History of the United Netherlands, 1608a

History of the United Netherlands, 1608a

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Title: History of the United Netherlands, 1608(a)
Author: John Lothrop Motley
Release Date: January, 2004 [EBook #4881] [Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on April 15, 2002]
Edition: 10
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII

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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, Vol. 81
History of the United Netherlands, 1608(a)

CHAPTER L
.
Movements of the Emperor Rudolph--Marquis Spinola's reception at the Hague--Meeting of Spinola and Prince Maurice--Treaty of the Republic with the French Government--The Spanish commissioners before the States-General--Beginning of negotiations--Stormy discussions--Real object of Spain in the negotiations--Question of the India trade-- Abandonment of the peace project--Negotiations for a truce-- Prolongation of the armistice--Further delays--Treaty of the States with England--Proposals of the Spanish ambassadors to Henry of France and to James of England--Friar Neyen at the court of Spain-- Spanish procrastination--Decision of Philip on the conditions of peace--Further conference at the Hague--Answer of the States-General to the proposals of the Spanish Government--General rupture.
Towards the close of the year 1607 a very feeble demonstration was made in the direction of the Dutch republic by the very feeble Emperor of Germany. Rudolph, awaking as it might be from a trance, or descending for a moment from his star-gazing tower and his astrological pursuits to observe the movements of political spheres, suddenly discovered that the Netherlands were no longer revolving in their preordained orbit. Those provinces had been supposed to form part of one great system, deriving light and heat from the central imperial sun. It was time therefore to put an end to these perturbations. The emperor accordingly, as if he had not enough on his hands at that precise moment with the Hungarians, Transylvanians, Bohemian protestants, his brother Matthias and the Grand Turk, addressed a letter to the States of Holland, Zeeland, and the provinces confederated with them.
Reminding them of the care ever taken by himself and his father to hear all their petitions, and to obtain for them a good peace, he observed that he had just heard of their contemplated negotiations with King Philip and Archduke Albert, and of their desire to be declared free states and peoples. He was amazed, he said, that they should not have given him notice of so important an affair, inasmuch as all the United Provinces belonged to and were fiefs of the holy Roman Empire. They were warned, therefore, to undertake nothing that might be opposed to the feudal law except with his full knowledge. This letter was dated the 9th of October. The States took time to deliberate, and returned no answer until after the new year.
On the 2nd of January, 1608, they informed the emperor that they could never have guessed of his requiring notification as to the approaching conferences. They had not imagined that the archduke would keep them a secret from his brother, or the king from his uncle-cousin. Otherwise, the States would have sent due notice to his Majesty. They well remembered, they said, the appeals made by the provinces to the emperor from time to time, at the imperial diets, for help against the tyranny of the Spaniards. They well remembered, too, that no help was ever given them in response to those appeals. They had not forgotten either the famous Cologne negotiations for peace in presence of the imperial envoys, in consequence of which the enemy had carried on war against them with greater ferocity than before. At that epoch they had made use of