![]() | Treason in the Northern Quarter: War, Terror, and the Rule of Law in the Dutch Revolt Subjects: Netherlands -- History -- Wars of Independence 1556-1648; Catholic Church -- Netherlands -- History -- 16th century; Netherlands -- Church history -- 17th century; Friesland (Netherlands) -- History; In the spring of 1575, Holland's Northern Quarter--the waterlogged peninsula stretching from Amsterdam to the North Sea--was threatened with imminent invasion by the Spanish army. Since the outbreak of the Dutch Revolt a few years earlier, the Spanish had repeatedly failed to expel the rebels under William of Orange from this remote region, and now there were rumors that the war-weary population harbored traitors conspiring to help the Spanish invade. In response, rebel leaders arrested a number of vagrants and peasants, put them on the rack, and brutally tortured them until they confessed and named their principals--a witch-hunt that eventually led to a young Catholic lawyer named Jan Jeroenszoon. Henk van Nierop is professor of early modern history at the University of Amsterdam. He has written widely about the Dutch Revolt and the Dutch Golden Age, and his books include The Nobility of Holland: From Knights to Regents, 1500-1650 . |
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