It is the 23rd of May, 1568. The Stadtholder of the Northern Dutch provinces, Jean de Ligne,
had been chasing an army of rebels out of his northern province. Initially outnumbered,
Spanish reinforcements under the governor of the Netherlands, Alva, were trekking up
north. Around the small village of Heiligerlee Jean’s army ran into a small cavalry unit
under Louis of Nassau. He decided to give chase, it should be an easy victory. What
he did not know, was that he was chasing straight into an ambush. And this ambush is commonly
marked by historians as the outbreak of the Eighty-Years-long Dutch War of Independence.
[Background]
At the centre of the initial stages of the Dutch War of Independence stands one man:
William ‘the Silent’ of Orange. Born in 1533, he became the wealthiest and most renowned
representative of the Dutch nobility of his time. Inheriting territories in France and
the Low Countries, he entered the inner circle of governing European kings from early on.
Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, King of Spain Charles V, ensured William received
Catholic education in Brussels and a tight bond developed between the Emperor and the
young prince. In October 1555, Charles V abdicated in favour
of his son Philip II, who now became ruler of the Seventeen Provinces of the Habsburg
Netherlands. One year later, Philip acquired his father’s Spanish territories. However,
he inherited empty coffers and thanks to continuous war against France he soon suffered shortages
in funds. But he inherited an arguably more significant
problem. Philip was a staunch Catholic and made very clear he would continue persecuting
heretics, something his father had begun. But the United Provinces had already embraced
the reformation and weren’t too eager to have their Spanish ruler condemn their choice
of religion and impose Catholicism on them. Philip is described as a distrusting man who
did not speak a word of French or Dutch, leading to strained relations between him and the
Council of State, an advisory body. When Philip returned to Spain to be crowned King in 1559,
a collective sigh of relief sounded from the provinces. Philip would never set foot in
his territories to the north again. He left his sister Margaret of Parma in charge as
Governor of the Netherlands, with her court at Brussels.
As for William, he served Philip loyally as he had his father. Upon his departure, Philip
appointed William as Stadtholder of the provinces Holland, Zeeland and Utrecht.
But in reality, it was Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle who had real tangible influence
in Brussels. He had direct contact with Margaret and eagerly enacted Philip’s strict orders
against Protestantism. All the while, Calvinism spread through the region. Already right after
Philip left for Spain, tensions emerged between Granvelle and the Dutch nobility.
Whereas Granvelle eagerly followed Philip’s hard-line, William actively drifted away from
that line. In 1561 he married the Lutheran Anna of Saxony, increasing the Spanish suspicions.
This was only exacerbated when his marriage meant he solidified bonds with German lords
who opposed Philip’s rule. After multiple complaints by prominent Dutch
nobles and even Margaret second-guessing Granvelle’s hard-line, Philip recalled him to Spain. Nevertheless,
he continued the exact same hard-line policy that led to the confrontation between Granvelle
and the Dutch nobility. A speech held in 1564 held by William survives. In it he held a
fiery plea to allow pluriformity of religion. But despite William’s and other noble’s
attempts to get Philip to agree to have religions co-exist, the King made it clear he would
continue his severe persecution of heretics. The situation deteriorated significantly.
By the end of 1565, the minor Dutch nobles joined a union. Many of them were radicals
and made it clear they would not shy away from violence. Still, William convinced them
to hand in a petition instead of doing anything violent. As such in 1566 over 300 minor nobles
offered Margaret a moderate petition requesting the King to halt the persecution of heretics
and once again have the advisory body of nobles commence.
When a second petition was handed to Margaret, she agreed to halt religious persecution before
Philip’s final verdict had even arrived. What followed was a discharge of 40 years
of pent up repression. The entire summer Calvinist preachers took to the streets and public sermons
were on every street corner. Though initially peaceful, soon mobs turned against the Catholic
institutions. What followed is referred to as the ‘Beeldenstorm’. Catholic churches
were razed and ravaged. The unrest started in the south but spread all the way to the
north. It was a summer of chaos. Margaret sent in the army to hang those who
dared violate churches, and William too condemned the actions, even ordering the execution of
several rioters. But in the aftermath, any agreement seemed further away than ever, and
the persecution of heretics continued. If anything, the crackdown was more severe and
more widely supported. Even after all this, William was hesitant
to lead a rebellion against Philip. For example, in March 1567, when rebels attacked the Flemish
Army near Antwerp, William ordered no one to come to the rebels’ aid.
Still, when Margaret requested all Dutch high nobility to swear an oath of loyalty, William
was one of the few who refused. So instead, he moved to his family’s castle in Dillenburg,
a place that would become the central hub for organising the eventual revolt.
After the Beeldenstorm Philip appointed the notorious Iron Duke, Fernando Alvarez de Toledo,
as Governor of the Netherlands to restore order. He arrived in August 1567, supported
by a significant Spanish army. One of his first doings was to establish a new court
to deal with heretics. Among the Dutch, this became known as the ‘Blood council’. No
one was safe, not even high nobles who were arrested or expropriated. William too was
expropriated, and besides him, many people now fled the country to France or the Holy
Roman Empire. Over time too many people requested William
to unleash a rebellion. Eventually, he was swayed, and he sold furniture, paintings and
jewellery to build up an army to invade the Netherlands from the east. After many negotiations
and diligent planning, he came up with a plan. William himself would lead an army into Brabant.
