366 A BRIEF SURVEY OF HUMAN HISTORY

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opposite in character," observes one writer, " Spain quite be-
hind the age, bigoted, superstitious, violently Catholic, cruel
and aristocratic; and the Netherlands, full of life and acti-
vity, the rival of Italy in art and learning, ready to. go ahead
and adopt all the advanced and enlightened thought of the
Reformation. In trade they had no rivals, for they were
the busiest manufacturers in the world. Their stuffs were
celebrated everywhere, and their ships visited all the ports
in the world. This happy, brave little people were to be
crushed and persecuted for their valour."1 It is well to
point out here that, although it was a people's struggle for
liberty (religious and political) on the part the Dutch, it
was not the tyranny of the Spanish people so much as of
the Spanish Monarchy. The heterogeneous composition of the
Hapsburg dominions showed that their only bond of union
was the common yoke of submission to a foreign dynasty.
National, religious, and democratic liberty were all involved
in the Dutch war of independence. At the end of their
heroic struggle, despite the Inquisition, the Council of Blood,
and all other inhumanities of the Spanish Fury (all alike
•characteristic of the Old Order), the people of the Nether-
lands achieved both their religious and political independence
(characteristics of the New Age) when, in the Treaty of
Westphalia (1648) which closed the Thirty Years' War, the
Dutch Republic was recognised. This was the first triumph
of the new forces in human history against the ancient regime.
By a curious coincidence, at the same time, the English
people also overthrew the Stuart autocracy in which the
Tudor Grand Monarchy had culminated. This was again
an happening in human history of the utmost importance.
It was equally significant of the new trend in human civi-

1. A. and D. Ponsonby, Rebels and Reformers, p. 47.