<!DOCTYPE ETS PUBLIC "-//UMDLPS//DTD EEBOPROOF 2.0//EN">
<ETS>
<TEMPHEAD>
<REVDESCR>
<CHANGE>
<DATE>2011-06-24</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>Holly (Beeman) Smith</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
</RESPSTMT>
<ITEM> Checklist: x Add TEMPHEAD, change DATE, validate x Add DIV TYPEs, validate x Review structure, use TEXT, FRONT, BODY, BACK or rarely GROUP x Check PB placement and completeness, ensure sequence of N="" x Proof title page(s) x Check HEAD TRAILER ARGUMENT EPIGRAPH OPENER CLOSER SIGNED SALUTE BYLINE x Check ^, oe, abq, italic I / J, _Initals, &amp;c. x Check # @ -- UNCLEAR LB FIGURE x Check E&s;q; by searching ABBR x Check q; startq endq Q&#62; x Check &punc; (if several, search [[:alpha:]]&punc;[[:alpha:]] w / regular expression checked) x Check for capital U in black letter (should be V) x Check GAPs x Correct illegibles from proofsheet x Correct errors from proof sample x Check illegible page, para, line, span, word, dollar signs x Final validate and check Corrected [ ] illegible groups out of [ ]. Converted [ ] illegible groups to GAP DESC="illegible". DONE</ITEM>
</CHANGE>
</REVDESCR>
</TEMPHEAD>
<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="A92749">
<STC T="W">s2087</STC>
<STC T="T">e123_8</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99871340</BIBNO>
<VID>156151</VID>
</IDG>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="account">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<HEAD>The wicked Plots, and perfidious Practi&s;es of the <HI>Spaniards,</HI> again&s;t the <HI>17.</HI> Provinces of the <HI>Netherlands,</HI> before they tooke up Arms.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">Being gathered out of &s;everall Dutch Writers, by a lover of truth, and an unfained hater of Oppre&s;&s;ion and Tyrannie, the bane of Commonwealths:</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Gentle Reader,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_I Shall &s;peak &s;o much touching the cruel, inhumane, treacherous, perfidious; yea, unnaturall practi&s;es of the <HI>Spaniards,</HI> in the&s;e parts, and el&s;ewhere, which may &s;ufficiently delineate him in his de&s;erved colours, that who&s;oever beholds him may mourn to &s;ee this <HI>Hazael</HI> &s;o to tyrannize over the innocent, &amp; that the Lord &s;hould permit, and the earth beare &s;uch an unheard of mon&s;ter: yet notwith&s;tanding much more might be added in &s;undry other particulars, as the Dutch Chronicles mention, and other Writers have wel &s;et out: among&s;t which, although I my &s;elfe be a &s;tranger by Nation to them; yet &s;ince the time of my aboad here, having attained &s;ome under&s;tanding in the Language, I have thought fit to &s;peake &s;o much, which in my reading I have ob&s;erved.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, thou art to under&s;tand, gentle Reader; that the King of <HI>Spain</HI> was loving|ly received here in the 17. Provinces, and a &s;olemn oath was taken on both parts; the King for his part &s;wore to maintain all their Lawes &amp; Priviledges, and they to him all due homage &amp; allegeance: He pre&s;ently demanded of them a &s;umme of mo|ny, whereupon the States did a&s;&s;emble, and collected for him 40. millions of Flo|rines, of <HI>Brabants</HI> money, to be paid in 9. years, and they paid it into the Exche|quer, and although it was more then they had paid before to his predece&s;&s;ors, yet upon this he tooke great di&s;plea&s;ure again&s;t them, and, as they write, he for this did hate them to death.</P>
<P>But he pretended this to be the cau&s;e of his wrath, becau&s;e he &s;aw that there were &s;ome among them, that did defie the Pope and all his Religion: but that could not be, for the City of <HI>Ael&s;t</HI> was as &s;uper&s;titious in that Religion as <HI>Rome</HI> it &s;elfe; for they did per&s;ecute the Reformed Religion even unto death: and yet for all that both they, and 170. fair Villages that belonged unto them, were by them plunde|red and &s;poiled of all their goods, and many of them wounded and tormented for to confe&s;&s;e where their money was, and many were killed. Thus much by the way.</P>
<P>My &s;cope and chiefe intent, is to &s;hew the fir&s;t and ju&s;t cau&s;e of the wars in the <HI>Netherlands;</HI> whereby the diligent Reader (not partially affected) may clearely under&s;tand, that the <HI>Netherlands</HI> did not rebelliou&s;ly take up Arms again&s;t a law|full Prince, (as &s;ome ignorantly thinke and &s;peake) but ju&s;tly and religiou&s;ly de|fend them&s;elves again&s;t a perfidious Tyrant who &s;ought their ruine, by all po&s;&s;i|ble meanes he could, and the &s;ubver&s;ion of the whole State. A long while they pa|tiently underwent his cruell oppre&s;&s;ions, and intolerable vexations, as the Hi&s;to|ries clearely manife&s;t; till there was no hope, but either they mu&s;t become &s;laves in &s;oule and body, wor&s;e then that of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> in <HI>Egypt,</HI> they and theirs for ever, or el&s;e be butchered by mercile&s;&s;e executioners of a cruel Tyrant. This Tyrant having a purpo&s;e to innovate all things, to root out ancient inhabitants, and to fru&s;trate all
