Thursday, August 17, 2023
Today on the Christian History Almanac podcast, we remember the fall of Antwerp in 1585 and its direct effect on religious freedom.
It is the 17th of August, 2023. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org. I’m Dan van Voorhis.
So today is the anniversary of the capitulation of Antwerp in 1585. And you say, “Cool, but that sounds like military history and not the church history that you usually serve up on this podcast.” Well, what if I told you that the result of this would lead to religious freedom as we know it today? And, if you listened yesterday, you might remember that “religious freedom,” as we know it today, has not been the norm historically.
For context: the Netherlands, as we know it today, did not exist in the 1500s. The Netherlands was part of the 17 provinces of the Low Countries that included the Netherlands but also modern Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of France and Germany. They were ruled by various Dukes until the Habsburgs, under Charles V, took control in 1549. You might remember Charles as the man who opposed Martin Luther early on. He was not keen on his new provinces adopting the reformation, and so he signed the Bloedplakkaat (Blood Edict) in 1550 proclaiming death to any Protestant heretics- this wasn’t terribly popular, but this was a commercial center, and keeping the peace was a high priority for the many merchants and traders in the region.
Fast forward to 1566, Charles abdicated in favor of his son, Phillip II. Meanwhile, social unrest, famine-like conditions, and popular out-of-doors preaching from Protestant rebels lead to riots across the Low Countries. Phillip sent in his troops and attempted to crush the Protestants, and this would be the beginning of the so-called “Eighty Years War” between the Spanish and Dutch. Importantly, in 1576 the Spanish Army, which was made up of mercenaries, was not paid. So this began the “Spanish fury” when the army began to riot and loot, burn, and kill across the Dutch provinces. This “Spanish Fury” lead to the “Pacification of Ghent,” or the alliance of various provinces against the Habsburgs. IN 1579 the Union of Arras in the southern provinces pledged allegiance to the Catholic Habsburgs, and the Union of Utrecht formed a similar agreement amongst northern Protestants.
But what about the southern city of Antwerp? It was the major trading center in Northern Europe, and part of its success was its acceptance of almost anyone- so long as you contributed to the financial health and stability of the city. Hearing the promise of religious freedom by the Protestant Union of Utrecht, they joined that side. But Phillip would not have this jewel of a province side with the Rebels. And so, in 1584, he sent the Duke of Parma- an established military tactician from the Ottoman wars in the East to take Antwerp. The siege that began is one of the more impressive in the early modern era. He had long roads connecting Habsburg and other Catholic countries with garrisons that kept his army supplied. He paid them, not permitting the kind of rioting that took place amongst the earlier armies. And he built one of the most impressive structures- a pontoon wall across the Scheldt river that was over 2,000 feet long- cutting off supplies from the Northern allies of Antwerp.
For a year, the Spanish army attempted to starve out the rebels in Antwerp. The Northern provinces tried flooding adjacent regions to open up avenues for naval warfare, but economic concerns (like, don’t flood our animal's grazing land) led to limited success. Military historians will tell you cool stories like Giambelli and his hellburners, but what you need to know is that the Duke of Parma and Phillip II were successful, and on this day, in 1585, Antwerp fell. But, not wanting a repeat of the “Spanish Fury,” gave moderate terms to the defeated Protestants. In fact, they could finish up any pressing affairs and migrate to the North. And some 50% of the population did so. They saw the religious freedom in the North amongst the Protestants as more conducive to business. Some Calvinists argued for a Calvinist state (their leader William of Orange, was a Calvinist), but ultimately it became a haven wherein “each person shall remain free, especially in his religion.” This became the first large-scale country ruled by broad religious toleration. It would be a haven for French Huguenots, Jews, and other dissenters. When the English dissenters we call “the Pilgrims” left England, they came to this Republic (although it was a little too free for them), and when the Dutch settled New Amsterdam, it became the model of tolerance in the colonies adopted by the American constitution and spread, although imperfectly, across the world. And this was on account of a military defeat when the Duke of Parma and Spanish Habsburgs took Antwerp on this day in 1585.
The last word for today comes from the daily lectionary from Revelation 15- let’s get apocalyptic!
I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues—last, because with them God’s wrath is completed. And I saw what looked like a sea of glass glowing with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name. They held harps given them by God and sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb:
“Great and marvelous are your deeds,
Lord God Almighty.
Just and true are your ways,
King of the nations.
Who will not fear you, Lord,
and bring glory to your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship before you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.”
This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 17th of August 2023, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.
The show is produced by the one-time Double Dutch Jump Rope king of West Lafayette- He is Christopher Gillespie.
The show is written and read by a direct descendant of the northern Dutch settlers of New Amsterdam- I’m Dan van Voorhis.
You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.
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