title of Prince of Orange. His marriage to Anna of Egmond in 1551 entitled him to add her possessions to his estates making him a very wealthy man. William of Orange was a firm believer in individual freedom and religious tolerance. Following the death of his first wife, he married a Lutheran princess, Anna of Saxony and allowed her to continue practicing her faith.

In 1568 William of Orange made his first attempt to free Holland from Spanish rule. This invasion staged from Germany failed due to lack of support. His second attempt in 1572 was more successful, with the help of the French Huguenots and the so called Sea Beggars he seized town after town from the surprised and land-bound Spanish forces. He was made Governor of Holland and Zeeland. In 1579 the Low Countries split for good, when the more Protestant and more rebellious northern provinces formed the Union of Utrecht. This formed the basis for The Netherlands as we know it today.

The southern part of the Low Countries remained Catholic throughout the conflict and were more open to a compromise with Spain. They eventually became Belgium. Although the United Provinces had declared their independence from Spain, the war dragged on. In 1584, they suffered a major blow when William was assassinated in Delft. The English assisted the Dutch, in a series of brilliant military campaigns (Armada) and drove the Spanish out of the United Provinces by 1600. In 1609 a truce was declared. However fighting resumed and it was not until 1648 in the Treaty of Westphalia that Spain recognised the independence of the United Provinces ending the 80-year conflict between the Netherlands and Spain.