<PB REF="2">the Laws, Cu&s;tomes and Priviledges which him&s;elfe had &s;worn to maintain; knew not how better to effect his evil ends, then by rai&s;ing a bloody Inqui&s;ition to &s;et over them for their government;<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Inqui&s;ition was there fou<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">e yearesefore.</NOTE> which &s;aid Inqui&s;ition (rai&s;ed in <HI>Spain</HI>) con|cluded and pronounced certain Articles, the tenth of February 1568: which were confirmed by the King, the 26. following. Now becau&s;e it may appeare I do them no wrong in this charge; I will lay down the Articles them&s;elves verbatim.</P>
<P>The mo&s;t &s;acred Office of inqui&s;ition, &s;o often attempted in the Netherlands by his Maje&s;ty, and hindered untill this time, &s;hall be in&s;tituted and advanced in this <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 span"> <HI>with</HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 span"> <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">hole admini&s;tration of the Nethe<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">lands.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2 <HI>That the Emperour with his two &s;i&s;ters, having given over all affaires, lea|ving the Netherlands, &s;hall retire into Spaine unto Vs, being a&s;&s;ured that they &s;hall never returne more to doe any harme.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3 <HI>The&s;e being di&s;patcht, we mu&s;t al&s;o draw the King to us, and keep him for ever that he part not, and not &s;uffer any Flemings to have acce&s;&s;e or conference with him.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4 <HI>That the King write unto, and command the Clergie of the Netherlands, that with the Inqui&s;ition they &s;hould accept of</HI> 15 <HI>new Bi&s;hops, the which &s;hould be free from all &s;ecular juri&s;diction, yea in ca&s;es of trea&s;on.</HI></P>
<P N="5">5 <HI>The &s;ubjects of the Netherlands through their malice &amp; waywardne&s;&s;e, will revolt and move &s;editious and tumults, plea&s;ing to all but our companie.</HI></P>
<P N="6">6 <HI>The Princes and Noblemen, heads and authours of tho&s;e factions, with the &s;ubjects, mu&s;t be taken away, and the others reduced unto rea&s;on.</HI></P>
<P N="7">7 <HI>They &s;hall hire at our charge theeues and &s;poilers of Churches and Images, who&s;e offences &s;hall be by all the world imputed to Rebels, by &s;ome &s;ubtill meanes, and &s;o we &s;hall vanqui&s;h them.</HI></P>
<P N="8">8 <HI>That all Comerce, Negotiation, Liberties, and Priviledges, &s;hal be rooted out, &amp; that all be reduced to extream povertie, wherby the realm &s;hal be permanent for Vs.</HI></P>
<P N="9">9 <HI>No man of all tho&s;e Countries (except he be of our faction) &s;hall be held wor|thy to live; and finally all to be rooted out: and all Goods, Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions, Arts, and Trades, and all Orders to be taken away, untill there may be a new Realme, and a new people.</HI></P>
<P N="10">10 <HI>In this action the wi&s;e and valiant Duke</HI> Alva <HI>&s;hall be imployed in per&s;on; whereas any other, were he of the blood Royall, or a Prince, &s;hall be of no e&s;teeme: &s;o as being &s;u&s;pect yea in the &s;malle&s;t matters, they mu&s;t be di&s;patcht.</HI></P>
<P N="11">11 <HI>No Contracts, Rights, Promi&s;es, Donations, Oathes, Privileges, and &s;olemne A&s;&s;ertions of the Netherlands, &s;hall bee of any force for the inhabitants, as being guiltie of high trea&s;on.</HI></P>
<P N="12">12 <HI>But above all we mu&s;t have an e&s;pecial care that in the&s;e matters of &s;o great weight and moment, we proceed not violently, but by meanes, by degrees, and that di&s;creetly, to the end the Princes, Nobilitie, and inferiour &s;ub<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ects may mutinie a|mong&s;t them&s;elves, &s;o that one may per&s;ecute, yea execute the other untill at la&s;t the hang man be executed him&s;elf. For in all Chri&s;tendom is there not a Nation more fooli&s;h and indi&s;creet, and who&s;e levitie and incon&s;tancie may &s;ooner be deceived then the&s;e Netherlanders, and God puni&s;heth them accordingly.</HI></P>
