Observations upon the United Provinces of the Netherlands.

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MISCELLANEA,

F I Z.

1. A Survey of the Conftitutions and Iii-
jfX terefts of the Empire^ Sueden^ "Den-
mark^ Spain^ HoUandy France and Flanders^
with their Relation to England in the Year
1671.

2 . An Eflay upon the Original and Nature of
Government.

3 . An Eflay upon the Advancement of Trade
in Ireland.

4. Upon the Conjundure of Affairs in 06fo-
kery i<573.

f . Upon the Excefles of Grief.
6. An .Eflay upon the Cure of the Gout^ by
Moxa.

By Sir William Temple ^ Baronet.

Printed for Jacob Tonfon within Grays-Inn
Gate next Grays-Inn Lane, and Awnfmm
and John Churchill at the Black Swan in
Tater-Nojler-Row. 1 70 f .

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OBSERVATIONS

U P O N T H E

United Trovinces

O F T H E

NETHERLANDS.

By Sir William X^mple of Shene

^ in the County of Surrey^ Baronety

Amhajfador at the Hague and at

Aix la-Chapelle> />/ the Tear 1 6 (J 8 ,

The Seventh Edition.
Correded and Augmented.

LONDON/

Printed for Jacob Tonfon within GrajS'^Inn
Gate next Grays-Inn Lane, and Ayjnfham
and John Chfirchill at the Blacky Swan in
Pattr^Nofier-Row. 1705*

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'■^-i^-zu THE

PREFACE.

HAvtng lately feen the State of the
United Provinces, after a pro-
dtgiotis Growth in Riches^ Beati-
tyy Extent of Commerce^ and Number
of Inhabitants^ arrived at length tofuch
a height y (by the Strength of their Na-
vies^ their fortify' d TownSy ayid (land-
ing-Forces ^ with a conftant Revenue^
proportioned to the Support of all this
Greatnefs^ as made them the Envy of
fome:, the Fear of others^ and the Won-
der of all their Neighboms,

We have^ this Summer paft^ beheld
the fame State^ in the midft of great
appearing Safety^ Order ^ Strength^ and
Vigour^ almoji ruined and broken to
pieces -i in fome few T>ays^ and by very
few Blows ; and reduced in a ma?mer
to its firft Principles of Weaknefs^ and
A 3 "Dtjirefs^

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The Preface.
"Dijirefsi expos' d, opfrefs'd, and very near
at Mercy. Their Inland Provinces fwaU
low'd up by an Inva/ion, almoft as fud-
den, and unrejifted, as the Inundations
to which the others are fubjedi. And
the Remainders of their State rather
kept alive by NegleSty . or T>ifcQncert of
it's Enemies y than by^, any Strength of
Nature^ or Endeavours at its own Re-
covery.

Now, becaufe fuch a Greatnefs an4
fuch a Fall of this State, feem Revolnr
tions unparallel'd in any. . StQxy^ and,
hardly conceiv'd, even by, thofe.. who,
have lately feen them-, 1 thought it
might be worth an idle, Man's time, to
give fome Account of the Rife, and Tro-
grefs of this Commonwealth, The Caufe,s
of their Greatnefs-, And the Steps to^
wards their Fall :^ Which were 41 mad^
by Motions, perhaps, little taken. Ko.
tice of by common Eyes, and almoft uur
difcernable-to any Man, that was , not
placed to the befi Advantage^, and fome-
thing concerned, as well as much en^
clin'd^ to obferve them.

The, ufual .T>uty of Employments a-
broad, impofed not only by Cuftom, but
by Orders of State, , made ft. fit for me
to prepare fome formal Account of this

Conn-

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The Ftefecd.

Q&wntry and Goverrment^ after Twd
Tears Embajjyy in the mtdli of great
Cmjun£fures and Negotiatibns among
them. And fUch a Re^volution as has
fince happened there ^ though it may have
made the[e T^ifcoutfes little important
to His Majejiyy or His Council ^ yet it
will not have rendered them lefs agreea-
ble to common Eyes^ who^ like Men that
live near the Sea^ will run out upon the
Cliffs to gaze at it in a Stormy though
they would not look out of their Win-
dows^ to fee it in a Calm.

Befdes^ at a Time when the Anions
of this Scene take up-^ f& generally^ the
Eyes and T>ifcourfes of their Neigh-
bours; and the Maps of their Country
grow fo much in requejl : I thought a
Map of their State and Government
would not be uriwelcome to the Worlds
fince it is fill as neceffary as the others^
to under fland the late Revolutions^ and
Changes among them. And as no Maris
Story can be well written ^ till he is dead;
fo the Account of this St0Lte could not be
well given ^till its Fall^ which may
juflly be "Dated from the Events of loft
Summer*, (whatever Forttmes fnay fur-
ther attend them^ ffice therein we
have feen the fudden and violent ^iffo-
A 4, lutif»

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The Preface.

lution of that more Topular Govern^
ment^ which had conttnud^ and made
fo much Noife^ for above Twenty Tears ^
in the Worlds without the Epcercifcy or
Influence^ of the Authority of the Trin-
ces of Orange, a Tart fo Effential in
the firfi Confiitutions of their State.
Nor can I wholly lofe my Tains in this
Adventure^ when I pall gain the Eafe
of Anfwering this way^ at onccy thofe
many ^eflions I have lately been ufed
to^ upon this Occafion: Which made
me firfi obferve^ and wonder ^ how igno-
rant we were^ generally^ in the Affairs
and Confiitutions of a Country ^ fo much
in our Eye^ the common Road of our
Travels^ as well as Subje6i of our Talk^
and which we have been of late ^ not on-
ly curiom^ but concern^d-^ to know.

I am very fenfible^ how ill a Trade it
is to wrtte^ where much is ventufd^ and
little ca7i be gained ; fince whoever does
it Hits fure of Co?itempt ^ and the jufi-
liefi that can be^ when no Man provokes
him to difcover his own Follies.^ or to
trouble the M^orld: If he writes well:, he
raifes the Envy of thofe Wits that are
poffefs'd of the Vogue y and are jealous
of their Preferment there., as if it were
in LovCy or in State j and have founds

that

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The Preface.

that the near eft way to their own Repu-
tation liesy right or wrongs by the 2)^-
ri/ion of other Men. But^ however^ I
am not in Tain^ for 'tis the Affectation
of Traife^ that makes the Fear of Re-
proach y and I write without other 1)e-
fgn than of entertaining very idle Meny
andy among them^ my felf For 1 mtift
confefsj that being wholly ufelefs to the
^ublick J and unacquainted with the
Cares of encreafing Riches^ (which bufie
the World :^ Being grown cold to the
^leafures of younger or livelier Me72 s
and having ended the Entertaimnents of
Building and Tlanting^ (which ufe to
fucceed them-,^ finding little Tafte in
common Converfationy and TroiMe in
much Readings from the Care of my
Eyesy (fince an lUnefs contracted by
many unneceffary "Diligences in my Em-
ployments abroad i) there can hardly be
found an idler Man than I \ nor confe-
quently^ one more excufable for givi?2g
way to fuch Amufements as this : Hav-
ing nothing to do^ but to enjoy the Eafe
of a private Life and Fortune ; which ^
as I know no Man envies^ fo (I thank
God^ no Man can reproach,

I am not ignorant ^ that the Vein of
Reading never ran lower than in this

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The Preface.

Age i arid feldom goes farther than the
^ejtgn ofraijing a Stock ta ft4fnifh]fome
Callings or Cornjerfatio^. The Dejire of
Knowledge being either laugh' d out of
lyoors, by the Wit that pleafes theAge^
or beaten out by Intereft that fo much
foffeffes it : And the Aniufement of
Booksy giving' way to the Liberties or
Refinements of Tleafurey that were far-
nierly lefs knowuy or lefs a^uowedy than
noiv. Tet fome there will al'Ways be
found in the JVorldy who ask n0 more at
their idle HourSy than to forget them^
felves, Andy whether that be brought
aboM by "Drink or Tlajy by Love or Bu-
finefs^ or by fome Diverfionsy as idle as
this J 'tis all a cafe,

Befidesy it may poffMy fall outy at
me time or other y that fome Trineey or
great Miniftery may ndt be ill fj leas'" d
tn thefe kind of Memorials y {ttpon puch
a Si^bie^f,) to trace the Jiefs of Trade
and Richesy of Order and Tower in a
State^ and thofe likewife of weaky or
violent Counfels i of corrupt^ or illy Con-
duct ^ of FaBion or Obfiinacy^ which
decay and dijfolve the firmeft Govern-
ments: That foy by Reflexions upn Fo-
reign Events y^ they may provide the bet-
ter and the earlier againfi^ thofe at

homey

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The Preface.

hon^e^ and raije their own Honour ^ and'
Happinefs^ bj equal degrees with the
^rofpefity and Safety of the Nat ions
they govern.

Fory under favour ofthofe who Wi mid
pap for Wits in our Age^ by facing
things^ which David teUs uiy the Fool
faid in0i's: And.fet ttp^' w/ith' bringing
thofe Wafelto']^

knows') hdvebeend the fVofl^^*

though kepi up incbrWrsy becduf^t'hef
m*d to mark their' ^^wners^^ iri forfHei^
yfges^ with the NaM'es of Buffoons,
Prophane, or Imptit^erit, Men^ wha
deride all Fo^nt and: OVd^r^ as well a^
Tiety and Truth's dnd^ under the No-
tion of Fopperies^ ended^wur to diffolve
the very Bonds of all €ivil Society *,
though by the favour and Trote£iion
thereof they theMfelves ^etijoy fo much
greater Proportions of fVealih^ and of
"J^leafures^ than iJoouldfitU to their JBar^^
if all lay^ in cdTpHion^ as the) fevm to

4^M^> Cf^\ ^^^^^ f^^^ '^ojfeffions would
Ulong of right to the flrciigefi and brdv-
eji among us.)

^. Under fdvoUr of fuch h^n^ I believe
^f^mi^l.^^^foundy at me tiffie or other y
by all whbjhall ny^ That whiljl Buman
rsldture continues wlo'dt ftWj The fame

Orders

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i The Preface,

Order^f in State^ The fame T^tfeipline im
Armi^\s^ The fame Reverence for things
Sacre\l, And RefpeB of Civil Inftituti-
ons^ The fame Virtues and T>ifpoftions
of T\rmces and Magiftrates^ derived by
Inter eft ^ or Imitation^ into the Cuftoms
and Humours of the Teople^ will ever
have the fame EffeBs upon the Strength
and Greatnefs of all Government Sy and
upon the Honour and Authority of thofe
that Rtile^ as well as the Happinefs and
Safety of thofe that obey.

Nor are we to think Trinces them-
felves Lofersy or lefs entertained^ when
we fee them employ their Time^ and
their Thought s^ in fo ufeful Speculati-
ons ^ andtofo Gloriom Ends: But that
rather^ thereby they attain their true
"Prerogative of being Happier y as well
as Greater^ than Subjects can be. For
all the Pleafures of Senfe^ that any
Man can enjoy y are within the reach
of a private Fortune^ aiid ordinary
Contrivance^ Grow fainter with AgCy
and duller with Ufe, Muft be revived
with Intermiffwns^ and wait upon the
returns of Appetite^ which are no more
at Call of the Rich^ tha?i the Toor.
The Flafhes of Wit and good Humour ^
that rife from the Vapours of Wtne^

are

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The Preface.

me little different from thofe^ that pro-
€eei jrom the heats of Blood nn the firfi
jipprvdches of Fcversy or Frenzies ; and
sre to be valued^ but as Qndeed') they
sre^ the Effe^s of Titftemper, But the
^leafures of Imagination^ as they heigh-
ten and refne the very Tleafttves of Senfe^
fo they are of larger Extent^ and long-
er duration. Jnd if the mojl fenfual
Man will confefs there is a Tleafure in
T'leafng^ He muft like wife allow y there
is Good to a Maris Self in doing Good
to others-. And the further this extends
the higher it rifes^ and the longer it
iafls. Befides^ there is Beauty in Or-
der % and there are Charms in well-de-
ferved Traife : And both are the great -
£r^ by how much greater the Subject -y
As the firft appearing in a wellframed
^nd well-governed State j And the other
^arifing from Noble and Generous A^li-
vns. Nor can any Veins of good Hu-
mour be greater than thofe^ that fwell
hy the Succefs of ^ife Cotmfels^ and by
the fortunate Events ofpublick Affair si
fince a Man that takes fleafure in doing
good to Ten Thoufand^ muft needs have
more^ than he that takes none^ but in
doing Good to Himfelf

But

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The Preface-

]^ui i\hefe^ Thoughts lead me too fdt^
mid foiHttle purj)ofe: Therefore I pall
leave t him for thofe Ihadfrji in my
Head^ ameer ning the State of the tJnu
ted-Prov inces.

And ^v here as the Greatnefs of their
Strength y, and Revenues^ grew, out of the
Vafinefs of their Trade ^ into which theit
Religion^ jtheir Manners^ and "Difpofi^
rions^ their Situation, and the Form of

their, Qi^^vernment^ were the chief Ingre-
dients. And this laft had been raifedy

,, partly upon an old Foundationy and
partly mjth Materials brought together
by many, md, various Accident si it wilt
be nece^faryfor the Survey of this great
Frame^ to give fome Account of the Rife

> and Trogrefs of their ^tatcy by pointing

j:Out.t/:}e.moft. remarkable Occajtons of the
firjly and 'Periods of the other. To di-
f cover the Nature and Confiitutions of
their Government in its fever al "Tarts^

. and the_ Motions of ity from the fir [I

rund fmalleft TVheels. To obfervcy what
is peculiar to them tn their Situation^ or
T>ifpofitions : . And what in their Reli^

. gion. To take a Survey of their Trade ^
0.nd the Calf es of it : Of the Forces and
Revenues^ which compofed their Great-
nefs :

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The Preface,

7iefs : And the Circumjiancesy and Con-
ju^Bwes^ ijjvkifh fonfpir^d to their Fall.
And thefe are the Heads ^ that Jhall
make the Order and Arguments in the
fiver al Tarts of thefe Olfervations,

The

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The CONTENTS.

CHap. L Of the Rife and Trogrefs
of their State.

Chap. IL Of their Government.

Chap. III. Of their Situation,

Chap. IV. Of their Teopky and T) if-
pofitions.

Chap. V. Of their Religion,

Chap. VI. Of their Trade.

Chap. VIL Of their Forces^ and Re^

venues.

Chap. VIIL Of the Caufes of their Fall
in 1672.

CHAP.

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[ ■ ]

CHAP. L

of the Rife and Progrefs of the
United Provinces.

WHocver will take a View
of the Rife of this Com-
monwealth^ muft trace
it up as high as the
iirfl: Commotions in the Seventeen
Provinces ^ under the Dutchefs of
Tarma's Government 5 and the true
Caufes of that more avowed and
general Revolt in the Duke of
Alva's time. And, to find out the
Natural Springs of thofe Revolutions,
muft refle£t upon that fort of Govern-
ment under which the Inhabitants of
thofe Provinces lived for fo many
Ages paft, in the Subjedlion of their
feveral Dukes or Counts, 'till by Mar-
riages, Succeflions or Conqueft, they
came to be united in the Houfe of
Burgundy y under Philip Sirnamed The
Good : And afterwards in that of Au^
Jiriay under Thilip Father of Charles

B in

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The Rife and Progrefs Chap. L

in the Pcrfon of that great Emperor
incorporated with thofe vaft Domini-
ons of Germany and Spain^ Italy and
the Indies.

