Explanatory Comment : The ‘defection’ of the Holland towns to the side of William of Orange was neither spontaneous nor sudden. In most towns Orange could count on the support of only a handful among the political elites, some of whom had gone into exile with the prince in 1567. These now entered into negotiation with the town magistrates in order to persuade them to recognise Orange as the king’s stadhouder and to admit a number of Beggar troops. Evidently the rebels began by submitting a pre-arranged list of demands to the magistrates who negotiated agreements, or accords, which might if the case of Dordrecht is typical, bear little resemblance to the original demands. In particular the magistrates saw no reason to make concessions to the Calvinists.
Draft Agreement between the Prince of Orange and the
Magistrates of Leiden
1. That the magistrates of the town of Leiden shall be bidden on behalf of the Prince of Orange, as stadhouder, to restore the schutterijen to their former state or reform them
2. That the magistrates, the civic militia, burghers, inhabitants and clergy shall take an oath to His Royal Majesty and to the Prince of Orange as his stadhouder.
3. That the [Reformed] congregation [gemeente] be granted the principal church, where the Word of God may be preached and the reformed religion practised and that they shall refrain from abusing one another.
5. That the magistrates shall assemble in the States with the Nobility and the other towns which they trust in order to give assurances and to promise His Excellence quickly an extraordinary sum of money according to their ability.
6. That the magistrates shall prevent any plundering and stealing, be it from the clergy and laity, or from the churches and religious houses.
8. That the soldiers shall be dealt with in accordance with martial law.
Pieter Adriaenssoon [van der Werff] is charged with commending to the magistrates in the Gerecht the aforesaid [articles] by the prince of Orange as stadhouder on 14 June 1572.
[In the margin] Submitted by Pieter Adriaensoon with his credentials, dated 14 June last, in the presence of Jan Paedtszoon Cornelis, Huijch van Alghemade and Willem Jan Reijerssoon. It is understood by the members of the vroedschap that a decision about these articles shall, with the exception of the fifth article, be postponed until next Tuesday in order to discuss this matter at an opportune time with the said Jan Huych and Willem in the interests of the peace and prosperity of this town. Regarding the fifth article the members of the vroedschap have agreed to assemble with the nobles and the other willing towns in the States and to enter into discussion with the same on the matter raised there.
Source : R.H. Bremmer, “Het beleg en ontzet van Leiden (1574): een venster op de opstand”, Nederlands Archief voor Kerkgeschiedenis , n.s., 47 (1965-66) 171-2; 180-81.
Articles which the Prince of Orange as Stadhouder has
charged Pieter Adriaensz. to bring to the Notice of and to
to commend to the Vroedschap of the town of Delft
14 July 1572
1. That the magistrates of the town of Delft shall be bidden on behalf of the Prince of Orange as stadhouder to restore the schutterijen to their former state.
2. That the magistrates, schutterijen, burghers, inhabitants and clergy shall take an oath to His Majesty and to the Prince of Orange as his stadhouder.
3. That the [Reformed] congregation [gemeente] be granted the use of the principal church where the Word of God may be preached and the Reformed Religion practised and that they should refrain from abusing one another.
5. That the aforesaid magistrates should assemble in the States with the Nobility and the other towns in order to give assurances and to promise first the Prince of Orange an extraordinary sum of money according to their ability.
6. That the magistrates shall prevent any plundering and stealing from both the laity and the clergy, including the churches and religious houses.
8. That a garrison shall be allowed to enter and received on behalf of his excellency and that the soldiers should be subject to martial law.
Source : A.Kluit, Historie der Hollandsche staatsregering tot aan het jaar 1795 I (Amsterdam, 1802) 518-519.
Agreement between Barthold Entens van Mentheda and Dordrecht, 25 June 1572
The magistrates of Dordrecht, having seen and examined certain written proposals, which Barthold Entens van Mentheda, jonkheer of Middelstum, Dorwert [Doornweerd?] and Engeweer, deputy lieutenant of my lord, Count van der Marck, baron of Lumey, delivered on 23 June 1572, and having communicated the same to the ordinary schutters and members of the trade guilds within the town, decided to agree to receive the aforesaid Captain Barthold Entens conditionally in the town until it has been otherwise decided, and on the terms which now follow, to wit:-
1. that the aforesaid Captain shall enter the aforesaid town with no more than two hundred soldiers from his company;
2. that the magistrates of Dordrecht acknowledge and desire to have no other lord than His Majestry, the King of Spain, as their trueborn Lord and Count of Holland and that they wish to remain loyal and faithful to the same in accordance with the oath sworn by His Majesty to the province of Holland and reciprocated by the subjects to His Majesty, and to remain under the governorship of the Prince of Orange, in his capacity as stadhouder of His Majesty over Holland (or whomsover it may please His Majesty to appoint with the advice of the States of the same province), in accordance with the constitution of the whole country [gemeen Lant], following the advice of the States-General of the country, without placing themselves under any other lords, rulers, princes or captains than those who have been charged and commissioned by His Majesty or His Excellence;
3. that the said town of Dordrecht and her burghers and inhabitants shall be upheld and maintained in all their privileges and rights without any change or diminution of the same, but these shall be maintained in accordance with His Majesty’s oath and that they should remain by the oath which they took to His Majesty;
4. that all orders, be they religious, men, women or priests, as well as all lay estates, officers, magistrates, regents, senior and lesser governors shall continue free and unconstrained in their estates, constitutions and services, and that in this respect matters shall always be conducted as they have hitherto been at Dordrecht, in accordance with the privileges and rights of this town;
5. that also all the inhabitants of this town and the subjects landward in South Holland1 shall be protected together with their property, both ecclesiastical and secular, in South Holland and beyond, wherever it may be situated or found, and that it shall not be damaged by the aforesaid Captain’s men;
6. that no churches, religious houses, chapel, houses, quarters or appurtances of any cleric in this town and in South Holland may in any way be damaged, broken, abated or violated;
7. that since the town is a privileged staple-town, situated on several waterways, both salt and freshwater, these waterways shall remain open and unobstructed, for the passage of both the inhabitants and strangers and that the merchandise of both foreign and native merchants may be freely and openly sold within the town and taken away;
8. that all inhabitants, be they burghers or strangers, clergy or laity, may without injury to their persons or property travel freely out of this town and depart whither they please and no one shall place any impediment in their way.