<P>There were other Articles found in pre&s;ident <HI>Vergaes</HI> chamber at <HI>Antwerpe</HI> and there printed; and tho&s;e are more cruell then the&s;e, but not more &s;ubtile.</P>
<P>By the&s;e Articles &amp; unlimited power of the&s;e lawle&s;&s;e inqui&s;itors, no man had any a&s;&s;urance of life or goods for a day, but were indanger continually to be called in|to
<PB REF="2">que&s;tion, either for the Law of their God, or for &s;ome work of mercy, which ei|ther religion, morall equity, or the bond of nature called for: or el&s;e if they had colour for none of the&s;e, they would impo&s;e &s;uch unrea&s;onable taxations, which if the Cormorants had not their gorges crambed full, they would make prey of all, whether by right or vvrong it mattered not. But my purpo&s;e being to avoid prolix|itie, and to pa&s;&s;e by impertinences and needele&s;&s;e repetitions, I will come to that <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> intended.</P>
<P>In the yeare 1565. a match was concluded for the Prince of <HI>Parma,</HI> and the nuptials were &s;olemnized at <HI>Bruxels,</HI> whither all the Nobility and Gentry of the countrey were invited, and accordingly there met of them about 400. who like faithfull <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> being grieved to &s;ee the daily oppre&s;&s;ion of their brethren by the hard task-ma&s;ters of the Inqui&s;ition, who not onely robbed them of their goods, but al&s;o by inhumane cruelty, and unnaturall butchery, deprived them of their lives, who daily led them as &s;heep unto the &s;laughter: The con&s;ideration hereof they joyntly layd to heart, and hereupon (being met upon this occa&s;ion) they re|&s;olved to pre&s;ent a petition to the Prince&s;&s;e of <HI>Parma,</HI> which they did the 5. of Aprill next following. The E. of Breedrod delivering the Petition,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;ub&s;tance of this relation is not un&s;utable to the&s;e times.</NOTE> humbly reque&s;ted a favourable an&s;wer. Three dayes after they received this an&s;wer, <HI>viz.</HI> they &s;hould &s;end two of their Nolbemen to the King, by whom &s;he would write in their behalfe. The Lord of Barlamont being pre&s;ent, after their departure &s;aid <HI>(like a flattering Courtier)</HI> they were a company of Ra&s;calls and Beggars.</P>
<P>It was concluded that the Marque&s;&s;e of Bargen, and the Lord of Mountigny &s;hould go into Spain, who humbly pre&s;ented their &s;uit to the K<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ng, but could get no an&s;wer in 16. moneths after.</P>
<P>The 26. of Augu&s;t <HI>Anno</HI> 1566. the Prince&s;&s;e of <HI>Parma</HI> &s;ent for the Gentrie, telling them &s;he had received Letters from the King, containing promi&s;e that all &s;hould be well, and that the inqui&s;ition &s;hould cea&s;e. And for the Proclamations they &s;hould not be of force, but his Maje&s;ty would take &s;uch order as they and the States &s;hould well like of. The Prince&s;&s;e al&s;o gave them tolleration for their Re|ligion, on condition they &s;hould not deface, nor breake downe the ornaments of the Churches: for, there had beene before this time vile and leude per&s;ons that frequented the meetings of the Reformed; the&s;e went into the Papi&s;ts Churches, &s;tole their &s;ilver and what was worth carrying away, and brake downe their Ima|ges: but the reformed &s;u&s;pected that this was done by the appointment of the Princes, neither was their &s;u&s;pition without good ground, for it is to be &s;eene in the Kings let|ter, <HI>Art.</HI> 7. that &s;he had order to hire this ra&s;call company to doe this vilany,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Emanuell de Miter &s;aith, that in Flan|ders they tooke <HI>50.</HI> of them at one time, and hanged <HI>22.</HI> and whipped the re&s;t.</NOTE> which fact was imputed to the Prote&s;tants, to the end that they might not onely be odions there, but al&s;o &s;eeme guilty, even in the judgement of other Nations, howbeit the offenders were puni&s;hed with impri&s;onment, yea, with death, even by the reformed them&s;elves, who joyntly confe&s;&s;ed the action unlawfull, and were &s;o far from giving occa&s;ion of offence in this nature; that Papi&s;t burgers them&s;elves offered good &s;e|curity, that no &s;uch thing &s;hould be attempted by them. Who then can make any doubt that they were free from having any hand in tho&s;e outrages laid to them? the very oppo&s;ites in Religion being judges, who as appeares were willing to un|dertake for them; now as their faithfulne&s;&s;e brought &s;o good effect for their per|&s;ons, &s;o did the Lord worke that the truth of religion found many friends likewi&s;e, the Lord wonderou&s;ly pro&s;pering the cour&s;e of reformation, in &s;o much that in &s;hort &s;pace they had in <HI>Flanders</HI> 60. A&s;&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">mblies, &s;ome Churches they them&s;elves builded, but were by Duke <HI>d Alva</HI> &s;oone ca&s;t downe, who erected Gallow&s;es of them, and hanged them upon them,</P>