Nor will it be from the Purpofe up-
on this Search, to run a little higher
into the Antiquities of thefe Countries :
For though moft Men are contented
only to fee a River as \t runs by them,
and talk of the Changes in it, as they
happen 3 when ^tis troubled, or when
clear ^ when it drowns the Country
in a Flood, or forfakes it in a Drowth :
Yet he that would know the Nature
of the Water, and the Caufes of thofe
Accidents, (fo as to guefs at their
Continuance or Return) muft find out
its Source, and obferve with what
Strength it rifes, what Length it runs,
and how many fmall Streams fall in,
^nd feed it to fuch a Height, as make
it either delightful or terrible to the Eye,
and ufeful or dangerous to the Country
about it.

The Numbers and Fury of the Nor-
thern Nations, under many different
Names, having by feveral Inundations
broken down the whole frame of the
Roman Empire, extended in their Pro-
vinces as far as the Rhine ^^ either gave

a

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chap- L of the United Provinces.

a birth, or made way for the fcveral King-
doms and Principalities, that have fince
condnu'd in the Parts of Europe on
this fide that River, which made the
ancient Limits of the Gallick and Ger-
man Nations, The Trait of Land, which
we ufually call the Low-Countries^ was
fo wafted by the Invafions or Marches
of this raging People, (yho pafs'd by
them to greater Conquefts} that the
Inhabitants grew thin > and being fe-
cure of nothing they poflefs'd, fell to
feek the Support of their Lives, rather
by Hunting, or by Violence, than by
Labour and Induftry ^ and thereby the
Grounds came to be uncultivated, and
in the courfe of Years turned either to
Fpreft, or Marflies 5 which are the two
natural Soils of all defolated Lands in
the more temperate Regions. For by
foaking of frequent Showers, and the
courfe of Waters from the higher into
lower Grounds, when there is no Ifluc
that helps them to break out into a
Channel, the flat Land grows to be a
mixture of Earth and Water, and nei-
ther of common ufe nor paflage to Man
or Beafts, which is calPd a Marfti. The
higher, and fo the drier, Parts, moiften'd
by the Rain, and warmed by the Sun,
B 7 fhooc

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The Rife and Progrefs Chap. L

flioot forth fome forts of Plants, as na-
turally as Bodies do fomc fort of Hair,
which, being preferv'd by theDefolate-
nefs of a Place untrodden, as well as
untiird, grow to fuch Trees or Shrubs
as are natural to the Soil, and thofe in
time producing both Food and Shelter
for fcveral kind of Beafts, make the fort
of Country we call a Foreji.

And fuch was Flanders for many
Years before Charlemaign's^ time, when
the Power of the Francs^ having raised
and efl:ablifh*d a great Kingdom of their
own, upon the entire Conqueft o^Gaul^
began to reduce the Diforders of that
Country to the form of a Civil, or (jit
leaft) Military Government ^ to make
Diviiions and Diftributions of Lands and
Jurifdiftions , by the Bounty of the
Prince, or the Services of his chief Fol-
lowers and Commanders : To one of
whom a great Extent of this Land was
^iven, with the Title of Fc^r^^fr of Flan-
ders: This Office continuM for fevcral
Defcents,and began to civilize the Coun-
try, by reprefling the Violence of Rob-
bers and Spoilers , who infefted the
Woody and Faft Places, and by encou-
raging the milder People to fall into
Civil Societies, to truft to their Indu-

ftry

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Cliap- L of the United Provinces.

ftry for Subfiftence, to Laws for Pro*
teftion, and to their Arms united under
the Care and Conduit of their Gover-
nors, for Safety and Defence.

In the time of Charlemaigriy as fome
write j or, as others, in that of Charles
the Baldy Flanders v/2ls erefted into a
County, which changed the Title of
Forejier for that of County without in-
terrupting the Succeilion,

What the Extent of this County
was at iirft, or how far the Jurifdiftion
of Forejiers reached, I cannot affirm j
nor whether it only bordered upon, or
included, the lower Parts of the vaft
Woods of Ardenne^, which, in Charle--
maign's time, was all Foreft as high as
Atx^ and the rough Country for Ibmc
Leagues beyond it, and was usM com-
monly by that Emperor for his Hunt-
ing: This appears by the ancient Re-
cords of that City, which attribute the
Difcovery, or, at leafc, retrieving the
knowledge of thofe hot Baths, to the
Fortune of that Prince, while he was
Hunting: For his Horfe poching one
of his Legs into fome hollow Ground,
made way for the fmoaking Water to
break out, and gave occafion for the
Emperor's building that City, and ma-
B 3 king

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7he Rife and Progrefs Chap. L

king it his ufual Seat, and the Place of
Coronation for the following Empe-
rors.

Holland^ being an Ifland made by the
dividing Branches of the ancient Rhtne^
and caird iotmtiX^ Bat avia^ wasefteem-
ed rather a Part of Germany than GauU
(^between which it was feated} in re-
gard of its being planted by the Catt'h
a great, and ancient People o^ Germany ^^
and was treated by the Romans rather
as an Allied than a Subjeded Province^
who drew from thence no other Tribute
befides Bands of Soldiers, much efteem-
cd for their Valour, and joined as Auxi-
haries to their Legions in their Gallicky
German^ and Britijh Wars.

'Tis probable, this Ifland changed in a
great meafure Inhabitants and Cuftoms,
as well as Names, upon the Inroads of
the barbarous Nations, but chiefly of
the Normans and "Danes^ from whofe
Countries and Language the Names of
Hol-hmd and Zealand feem to be derived.
But atout the Year 860, a Son of
the Count of Frize^ by a Daughter of
the Emperor Lewis the Second, was by
him inftituted Count oi Holland^ and
gave Beginning to that Title ^ which,
running fince that time through fo many

dired

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chap. 1 of the United Provinces.

direft or collateral Succellions and fome
Ufurpations, came to an end at laft in
Thiiip the Second, King of Spain^ by
the Defedion of the Untied Provinces.
Under thefe dt&i Forejiers zndCounts^
who began to take thofe wafted Coun-
tries and mixed People into their Care,
and to intend the Growth, Strength,
and Riches of their Subje6ts> which they
efteemed to be their own : Many old
and demolifh'd Caftles were re-built,
many new ones erected, and given by
the Princes to thofe of their Subjefts
or Friends, whom they moft lov'd or
efteem*dj with large Circuits of Lands
for their Support, and Seigneurial Jurif-
diition over the Inhabitants. And this
upon feveral eafie Conditions>but chiefly
of Attendance on their Prince at the
necelTary times of either honouring him
in Peace, or ferving him in War. Nay
poilibly, fome of thefe Seigneuries and
their Jurifdiftions, may, as they pretend,
have been the Remains of fome old
Principalities in thofe Countries among
the Gallick and German Nations, the
firft Inftitutions whereof were loft in
the Immenfity of Time that preceded the
Roman Difcoveries or Conqueft, ^}^^
might be derived perhaps from the iirft
B 4 Pater^

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7he Rife and Progrefs Chap. L

Paternal Dominion, or Concurrence of
loofe People into orderly Neighbour-
hoods, withaDeference, if notSubjefti-
on, to the wifeil or braveft among them.

Under the fame Counts were either
founded or reftored many Cities and
Towns -, of which the old had their
ancient Freedoms and Jurifdiftions con-
firmed, or others annexed J and the New
had either the fame granted to them by-
example of the others, or great Immu-
nities and Privileges for the Encourage-
ment of Inhabitants to come and peo-
ple in them : All thefe Conftitutions a-
greeing much in Subftance perhaps by
Imitation, or elfe by the agreeing Na-
ture of the People, for whom, or by
whom, they were framed, but differing
in Form according to the difference of
their Original, or the feveral Natures,
Cuftoms and Interefts of the Princes,
whofe Concellions many of them were,
and all their Fermiffions.

Another Conftitution which entred
deep into their Government, may be
denv'd from another Source. For thofe
Northern Nations, whofe unknown Lan-
guage and Countries perhaps made
theni be calPd Bar barons^ (though indeed
almoft all Nations out of Italy and

Greece

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chap. I. of the United Provinces. p

Greece were ft y led fo by the Romans^
but whofe Viftories in obtaining new
Seats, and Orders in pofTejffing them,
might make us allow them for a better
policy'd People, than they appeared by
the Vaftnefs of their Multitude, or the
Rage of their Battels.

Wherever they pafs'd, and feated their
Colonies and Dominions, they left a
Conftitution which has Jiince been cal-
led, in moft European Languages, The
States i confifting of Three Orders,
Nobky Ecdejiafitcah and Topilar^ un-
der the limited Principality of One
Pcrfon, with the Style of King^ Trince^
T)uke^ or Count. The Remainders, at
leaft, or Traces hereof, appear ftill ii\
all the Principalities founded by thofe
People in Italy^, France and Spain ^y and
were of a piece with the prefent Con-
ftitutions in moft of the great Domini-
ons on t'other fide of the Rhine: And
it feems to have been a Temper firft
introduced by them between the Tyran-
ny of the Eaftern Kingdoms, and the
Liberty of the Grecian ot Roman Com-
monwealths.

'Tis true, the Goths were Gentiles
when they firft broke into the Roman
Empire, 'till one great fwarm of this

People,

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10 The Rife and Progrefs Chap. L

People, upon Treaty with one of the
Roman Emperors, and upon Conceili-
ons of a great Trad of Land to be a
Seat for their Nation, embraced at
once the Chriftian Faith. After which,
the fame People breaking out of the Li-
mits had been allowed them, and by
freih Numbers bearing all down where
they bent their March > as they were a
great means of propagating Religion in
many Parts of Europe where they ex-
tended their Conquefts > fo the Zeal of
thefe new Profelytes, warmed by the
Veneration they had for their Bi(hops
and Paftors, and enriched by the Spoils
and Pofleflions of fo vaft Countries,
feem to have been the Firft that in-
troduced the Maintenance of the Chur-
ches and Clergy, by Endowments of
Lands, Lordfliips, and Vaflals, appro-
priated to them : For before this time
the Authority of the Priefthood in all
Religions feem'd wholly to confift in
the Peoples Opinion of their Piety,
Learning, or Virtues, or a Reverence
for their Charadtcr and Myftical Cere-
monies and Inftitutiong) their Support,
or their Revenues, in the voluntary
Oblations of pious Men, the Bounty
of Princes, or in a certain fharc out

of

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Chap. L of the United Provinces.

of the Labours and Gains of thofe who
liv'd under their Cure, and not in any
Subjeftion of Mens Lives or Fortunesj
which belonged, wholly to the Civil
Power : And Ammmtamts^ though he
taxes the Luxury of the Bifhops m Va-
lentinian's time, yet he fpeaks of their
Riches, which occafioned or fomented
it, as arifing wholly from the Oblations
of the People. But the Devotion of
thefe new Chriftians introducing this
new form of endowing their Churches j
and afterwards Tepin and Charlemaign
King of the Francs^ upon their Vifto-
ries in Italy ^ and the favour of the Ro-
man Bifliop to their Title apd Arms,
having annexed great Territories and
Jurifdiftions to that See : This Exam-
ple, or Cuftom, was followed by moft
Princes of the Northern Races through
the reft of Europe^ and brought into
the Clergy great Poflellions of Lands,
and by a neceflary Confequence a great
(hare of a Temporal Power, from the de-»
pendances of their Subjeds or Tenants-,
by which means they came to be gene-
rally One of the 1 hree Orders that
composed the Aflembly of the States in
every Country.

This Conftitution of the States had

been

1 1

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12.

The Rife afid Progrefs Chap. L

been eftabliflVd from time immemorial
in the feveral Provinces of the Low-
Countries^ and was often afiembled for
determining Difputes about Succeflion
of their Princes, where doubtful or
contefted y For deciding thofe between
the great Towns ^ For raifing a Mihce
for the Defence of their Countries in
the Wars of their Neighbours j For Ad-
vice in time of Dangers abroad, or
Difcontents at home> But always up-
on the new Succeflion of a Prince, and
upon any new Impofitions that were
ncceflary on the People. The Ufe of
this Allembly was another of thofe
Liberties, whereof the Inhabitants of
thefe Provinces were fo fond and fo
tenacious. The reft, befidcs thofe an-
cient Privileges already mentioned of
their Towns, were Concefllons and Gra-
ces of feveral Princes •, in particular,
Exemptions or Immunities, Jurifdiftion
both in Choice and Excrcife of Magi-
llracy and Civil Judicature within
thcmfelvess or elfe in the Cuftoms of
uling none but Natives in Charges and
Offices, and pafllng all weighty Affairs
by the great Council compofed of the
great Lords of the Country, who were
in a manner all Temporal, there being

but

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chap. I- of the United Provinces. 1 5

but Three Bifliops in all the Seventeen
Provinces, ''till the Time of Thilip the
Second of Spain.

The Revenues of thcfe Princes con-
fided in their ancient Demefnes, in fmall
Cuftoms, (which yet grew confiderable
by the grcatnefs of l>ade in the Ma-
ritime lowns,} and in the voluntary
Coiitributions of their Subjefts, cither
in the States or in particular Cities,
according to the Necellities of their
Prince, or the Affeftions of the People.
Nor were thcfe frequent ^ for the For-
ces of thefc Counts were composed of
fuch Lords, who either by their Go-
vernments, or other Offices, or by the
Tenure of their Lands, were oblig'd to
attend their Prince on Horfcback, with
certain Numbers of Men, upon all his
V/ars : Or elfe of a Milice, which was
c^ilVd Les gens d' ordonnance^ who fer-
ved on foot, and were not unlike our
Train-bands J the Ufe, or at leafl: Style
whereof, was renewed in Flanders up-
on the laft War with France m 166/^
when the Count Egmont was made by
the Governor, General de gens d' or don-
nance.

Thefe Forces were defrayed by the
Cities or Countries, as the others were

raifed

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i 4 the Rife and Progrefs Chap. L

raifed by the Lords when occafion re-
quired J and all were licenfed immedi-
ately when it was pad, fo that they
were of little Charge to the Prince.
His Wars were but with other Princes
of his own Size, or Competitors to his
Principality ; or fometimes with the
Munities of his great Towns > fliort^
though violent 3 and decided by one
Battel or Siege > unlefs they fell into the
Quarrels between England and France^
and then they were engaged but in the
Skirts of the War, the grofs of it being
waged between the two Kings, and theie
fmaller Princes made ufe of for the
Credit of Alliance, or fometimes the
Commodioufnefs of a Diverlion, rather
than for any great Weight they made
in the Main of the Affair.

