Overseas Conquest and Religious War to 1648281the Huguenots tried unsuccessfully to kidnap him at
Amboise. He was succeeded by his brother, Charles IX
(reigned 1560–74), who was closely controlled by
Catherine de Médicis, but the wars went on. Though
the Huguenots were not at first successful on the battle-
field, they gained limited religious toleration in 1570.
Meanwhile, the Netherlands had begun their long
rebellion against the king of Spain. The seventeen
provinces of the Low Countries were now the richest
part of Europe, an urbanized region devoted to trade
and intensive agriculture. Though divided by language
(Dutch or Flemish was spoken in the north and west,
French or Walloon in the south and east), they shared a
common artistic and intellectual tradition and an easy-
going tolerance for foreigners and heretics. Though a
majority of the population remained Catholic, Luther-
ans and Calvinists flourished in the major cities. Gov-
ernment was decentralized and, from the Spanish point
of view, woefully inefficient. Philip II was represented
by a regent, his half-sister Margaret of Parma
(1522–86), who presided over the privy council and
the councils of finance and state. Seventeen provincial
estates, all of which were represented in the States
General, controlled taxes and legislation. A virulent lo-
calism based on the defense of historical privilege
made agreement possible only on rare occasions. Taxes
were usually defeated by squabbles over who should
pay the largest share—nobles or townspeople. No
common legal code existed, and a host of independent
legal jurisdictions were controlled by nobles whose
administration of justice was often corrupt.
None of this was acceptable to Philip II. He was de-
termined to reorganize the government, reform the le-
gal system, and root out heresy by reforming the church
along the lines suggested by the Council of Trent. All of
these proposals struck directly at the wealth and power
of the Netherlandish nobles. Philip’s plan to reorganize
the governing councils weakened their authority, while
legal reform would have eliminated the feudal courts
from which many of the nobles drew large revenues.
Though his reform of the church sought to increase the
number of bishops, the king was determined to end the
purchase of ecclesiastical offices and to appoint only
clerics whose education and spirituality met the high
standards imposed by the Council of Trent. The ancient
custom by which nobles invested in church offices for
the support of their younger sons was at an end.
Four years of accelerating protest by leading
members of the aristocracy accomplished nothing. Fi-
nally, in 1566, a wave of iconoclasm brought matters
to a head. The Protestants, acting in opposition to
Philip’s plan for ecclesiastical reform and encouraged
by members of the higher nobility, removed the im-
ages from churches across the country. In some areas,
iconoclasm was accompanied by rioting and violence.
Though the regent’s government was able to restore
order, Philip responded in shock and anger. In 1567
he dispatched his leading general, the duke of Alba
(1507–82), to put down what he saw as rebellion (see
illustration 15.3). Though Alba was at first successful,
the harshness of his government alienated virtually
every segment of opinion. When he attempted toIllustration 15.3
The Massacre of the Innocents.In
this work of art by Pieter Breughel the
Younger, which is also a powerful propa-
ganda piece, Spanish soldiers terrorize a
Flemish village. The figure at the head of
the troops bears a strong resemblence to
the duke of Alba as he looked in 1567.
To make a political point, Breughel the
Younger may have repainted an earlier
version of this work that had been done
by his father.