<PB REF="3">
<P>The Prince&s;&s;e of <HI>Parma</HI> al&s;o began to entertain &s;oldiers with pretence to appre|hend the Church-robbers, but intended indeed to take away the ancient liberties and priviledges of the <HI>Netherlanders,</HI> wherefore &s;ending certain Companies to <HI>Va|lencyn,</HI> the inhabitants denyed them entertainment, who for that vvere proclaimed Rebels the 14. of December, &s;oone after they were be&s;ieged, &s;acked, and many of them put to death.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">He preten|ded it for Religion, but his aim was to get their lands &amp; goods.</NOTE>But before they of <HI>Valencyn</HI> denyed entertainment to the &s;ouldiers, the Nobili|ty had received letters out of <HI>Spain,</HI> from the Marque&s;&s;e of <HI>Bargen,</HI> &s;hewing, that the King vvas exceedingly incen&s;ed again&s;t the <HI>Netherlanders,</HI> that he had in he pre&s;ence of many vovved to be fully revenged of them, though it vvere vvith the hazard of all his Countries; that hee vvould make them an example to all the World, and vvould invite the Pope and Emperour to a&s;&s;i&s;t him in this quarrel. Vp|on the receit of the Letters the Nobility a&s;&s;embled at <HI>Dortmond</HI> to con&s;ult vvhat vvere be&s;t to be done, but concluded not any thing, &s;ome judgeing it &s;afe&s;t to joyn, and make head to re&s;i&s;t his tyrannicall fury, others &s;eeking rather to e&s;cape by flight.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">As the Grau of Egmond, and the Grau of Horn, and many of the Gentry at Bru&s;|&s;els, <HI>1568.</HI></NOTE>The cruelty of this Inqui&s;ition did notwith&s;tanding increa&s;e, and many &s;oul|diers came into the Countrey, that &s;ome of the Countrey for&s;ook their hou&s;es, and re&s;orted towards Freezeland, and &s;ome did &s;tay at home, and went to meete Duke <HI>Alva,</HI> and welcommed him into the Countrey, and &s;hewed him all the kindne&s;&s;e that they could, but he very &s;hortly tooke off mo&s;t of their heads, &s;o that he did &s;o terrifie the inhabitants, that there fled out of the countries more then 100000. hou&s;eholders, be&s;ides many that were taken in flying, were taken and hanged, and all the&s;e had their goods confi&s;cated to the King.</P>
<P>Now the D. of <HI>Alva</HI> did command all the inhabitants to pay the hundreth peny of all their goods, and of all that was bought and &s;old, the which &s;ome of the States did yeeld unto: And then he commanded them to pay the twentieth peny: and then he commanded the tenth peny of all things that were bought and &s;old,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The like taxations, though in another manner, have been practiced here before the Parl.</NOTE> &s;o often as they &s;hould be &s;old. Some of the States did make their humble Petition to the Duke, and to the Princes, &s;hewing them that it would drive all trading out of the land. The Duke of <HI>Alva</HI> told them that he would have it, though it did ruinate all the land: but if he &s;aw them to doe their be&s;t to pay it, he would deale favourably with them. But he &s;aid that it was again&s;t the Kings honour if they &s;hould not pay it, &s;eeing it was his plea&s;ure to require it. And now did the Inqui&s;i|tion impri&s;on and execute many of the richer &s;ort, as well Papi&s;ts as of the re|formed Church: and if they were rich there was no e&s;caping for them. And who|&s;oever was found to have any hand in way of &s;uit and petition to have the tenth peny to be remitted,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Al the pri|&s;ons were filled, in|&s;omuch as they were forced to prepare more, and filled them al&s;o.</NOTE> they were adjudged to have committed high trea&s;on again&s;t God and the King; and all the&s;e mu&s;t forfeit life and goods to the King, and not any of their children to enjoy one peny worth of the &s;ame: but (poore Orphanes) they mu&s;t beg their bread. And &s;omewhat had been buryed certain months, they cau&s;ed to be digged up, and hanged on the gallows, and &s;ome to be burned, be|cau&s;e they had not the &s;acrament, and confe&s;&s;ed before their death; but it was be|cau&s;e he would confi&s;cate their goods to the King: yea when the&s;e in&s;atiable gold-thir&s;ty and bloud-thir&s;ty wretches wanted colour to cover their inju&s;tice and cru|elty, they had their officious imps (fal&s;e witne&s;&s;es) &s;uborned by <HI>Je&s;abel,</HI> to get <HI>Naboths</HI> vineyard; vvitne&s;&s;e <HI>Martin Hutton,</HI> vvho vvas one of the Inqui&s;itors Clarks, and (being committed to pri&s;on) did acknovvledge that he had made many fal&s;e te&s;timonies again&s;t &s;undry rich per&s;ons, &s;ome vvere of the reformed Church. Here might fitly be brought in the hundred Merchants of <HI>Granado,</HI>