The moft frequent Wars of the
Counts of Holland were with the Fri-
zons^ a Part of the old Saxons s and the
fierceft Battels of fome of the Counts
of Flanders were with the Normans^
who pafs'd that way into France^ and
were the laft of thofe Nations that have
infefted the more Southern Parts o^ Eu-
rope. I have fometimes thought, how
it fhould have come to pafs, that the
infinite Swarm of that vaft Northern-
Hive,

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chap. I. of the United Provinces. 1 5

Hive, which fo often fliook the World
like a great Tempeft, and overflowed
ic like a Torrent 3 changing Names^
and Cuftoms^ and Government, and
Language, and the very face of Na-
ture, wherever they feated themfelves;
which upon Record of Story, under the
Name of Gauls^ pierc'd into Greece and
Italj'i facking Rome^ and befieging the
Capitol in CamiUus his time > under
that of the CimberSy march'd through
France^ to the very Confines of Italy y
defended by Marius ; under that of
Hunns or Lombards^ Vifigoths^ Goths ^
and Vdndals^ conquered the whole For-
ces of the Roman Empire, fackt Rome
thrice in a fmall compafs of Years, feat-
ed Three Kingdoms in Sfain and Afrtck^
as well as Lombardy ^ and under that
oiT^anes or Normans <^ poilefs'd them-
{clvcsoi England^ a^rcatpartof France^
and even of Naples and Sicily, How
(I fay} thefe Nations, which feem'd to
fpawn in every Age, and at fome Inter-
vals of Time difcharged their own
native Countries of fo vaft Numbers,
and with fuch Terror to the World,
fhould, about Seven or Eight Hundred
Years ago, leave off the ufe of thefe
furious Expeditions, as if on a fudden

they

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I (j The Rife and Progrefs Chap. L

they fhould have grown barren 3 or
tame, or better contented with their
own ill Climates. But I fuppofe, we
owe this benefit wholly to the Growth
and Progrels of Chriftianity in the North,
by which early and undiftinguifh'd Co-
pulation, or multitude of Wives, were
cither reftrain'd or abrogated: By the
fame means Learning and Civility got
footing among them in fome degree,
and enclofed certain Circuits of thofe
vaft Regions, by the diftindions and
bounds of Kingdoms, Principalities, or
Commonalties. Men began to leave
their wilder Lives, fpent without other
Cares or Pleafurcs, than of Food, or
of Luftj and betook themfelves to the
Eafe and Entertainment of Societies:
With Order and Labour, Riches be-
gan, and Trade followed > and thefe
made way for Luxury, and that for
many Difeafes or ill Habits of Body,
which, unknown to the former and
fimpler Ages, began to fhorten and
weaken both Life and Procreation. Be-
fides, the Divifions and Circles of Do-
minion occafion'd Wars between the
feveral Nations, though of one Faith 5
and thofe of the!P^/(?j, Hungarians^ and
Mttfcovttes^ with the Turks or Tartars^

made

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chap. I. of the United Provinces. 1 7

made greater Slaughters 5 and by thefe
Accidents 1 fuppofc the Numbers of
thofe fertile Broods have been leflen'd,
and their Limits in a meafure confined >
and we have had thereby, for lo long
together in thefe parts of the World,
the Honour and Liberty of drawing our
own Blood, upon the Quarrels of Hu-
mour or Avarice, Ambition or Pride,
without the Affiftance, or Need, of any
barbarous Nations to deftroy us.

But to end this Digreffion, and re-
turn to the LoW'Countries^ where the
Government laftcd, in the form and
manner defcribed, (tho' in feveral Prin-
cipalities,) 'till ThiltJ) oi Burgundy^ in
whom all the Seventeen Provinces came
to be united.

By this great Extent of a populous
Country, and the mighty Growth of
Trade in Bruges^ Gant^ and Antwerp^
attributed by Comines to the Goodnefs
of the princes, and Eafe and Safety of
the People 3 both Thilip^ and his Son
Charles the Hardy:, found themfelves a
Match for France^ then much weakened,
as well by the late Wars of England^
as the Faftions of their Princes. And
in the Wars ^\i\\France^ wastheHoufe
of Burgundy^ under Charles and Maxt-
C miltan

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I 8 The Rife and Progrefs Chap.L

miUan of Attftria^ (^who Married his
Daughter 2X\A Heir} and afterwards un-
der C/^^7:r/^j- the Fifths their Grand-child^
aimoft conftantly engag'd^ the Courfe,
SuccefleSj and Revolutions whercot are
commonly known.

"Philip of Burgundy^ who began them,
was a good and wife Prince, lov'd by
his Subjefej and eftecmcd, by his Ene-
mies^ and took his Meafures fo well,
that upon the declining of the Englijh
Greatnefs abroad, by their DilTentions
at Home, he ended his Quarrels in
France^ by a Peace, with Safety and
Honour ^ fo that he took no Pretence
from his Greatnefs, or his Wars, to
change any thing in the Forms of his
Government: *But Charles the Hardy
engaged more raOily againft France^ and
the Switzers^ began to ask greater and
frequent Contributions of his Subjefts >
which, gain'd at firft by the Credit of
his Father's Government and his own
great Defigns, but fpcnt in an unfortu-
nate War, made his People difcontcnt-
ed, and him difefteemed, 'till he ended
an unhappy Life, by an untimely Death,
in the Battel of Nancy,

In the time of Maximilian^ fever al
GermanTiiOO^s were brought down into

Flan-

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chap. I. of the United Provinces. 1 9

Flanders y for their Defence agafnft
France ; and in that of Charles the
Fifth) much greater Forces of Spani-
ards and Italians^ upon the fame occa-
lion j a thing unknown to the Low-coun-
try -men in the time of their former Prin-
ces. But through the whole courfe of
this Emperor's Reign, who was com-
monly on the fortunate hand, hisGreat-
nefs and Fame encreafing together, ei-
ther diverted or fuppreiled any Difcon-
tents of his Subje6l:s upon the increafe
of their Payments, or the grievance of
fo many Foreign Troops among them.
Beiides, Charles was of a gentle and a
generous Nature 5 and, being born in
the LoW'CotmtrieSy was naturally kind
and eaiie to that People, whofeCuftoms
and Language he always ufed when he
was among them, and employed all their
great Men in the Charges of his Court,
his Government, or his Armies, through
the fcveral parts of his vaft Dommions >
to that upon the laft great Aftion of his
Life, which was the Kefignation of his
Crowns to his Son and Brother, he left
to Thilip the Second, the Seventeen
Provinces, in a Condition as Peaceable,
and as Loyal, as either Prince or Sub-

jects could defire.

C 2 Thi^

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2-0 The Rife and Progrefs Chap. L

Thilij? the Second^ coming to the
Pofleflion of fo many and great Do-
minions, about the Year ifj6j after
fome Trial of good and ill Fortune in
the War with France^ (which was left
him by his Father, like an Encumbrance
upon a great Eftate,} rcftor'dj by the
Peace of Cambrey^ not only the Quiet
of his own Countries^ but in a man-
ner of all Chriftendom, which was in
fome degree or other engjg'd in the
Quarrel of thefe Princes. After this, he
refolv'd to return into Spair^ and leave
the Low -Countries under a fubordinate
Govcrnmentjwhichhadbeen'tillC^^r/^i'
the Fifth's time the conftant Seat of
their Prmces, and (liar'd the Prefence
of that great Emperor with the reft of
his Dommions. , But Thiltp'y a Spaniard
born, retaining, from the Climate orE-
duration of that Country, the Severe-
nefs and Gravity of the Nation, which
the Flemings callM Refervednefs and
Pride ^ conferring the Offices of his
Houfc, and the Honour of his Coun-
cil and Confidence, upon Spaniards'^
and thereby introducing their Cuftoms,
Habits, and Language into the Court
o^ Flanders y contmuj.ng, after the Peace^
thofe Spanijh and Italian Forces, and

the

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chap- 1, of the United Provinces.

the Demand of Supplies from the States
which the War had made neccfTary, and
the eafier fupported^ He foon left off
being lov'd, and began to be fear'd by
the inhabitants of rhofe Proymces.

'^wVPhtlip the Second thought it not
agreeing with the Pomp and Greatnefs
of the Houfj oi Auftria^ already at the
Head of fo mighty Dominions \ nor with
his Defigns of an yet greater Empire,
to confider the Difcontents or Grievan-
ces of fo fmall a Country > nor to be
limited by their ancient Forms of Go-
vernment: And therefore, at his Depar-
ture for Spain:, and Subftitution of his
Natural Sifter the Dutchefs of Tarma:,
forGovernefs o^ thcLow-Countriesy af-
iifted by the Miniftry of GranveU-, he
left her inftru6ted to continue the Fo-
reign Troops, and the Demand of Mo-
ny from the ^l2Xts for their Support,
which was now by a long courfc of
War grown cuftomary among them,
and the Sums only d.ifputed between
the Prince and the States : To eftablifh
the Fourteen Bifhops, he had agreed
with the Pope, ftiould be added to the
Three, that were anciently in the Low-
Countries : To revive the Edi£ts of
Charles the Fifth againll Luther^ pub-
C 3 liOVd

II

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1 % , 7he Rife and Progrefs Chap. L

liflVd in a Diet of the Empire about
the Year lyfo? but eluded in the Low-
Countries even in that Emperor's time 3
and thereby ro make way for the In-
quifition with the fame courfe it had
received in Spain*, of which .the
Ltitherans here, and the Moors there^
were made an equal Pretence. And
thefe Points, as they came to be own-
ed and executed, made the firft Com-
motions of Mens Minds in the Pro-
vinces.

The Hatred of the People againft
the Spaniards J and the Iniblencies of
thoieTroops^ with the Charge of their
Support^ made them look'd upon by the
Inhabitants in general, as the Inftru-
ments of their Oppreilion and Slavery,
and not of their Defence, when a ge-
neral Peace had left them no Enemies:
And therefore the States began here
their Complaints, with a general Con-
fent and Pallion of all the Nobles, as
well as Towns and Country, And upon
the Delays that were contrived, or fell in,
the States firft refufed to raife any more
.Monies, either for the Spaniards Pay,
or their own ftanding Troops j and the
People ran into fo great Defpair, that
in Zealand they abfolutely gave over

the

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chap. I. of the United Provinces. 1 5

the working at their Digues^ fufFering
the Sea to gain every Tide upon the
Country > and refolving ("as they faid}
rather to be devoured by that Element,
than by the SpanijJo Soldiers: So that
after many Difputes and Intrigues, be-
tween theGovernefs and the Provinces,
the King, upon her Rcmonftranccs,
was induced to their Removal 5 which
was accordingly performed with great
Joy and Applaufe of the People.

The erefting of Fourteen new Bi-
fliops Sees, raifed the next Conteft.
The great Lords look'd upon this In-
novation as a leffening of their Power,
by introducing fo maiiy new Men into
the great Council. The Abbots (^out
of whofe Lands they were to be en-
dowed} pleaded againft it, as a violent
Ufurpation upon the Rights of the
Church, and the Will of the Dead,
who had given thofe Lands to a par-
ticular ufe. The Commons murmured
at it, as a new degree of Oppreflion
upon their Confcience or Liberty, by
the eretting fo many new Spiritual
Courts of Judicature, and fo great a
number of Judges, being Seventeen
for Three, that were before \t\ the
Country 3 and thofe dependiflg abfo-
C 4, lutely

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2 4 2^^^ Rif^ ^^d Progrefs Chap. L

lutely upon the Pope, or the King.
And all Men declaimed againft it^ as a
Breach of the King's Oath at his Ac-
cefllon to the Government, for the
preferring the Church and the Laws in
the fame ilatc he found them. Howe-
ver this Point was gain'd entirely by
the Governcfs, and carry'd over the
head of all Oppofition, tho' not with-
out leaving a general Difcontent.

In the midll of thele ill Humours
ftirring in Flanders^ the Wars of Reli-
gion, breaking out in France^ drove
great numbers of Calvinifls into all
thofe parts of the Low-Countries that
confine upon France^ as the Troubles
of Germany had before of Lutherans^
into the Provinces about the Rhine y
and the Profecutions under Queen Ma-
ry^ thpfe of the Church o^ England in-
to Flanders and Brabant:, by the great
Commerce of this Kingdom with Bru-
ges and Antwerp.

Thefe Accidents and Neighbourhoods
fijPd thefe Countries, in a fmall Tra£t
of Time, with Swarms of the Reformed
Profeflbrs : And the Admiration of
their Zeal, the Opinion of their Do-
ftrine and Piety, the Compaffion of
their Sufferings, the Infufion of their

Dif.

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chap, L of the United Provinces. xy

Difcontcnts, or the Humour of the
Ag-? gain'd them every Day many
Pi-oLlytes in the Low-Countries^ fonie
among the Nobles, many among the
Villages, but moil among the Cities,
whole Trade and Richts were much
encreafed by thefe new Inhabitants •,
and whofe Intereft thereby, as well as
Conv^rfation, drew them on to their
Favour.

This made Work for the hiquijitmij
though m.oderately exercifed by the
Prudence and Temper of the Gover-^
nefs, mediating between the Rigor of
Granvelly who ftrain'd up to the high-
eft his Mafter's Authority, and the Ex-
ecution of his Commands upon all oc-
cafions 'y and the Refolutcnefs of the
Lords of the Provinces, to temiper the
King's Edifts, and proteft the Liberties
of their Country agamft the AdmiiTion
of this New and Arbitrary Judicature,
unknown to all ancknt Laws and Cu-
floms of the Country -, and for that,
not lefs odious to the People, than for
the Cruelty of their Executions. For,
before the Inquijitiony the Care of Re-
ligion was in the Bi(hops> and before
that, in the Civil Magiftrates through-
out the Provinces,

Upon

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%6 The Rife and Progrefs Chap, L

Upon angry Debates in Council^ but
chiefly upon the univerfal Minillry of
Granvel/j a Btirgtmdian of mean Birtli^
grown at laft to a Cardinal ^ and more
famous for the Greatnefs of his Parts,
than the Goodnefs of his Life : The
chief Lords of the Country (^ among
whom the Prince of Orange^ Counts
Egmont and Horn', the Marquefs of
Berghen and Montigny^ were moft con-
iiderable) grew to io violent and impla-
cable an Hatred of the Cardinal^ (whe-
ther from Paffion or Intereft} which
was fo univerfally Ipread through the
whole Body of the People, either by
the Caufes of it^ or the Example, that
the Lords firft refufed their Attendance
in Council, protefting, Not to endure
the Sight of a Man fo abfolute there^
and to the Ruin of their Country : And
afterwards Petitioned the King, in the
Name of the v/hole Country, for his
Removal: Upon the Delay whereof,
and the Continuance of the Inquiiition,
the People appeared, upon daily Occa-
lions and Accidents, heated to that de- i
grec, as threatned a general Combufti-
on in the whole Body, when ever the
leaft Flame ihould break out in any
Part.

But

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chap. L of the United Provinces. ^7

But the King at length confented to
Granvell's Recefs, by the Opinion of
the Dutchefs of Tarma^ as well as the
purfuic of the Provinces: Whereupon
the Lords reaffum'd their Places in Coun-
cil ', Count Egmont was fent into Spain
to reprefent the Grievances of the Pro-
vinces > and being favourably difpatcht
by the Kingv, eipecially by remitting
the Rigor of the Edifts about Religion>
and the Inquifition, all noife of Dif-
content and Tumult was appeafed> the
Lords, were made ufe of by the Go-
vernefs in the Council^ and Conduct
of Affairs ^ and the Governefs was
by the Lords both Obeyed and Ho-
noured.

