Edict of 1577

The Edict of 1577 (also known as the Perpetual Edict^{[citation needed]} or the Eternal Edict^{[1][2][3][4][5]}) was signed on 12 February 1577^[1] in Marche-en-Famenne by the new Spanish governor-general of the Habsburg Netherlands, Don John of Austria. This accord provided for the removal of Spanish forces from the Netherlands.^[6][7] In addition, the edict agreed to uphold the tenets of the Pacification of Ghent in exchange for an understanding that the States General would uphold the monarchy and Catholicism.^[1] The edict was initially well received.^[1] However, in July 1577, Don John began plans for a new campaign against the Dutch rebels. Elizabeth I approved of both the Pacification of Ghent and the Edict of 1577, therefore offering loans and military aid to the Dutch. When it became clear that John would go back on his agreement, Elizabeth planned to defend the provinces with aid of £100,000 and troops against John if he attacked.^[6][7]

English money paid for John Casimir, Count Palatine of Simmern, a Calvinist zealot, to lead mercenaries as far as Brabant,^[8] but the money supply dried up.

See also

• List of treaties

Citations

1. Duke 2003, p. 189.
2. van Gelderen 2002, p. 47.
3. Wernham 1968, p. 276.
4. Brouwer 2016, p. 223.
5. Nexon 2009, p. 216.
6. Lovett 1982.
7. Doran 2000, p. 33.
8. Pieter Geyl History of the Dutch speaking people

References

• Brouwer, M. (2016). Governmental Forms and Economic Development: From Medieval to Modern Times. Springer International Publishing. ISBN 978-3-319-42040-0.
• Doran, Susan (2000). Elizabeth I and Foreign Policy 1558–1603. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-15355-7.
• Duke, Alastair (2003). The Reformation and Revolt in the Low Countries. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 978-1-85285-398-3.
• Lovett, Albert (1982). "The General Settlement of 1577: An Aspect of Spanish Finance in the Early Modern Period". Historical Journal. 25 (1): 1–22. doi:10.1017/S0018246X00009833. S2CID 154057053.
• Nexon, D.H. (2009). The Struggle for Power in Early Modern Europe: Religious Conflict, Dynastic Empires, and International Change. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-4008-3080-0.
• van Gelderen, M. (2002). The Political Thought of the Dutch Revolt 1555-1590. Ideas in Context. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-89163-9.
• Wernham, R.B. (1968). The New Cambridge Modern History: Volume 3, Counter-Reformation and Price Revolution, 1559-1610. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-04543-8.

External links

• The Revolt of the Spanish Netherlands