<PB REF="3">vvho vvere of the Romane Religion, and vvere never other; vvhat pretence had he to cau&s;e them to be murthered all in one night, and then pre&s;ently to command all their goods to be brought to his trea&s;urie or Exchequer, who&s;e e&s;tate was vvorth more then 28. hundred thou&s;and pound &s;terling? Novv as this tyrant vvas a devourer and de&s;troyer of the lives of men, &s;o he did pre&s;ume to u&s;urpe further not onely upon civil ordinances, but upon the things of God; &s;o that tho&s;e that vvere married in the reformed Church, he forced to be married againe: and if they vvere rich, he tooke them from th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ir husbands, and gave them to his &s;ouldiers to make prize of them: tho&s;e that were babtized in the reformed Church, be com|pelled to be baptized again, contrary to Gods word, and to the decree of the anci|ent councels, &s;o intolerable were the burthens that this cruel <HI>Pharaoh</HI> laid, &s;o exce&s;|&s;ive was his cruelty, that he filled all places with blood, <HI>bloud touching bloud,</HI> as the Prophet &s;peaks. For in &s;mall townes he executed 50. and in great townes 200. and 300. or 400. And in places as men travelled from one towne to another, they might &s;ee many that his Souldiers had hung up in trees to death, and &s;ome were worth 80. thou&s;and guldens, and &s;ome le&s;&s;e: yea this tyrant did confi&s;cate &s;o much lands and goods, as by his accompt &s;ent into Spain, did amount yearely to 8. tun of money &s;terling, be&s;ides the many thou&s;ands that he and his &s;ouldiers had. All the money that he did exact out of this land in 6. yeares, did amount to more then 50. millions of gold. And if any were knowne to have any thing that did be|long to any that were put to death, and had not brought it to the knowledge of the Inqui&s;ition, they did loo&s;e both life and goods: yea the 16 of February 1566.<NOTE PLACE="marg">The like cruel|ties may ju&s;tly be feared to be among us, if the Parl. &s;hould be &s;ubdued.</NOTE> he gave &s;entence in his court at <HI>Madrill,</HI> that they were all traytors again&s;t God and him&s;elfe. At <HI>Vtrecht</HI> he beheaded a widovv that vvas 84. yeares old, becau&s;e &s;he had before lodged a preacher one night, vvho&s;e living vvas vvorth foure thou|&s;and guldens yearly. And at <HI>Ma&s;tricht</HI> a father for lodging his &s;on that he had not &s;een in a long time, that vvas fled for religion, vvas put to death. And at that place there vvas one put to death for giving a vvidovv a peck of corn for an alms, vvho&s;e husband this bloody court had put to death. And many vvomen vvere put to death, becau&s;e they received their husbands in the night that vvere fled for re|ligion; yea they have killed vvomen great vvith child, and ripped up their bellies, and taken out the child and killed it, and &s;ome they have fleyed alive, and cove|red drums heads vvith their skins, and &s;ome they have tyed to a po&s;t, and made a &s;mall fire round about them, and &s;o roa&s;ted them to death.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The like cruel|ty they did at Oudwater.</NOTE>At <HI>Naerden</HI> they received the Spaniards friendly into the tovvne, vvho promi|&s;ed them both their lives and goods; and as &s;oone as they came in, they comman|ded them to come to the Statehou&s;e vvithout their Armes, the vvhich they did, and the Spaniards gave fire upon them and murthered them all: and then they ran about in the tovvn and ravi&s;hed the vvomen,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Take heed of &s;uch treachery here.</NOTE> and after Killed them and fired the tovvne. The yong children that lay in the Cradle, they quartered them, and tooke them upon their pikes, and &s;o vvent up and dovvn the tovvne rejoycing in their cruelty.</P>
<P>Such &s;avage cruelty is &s;carcely to be found in any hi&s;tory, vvhat Chri&s;tian heart can hear it, and not be affected vvith deep &s;orrovv? yet behold &s;ome mon&s;ters here|in have been found, that have beene &s;o far from humanity herein, (for he that hath humanity in him vvill commi&s;erate others calamities) that they have applau|ded it, as if he had in all the&s;e outrages done God good &s;ervice. Among&s;t the re&s;t, I &s;hall content my &s;elfe at this pre&s;ent, but to name the holy Father the Pope, and one of his chiefe &s;onnes in this bu&s;ine&s;&s;e. The Pope &s;ends his Legate to commend the&s;e &s;o rare exploits, and cals this cruell Duke <HI>Alva</HI> his beloved &s;onne, &s;ends