In the beginning of the Year 1 5'6f ,
there was a Conference at Bayonne be-
tween Katherine Queen-Mother of
France and her Son Charles the Ninth,
(though very young) with his Sifter
Ifabella Queen of Spain : In which no
other Perfon but the Duke of Alva in-
terven'd^ being deputed thither by T^hi-
lip-t who excused his ownPrefence, and
thereby made this Enterview pafs for
an effe£t or expreffion of Kindncfs be-
tween the Mother and her Children.
Whether great Refolutions are the more

fufpefted

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x8 The Rife and Progvefs Chap. I.

fufpe(3:ed^ where great Secrefie is ob-
ferv'dj or if it be true^ what the Prince
of Orange affirmed to have by accident
difcover'd^ That the Extirpation of all
FamiHes which fliould profefs the New
Religion in the French or Spanifh Do-
minions, was here agreed on, with mu-
tual Afliftance of the Two Crowns.
^Tis certain, and was owned, that
Matters of Religion were the Subject
of that Conference j and that foon
after, in the fame Year, came Letters
from King "Philip to the Dutchefs of
Tarma^ difclaiming the Interpretation
which had been given to his Letters
by Count Egmont ^ declaring, His
Pleafure was, That all Herecicks (liould
be put to death without Reiniffion>
That the Emperor's Edifts, and the
Council of Trent^ (hould be pubHflh-
ed and obferved ^ and commanding.
That the utmoft AiTiftance of the Ci-
vil Power {hould be given to the Inciui-
fition.

When this was divulg'd, at firft,the A-
llonifliment was great throughout their
Provinces 3 but that foon gave way to
their Rage, which began to appear
in their Looks, in their Speeches, their
bold Meetings and Libels ^ and wa^

encreafed

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chap. I. of the United Provinces. 15;

cncre^fed by the miferable Speftacles of
fo many Executions upon account of
Religion. The Conftancy of the Suf-
ferers, and Compaffion of the Behold-
ers, confpiring generally to leflen the
Opinion of Guilt or Crime, and heighten
a Deteflation of the Punifhment and De-
iire of Revenge, againft the Authors of
that Counfel, of whom the Duke of
Alva was efteemed the Chief

In the beginning of the Year i f <5(>,
began an open Mutiny of the Citizens
in many Towns, hindring Executions,
and forcing Prifons and Officers > and
this was followed by a Confederacy
of the Lords, Never to fufFer the In-
qutjitton in the Low-Convtries^ as con-
trary to all Laws, both facred and pro-
phane, and exceeding the Cruelty of
all former Tyrannie^^ upon which, all
Refolutions of Force or Rigor grew^
unfafe for the Government, now too
weak for fuch a Revolution of the Peo-
ple > and on the other lide, Brederodey
in confidence of the general Favour,
came in the Head of Two Hundred
Gentlemen, thorow the Provinces, to
Bruffelsy and in bold Terms petitioned
the Governefs for aholilhing the Inqui-
Jition^ and Edids about Religion 3 and

that

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J o "the Rife and Progvefs Chap. L

that new ones fliould be fram'd by a
Convention of the States.

The Governefs was forc'd to ufe
gentle Remedies to fo violent a Dif-
cafej to receive the Petition without
fhew of the Refentment fhe had at hearty,
and to promifc a Reprefentation of
their Defires to the Kings which was
accordingly done : But though the
King was ftartled with fuch Confc-
quences of his laft Commands, and at
length induced to recall them •, yet,
whether by the Slownefs of his Na-
ture, or the Forms of the Spaiitjh Courts
the Anfwer came too late: And as all
his former ConcellionS) either by Delay^
or Teftimonies of ill-will or meaning
in them, had loft the good Grace j fo
this loft abfolutely theEffeft, and came
into the Low 'Countries when all was
in flame, by an Infurreftion of the
meaner People through many great
Towns of Flanders^ Holland^ and f/-
trecht s who fell violently upon the
Spoil of Churches, and Deftrudion of
Images, with a thoufand circumftances
of barbarous and brutirti Fury ; which^
with the Inftitution of Confiftories and
Magiftrates in each Town among thofe
of the Reformed Profcffion, with Pub-
lick

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chap. L of the United Provinces. 3 1

lick Confederacies and Diftindions,
and private Contributions agreed up-
on for the Support of their eommon
Caufe, gave the firfl Date in this Year
of i^66y to the Revolt of the Low-
Countries,

But the Nobility of the Country^
and the richcft of the People in the
CitieS:, though unfatisfy'd with the
Government, yet feeling the Effefts^
and abhorring the Rage, of popular
Tumults, as the worft Mifchief that
can befall any State: And encourag'd
by the Arrival of the King s Concelli-
ons, began to unite their Councils and
Forces with thofe of the Governefs,
and to employ themfelves both with
great Vigor and Loyalty, for fuppref-
ling the late Infurredions, that had
feis'd upon many, and ihak'd moft of
the Cities of the Provinces > in which
the Prince of Orange and Count Eg-
mont were great Inftruments, by the
Authority of their great Charges, ("one
being Governor of Holland and Zea-
land^ and the other of Flanders^ ^ but
more by the general Love and Confi-
dence of the People^ 'till by the re-
ducing Valenciens^ Maeftricht^ and the
Burfe^ by Arms \ the Submiilion of

Antwerp

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3 1 The Rife and Progrefs Chap. L

Antwerp and other Towns ^ the De-
fedion of Count Egmont from the
Councils of the Confederate Lords ("as
they were calPd ^} the Retreat of the
Prince of Orange into Germany j and
the Death of Brederode ; with the News
and Preparations of King Thilip's fud-
den Journey into tho, Low-Countries^ as
well as the Prudence and Moderation
of the Dutchefs, in governing all thefe
Circumftances ^ The whole Eftate of the
Provinces was pcrfeftly reftor'd to its
former Peace, Obedience, and at leaft,
Appearance of Loyalty.

Kmg T'htlipy whether having never
really decreed his Journey into Flan-
ders'^ or diverted by the Pacification
of the Provinces, and Apprehenfion of
the Moors rebelling in Spain-, or a Di-
ftrufi: of his Son Prince Charles his
violent Paffions and Difpofitions, or
the Expectation of what had been re-
folvt^d at Bayonney growning ripe for
Execution in France^ gave over the
Difcourfe of feeing the Low-Countries *y
But at the fame time took up the Re-
folution for difpatching the Duke of
Alva thither at the Head of an Army
of Ten Thoufand Veteran Spamjh^ and
Italian^ Troops, fortheAffiftanceof the

Go-

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chap. I. of the United Provinces* 3 3

Governcfs, the Execution of the Laws,
the fupprefling and puniilimenL" of all,
who had been Authors or Fonxenters of
the late Seditions.

This Refult was put fuddenly in
Execution, though wholly againlt the
Advice of the Dutchefs of 'Parma in
Flanders:, and the Duke of Feria (one
of the chief Minifters) in Spam :
Who thought, the prefenc Peace of the
Provinces ought not to be invaded by
new Occafions •, nor the Royal Autho-
rity leflened, by being made a Party
in a War upon his Subjefts ;, nor a
Mirtifter employed, where he was fo
profefTedly both hating, and hated, as
the Duke of y^lva in the Low-Coun-
tries.

But the King was unmoveable ^ fo
th^t in the end of the Year 15^67, the
Puke of Alva arrived there with an
Army of Ten Thoufand, the beft Spanijh
and Italian Sdldicrs, under the Com-
iDand of the choiceft Officers, which
the Wars of Charles the Fifth, or
Philip the Second, had bred up in Eu-
rope-, which, with Two Thoufand Ger-
mans the Dutchefs of Parma had rais'd
in the lafl: Tumults, and under the
Command of fo Old ahd R,^own'd
D a

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54 The Rife and Progrefs Chap.L

a Genefal as the Duke of Jlva, mide
up a Force, which nothing in the Low-
Countries could look in the face with
other Eyes, than of Afloniflimcnt, Sub-
miilion, or Dcfpair.

Upon the firft report of this Expedi^
tion, the Trading People of the Towns
arid Country began in vaft Numbers
to retire out of the Provinces -, fo as
the Dutchefs wrote to the King, That,
in few days, above a Hundred Thou-
fand Men had left the Country, and
withdrawn both their Mony and
Goods, and more were following every
day : So great Antipathy there ever
appears between Merchants and Soldi-
ers; whilft one pretends to be fafe un-
der Laws, v^'hich the other pretends
(liall be fubjeft to his Sword, and his
Will. And upon the lirft Aftion of
the Duke of ^/r^ after his Arrival,
which was the feizing Count Egmont
and Horn^ as well as the fufpefted Death
of the Marquefs of Berghen, and Im-
prifonment of Montigny in Spain^ (whi-
ther, fome Months before, they had been
fent with CommiiTion and Inftrudions
from the Dutchefs,} flie immediately
defired leave of the King to retire out
of the Low -Countries.

This

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Ghap. I. of the United Provinces. 3 5

This was eafily obtained, and the
Duke of Jha inverted in the Govern-
ment, with Powers never given before
to any Governor : A Council of
Twelve was ere6ted for Tryal of all
Crimes committed againft the Kmg's
Authority, which was called by the
People, The Council of Blood. Great
numbers were condemned and execu-
ted by Sentence of this Council, upon
account of the lateInfurre£tions : More
by that of the Inqui/ttioUy again ft the
parting- advice of the Dutchels of jP^r-
ma^ and the Exclamations of the Peo-
ple at thofe illegal Courts. The Towns
ftomached the Breach of their Char-
ters, the People of their Liberties, the
Knights of the Golden-Fleece the Char-
ters of their Order, by thefe new and
odious Courts of Judicature: All com-
plain of the difufe of the States, of the
introduftion of Armies, but all in vain :
The King was conftant to what he
had determined > Alva was in his na-
ture cruel and inexorable ; the new
Army was fierce and brave, and deii-
rous of nothing fo much as a Rebelli-
on in the Country : The People were
enraged, but awed and unheaded: All
was Seizure and Procefsj Confifcation
D 2 and

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j tf The Rife and Progfefs Chap. L

and Imprifonmcnt, Blood and Horror,
Infolence and Dejeftion, PuniOiments
executed and meditated Revenge: The
fmaller Branches were lopt off apace •,
the great ones were longer a hewing
down. Count Egmoiit and Home laft-
fed feveral Months-, but, at lengthy in
Ipight of all their Services to Charles
the Fifth, and to Thi/ip ; as well as of
their new Merits, in the quieting of
the Provinces, and of fo great Suppli-
cations and IntcrccflTions as were made
ill their Favour, both in Spain and in
Flanders^ they were publickly beheaded
at Bruffels^ which fcemed to break all
patience in the People 3 and, by their
End, to give thofe Commotions a Bc-
ginnmg, which coft Europe fo much
Blood, and Spain a great part of the
Low 'Country -Vxovincts,

After the Procefs of Egmont and
Horne^ the Prince of Orange^ who was
retifd into Germany^ was fummoned
to his Trial for the fame Crimes, of
which the others had been accufed 5
and, upon his not appearing, was con-
demned, proclaimed Traitor, and his
whole Eftate, which was very great
ih the Provinces, (and in Burgundy')
feiz^d upon, as forfeited to the King.

The

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chap. L of the United Provinces,

The Prince;, treated in this manner^ while
he was quiet and unarmed in Germany^
employs all his Credit with thofe Prin-
ces engaged to him by Alliance, pr by
common Fears of the Houfe of Au-
ftria^ throws off all Obedience to the
Duke o? Aha^ raifcs Forces, joins with
great numbers flocking tp him out oF
the Provinces : All enraged at the
Duke of Alva's Cruel and Arbitrary
Government, and refolv^d to revenge
the Count Egmonfs Death, (who had
ever been the Darling of the People.}
With the£e Troops he Qwtcrs Friez,land^
and invades the outward Parts of Bra-
bant^ receives Succours from the Prote-
ftants of France^ then in Arms under
the Prince of Conde : And after many
various Encounters and Succeffes, by
the great Conduit of Alva^ and Va-
lour of his Veteran Army, being hin-
dred from feizing upon any Town in
Brabant^ (which boch of them knew
would (hake the FideUty of the Pro-
vinccs,} he is at length forc'd to break
up his Army, and to retire into Germany,
Hereupon, Alva returns in Triumph to.
Brujfels ; and as if lie had made a
Cpnqucft, inilead of a Defence, caufes
out of the Cannon taken from Lewis
D3 of

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5 8 ^he Rife and Progrefs Chap. I;

ofNafaU'i his Statue to be caft in Brafs,
treading and infulting upon two fmaller
Statues, that reprefented the Two E-
ftatcs ofthe Low-Countries : And this to
be erefted in the Cittadel he had built
at Antwerp^ for the abfokite fubjefting
of that rich, populous, and mutinous
Town.

Nothing had raifed greater Indigna-
tion among the Flemings^ than the
pubUck fight and oftentation of this
Statue > and the more, becaufe they
knew the Boaft to be true, finding
their ancient Liberties and Privileges
(^thc Inheritance of fo many Ages, or
Bounty of fo many Princes} all now
proftrate before this one Man's Sword
and Will, who from the time of CharleS'
the Fifth had ever been efteemed an
Enemy of their Nation, and Author of
all the Counfels for the abfolute fub-
duing their Country.

But Jlva^ mov'd with no Rumors,
terrified with no Threats from a bro-
ken and unarmed People, and think-
ing no Meafures nor Forms were any
more neceffary to be obferved in the
Low-Cotmtries -^^tcttnds greater Sums
are ncceifary for the Pay and Reward
of his Vidorious Troops, than were
. . . annually

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chap. I. of the United Provinces. 3 p

annually granted upon the King's Re-
quefl::^ by the States of the Provinces :
And therefore demands a general Tajj
of the Hundredth part of every Man's
Ellate in the Low -Countries ^ to be raifed
at once: And for the future, the Twen-
tieth of all Immoveables, and the Tenth
of all that was Sold.

The Scares, with much Relud-ancy,
confent to the firfl:, as a thmg that
ended at once; but refufed the other
two, alledging the Poverty of the Pro-
vinces, and the Ruin of Trade. Upon
the Duke's perfifting, they petition the
King by Meflengers into Spain ^ but
without Redrefs J draw out the Year in
Contefl:s„ fbmetimes ftomachful, fome*
times humble, with the Governor > 'rill
the Duke, impatient of further delay^
caufes the Edid, without Confent of
the States, to be publifhed at Brujfels.
The People refufe to pay, the Soldiers
begin to levy by force ^ the Townf-
men all fliut up their Shops j the Peo-
ple in the Country forbear the Mar-
ket, fo as not fo much as Bread or
Meat is to be bought in the Town.
The Duke is enraged, and calls the
Soldiers to Arms, and commands feve-
ral of the Inhabitants, who refufed the
D 4 Pay-

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4 Q 7h€ Rife avd Progrefs Chap. L

Payments, to be hanged that very Night
upon their Sign-poits ^ which nothing
moves the Obftinacy of the People :
And now the Officers of the Guards
^re ready to begin the Executions,
when News comes to Town of the ta-
king of the Br /el by the Guefes^ and
of the Expeftation that had given of a
fudden Revolt in the Province of Hol-
land.