In the east, the Count of Hoogstraten was to invade through upper-Gelre and William’s
brothers Louis and Adolf of Nassau were tasked with invading Groningen, in the north.
The first army to invade was a group of mercenaries under a different commander, Jan of Montigny,
due to the Count of Hoogstraten suffering from illness. After a failed besiegement of
the city of Roermond, the army retreated to Dalheim. Over here, as the army was resting
in the early hours of the morning, they were surprised by an invading force dispatched
by Alva. The rebels were massacred, suffering incredible losses.
This defeat surely was a setback. A few weeks later the rebels had a chance to be vindicated.
In May, the northern army invaded the province of Groningen. The rebel army was in poor condition
because Louis and Adolf of Nassau hadn’t paid them in time. The majority of his army
consisted of German mercenaries, with the majority of the cavalry consisting of German
and Dutch loyalists. Despite the lack of pay, Louis managed to rouse them one more time.
They captured the castle of the Stadtholder in Wedde and trekked towards the city of Groningen.
However, due to a shortage in both troops and siege equipment, Louis realised a siege
wasn’t a realistic course of action. He blocked the north- and eastern side of
the city. But after six weeks of besiegements, he understood Alva’s army was on its way
to relieve Groningen and expel the rebels. So they retreated, making their way towards
East Frisia. However, around the small township of Heiligerlee, part of their army was intercepted
by the Stadtholder of the province.
Though they were retreating, their army was still largely intact. Louis led 3900 infantry.
His brother, Adolf, led 200 horsemen. They set up camp near the abbey of Heiligerlee.
Friesland’s Stadtholder, Johan de Ligne, Duke of Aremberg, had approximately 3200 infantry
and 200 horsemen at his disposal. However, the majority of his infantry consisted of
Wallonian mercenaries. He knew he was outnumbered and had been evading the invading army while
requesting reinforcements. Although Alva’s reinforcements hadn’t arrived yet, he felt
confident in pursuing the rebels to get them out of his province. After all, they failed
their besiegement of Groningen and surely their morale was dwindling.
When he received news of the rebel army situated near the abbey of Heiligerlee, he decided
to take the initiative and launch an attack. Accordingly, his troops moved towards Heiligerlee.
The Abbey of Heiligerlee was located on top of an elevation, amidst two others. A road
connected the abbey to the village close by. Due to the area being swampy and locals extracting
peat, there were many holes and pits in the ground. These took away the view of the army
trekking into the area.
[Battle sequence]
The Stadtholder wasn’t able to profit from a surprise attack. Because Adolf and Louis
found out he was chasing them. On May 23 nearby Heiligerlee Adolf launched a minor cavalry
charge against the Stadtholders army. The two forces engaged in a skirmish. Adolf was
vastly outnumbered, and it seemed like a hopeless last-ditch attempt to save his retreating
infantry. Slowly but surely, he was pushed further and further, moving towards the abbey.
His cavalry crossed the road and entered the marshland between the two other hills.
The rebels surely could not escape anymore. At least Adolf’s cavalry was doomed. As
the Stadtholder and his army closed in on the few horseriders, already battered from
the skirmish, suddenly they heard screams all around them.
It had been a ruse. Adolf managed to lure the Stadtholder’s army. Suddenly, the infantry
appeared from behind the surrounding elevations and the holes in the ground. The Stadtholder
was surrounded. The rebels now charged into his ranks.
The infantry fought each other ferociously as the rebel cavalry charged back into the
disoriented Stadtholder’s cavalry. During the ensuing melee, the Stadtholder was slain.
Before too long his entire army was routed, as the rebels chased them back across the
road. Sources conflict, but either during the skirmish or during the lure, Adolf was
struck by a sword and died from his wounds. Fearing Alva’s large relief force approaching,
they did not chase the Wallonian mercenaries further. Instead, they regrouped and continued
their trek towards East Frisia. The total number of casualties on the Spanish side is
estimated at between 450 and 800 soldiers. The rebels lost around 50 soldiers. Despite
Adolf’s death, it was an incredible victory for the rebels.
Upon learning of the rebel victory at Heiligerlee, Alva responded the way you would expect the
Iron Duke to respond. Two high nobles were beheaded on the Brussels market, and in the
aftermath, the Spanish publicly executed many minor nobles and arrested heretics.
As for the rebels, the victory at Heiligerlee did not provide them with any momentum for
further victories. Two months after the Battle of Heiligerlee Alva decisively defeated Louis’
army at Jemgum. William’s invasion wasn’t a success either. Subsequent military follow-ups
were disastrous, leading to William being nearly bankrupt as the end of the year grew
closer. Losing his brother and his failed invasion of Brabant took its toll. William
returned to his Dillenburg castle. Many historians mark the Battle at Heiligerlee
as the beginning of the Eighty Years’ War, despite there being several skirmishes and
sieges preceding it. What is for certain is that 80 more years of war would follow, with
a brief intermezzo. The subsequent battles, military campaigns and besiegements were nothing
short of a Dutch War of Independence, leading to the creation of the Dutch Republic.