<PB REF="4">him a co&s;tly &s;word, the hilts whereof were of gold, and a hat wrought with gold, and be&s;et with rich and co&s;tly &s;tones, thanking him for his good &s;ervice in main|taining the Romi&s;h Religion and &s;ubverting of heretickes. Howbeit that his chiefe &s;on I mentioned (exceeding this man of &s;in, in the &s;in of cruelty, as if he would ve|rifie him&s;elfe to be ten fold more the child of Satan, then his father the Pope) thinkes not &s;o well of it, his name is <HI>Vergas,</HI> the Pre&s;ident of this bloudy Inqui&s;ition; for going &s;hortly a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ter into <HI>Spain,</HI> he told the King, that he &amp; Duke <HI>d Alva,</HI> did marre all in the <HI>Netherlands,</HI> by &s;hewing &s;o much mercy to tho&s;e people.</P>
<P>Concerning this Duke <HI>d Alva,</HI> of who&s;e outrage and cruelty &s;o many haue felt, and perfidious dealing which many haue found by lamentable experience, whereby may ea&s;ily appeare of what &s;tamp his exce&s;&s;i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">e mercies are, even &s;uch as the Wi&s;e man &s;peaks of,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The&s;e words he &s;pake at a ban|quet as he &s;ate at the table, re|joycing bee had done the King &s;o good &s;ervice.</NOTE> <HI>Pro:</HI> 12.10, <HI>the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.</HI> In which he prides him&s;elfe, boa&s;ting he had &s;laughtered eighteen thou&s;and and &s;ix hundred, in form of ju&s;tice, in &s;ix yeares time, and ten tunes &s;o many he and his Souldiers murthered otherwaies. And many more would he doubtle&s;&s;e have murthered, had not the Lord re&s;trayned and limited him, for his de&s;ire herein was as hell, that can|not be &s;atisfied: Witne&s;&s;e the purpo&s;e of his proceeding again&s;t the Magi&s;trates of <HI>Bruxels,</HI> becau&s;e they did not collect the tenth peny &s;o as he defired. He tware that he would have it, and before he would let it fall or remit it, the Sun and Moone &s;hould leaue their &s;hining, &s;o he vvent to Bru&s;&s;els, and commanded the executioner to prepare ladders and ropes to hang up that night in their doores 70 of the ci|tizens, and gave them his vvarrant in vvriting vvhat they &s;hould be: But God in his providence prevented this his cruel purpo&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Anno</HI> 1573. <HI>April.</HI> 1.</NOTE> in that there came news that the Graue of Mark had taken in the Brill; &s;o the tyrant did not goe forvvard vvith his bloody enterpri&s;es.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">I have in&s;tan|ced but <HI>4.</HI> or <HI>5.</HI> towns, but there were &s;carce any town e&s;caped their cruel pil|laging, except they had bribed their Comman|ders with excee|ding large gifts.</NOTE>Thus having given you a t &s;te of &s;ome of tho&s;e many things I have o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;erved concerning the intolerable oppre&s;&s;ion, &amp; vvor&s;e then &s;alvage cruelty of the Spani|ards, exerci&s;ed upon the people, vvhich they endured and laboured under the &s;pace of &s;ixteene years; I will novv leave the&s;e cruel tyrants to the Lord for judgement, and addre&s;s my &s;elf to &s;peak &s;omevvhat further concerning this Earle of Mark, vvho had tho&s;e Gentlemen vvith him that fled. Before this hee had layne vvith his &s;hipping in England, but the King of Spaine &s;ending his Amba&s;&s;adour to our Queen (vvho vvas then in peace vvith him) to de&s;ire her that &s;he vvould not &s;uf|fer his &s;ubjects to have their harbour in her land, and that &s;he would not give them or &s;uffer them to have any reliefe whereby they &s;hould make head again&s;t him: and hereupon the Queene &s;ent and commanded them out of her harbour, and &s;he commanded that they &s;hould not be &s;uffered to have any provi&s;ion in her coa&s;ts, &s;o that now they had no other means but onely God, who did in his mercie provide for them better then they expected. For they were purpo&s;ed to have gone for the Ta&s;&s;el, and to have taken &s;ome towne about that part; but when they came neere that part, they had the wind contrary that they could not come there, &s;o they went for the Mai&s;e, and came with their &s;hips before the Brill, and there they went pre&s;ently &amp; took it; yet the Duke of Alva had his forces in the towne, neere &s;o m ny as they were, whom they pre&s;ently killed and cha&s;ed out of the towne, and out of the Iland. The Prince of Orange being in France, and hearing what had happen|ed, he &s;ent them &s;ouldiers with as much &s;peed as could be out of France. And within one moneth after Duke Alva &s;ent certain companies to Vli&s;hing to keep that place &s;trong for him&s;elf, and many of the commanders were come into the towne: So the Magi&s;trates commanded the citizens to come pre&s;ently upon the Statehou&s;e, &s;o they told them they mu&s;t lodge Spaniards in their hou&s;es; and they knowing