This unexpefted Blow ftruck the
Duke of Alva ; and forefeeing the
Confequences of it^ becaufe he knew
the Stubble was dry, and now he found
the Fire was fallen in, he thought
it an ill time to make an end of the
Tragedy in Brabant^ whilft a new Scene
was opened in Holland s and fo, giving
over for the prefent his Taxes and Exe-
cutions, applies his Thoughts to the
Suppreflion of this new Enemy, that
broke in upon him from the Sea 5 and
for that Reafon, the Bottom and Reach
of the Defign, as well as the Nature
and Strength of their Forces, were to
the Duke the lefs known, and the
more fufpeited. Now becaufe this
Seifure of the Brkl began the fecond
great Commotion of the Low-Countries
in If 70, and that which indeed never

cndtd^

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chap. L of the United Provinces. 4 1

ended, but in the Lofs of thofe Provin-
ces, where the Death of the Spantfi and
Royal Government gave Life to a new
Commonwealth -, it will be neceflary
to know, what fort of Men, and by
what Accidents united, and by what
Fears or Hopes emboldened, were the
firft Authors of this Adventure,

Upon Brederodes delivering a Peti-
tion to the Dutchefs of Tarmac, againft
the Inqm(ttion^ and for fome Liberty in
Point of Religion-, thofe Perfons, which
attended him, looking mean in their
Cloath3 and their Garb, were called by
one of the Courtiers, at their entrance
into the Palace, Guefes^ which fignifies
Beggars-, a Name, though raised by
chance^ or by fcorn, yet atfeded by
the Party, as an Expreffion of Humi-
lity and Dift refs, and us'd ever after
by both fidcsj as a Name of Diftindion,
comprehending all, who diflentcd from
the Roman Church, how different io-
ever in Opinion among themfelves.

Thefe Men, fpread in great numbers
through the whole extent of the Pro-
vinces, by the Accidents and Difpoliti-
ons already mentioned, after the ap-
peafing of their firft Sedition, were
broken in their common Counfels 5 and

by

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4t The Rife and Progrefs Chap. I.

by the Cruelty of the Inquifition, and
Rigor of u4lva^ were in great multir
tudes forced to retire out of the Pro«
vinceS) at leaft^ fuch as had means or
hopes of fubfifting abroad : Many of
the poorer and more defperate fled
into the Woods of the upper Coun-
tries, (where they are thick and wild}
and liv'd upon SpoiU and, in the firft
Defcent of the Prince of Orange his
Forces, did great Mifchiefs to all
fcatter*d Parties of the Duke of ^Z-
va's Troops in their March through
thofe Parts. But after that Attempt of
the Prince ended without Succefs, and
he was forced back into Germany } the
Count of Marcke^ a violent and imr
placable Enemy to the Duke of Alva
and his Government, with many others
of the broken Troops, (whom the fame
Fortune and Difpofition had left toge-
ther in Friezlarid^^ man'd out fome
Ships of fmall Force, and betook them^
felves to Sea 5 and, with Commiffions
from the Prince of Orange^ began to
prey upon all they could maftcr, that
belonged to the Spaniards. They fome-
times (hekered and watered, and fold
their Prizes in fome Creeks qr fmall
Harbors o^ E'riglandy though forbidden

by

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chap. I. of //^^ United Provinces. 45

by Queen Elizabeth^ (^then in Peace
with Spaini) fometimes in the River
Ems, or fome fmall Ports o? Friezland;
'till at length, having gain'd confide-
rable Riches by thefe Adventures, whe^
ther to fell, or to refrefli, whether dri-
ven by Storm, or led by Dcfign, ("upon
knowledge of the ill Blood which the
new Taxes had bred in all the Provinces)
they landed in the Ifland of the Briel,
aflaulted and carried the Town, puH'd
down the Images in the Churches, pro-
fefled openly their Religion, declared
againft the Taxes and 7 yranny of t^e
Spanjjh Government, and were imme-
diately followed by the Revolt of mod
of the 'To^nsoi Holland., Zealand, and
Weft-Friezland., who threw out the J))^-
mjh Garrifons, renounced their Obe-
dience to Kw^Thilipy andfwore Fide,
hty to the Prince of Orange.

The Prince returned out of Ger-
many with new Forces, and, making
ufe of this Fury of the People, con-
tented nothimfelf with Holland and
Zealand, but march'd up into the very
Heart of the Provinces, within five
Leagues oiBmpls, feizingupon Mech-
Im, and many other Towns, with fo
great Confent, Applaufe, andConcourfe

of

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44 5"^^ ^{/^ ^^^ Progrefs Chap. L

of People, that the whole Spanijh Do-
minion now fcem'd ready to expire
in t\\c Low-Countries^ if it nad not been
rcviv'd by the Maflacre of the Prote-
Iknts at Tarts ^^ which^ contrived by
joint Counfels with King "Thilip:^ and
afted by a Spmiijh Party in the Court
of France', and with fo Eital a Blow
to the contrary Faction, encourag'd
the Duke of Alva^ and dampt the
Prince of Orange in the fame degree •,
fo that one gathers ftrength enough ro
defend the Heart of t\\z Provinces, and
the other retires into Holla?idy and.
makes that the Seat of the War.

This Country was ftrong by its Na-
ture and Seat among the Waters^ that
cncompafs and divide it ^ but more by
a rougher fort of People at that time,.
Icfs foftened by Trad^e, or by Riches ^
lefs us'd to Grants of Mony and
Taxes j and proud of their ancient
Fame> recorded in the Roman Stories,
of being obflinate Defenders of their
Liberties, and now moft implacable
Haters of the Spanijh Name.

All thefe Difpofitions were encreas'd
and hardened, in the War that enfu'd
under the Duke of Jlva's Condu£t, or
liis Sons j by the Slaughter of all in-
nocent

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Chap. L of the United Provinces. 45

nocenc Perfons and Sexes, upon the ta-'
king of Naerdeit, where the Houfes
were burnt^ and the Walls levelled to
the Ground •, by the defpcratc Defence
of Haerlem for Ten Months, with all
the Praftifcs and Returns of Ignominy>
Cruelty, and Scorn on both fides ^ while
the very Women lillcd themfelves in
Companies, repaired Breaches, gave
Alarms, and beat up Quarters, 'till, all
being famiflVd, Four Hundred Burgers
(after the Surrender) were kill'd in cold
Blood, among many other Examples of
an mcens'd Conqueror ^ which made
the Humor of d\^ Parties grow more
defperate, and their Hatred to S^'aiti
and Alva incurable.

The fame Army broken and forc'd
to rife from before Alcmaer^ after a
long and fierce Siege in ^/i;^'$ Time^
and from before Leyden in the Time of
Requifenes (where the Boors them-
felves open'd the Sluces, and drown'd
the Country, refolving to mifchief the
Spamards^ at the Charge of their own
Ruin,) gave the great Turn to Affairs
ill HoUand.

The King grows fenfible of Danger,
and apprehenfive of the total Dcfcfti-
on of the Provinces 3 Alva weary of

his

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4^ The Rife and Progrefs Chap. L

his Government, finding his violent
Councils and Proceedings had raifed a
Spirit, which was quiet before he came,
and was never to be laid any more.
The Duke is recalled, and the War
goes on under Requifenes •, who dying
fuddenly, and^without provifions made
by the King for a Succellbr ^ the Go-
vernment, by Cuftoms of the Coun-
try, devolved by way of Interim up-
on the Great Council, which lafted
fome time, by the delay of "Don John
o^ Auftrid's coming, who was declared
the new Governor.

But in this Interim, the ftrength of
the Difeafe appears-, for, upon the Mu-
tiny of fome Spantjh Troops, for want
of rheir Pay, and their feizing Alofi^ a
Town near Bnijfels^ the People grow
into a rage, the Tradefmen give ovet
their Shops, and the Country-Men
their Labour, and all run to Arms : In
BniJJels they force the Senate, pull out
thole Men they knew to be moft ad-
did'cd to the Spaniards y kill fuch of
that Nation as they meet in theStreetSj
and all in general cry out for the Ex-
pulfion of Foreigners out of the Low-
Countrfes ^ and the Aflembhng of the
States 3 to which the Council is forced

to

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chap. I. of the United f^rovihces. 47

to confent. In the mean time, the chief
Pcrlons of the Provinces enter into an
Agreement with the Vxincc o^ Orange^
to carry on the common Affairs of the
Provinces by the fame Counfels •, fo as
v/hen the Eftates aflembled at Ghent^
without any Conteftj they agreed upon
that Act^ which was called The Tactfi-
cation of Ghent ^ in the Year i5'7<>>
whereof the chief Articles were 5 The
Expulfion of all Foreign Soldiers out of
the Trovinces s Refioring all the ancient
Forms of Government ; And referring
Matters of Religion in each province to
the Trovincial Efiates ^ And that for
performance hereof^ the reji of the T^ro-
vincesfoould for ever be confederate with
Holland /aW Zealand. And this made
the iirft Period of the Low-Country
Troubles^ proving to King Thilip a dear
Experience, how little the beft Conduft,
and boldeft Armies, are able to with-
ftand the Torrent of a ftubborn and en-
raged People, which ever bears all down
before it, ^till it comes to be divided in-
to different Channels by Arts, or by
Chance 5 or, 'till the Springs, which arc
the Humors that fed it^, come to be fpent,
Qr dry up of themfelves.

The

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4S The Rife and Progvefs Chap. L

The Foreign Forces, refufmg to de-
part, are declared Rebels j whereupori
the Spanijh Troops force and plunder
feveral Towns, and Antwerp among the
reftj (by Advantage of the Cittadel^)
with equal Courage and Avarice ^ and
defend themfelves in feveral Holds from
theFbrces of theStates, 'tiWTion John's
arrival at Lux^emburg^ the only Town
of the Provinces, where he thought
himfelf fafe, as not involved in the
Dcfeftidh of the reft.

The Eftates refufc to admit him^
without his accepting and confirming
the Pacification of Ghent ; which at
length he do^s^ by leave from the King,
and enters upon the Government with
the Difmiffion of all Foreign Troops,
which return into Italy., Butfoon after^
T>on John^ whether out of Indigna-
tion to fee himfelf but a precarious Go-
vernor, without Force orDependance^
or, defiring new occafions of Fame by
a War 5 or, inftrufted from Spain up-
on new Counfels, takes the occafi-
on of complimenting Queen Mnrgaret
o^Navar upon her Journey out oi France
to the Spsw^ and on a fudden ieizes
upon the Caftle of i\r^^///r. Whereupoa
the Provinces for the third time throw

ofl'

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ChapiL 0/ r^^ United Provinces. 49

off their Obedience, call the Prince of
Orange to Brujfelsy where he is made
Proteftor of Brabant^ by the States of
that Province, and Preparations are
made on both fides for the War :
While Spain is bufie to form new Ar-
mies, and draw them together in Na-
rnur and Luxemburg^ the only Pro-
vinces obedient to that Crown: And
all the reft agree to eleft a Governor
of their own, and fend to Matthias the
Emperor's Brother, to offer him the
Charge.

At this tirrie began to be formed the
Male-content Party in the Low-Coun^
tries } which, though agreeing with the
reft in their Hatred to the Spaniards^
and Defence of their Liberties and
Laws, yet were not inclined to (hake
oif their Allegiance to their Prince,
nor change their old and cftablifti*d Re-
ligion: And thefe were headed by the
Duke of Arefchot^ and feveral Great
Men, the mdre averfe from a general
Defedtion, by Emulation or Envy of
the Prince of Orange's Greatnefs, who
was now grown to have all the Influ-
ence and Credit in the Counfels of t\v^
League*

By the Afllftance of this Party, after
E T^on

Hosted by Google

J o The Rife and Progrefs Chap. I.

^m John's fudden Death, the Duke of
^arma^ fucceedinghim, gained Strength
and Reputation upon his coming to
the Government, and an entrance upon
that great Scene of Glory and Viftory,
which made both his Peribn fo renown-
ed, and the time of his Government
fignaliz'd by fo many Sieges and Bat-
tels, and the Reduftion of fo great a
part of the Body of the Provinces to
the Subjeftion of Spain.

Upon the Growth of this Party, and
for Diftinftion from them, who, purfu-
ing a middle and dangerous Counfel,
were at length to become an Accelfion to
one of the Extreams -, the more Nor-
thern Provinces, meeting by their De-
puties at Utrecht^ in the Year if75;3»
framed an Aft or AlUance, which was
ever after caird The Union ^Utrecht j
and was the Original Conftitution and
Frame of that Commonwealth, which
has fince been fo well known in the
World, by the Name of The United
Provinces,

This Union was grounded upon the
'Spaniards Breach of the Pacification of
Ghent ^ and new Invafion of fome
Towns in Gelderlandi and was not pre-
tended to divide thefc Provinces from

the

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chap. I. of the United Provinces. 5 ^

the Generality^ nor from the faid Taci-
feat ion > but to ftrengthen and purfiie
the Ends of it^ by more vigorous and
united Counfels and Arms.

The chief Force of this Union con-
fifts in thefe Points, drawn out of the
Inftrument it felf

The Seven Provinces unite themfel ves
fo> as if they were but One Province,
and fo, as never to be divided by Tc-
ftament, Donation, Exchange, Sale, 6r
Agreement : Referving. to each parti-
cular Province and City, all Privi-
leges) Rights, Cuftoms and Statutes :
In adjuging whereof, or Differences
that (hall arife between any of the Pro-
vinces, the reft (hall not intermeddle
further, than to intercede towards an
Agreement.

They bind themfel ves to ailift one
another with Life and Fortunes againft
all Force and AfTault made upon any
of them, whether upon Pretence of
Royal Majefty, of reftoring Catholick
Religion, or any other whatfoever.

All Froicitier-Towns belonging to th^
Union, if Old, to be fortified at th^
Charge of the Prpvino? where they lie>
if New, to be crededat the Charge lof
ihe Generality,

E2 All

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5 1 The Rife and Progrefs Chap, t

All Impofts and Cuftoms, from three
Months to three Months, to be ofFer-
ed to them that bid moil > and, with
the Incomes of the Royal Majefty, to
be employed for the common De-
fence.

All Inhabitants to be Lifted and Train-
ed within a Months from 1 8 to 60 Years
old. Peace and War not to be made
without Confent of all the Provinces 5
Other Cafes, that concern the Manage-
ment of both, by moft Voices, Diffe-
rences that fhall arife upon the firft, be-
tween the Provinces, to be fubmitted
to the Stadtholders.

Neighbouring Princes, Lords, Lands,
and Cities, to be admitted into phe U-
nion, by Confent of the Provinces.

For Religion, thofe of Holland and
Zealand^ to aft in it as feems good un-
to themfelves. The other Provinces
may regulate thcmfelves according to
the Tenor eftablifli'd by Matthias ^ or elfe
as they fliaill judge to be moft for the
Peace and Welfare of their particular
Provinces 5 provided^ every one remain
free in his Religionj and no Man be ex-
aroined or entrapped for that caufe, ac-^
cording to the Pacification of Ghent.

In

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chap. L (?/ //;^ United Provinces. 55

In cafe of any Diflcntion or DifFeren*
ces between Provinces^ if ic concern
one in particular^ it fliall be accommo-
dated by the others^ if it concern all
in general, by theStadtholders: Inbpth
which Cafes, Sentence to be pronoun-
ced within a Month? and without Ap-
peal or Revifipn,

The States to be held, as has been
formerly ufed-, and the Mint in fudh
manner, as fhall hereafter be agreed by
aII the Provinces.