All these aforesaid articles the aforesaid Captain Barthold Entens accepted and he promised the authorities of Dordrecht on his nobility, honour and oath, which he had taken to His Majesty and the Prince of Orange that all these same conditions and articles above mentioned would be certainly and perpetually maintained and accomplished. In witness and confirmation thereof he sealed this instrument with his seal on 25 June 1572 and it was signed Barthold Entens van Mentheda.
Source : P.Bor, Oorsprongk, begin en vervolgh , I, pp. 379-80; De ongedrukte resolutien der Staten van Holland, ed. J.C. Leeuwenberg and J. Smit, Bijdragen en Mededeelingen van het Historisch Genootschap 61 (1940) 28-30.
Agreement between Count Van den Bergh and Kampen
11 August 1572 2
1. The burgomasters, magistrates and Raad, with the Gezworen Gemeente, burghers and inhabitants of the town and liberty of Kampen shall remain subjects in the service and obedience of His Majesty of Spain, their most gracious lord, and they shall keep the oath which they have taken to His Royal Majesty and to the town of Kampen. Likewise, they shall maintain the old-established constitution of the same town.
2. The aforesaid burgomasters, magistrates and Raad, with the Gezworen Gemeente, burghers and inhabitants shall keep and be maintained in all their rights, liberties, prerogatives, privileges, possessions and customs, such as they have hitherto had, enjoyed and used in accordance with the treaty made in 1527 between their first most gracious hereditary prince, his imperial majesty, the emperor Charles V of most laudable memory and the Nobility [Ridderschap], Towns and Lands of Overijssel. This shall be kept strictly and anything undertaken contrary to it shall be discontinued.
3. The burgomasters, magistrates and Raad, the guilds, burghers and inhabitants of the aforesaid town shall remain unencumbered, unhindered and inviolate in their persons and in their property in general and in particular. If any of the same have fallen into the displeasure of His Excellence the Prince of Orange or his Grace [Van den Bergh] on account of matters connected with the siege of the said town of Kampen or earlier, or should be accused, they shall be absolved from such displeasure, which shall be forgotten.
4. All priests, religious houses, and indeed all clerical and lay persons may continue to keep without let, injury or constraint their religion as otherwise. Likewise the schools of the same town may keep their constitutions.
5. That all those who have suffered damage from the soldiers of His Grace before and hereafter may have it restituted as far as possible, if they manage to recover their stolen property again. Promises of payment made on this account shall be set aside.
6. The burgomasters, magistrates, Raad and guilds shall not be called on, or constrained to suffer any artillery, ordnance or other on the town’s property, without the advise, consent or discretion of their Honours [Eerbaerheijt]; that neither the town nor the burghers shall be burdened with any impost.
Source : Uittreksels uit het dagboek van Arent toe Boecop (Deventer, 1862) 126-127.
Agreement reached between Van der Marck and Schoonhoven
October 1572
On 4 October [1572] the Count Van der Marck appeared before Schoonhoven and he besieged this town and on the ninth day of that month he gained admission on these terms, to wit:
life and property should be protected and no priest should be molested; that the burghers should hold their services in the chief church as before and that the Beggars should also receive a church for their sermons. The burghers were required to carry this out and to meet the expenses of the siege. This was all formally sealed and signed by my lord the prince of Orange and the aforesaid Count van der Marck, but he did not keep his word to either the burghers or to the clergy.
Source : Willem Jansz. Verwer, Memoriaelbouck (Haarlem, 1973) 14.
1 Inhabitants living in the jurisdiction of the high court of Dordrecht.
2 In the agreement reached on 14 August between Van den Bergh and Zwolle these articles recur, often verbatim, though the order has been changed. In addition the Zwolle agreement includes a promise to spare the town from a garrison, except in emergency. Uittreksels uit het Dagboek van Arent toe Boecop (Deventer, 1862) 66-69