<PB REF="4">how they hade u&s;ed the citizens in all places where they came, they told the ma|gi&s;trates they would not have the Spaniards in their towne, the Magi&s;trates asked them which of them it was that did refu&s;e to receive them. They &s;aid, All of them. So the Magi&s;trates &s;eeing them &s;o earne&s;t again&s;t the Spaniards, they joyntly tooke their Armes, and killed and took pri&s;oners all them that were in the town, and with their Ordnance they &s;hot at his &s;hips where the Spaniards were, and they made away. And of tho&s;e that were taken, there were the names of about 80 that they had in writing from Duke Alva that dwelt in the Iland, that they &s;hould put to death. So tho&s;e of the Bril &s;ent their Souldiers with &s;peed to help them.<NOTE PLACE="marg">He had appoin|ted tho&s;e to bee executed be|cau&s;e they were the chiefe that &s;tood again&s;t the pryment of the tenth peny.</NOTE> And &s;hortly the Prince of Orange came with forces and defended them; and &s;ome o|ther townes &s;eeing the crueltie of the Spaniards, for&s;ooke the Spaniard, and joyned with them, and took the Prince of Orange to be their Protector, yet the States not|with&s;tanding did remain in obedience to the King &s;ome &s;even yeares after.</P>
<P>Again it is further worthy to be noted that the&s;e Provinces did three times &s;end to the King their Noblemen, but could obtain no mercy, and many more times they went to the Prince&s;&s;e of <HI>Parma,</HI> and made their humble petition for redre&s;&s;e of their oppre&s;&s;ion, but could not obtain any favour, then they made friends to the re|nowned Queen of England, and to the Princes of <HI>Germany,</HI> and to the Emperour, who did earne&s;tly entreat by their Amba&s;&s;adours for them. The King of <HI>Spain</HI> an|&s;wered their Emba&s;&s;adours with the&s;e words; he bade them tell their Ma&s;ters, <HI>That they &s;hould meddle with their own &s;ubjects, and not with his, for he knew wel enough how to rule his &s;ubjects without their Coun&s;el.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Anno 1575.</NOTE> Now vvhen our Queens Maje&s;ty found his unrea&s;onablene&s;&s;e and cruelty, then and not before, &s;he a&s;&s;i&s;ted them with Armes.</P>
<P>His ovven &s;on Prince <HI>Charles</HI> did intreat for them, th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">t it vvould plea&s;e him to let them have their Lavves and Priviledges, and that they might not be &s;o oppre&s;|&s;ed; and vvithall he told his father that tho&s;e Countries did belong to him,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Marplam</HI> in his Cronicle. <HI>Anno 1567.</HI> Pray the like may not be he<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">e in <HI>England.</HI></NOTE> and that they vvere given him at his Bapti&s;me, for the vvhich his father &s;ent him to pri|&s;on, and he never came out again. If the Lord vvould not have forgot vvhat <HI>Am|alek</HI> did, long after, for &s;miting the vveake&s;t and hindmo&s;t of his people, hovv may vve in equity forget the infinite murthers, and &s;poiles, this cruel Tyrant hath exe|cuted vvhereever he hath prevailed? And vvho can forget in &s;pecial that bloudie attempt again&s;t our &s;elves, in the year 1588.</P>
<P>If I &s;hould trace this Tyrant from place to place, I &s;hould runne in infinitum, having made the name of Chri&s;tianity hateful, by his cruelty, among&s;t the Heathens that knovv not God further then the light of nature: for it is confe&s;&s;ed by the <HI>Spany|ards</HI> them&s;elves, that &s;ome of the chief of the <HI>Indians,</HI> vvho were to be burnt to death,<NOTE PLACE="marg">They were ex|horted by a po|pi&s;h prie&s;t to <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> minde, that af|ter this life there was one place for joy, &amp; another for tor|ment.</NOTE> being told of heaven and hel, they asked whither the <HI>Spaniards</HI> vvent vvhen they dyed? It vvas an&s;vvered to heaven, <HI>Oh then &s;ayd they we will never come where the Spaniards are.</HI> But not to run &s;o far, I vvill re&s;t content to keep me vvithin the bounds I chiefly intended concerning the&s;e Countri<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">s. When the Citizens of <HI>Leyden</HI> vvere in great extremity, by rea&s;on of a long &s;iege, the <HI>Spaniards</HI> proffering conditi|ons of peace, if &s;o be they vvould yeeld up the Citie and them&s;elves to them, they re|turned an&s;vver; <HI>Not while they had a right hand to hold the &s;word, or a left to eat,</HI> but if they &s;hould be driven to fall into their hands, they would rather burn the Citie and drovvn them&s;elues, then to &s;ubmit to them, of vvho&s;e perfidiou&s;ne&s;&s;e they had had &s;o lamentable experience: and vvhen &s;ome of the Citizens pre&s;&s;ed a yeel|ding, in re&s;pect of the extremity of famine, a Burgerma&s;ter, called <HI>Peter Adrian&s;on,</HI> &s;aid; <HI>Loving friends I confe&s;&s;e the famine is great, and that &s;ome doe die for want of food: yet rather let us agree to eat up on<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> another, as it &s;hall fall by lot, begin with me fir&s;t, and divide me among&s;t you.</HI></P>