Interpretation of thefe Articles to re-
main in the States j but in cafe of their
differing, in the Stadrhplders.

They bind themfclye$ to fall upon,
and imprifon any, that fliall ad: con-
trary to thefe Articles > in which caf?
no Privilege nor Exemption to be va-
lid.

This Ad: was Signed by the Dcpu«
ties of Guelderland^ Zutphen^ HoUandy
Zealand^ Utrecht^ and the Omlands of
Frtze^ Jan, 23. if/p. but was not
Signed by the Prince of Orange 'till May
following, and \^ith this Signification,
judging, that by the fame the Superio-
rity and Authority of Arch-Duke Mat-
thias is not IcfTened.

E 3 In

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5 4 7^^^ ^^fi ^'^d Progrefs Chap. I.

In the fame Year, this Union was
entered and fign'd by the Cities of Ghent ^
Nlmmeguen^ Arnhem^ Leewarden^ with
fome particular Nobles of Friezlandy
Ve7ilo^ Tpresy AntiDerp^ Breda^ and
Bruges, And thus thcfe Provinces be-
came a Commonwcakhj but in fo low
and uncertain a ftate of Affairs, by rea-
fon of the various Motions and AfFefti-
ens of Mens Mmds, the different Ends
andlnterefts of the feveral Parties, efpe-
daily in the other Provinces y and the
niighty Power and Preparations of the
Spdnijh Monarchy to opprefs them,
that in their firfl Coin they caused a
Ship to be ftamped, labouring among
the Waves without Sails pr Oars •, and
thefe .^\^ords, Incertum quo fata fe-
rant.

I thought fo particular a Dcduftion
neceffary, to difcover the natural Cau-
fes of this Revolution in the Low^
Countries y which has fince had fo great
apart, for near an Hundred Years, in all
the Aftions and Negotiations of Chri-
ftendom j and to find out the true In-
centives of that obHinateLove for their
Liberties, and invincible Hatred for the
Span/Jh Nation and Government, which
laid the Foundation of this Common-
wealth :

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chap. I. of the United Provinces. 5 5

wealth : And this kft I take to have
been the ftronger PalTion, and of the
greater EfFcit, both in the bold Coun-
lels of contrafting their Union, and the
defperate Refolucions of defending it.
For not long after, the whole Council
of this new State, being prefs*d by the
Extremities of their Affairs, pafling by
the Form of Government in the way of
a Commonwealth, made an earneft and
folemn Offer of the Dominion of thefe
Provinces both to England and France }
but were refufed by both Crowns:
And though they retained the Name
of a Free People, yet they foon loft
the Eafe of the Liberties they contend-
ed for, by the Abfolutenels of their
Magiftrates in the feveral Cities and
Provinces, and by the extrcam Pref-
fure of their Taxes, which fo long
a War, with fo mighty an Enemy,
made neceffary for the Support of their
State.

But the Hatred of the Sparhijh Go-
vernment, under Alva^ was fo univer-
fal, that it made the Revolt general
through the Provinces, running through
all Religions, and all Orders of Men>
as appeared by the Pacification of
Ghent ji 'Till by the Divifion of the
E 4 Parties,

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^ (J 7he Rife and Progrefs Chap. L

Parties, by the Powers pf fo vaft a
Monarchy as S^ain at that time, and
by the matchlefs Conduft and Valour
of the Duke of Tarma^ this Humour,
like Poifon in a ftrong Conftitution,
^nd with the help of violent Phyfick,
was expeird from the Heart, which was
Flanders and Brabant^ (with the reft qf
the Ten Provinces} into the outward
Members j and by their being cut off,
the Body was faved. After which,
the moft enflamed Spirits being driven
by the Arms of Spain^ or drawn by
the Hopes of Liberty and Safety, into
the United Provinces out qf the reft,
the Hatred of Spain grew to that
height, that they were ;iot only wil-
ling to fubrait to any new Dominion,
rather than return to the old ^ but
when they could find no Mafter to
protect them, and their Aff'airs grew
defperate, they were once certainly
upon the Counfel of burning their
great Towns, wafting and drowning
what they could of their own Country,
and going to fcek fome new Seats in
the Indies, Which they might have
executed, i? they had found Shipping
epough to carry off all their Numbers,
and had iipt been detained by the Com-

paflion

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chap. I. ^/ ?^^ United Provinces. 57

pailion of thqfe which muft have been
left behind, at the mercy of an incen-
fed and conquering Maftcr.

The Spanijh and Italian Writers con*
tent themfelves to attribute the Cau-
fes of thefe Revolutions to the Change
of Religion, to the native Stubborn-
iiefs of the People, and to the Ambi-
tion of the Princes of Orange: But
Religion, Iwithout mixtures of Ambi-
tion and Intereft, works no fuch vio-
lent EfFefts-, and produces rather the
f^xamples of conftant Sufferings, than
of dcfperate Adions. The Nature of
the People cannot change of a fudden,
no more than the Climate which in-
fufes it 5 And no Country hath brought
forth better Subjefts, than many of
thefe Provinces, both before and iincc
thefe Commotions among them-. And
the Ambition of one Man could nei-
ther have defigned or atchieved fo
great an Adventure, had it not been
feconded with univerfal Difcontent:
Nor could that have been raifed to fo
great an Height and Heat, without fo
many Circumftances as fell in from an
unhappy Courfe of the Spanifh Coun-
fels, to kindle and foment it. For
though it Jiad been hs^rcj to head fuch

a

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5 8 The Rife and Progrefs Gliap. L

a Body, and give it fo ftrong a Prin-
ciple of Life, and fo regular Motions,
without the accident of lb great a Go-
vernor in the Provinces, as Prince
WiUiam of Orange: A Man of equal
Abilities in Council and in Arms > Cau-
tious and Refolute, Affable and Se-
verc, Supple to Occafions, and yet
Conftant to his Endsj of mighty Re-
venues and Dependance in the Pro-
vinces, of great Credit and Alliance
in Germany ; efteemed and honoured
abroad, but at home infinitely lov*d
and trufted by the People, who thought
him affectionate to their Country, fm-
cere in his Profeffions and Defigns,
able and willing to defend their Liber-
ties, and unlikely to invade them by
any Ambition of his own. Yet all thefe
Qualities might very well have been
confined to the Duty and Services of a
Subjeft, as they were in Charles the
l^ifth*s time > Without the Abfence of
the King> and the Peoples Opinion of
his Ill-will to their Nation and their
Laws J Without the Continuance of
Foreign Troops after the Wars were
ended ^ The crefting of the new Bi-
lliops See5, and introducing the Inqtii-
Jit ion i The fole Miniftry of GranveSy

and

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Chap. L of the United Provinces. j ^

and Exclufion of the Lords from their
ufual part in Councils and Affairs > The
Government of a Man fo hated, as the
Duke of je4/va } The Rigor of his Pro-
fecutions, and the Infolence of his Sta-
tue : And laftly, Without the Death of
Egmonfj and the Impofition of the
Tenth and Twentieth Part, againft the
Legal Forms of Government in a Coun-
try, where a long derived Succeffion
had made the People fond and tenaci-
ous of their ancient Cuftoms and Laws*
Thefe were the Seeds of their Ha-
tred to Spain y which, increafmg by
the Courfe of about Threefcore Years
War, was not allayed by a long fuc-
ceeding Peace > but will appear to have
hzen an Ingredient into the Fall, as it
was into the Rife, of this$tate> which,
having been thus planted, came to be
cpnferved and cultivated by many
Accidents and Influences from abroad :
But thofe having had no part in the
Conftitution of their State, nor the
Frame of their Government -, I will
content my felf to mention only the
chief of them, which moft contributed
to preferve the Infancy of this Com-
monwealth, and make way for its
Growth. The Caufes of its fucceeding

Greatnefs

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(5p The Rife and Progrefs Chap. I.

Grcatncfs and Riches being not to be
fought for in the Events of their Wars,
but in the Inftitutions and Orders of
their Government, their Cuftoms and
Trade, which will make the Arguments
of the enfuing Chapters.

V<!\icnT>onJohn threw off the Gondii
tions he had at hril: accepted of the Pacifi-
cation ofGhenty and by the Surprife of
Namur broke into Arms^ the Eftate of
the Provinces offered the Government
of their Country co Matthias y Brother to
the Emperor, as a Temper between their
return to the Obedience of Spain^ and
the Popular Government which was
moulding 'm the Northern Provinces.
But Matthias arriving without the Adr
vice or Support of the Emperor, or
Credit in the Provinces j and having
the Prince of Orange given him for
his Lieutenant. General, was only a Cy-
pher, and his Government ^ piece qf
Pageantry, which paft without effeft,
and was foon ended : So that, upon the
Duke of Tarmas taking on him the
Government, fome new Prote6tion was
necelTary to this Infant-State, that had
not Legs to fupport it againft fuch a
Storm, as was threatened upon the FLc-
purn oi the Sj^mijh and Italian For ccs^

to

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Chap, i. of the United Provinces. 6t

to make the Body of a formidable Ar-
my, vhich the Duke o? Tarma wa$
forming in Namur and Luxemhurgh.

Since the Conference of Bayonne be-
tween the Queen-Mother of France^ and
her Daughter Queen o^ ^paiu} thofe
two Crowns had continued, ift the
Reign of Francis and Chdrles^ to affifl:
one another in the common DeHgn there
agreed on, of profccuting with Violence
thofe they call'd the Hereticks, in both
their Dominions, The Peace held con-
ftant, if not kind, between England
and Spain ; fo as King Thilip had no
Wars upon his Hands in Chriftcndom,
during thefe Commotions in the Low-
Countries: And the Boldnefs of their
Confederates, in their firfl: Revolt and
Union, fcem'd greater at fuch a time,
than theSuccefs of their Refiftances af-
terwards, when fo many Occafions fell
in to weaken and divert the Forces of
the Spanijh Monarchy.

For Henry the Third coming to the
Crown o^ France y and at iirft only fet-
tered and control'd by the Faction of
the Guifes^ but afterwards engaged in
an open War, (^which they had raifed
againft him, upon pretext of pre-
ferving the Catholick Rehgion> and m

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€z The Rife and Progvefs Cliap^ L

a Conjundion of Counfels with Spain)
was forced into better meafures with
the Hugonats of his Kingdom, and fell
into ill Intelligence with Thilip the Se-
cond, fo as Queen EUzabeth having
declined to undertake openly the Pro-
tection of the Low-Country Provinces,
it was, by the concurring Refolution of
the States, and the Confent of the
French Court, devolved upon the Duke
of Alencon^ Brother to Henry the
Third.

But this Prince entered ^w^i^w/ with
an ill Prefagc to the Flemings^ by an
Attempt which a Bifcainer made, the
fame day, upon the Prince of Orange's
Life, (booting him, though not mortal*
ly, in the Head : And He continued his
(hort Government with fuch mutual
Diftates between the French and the
Flemings^ (the Heat and Violence of
one Nation agreeing ill with the Cu-
ftoms and Liberties of the other,} that
the Duke, attempting to make himfelf
abfolutc Mafter of the City o^ Antwerp
by force, was driven out of the Town,
and thereupon retired out of the Coun-
try, with extream Retentment of the
Flemings:^ and Indignation of the French ;
fo as the Prince of Orange being not

long

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chap. I. of the United Provinces. 6 3

long after afTaflm'd at ^elph^ and the
Duke of Tarma encreafing daily in Re-
putation and in Force, and the Male-
content Party falling back apace to his
Obedience, an End was prefaged by
mod Men to the Affairs of the Confe-
derates.

But the Root was deeper, and not Co
eafily (haken : For the United Trovin-^
ces^ after the unhappy Tranfaftions
with the French^ under the Duke of
Alencon^ rcaflum'd their Union in 1 5'83^
binding thcmfelves, in cafe, by fury of
the War, any Point of it had not been
obfcrvedj to endeavour from that time
to fee it cffeftcd : In cafe any Doubt
had happened, to fee it cleared : And a-
ny Difficulties, compofed : And in re-
gard the Article concerning Religion
had been fo fram'd in the Union, be-
caufe in all the other Provinces, befides
Holland and Zealand^ the Romijh Re-
ligion was then ufed, but now the £-
vangelicah It was agreed by all the
Provinces of the Union, That, from this
time in them all, the Evangelical Re-
formed Religion fliould alone be openly
Preached and Exercifed

They were fo far from being broken
in their Dcfigns by the jPrince of

Orange*^

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64 T^e Rife and Progrefs Chap. I.

Orange's Death, that they did all the
Honour that could be to his Memory,
fubftitutcd Prince Maurice his Son,
though but Sixteen Years old, in all his
Honours and Commands, and obfti-
nately refused all Overtures that were
made them of Peace j rcfolving upon
all the moil defperate Adions and Suf-
ferings, rather than return under the
Sp'dmjh Obedience.

But thefe Spirits were fed and
heightened, in a great degree, by the
hopes and countenance given them a-
bout this time from England: For Queen
Elii^abeth^ and Philip the Second^
though they ftill preferved the Name
of Peace, yet had worn out, in a man-
ner, the EfFefts as well as the Difpofi-
tions of it, whilft the Spaniard foment-
ed and aflifted the Infurreftions of the
Irijhy and Queen Elizabeth the new
Commonwealth in the Low -Countries^
though neither direftly. yet by Coun-
tenance, Mony, voluntary Troops, and
ways that were equally felt on both
fides, and equally underftood.

King Philip had lately increafed the
Grcatnefs of his Empire, by the Inhe-
ritance or Invafion of the Kingdoms
of Tortagaly upon King Sebajiian'^ Lofs

in

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chap, I. of the United Provinces. 6$

in Africa: But I know not whether he
had encreas'd his Power, by the Ac-
cellion of a Kingdom, with difputed
Title, and a difcontcnted People, who
could neither be ufed like good Sub-
jefts, and governed without Armiesj
nor Hke a Conquered Nation, and fo
made to bear the Charge of their for-
ced Obedience. But this Addition of
Empire, with the vaft Treafure flow-
ing every Year out of the Indies y had
without queftion raifed King Thilip's
Ambition to vafter Defigns > which
made him embrace at once, tht Pro-
teftion of the League in France againft
Henry the Third and Fourth, and the
Donation made him of Ireland by the
Pope, and fo embark himfelf in a War
with both thofe Crowns^ while he was
bearded with the open Arms and Defi-
ance of his own Subjects in the Low-
Countries.

But 'tis hard to be imagined, how far
the Spirit of one Great Man goes in
the Fortunes of any Army or State.
The Duke of Tarma coming to the
Government without any footing in
more than Two of the fmalledt Provin- I

ces, collecting an Army from Sfain^
Italy 'i Germany^ and the broken Troops
F of

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€6 7he Rife and Progrefs Chap, L

of the Country left him by T>on Johriy
having all the other Provinces confe-
derated againft him, and both England
and Fra7ice beginning to take open
part in their Defence •, y^t, by force of
his own Valour^ Condud^ and the Di-
fcipline of his Army 5 with the difin-
terciTcd and generous Qualities of his
Mind, winning equally upon the Hearts
and Arms of the Revolted Countries,
and piercing through the Provinces
with an uninterrupted Courfe of Sue-
ccfTes^ and the Recovery of the moft
important Towns \n Flanders ; at lafty
by the taking o^ Antwerp and Gromngue^
reduced the Affairs of the Union to
fo extream Diftrefs, that, being grown
deftitute of all Hopes and Succours from
France^ (then deep engaged in their
own Civil Wars,} They threw them-
felves wholly at the P'eet of Queen
Elizabeth:, imploring her Proteftion, and
offering her the Sovereignty of their
Country. The Queen refufed the
Dominion, but entered into Articles
with their Deputies in 1 58 f, obliging
her felf to very great Supplies of Men
and of Monies, lent them upon the
Security of the Briely Flufhing^ and
Ramekins s which were performed, and

Sir

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chap. i. of the United Provinces. 6y

Sir John Norrice fent over to command
her Forces 5 and afterwards in 87, up-
on the War broken out with SpaiUj and
the mighty Threats of the Spantjh Ar-
mada^ fhe fent over yet greater Forces
under the Earl of Leicefter^ whom the
States admitted, and fwore Obedience
to him, as Governor of their United
Trovinc^.

