THE POSITION OF HOLLAND 205 Lincoln and a Grant. To him who does not appreciate this element history is of little value. It is not my intention to describe with any detail the long ensuing war with Spain, in which Holland was to take the leading part. The important subjects for the purposes of this work relate to the institutions of the people, their progress in civilization, the national character developed by the struggle, and the mode in which their Puritanism came to affect their neighbors across the Channel, and, later on, the settlers in America. The comprehension of these questions required something of an extended review of the causes of the conflict, and this must now be supplemented by at least a sketch of its subsequent progress, showing how it developed into a religious struggle, and then into a war for independence. In this sketch the reader will find, as he has found in the preceding pages, a re-statement of some incidents which other writers have made familiar. But however familiar such incidents may be, they take on an interest entirely new when we come to realize that here was the influence which shaped the character of the English Puritans; this conflict serving for them as a perpetual object - lesson, showing what they might expect from the assertion of absolute power in the State and the re-establishment of the Romish Church. Certain it is that unless one keeps this story in mind the subsequent history of England and America is inexplicable. After the surrender of Mons, Holland was almost deserted by her associate provinces. But although standing substantially alone, her people were firmly resolved that the Inquisition and the illegal taxation with which they had at length done away should never be reinstated. Fortunately, her geographical situation gave her some important advantages in the coming contest. Within her borders were numerous walled towns, each a miniature republic, with its civic guard and train-bands, which Americans would call militia. Most of these towns were located on some arm of the sea or navigable river, so that their commerce could with difficulty be impeded. Here the people lived, carrying on their ordinary vocations as fishermen, manufacturers, and merchants; such places as were not captured growing rapidly in wealth and population. As a rule, they were below the level of the water and protected from its ravages by extensive dikes, behind which spread cultivated fields and fertile pastures. It was evident that in the open country the insurgents could make no stand against the disciplined troops of Spain. Even that triumph, however, was to come at a later day when they met and defeated them, man to man. Now, in the early stages of the contest, the sole object of either party was to gain possession of the walled towns which the other held. To illustrate the character of this warfare, and the heroism displayed by the patriots, a few incidents, showing some of its different phases, will serve a better purpose than pages of description. In Holland, at the close of 1572, Amsterdam was the only city held by Alva. From this point as a base, he set out to conquer the remainder of the province. The Prince of Orange was in the southern portion, and his lieutenant in the northern district. Between them on a narrow strip of land, but five miles wide, lay the city of Harlem, large and beautiful, but with a small garrison and works of little strength. It was only ten miles from Amsterdam, and Alva regarded it as the key to the situation. Its capture, he thought, would be an easy matter. About its walls Don Frederick encamped, in December, with an army of thirty thousand veterans. Preceding the siege occurred one of the events which add a touch of picturesqueness to this extraordinary war. The weather being cold, a few armed vessels belonging to Holland became frozen in the ice. Don Frederick, taking advantage of this accident, despatched a small picked force to capture them. Suddenly, as the Spaniards went slipping and sliding on their way, there appeared before them a skating-party fully armed. A lively skirmish ensued, in which the men from the South were as helpless as were the clumsy galleons of the Invincible Armada before the nimble privateers of Drake and Frobisher. At its conclusion the Hollanders skated off, leaving several hundred of the enemy dead upon the ice. Such a form of warfare was novel to Alva, but he was not to be outdone. At once he ordered seven thousand pairs of skates, and his soldiers soon became proficient in their use. This little incident gave a gleam of encouragement to the burghers of Harlem, but their situation was hopeless from the first. Without, was an army of thirty thousand men, and within, a garrison of only four thousand. But although Alva expected to take the place in a week, its siege lasted for seven long months. On both sides prodigies of valor were performed. Three hundred women, led by a widow of a distinguished family, organized a corps of Amazons, and fought like trained soldiers in the ranks. When assaults were attempted, the besieged poured boiling oil and blazing pitch on the heads of the assailants. Men, women, and children worked to repair the breaches in the wall. In one attack upon the city three or four hundred Spaniards were slain, and only three or four of the defenders. Finding that assaults were useless, the enemy began to mine the walls, and were met by countermines. In the darkness, under the earth, fierce and bloody conflicts ensued. "These citi zens," wrote Don Frederick, "do as much as the bravest soldiers in the world could do." At one time he despaired of taking the place, and sent a messenger to his father, asking permission to withdraw. "Tell Don Frederick," said Alva, "that if he be not decided to continue the siege till the town be taken, I shall no longer consider him my son, whatever my opinion may formerly have been. Should he fall in the siege, I will myself take the field to maintain it; and when we have both perished, the duchess, my wife, shall come from Spain to do the same." Meantime the Prince of Orange was using every effort to relieve the city, but all was useless against the number and discipline of the besiegers. In one of these attempts, a single Hollander, John Haring, of Horn, planted on a narrow dike, with sword and shield kept a thousand Spaniards at bay until his comrades had effected a retreat. Then, like Horatius of old, he plunged into the water and made his own escape. Thus the winter and spring rolled on. In March, a thousand of the garrison made a sally from the walls, and, with a loss of but four of their party, killed eight hundred of the enemy, burned three hundred tents, and captured seven cannons, nine standards, and many wagonloads of provisions. Such feats as this led Alva to write to Philip that "it was a war such as never before was seen or heard of in any land on earth," and that "never was a place defended with such skill and bravery as Harlem, either by rebels or by men fighting for their lawful prince."* Still there was one enemy against whom skill and bravery are powerless. By June, gaunt *Motley, ii. 444. HARLEM SURRENDERS-BUTCHERY IN COLD BLOOD 209 famine appeared within the gates. Even he was baffled long. When the ordinary food had been consumed, the people lived on linseed and rapeseed from which they had been making oil; then on dogs, cats, rats, and mice; next they boiled the hides of oxen and horses, then devoured their boots and shoes, and finally tore up the nettles from the graveyards and the grass from between the stones. By the middle of July famine had conquered. Every vestige of food was gone, and the heroic defenders of the doomed city resolved to die together. Forming all the women, children, sick, and aged, into a square, and surrounding them with the able-bodied men, they were determined to fight their way out, and dearly sell their lives. Learning of this resolve, and knowing that it would be put in execution, Don Frederick offered handsome terms for an immediate surrender. A letter was sent, by his order, promising ample forgiveness to the town, and that no one should be punished except such as the citizens themselves thought worthy of it. No intention existed of observing these conditions, but the people, for the last time, put their trust in Spanish honor. They were to learn that it was a cardinal principle of Philip and his adherents to keep no faith with heretics. The garrison had been reduced during the siege to eighteen hundred men, of whom six hundred were Germans. These were spared, and sent home on parole. The rest, some of whom were English volunteers, with eleven hundred of the citizens, were butchered in cold blood on the day after the surrender. Five executioners were detailed for the bloody work; when they gave out, the victims were bound back to back and hurled into the lake.* This restricted slaughter was regarded * Motley, ii. 454. |