<PB REF="5">
<P>At <HI>Antwerpe,</HI> the <HI>Spaniards</HI> by the appointment of their Governour did come into the Citie in battel order, and marched up and down their &s;treets, and &s;hot in|to their hou&s;es, and made a tumultuous noi&s;e, as if they had been &s;o many devils, for one day and two nights, and took the keyes from the Magi&s;trats, and &s;et watch at the Ports;<NOTE PLACE="marg">No &s;ort excep|ted.</NOTE> whereby they put the Citizens in &s;o great fear, that many women with childe fell in travel, and &s;ome dyed with feare: and they went by 12 or 20, into the be&s;t hou&s;es, &amp; commanded them to prepare them the be&s;t cheer, as boyled and ro&s;t, &amp; other dainty di&s;hes, as they li&s;t to call for; and be&s;ides beer, they would have at lea&s;t two &s;orts of wine.<NOTE PLACE="marg">They did offer them two parts in money, and the <HI>3.</HI> in cloth, but they cryed all for money.</NOTE> And all the chiefe&s;t Citizens hou&s;es had at lea&s;t ten of the&s;e gue&s;ts. And they all cryed out for money, and &s;aid that they would have 15. moneths pay before they went out of the City, of them; and the Magi|&s;trates told them that they would procure them in cloth, and apparel, and money the &s;umme; but they all cryed out for mony, and that mony they would have before they went away; &s;o at the la&s;t, the Magi&s;trats got the mony, which did amount to 400. thou&s;and Guldens. And the charge they were at, which the&s;e companions did co&s;t the Citizens,<NOTE PLACE="marg">There &s;tands in the Chroni|cle a quire of paper of their cruelty again&s;t this City.</NOTE> was 600. pound &s;terling the day, and thus they were oppre&s;&s;ed with them 28. dayes, in which time they had made them all rich &s;utes, &s;ome of &s;at|tin and velvet, and &s;ome of cloth of gold: and one of them had a cu&s;hion of velvet, vvith the&s;e vvords in letters of gold, <HI>I am the Dutchmans Bride-well Ma&s;ter.</HI> And thus they got rid of them for the pre&s;ent. And about tvvo yeers after they came again, and then they u&s;ed the Citizens much more cruelly, for the&s;e divels did bring &s;travv, and &s;et on fire, &amp; put it into the hou&s;es, vvherby they &s;et nine rich &s;treets on fire, and burnt them vvith many rich and co&s;tly goods, and rifled the Citizens of all their rich and co&s;tly jevvels, and &s;ilver-vvorks, vvith their money, and three dayes did they torment the inhabitants for money: and in this time there vvas murdered of the citizens above four thou&s;and. The money they took at that time is reckned for more then 40. tun of gold, be&s;ide the Ievvels and the lo&s;&s;e they had by fire, vvas as much as the re&s;t. And thus vvas the be&s;t city of Marchants in Europe ruinated.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">In the yeare <HI>1580.</HI> the States proclaimed K. <HI>Philip</HI> to have lo&s;t his right, by rea&s;on he vio|lated his oath.</NOTE>Divers things being manife&s;ted of the Spaniards cruelty, I vvill adde one in|&s;tance of their trechery, and that of a famous per&s;on to his neere&s;t familiars; yea vvhen he pretended &s;vveete&s;t familiarity and friend&s;hip, Pope <HI>Alexander</HI> the 6. a Spaniard by birth, invited divers Nobles and Cardinals to a banket, vvith a pur|po&s;e to poy&s;on them all, The meete&s;t in&s;trument he made choyce of to effect this, vvas a Spaniard, one <HI>Cae&s;ar Burgia,</HI> his &s;vvorn &s;ervant. The Pope &s;hevved him&s;elf vvonderfull plea&s;ant to avoyd &s;u&s;pition, and drank a carou&s;e to them all; vvilling that his tru&s;ty &s;ervant to fill from &s;uch a bottell he knew well: which he did ve|ry effectually to the Pope him&s;elf as well as to the re&s;t.<NOTE PLACE="marg">A Spaniards kindne&s;&s;e to his friends.</NOTE> After the company was departed, the Pope perceiving by an alteration in him&s;elf, what was done, and that he mu&s;t die now al&s;o, &s;ayed to <HI>Burgia, This is a right Spani&s;h trick.</HI> It is written of them that they are &s;o expert in the&s;e exploits, that if <HI>Judas</HI> him&s;elf were alive, he might goe to them to Schoole.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