But this Government lafted not long,
Diftaftcs and Sufpicions foon breaking
out between Leicefter and the States j
partly from the Jealoulie of his afFe£t-
ing an Abfolute Dominion, and Arbi-
trary Difpofal of all Offices > but chiefly j
of the Queen's Intentions to make a
Peace with Spain; and the eafie Lofs
of fome of their Towns, by Governors
placed in them by the Earl of Leicc-
JfeTy encreafed their Difcontents. Not-
withftanding this ill Intercourfe, the
Queen re-aflures them in both thofc
Pomts, difapproves fome of Leicejier's
Proceedings, receives frank and hearty
Afllftances from them in her Naval Pre-
parations agsiinG: the Spaniards-} and
at length, upon the Diforders encrea-
ling between the Earl of Leice/ler and
the States,: commands hilTi to refign his
Government,: and releafcihe States. of
F z the

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6 8 The Rife and Progrefs Chap, t

the Oath they had taken to obey him.
And after all this had paft, the Queen
cafily lacrificing all particular Relent-
ments to the Intereft of her Crown,
continued her Favour, Protection and
Afliftances to the States, during the
whole courfe of her Reign, which were
returned with the greatefl Deference and
Veneration to her Perfonj that was e-
ver paid by them to any Foreign Prince,
and continues ftill to Her Name in the
Remembrance, and frequently in the
Mouths, of all forts of People among
them.

After Leiceftefs Departure, Prince
Maurice was, by the Confent of the
Union, chofen their Governor^ but
with a Refervation to Queen Elizabeth -^
and entered that Command with the
Hopes, which he made good in the Ex-
ecution of it for many Years •, proving
the greateft Captain of his Age, famous,
particularly, in the Difcipline and Or-
donance of his Armies, and the ways
of Fortification by him firft invented or
pcrfefted, and iince his Time imitated
by all.

But the great Breath that was given
the States in the Heat of their Affairs,
was by the (harp Wars iiiade by Queen

Eli-

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chap* L of the United Provinces. 69

Elizabeth upon the Spaniards at Sea
in the Indies^ and the Expedition of
Lisbon and CadtZ:.^ and by the declin-
ing Affairs of the League in France^
for whofe Support Th^lip the Second
was fo paflionately engag'd, that twice
he commanded the Duke of Tarma
to interrupt the Courfe of his Vidp-
ries in the Low-Countries^ and march
into France for the Relief of Roan and
^aris ', which much augmented the Re-
nown of this great Captain, but as
much impair d the State of the Spanijh
Affairs '\\\ Fianders, For in the Duke
of Parma's Abfence, Prince Maurice
took in all the Places held by the Spa-
niard on t' other fide the Rhine^ which
gave them entrance into the United
^Frovinces,

The Succeilion o^ Henry the Fourth
to the Crown oi France^ gave a mighty
Blow to the Defigns of King "P/^i/z/i
and a much greater, the general Obedi-
ence and Acknowledgment of him up-
on his Change of Religion. With this
King, the States began to enter a Confi-
dence and Kindnefs, and the more by
that which interceded between Him
and the Queen of England-^ who had
all their Dependance during her Life.
F 3 But,>

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7 o The Rife and Progrefs Chap. L

But, after her Death, King Henry
grew to have greater Credit than ever
m the United 'Trovmces } tho% upon
the Decay of the SpaniJJo Power under
the Afcendant of this King> the States
fell into very early Jealoufies of his
growing too great, and too near theni
in Flanders,

With the Duke of Tarma dy'd all
the Difciphne, and, with that, all the
Fortunes, of the Spantjh Arms in Flan-
ders : The frequent Mutinies of their
Soldiers, dangerous in Effect and in Ex-
ample, were more talked of, than any
other of their Adions,.in the (fiort Go-
vernment Q^' Mansfield^ Ernefi^ and Fu-
entes, 'Till the old Difcipline of their
Armies began to revive, and their For-
tune a little to refpire under the new
Government of Cardinal Albert ^ X^^ho
came into Flanders both Governor a|id
Prince of the Low-Countriesy in ^ the
Head of a mighty Army drawn out
of Germany zna Italy ^ to try the laft
Effort of the i$)!>^^//^ Power, either in
a profperous War, or, at leaft, in ma-
king way for a necefTary Peace.

But the Choice of the Arch-Duke,
and this new Authority, had a deeper
Root, and Defign, than at firfl: appeared :

For

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chap. L of the United Provinces. 7 1

For that mighty King Thilip the Se-
cond^ born to io vaft Pofleffions^ and
to fo much vafter E>cfires, after a long
Dream of railing his Head into the
Clouds^ found it now ready to lye
down in the Duft: His Body broken
with Age and Infirmities^ his Mind with
Cares and diftemper'd Thoughts^) and
the Royal Servitude of a follicitous Life :
He began to fee, in the Glafs of Time,
and Experience, the true (liapes of all
human Greatnefs and Defigns; And>
finding to what airy Figures he had hi-
therto facriliced his Health, and Eafe,
and the Good of his Life 3 He now
turn'd his Thoughts wholly to Reft and
Quiet, which he had never yet allowed
cither the World, or Himfelf : His De-
iigns upon England., and his Invincible
Armada, had ended in Smoak : Thofe
wY^on France^ in Events the moft con-
trary to what he had proposed: And
inftead of mattering the Liberties, and
breaking the Stomach of his Low-Coun-
try Subjeds, he had loft Seven of his
Provinces, and held the reft by the Te-
nure of a War, that coft him more than
they were worth. He had made lately
a Peace with England^ and defir^d it
with Fr^^r^i and though he fcornM
Y ^ it

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^ 2, Ihe Rife and Progrefs Chap. I,

it with his revolted Subjefts in his own
Name •, yet he wiflVd it in another's •,
and was unwiUing to entail a Quarrel
upon his Son, which had croft his For-
tunc$5 and bufied his Thoughts all the
courfe of his Reign. He therefore re-
folv'd to commit thefc two Defigns to
the Management of Arch-Duke Albert^
with the Stile of Governor and Prince
of the Low -Count r ie s ^^ to the end^that,
if he could reduce the Provinces to
their old Subjeftion, he fhould govern
them as Spanijh Dominions ^ if that was
once more in vain attempted, he (liould
by a Marriage with Clara Ifabella Eu-
genia (King "Philip's beloved Daughter}
receive thele Provinces as a Dowry,
and become the Prince of them, with
a Condition only, of their returning to
Spain:, in cafe of Jfabella's dying with-
out IfTue. King Thilip bcliev'a, that
the Prefence of a natural Prince among
his Subjefts^ that the Birth and Cu-
ftoms of Arch-Duke Albert^ being a
German ^ the generous and obliging
Pifpofitions oi Jfabella^ Plight gain fur-
ther upon this ftubborn JPeqple,than all
the Force and Rigor of his former
Counfels : And at the worft ^ that
they might make a Peace, if they could

not

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chap. I. of the United Provinces. 7 3

DOt a War, and without intcrefling the
Honour and Greatnef^^ of the Spanijh

Crown.

In purfuic of this Determination, like
a wife King, while he intended nothing
but Peace, he n^^ade Preparations, as if
he defign'd nothing but War> know-
ing that hisownDefire^ of Peace would
fignifie nothing, unlefs he could force
his Enemies to defire it too. He there^
fore fent the Arch-Duke into Flanders^
at the Head of fuch an Army, that, be-
lieving the Peace with France muft be
the firft in order, and make way for
either the War or Peace afterward in
the Low-Countries^ he march'd into
France^ and took Amiens the Chief
City o^Ticardyy and thereby gave fuch
an Alarm to the French Court, as they
little expcdted ^ and had never recei-
ved in the former Wars. But while
Albert bent the whole Force pf the
War upon Frafjce^ 'till he determined
it in a Peace with that Crown, Prince
Maurice^ who had taken Groningue in
the time of Erneji^ now mafter'd Ling-
hen^ Grolly and other Places in Over-
yjfely thereby adding thofe Provinces
intire, to the Body of the Union j and
af Albert^ Return into Flanders^ enter-
tained

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74 ^h^ ^ifi and Pragrefs Cliap. I.

tain'd him with the Battel of Newport y
won by the dcfperate Courage of the
EnglijJoy under Sir Francis Verey where
Albert ^^zs wounded^ and very near
being taken.

After this Lof53 the Arch- Duke was
yet comforted and relieved by the ob-
icquious Affeftions and Obedience of
his new Subjefts, fo far as to refolve
upon the Siege of OJiend; which ha-
ving fome time continued, and being
almoft didiearten^d by the Strength of
the Place, and invincible Courage of
the Defendants, He was recruited by
a Body of Eight Thqufand Italians^
under the Marquefs Spinola^ to whom
the Profecution of this Siege was com-
mitted: He took the Place, after Three
Years Siege, not by any want of Men
or Provifions within, (xht Haven, and
Rehef by Sea, being open all the time 5)
but perfectly for want of Ground,
which was gain'd Foot by Foot, *till
not fo much was left, as would hold
Men to defend it j a great Example,
how impofliblc it is to defend any Town,
that cannot be relieved by an Army
ftrong enough to raife the Siege.

Prince Maurieey though he could not
fave OJiendy made yet amends for its

Lofs5

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Chap.L 0/ ?/?^ United Provinces. 75

Lofsy by the taking of Grave and Sluyce-^
fo as the Spaniards gain*d little but the
Honour of the Enterprife : And Thilip
the Second being dead, about the time
of the Arch-Duke's and Dutchefs's Ar-
rival inFlanderSyznd^ with him thePer-
fonal Refentment of that War, the Arch-
Duke, by confent of the Spa^iijhQomU
began to apply his Thoughts wholly to
a Peace •, which another Circumftance
had made more necefTary, than any of
thofe already mentioned.

As the "l^utch Commonwealth was
born out of the Sea> fo out of the
fame Element it drew its firft Strength
and Confideration, as well as afterwards
its Riches and Greatnefs: For before
the Revolts, the Subjects of the Low-
Countries:, though never allow'd the
Trade of the Indies^ but in the S^a-
ptjh Fleets, and under Spanijh Covert,
yet many of them had in that manner
made the Voyages, and become skilful
Pilots, as well as vers'd in the ways,
and fenfible of the infinite Gains of
that Trade. And after the Union, a
greater Confluence of People falhng
down into the United "Trovinces^ than
could manage their Stock, or find Em-
ployment at Land j great Multitudes

turned

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7^ The Rife and Progrefs Chap. I,

turn'd their Endeavours to Sea -, and,
haying loft the Trade of Spam and
the Streights^ fell not only into that
of England^ France^ and the Northern
SeaS) but ventured upon that of the
Eaji-lndies^ at firft with fmall Forces
and Succefs ; but in courfe of time,
and by the Inftitution of an Eajl-India
Company, this came to be purfu'd
with fo general Application of the Pro-
vinces, and fo great Advantage, that
they made themfelves Mafters of moft
of the Colonies and Forts planted
there by th^Tortuguefe^ (^now Subjects
of Spam?) The T>utch Seamen grew
as well acquainted with thofe vaft Seas
and Coafts, as with their own j and
Holland became the great Magazine
of all the Commodities of thofe Eaftcrn
Regions,

In the Weft-Indies their Attempts
were neither fo frequent nor profpe-
rous, the Spanifth Plantations there iDe-
ing too numerous and ftrong^ but by
the multitude of their Shipping, itt out
with publick or private Commiilions,
they infefted the Seas, and began tq
wait for, and threaten, the Spanijh In-
dian Fleets, and fometimes to attempt
their Coafts in that new World (^which

was

y

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chap. I- of the United I^rovinces^ fy;

was to touch S^ain in the mod fenfibfe
Part,) and gave their Court the ftrong-
eft Motives to endeavour a Peace, that
might fecure thofe Treafures in their
way, and prcferve them in Spain^ by
(topping the IfTue of thofe vaft Sums,
which were continually tranfmitted to
entertain the Low-Country Wars.

Thefe^Refpcfts gave the firft Rife to
a Treaty of Peace, the Propofal wh'::re-
of calmc wholly from the Spaniards i
and the very Mention of it could
hardly at firft be faftened upon the
States > nor could they ever be pre-
vail'd with to make way for any Ne-
gotiation by a Sufpenfion of Arms, ''till
the Arch-Duke had declared, He would
treat with them as with Free Provinces^
upon whom, neither he, nor Spain had
any Pretence, However, the Aftair
was purfued with fo much Art and
Induftry on the Arch-Duke's part, and
with fo paflionate Defires of the Spa-
nijh Court, to end this War, that they
were content to treat it ^t tht Hague ^
the Seat of the States- General ^ and^
for the greater Honour, and better
Gonduft of the whole Bufmefs, ap--
pointed the Four chief Minifters of the
Arch- Duke's, their Commiflioners to

attend

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78 The Rife and Progrefs Chip, L

attend and purfuc it there y who were,
Their Camp-Mafter-General Spinohy
The Prelident of the Council, and the
Two Secretaries of State;) and of War
in Flanders,

On the other fide, m Holland all the
Paces towards this Treaty were made
with pgreat Coldnefs and Arrogance,
raifing punctilious Difficulties upon e-
very Word of the Arch-Duke's Dec! ae-
ration of Treating them as free Provin-
ces, and upon Spain's Ratification of
that Form 5 and forcing them to fend
ExprelTcs into Spain^ upon every occa-
iion, and to attend the length of thofe
Returns. For the profperous Succefs
of their Arms at Land, in the courfe of
above Thirty Years War, and the migh-
ty Growth of their Naval Power, and
(under that Protection) of their Trade,
had made the whole Body of their Mi-
litia, both at Land and Sea, averfc
from this Treaty, as well as the greateft
part of the People j whofe inveterate
Hatred againft Spain was ftill as fierce
as €ver j and who had the Hopes or
Difpofitions of raifing their Fortunes
by : the War, whereof they had fo ma-
ny and great Examples among them.

But

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Chap.L i?/ ir/?^ United Provinces, 75)

But there was>at the bottom, one Fo--
reigrir and another Domeftick, Confide-
ration, which made way for this Treaty,
more than all thofe Arguments that
were the common Theams, or than all
the Offices of the Neighbour-Princes,,
who concerned themfeivcs in this Af-
fair, either from Intereft of their own,
or the Defires of ending a War, which
had fo long exercised, in a manner, the
Arms of all ChriftendomupontheStage
oitht Low-Cotmtries, TheGreatncfs of
the j/>^2:;^//& Monarchy, fo formidable un-
der C;6^r/^:f the Fifth, ^ndThilip the Se-
cond, began now to decline by the vaft
Defigns, and unfortunate Events, of fo
many ambitious Counfels : And, on the
other fide, the Affairs oi Henry the Fourth
of France were now at the greateft
Height and FcHcity,after having atchicv-
ed fo many Adventures, with incredi-
ble Conftancy and Valour, and ended all
his Wars in a Peace with Spain. The
Dtitch imagined, that the hot Spirits of
the French could not continue long
without fome Excrcifc •, and that to
prevent it at home, it might be necefla-
ry for that King to give it them abroad:
That no Enterprife lay fo convenient for
him> as that viiponFlanders^y whick had

anci-

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8o %e Rife and Progrefs Chap.L

anciently been part of the Gallkk Na-
tion, and whole firft Princes derived
and held of the Kings of France, Be-
fides, they had Intimations, that Henry
the Fourth was taken up in great Pre-
parations for War, which they doubted
would at one time or other fall on that
fide, at leaft, if they were invited by a-
ny greater Decays of the Spantjh Power
in Flanders : And they knew very well^
theyfliould lie as much at the Mercy of
fuch a Neighbour as France ^ as they had
formerly done of fuch a Mafter ^s Spain,
For the Spanijh Power in Flanders was
fed by Treafures that came by long and
perilous Voyages out of Spain ^ by
Troops drawn either from thence^ or
from Italy or Germany^ with much Ca-
fualty, and more Expenc'e : Their Ter-
ritory of the Ten Provinces was fmall^
and awed by the Neighbourhood and
Jealoufies both of England and France.
But if France were once Mafter of
Flanders^ the Body of that Empire
would be fo great, and fo entire > fo
abounding in People, and in Riches^
that whenever they found, or made, an
occafion of invading the United Trovin-
ces^ they had no hopes of preferving
themfelves by any Oppofitionor Diverfi-

on^.

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chap,!. ()/*7^^ United Provinces. 8i

on: And the end of their mighty Re-
fiftances againft Spain was, to have no
Mafterj and not to change one for
another, as they (hould do in tliis cafe :
Therefore the moil InteUigent among
their Civil Miniftcrs thought it fafeft,
by a Peace, to give Breath to the Arch-
Duke's and Spanifh Power^ and by that
means, to leflen the Invitation of the
Arms o^ France into Flandersy under fo
great a King.

For what was Domeftick, the Cre-
dit and Power of Prince Matirice^ built
at firft upon that of his Father, but
Jmuch raisM by his own Perfonal Vir-
tue and Qualities, and the Succefs of
his Armes, was now grown fo high
(the Prince being Governor or Stadt-
holder of Four of the Provinces > and
Two of his Coufins of the other Three,}
that feveral of the States, headed by
Barnevelt^ Peniioner o^ Holland^ and a
Man of great A biU ties and Authority
among them, became jealous of the
Prince's Power, and pretended to fear
the Growth of it to an abfolute Do-
minion : They knew, it would increafe
by the continuance of a War, which
was wholly managed by the Prince ^
and thought, that in a Peace it wQUld
G diminifh^^

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8 1 7he Rife and Progrefs Chap. 1

diminitli^ and give way to the Autho-
rity of Civil Power : Which difpos'd
this whole Party to defire the Treaty,
and to advance the Progrefs and Ifluc
of it by all their Affiftanccs. And thefc
different Humors ilirring in the Heart
of the StateS) with almoft equal Strength
and Vigor-, the N-gotiarion of a Peace
came to be eluded, after long Debates
ani infinite Endeavours^ breaking, in
appearance, upon the Points of Reli-
gion, and the: Indian Trade: But yet
came to knit again, and conclude in a
Truce of Twelve Years, dated m the
Year 1605), whereof the moft eflential
Points were. The Declaration of Treat-
ing with them as Free Provinces ; The
Ceflation of all Afts of Hoftility oii
both fides, during the Truce-, The En-
joyment for that fpace, of all that each
Party poffefs'd at the time of the Treaty >
That no new Fortification fhould be
rais'd on either iidc : And that free
Commerce (hould be reftor'd on all
Parts in the fame manner, as it was be-
fore the Wars,

And thus the State of the United
Provinces came to be acknowledged, as
a Ffee Commonwealth by their ancient
Mafter, having before been Treated fo

by

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Chcip. I. of the United Provinces. 8 3

by moft of the Kings and Princes of
Europe^ in frequent Emballies and Ne-
gotiations. An:ong which^ a particular
Preference was given to the Englijb
Crown, whofe Ambaflador had Sellion
and Vote in their Council of State, by
Agreement with Queen Elizabeth^ and
in Acknowledgment of thofe great Af-
fiftances, which gave Life to their State,
when it was upon the point of expi-
ring: Though t\itT>Htch pretend, that
Privilege was given to the Ambafla-
dor, by Virtue of the Pofleflion this
Crown had of the Briel^ Flujhing and
Ramekins j and that it was to ceafe up-
on the Reftitution of thofe Towns,
and Repayment of thofe Sums lent by
the Queen.

In the very time of Treating this
Truce, a League wts concluded between
Henry the Fourth of France^ and the
States, for preferving the Peace, if ir
came to be concluded j or, in cafe of
its failing, for Afliftance of one another,
with Ten Thoufand Men on the King's
part, and Five Thoufand on the States.
Nor did that King make any Difficuliy
of continuing the Two Regiments of
Foot, and Two Hundred Horfe in the
States Service, at his own Charge, after
G 2 th@

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§4 The Rife and Progvefs Chap.t.

the Truce, which he had maintained
for feveral Years before it: Omitting
no Provifions that might tie that Srate
to his Interefts, and make him at pre-
fent Arbiter of the Peace, and for the
future of the War, if the Truce fhould
come to be broken, or to expire of it
fclf

By what has been related, it will ea-
fily appear, That no State was ever
born with ftronger Throws, or nurft up
with harder fare, or inur'i to greater
Labours or Dangers in the whole courfe
of its Youth •, which are Circumftances
that ufually make ftrong and healthy
Bodies : And fo this has proved, hav-
ing never had more than one Difeafe
break out, in the fpace of Ninety Three
Years, which may be accounted the Age
of this State, reckoning from the Union
of Utrecht^ entered by the Provin-
ces in if7p. But this Difeafe, hkc
thofe of the Seed, or Conception, in a
natural Body, though it firft appeared
in Barnevelfs time, breaking out upon
the Negotiations with Spaitiy and feem-
ed to end with his Deaths (^who was
beheaded not many Years after;) yet
has it ever fince continued lurking in
the Veins of this State, and appearing

upon

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chap. L of the United Provinces. %^

upon all Revolutions, that feem to fa-
vour the Predominancy of the one or
other Humor in the Bo Jy> and undx
the Names of the Prince of Orange's^
and xht Armmiafi Parry, has ever made
the weak fide of this State ^ and when-
ever their Period comes> will prove the
Occafion of their Fall.

The Ground of this Nam,e of Ar-
menian was, That whilfl: Barnevelfs
Party accufed thofe of the Prince of
Orange'Sy as being carelefs of their Li-
berties, fo dearly bought ^ as devoted
to the Ho lie of Orange y and difpofed
to the Admiflion of an abfolute Princi-
pality, and in order thereunto, as Pro-
moters of a perpetual War with Spain :
So thofe of the Prince's Party, accufed
the others, as leaning ftill to, and looking
kindly upon, their old Servitude, and
relifhing the Spaniardy both in their
Politicks, by fo eagerly affeding a
Pca.:e with that Crown ^ and in their
Religion, by being generally Armini-
ans^ (which was efteemed the middle
part between the Calvinifls and the
Ro7nan Religion.) And befides thefe
mutual Reproaches, the two Parties
have ever valued themfelvcs upon the
aflerting, one of the true and purer
G 3 Re-

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g(^ The Rife and Progrefs Chap.L

Reformed Religion ^ and the other,
of the truer and freer Liberties of the
State.

The Fortunes of this Commonwealth,
that have happened in their Wars or
Negotiations, fince the Truce with
Spam^ and what Circumftances or Ac-
cidents, both abroad and at home, ferv'd
to cultivate their mighty Growth, and
confpired to the Greatnefs wherein they
appeared to the World in the Beginning
of the Year i(>65', being not only the
Subject of the Relations, but even the
Obiervations, of this prefent Age-, I
fliall either leave, as more obvious, and
lefs necejflTary to the Account I intend
of the Civil Government of this Com-
monwealth : Or clfe referve them 'till
the fame Vein of Leifure or Humour
invite mc to continue this Deduction
to this prefent time^ the Affairs of this
State having been complicated with all
the Variety and memorable Revoluti-
ons, both of Actions andCounfels, that
have fmce happened in the refl of Chri-
ftendom.

In the mean time, I will clofe this
Relation with an Event, which arrived
foon after the Conclufion of the Truce,
and had like to have broken it within

the

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chap. I. of the United Provinces. §7

the very Year, if not prevented by rhe
Offices of the Neighbour Princes, but
more by a Change of Humour in the
United States, confpiring to the Con-
fervation of the new-rcllored Peace in
thefe Parts of the Worl J.

In the end of the Year 1609, died
the Duke of Cleves and Jidiers^ with-'
out Heir-Male, leaving thofe Dutchies
to the Pretenfions of his Daughters, in
wbofe Right the Dukes of Branden-
burgh and Nieuburgh pofleff.d them-
felves of fuch Parts of chofe Territo-
ries as they firffc could invade-, each of
them pretending Right to the whole In-
heritance. Brandenburgh feeks Prote-
ction and Favour to his Title from the
United Provinces j Nieuburgh from
Arch'Dukc j^lbert^ zndhom Spain, The
Arch-Duke, newly refpiring from fo
long a War, had no defire to interefs
himf.lf in thisQuarrel^ further than the
care, that the T^utch (hould not take
Advantage of it^ and, under pretext of
aflifting one of the Parties, feifc upon
fome of thofe Dominions lying conti-
guous to their own. The T^utch were
not fo equal, nor content to lofe fo fair
^n occafion, and furprifed the Town of
JuUerSy (tho' pretending only to keep
G 4 it

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g g %}je Rife and Progrefs Chap. L

it ■till the Parties' agreed:) And believ-
ing that Spain y after haying parted
with fo much in the late Truce, to end
a Quarrel of their own, would not
venture a Breach of it upon a Quarrel
of their Neighbours. But the Arch-
Duke having firft taken his Meafures
with Spaifiy and forefeeing the Confc-
quence of this Affair, refolved to ven-
ture the whole State oi Flanders in a
new War, rather than fuffer fuch anEn-
creafe of Power and Dominion to the
States. And thereupon, Firft, in the
Behalf of the Duke of Nieuburgh^ re^
quires from them the Reftitution ofy^-
//Vrj-i and upon their artificious and
dilatory Anfwers, immediately draws
his Forces together, and with an Army,
under the Command oiSpinolay marches
towards Juliet Sy ("which the States
were in no care of, as well provided
for a bold Defence*,} but makes a fud-
den Turn> and fits down before JVefel^
with fuch a Terror and Surprife to the
Inhabitants, that he carries the Town
before the T^utch could come in to
their Ailiftance. Wefel was a ftrong
Town upon the Rhine y which the
Duke o? Brandenburgh pretended to,
as belpnging to the Dutchy of Cleves

but

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chap. I. of the United Provinces. B^

but the Citizens held at this time as
an Imperial Town> and under Prote-
aion of the T)utch : Whoy amazed at
this fudden and bold Attempt of Spf-
nolaj which mad^ him Mafter of a Pafs
that lay fair for any further Invafion
upon their Provinces, (efpecially thofe
on t' other fide the Rhtne^^ ^^g^g^ ^^^
Offices of both the Englijh and French
Crowns, to mediate an Agreement,
which at length they conclude, fo as
neither Party fhpuld, upon any pretence,
draw their Forces into any part of
thefe Dutchies. Thus the Arch-Duke
having, by the fondnefs of Peace, new-
ly maae a Truce, upon Conditions im-
posed by the U^utch ; now, by the Re-
folution of making War, obtains a Peace,
upon the very Terms proposed by him-
felf, and by Spam. An Event of great
Inftruftion and Example, how dange-
rous it ever proves for weak Princes to
call in greater to their Aid, which makes
them a Prey to their Friend, inftead of
their Enemy : How the only time of
making an advantageous Peace, isy
when your Enemy defircs it, and
when you are in the beft condition
of purfuing a War : And how vain a

Coun-

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€^o the Rife and Progrefsy Sec. Chap. I.

Counfei it is, to avoid a War, by yields
ing any Poirjt of Intereft or Honour >
which does but invite new Injuries,
encourage JEnemies, and diftiearte^
Friends.

CHAP.

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5)1

CHAR IL

Of their Government.

IT is evident by what has been di[-
courfed in the former Chapter con-
cerning the Rife of this State, (which
is to be dated from the Union of U-
trecht') that it cannot properly be fty-
ied a Commonwealth, but is rather a
Confederacy of Seven Sovereign Pror
yinces united together for their com-
mon and mutual Defence, without any
Dependance one upon the other. But
to difcover the Nature of their Govern-
ment from the firft Springs and Mo-
tions, it muft be taken yet into fmaller
Pieces, by which it will appear, that
each of thefe Provinces is likewife
compofed of many Httle States or Ci-
ties, which have feveral Marks of So-
vereign Power within themfelves, and
are not fubjed- to the Sovereignty of
their Provinces 5 not being concluded
in many things by the Majority, but only
by the univcrfal Concurrence of Voices
in the Provincial States. For as the
States-General cannot make War or

Pcace^

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5> z Of their Government. Chap. II,

Peace 5 or any new Alliance, or Le-
vies of Mony, without the Confent
of every Province ^ fo cannot the
States- Provincial conclude of any of
thofe Points, without rhc Confent of
each of the Cities, that, by their Contli-
tution, has a Voice in that AfTembly.
And tho* in many Civil Caufes there
lies an Appeal from the common Judi-
cature of the Cities, to the Provincial
Courts of Juftice ; yet in Criminal,
there lies none at all ^ nor can the So-
vereigncy of a Province exercife any
Judicature, fcife upon any Offender,
or pardon any Offence within the Ju-
rifdidion of a City, or execute any
common Refolution or Law, but by
the Juftice and Officers of the City it
felf By this a certain Sovereignty in
each City is difcerned, the chief Marks
whereof are. The Power of exercifing
Judicature, levying of Mony, and ma-
king War and Peace : For the other, of
Coining Mony, is neither in particular
Cities or Provinces, but in the gene-
rality of the Union, by common A-
greement.

The main Ingredients therefore into
the Compofition of this State, are the
Freedom of the Cities, the Sovereignty

of

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chap. 11. of their Gouefnment. p^

of the Provinces, the Agreements or
Conftirutions of the Union, and the
Authoriry of the Princes of Orange:
Which make the Order I (hall follow in
the Account intended of this Govern*
ment. But whereas, the icveral Pro-
vinces in the Union, and the feveral
Cities in each Province, as they have^
in their Orders and Conftitutions, fome
particular Differences, as well as a ge-
neral Refemblance ^ and the account of
each diftindlly would fwell this Difcourfe
out of meafure, and to little purpole:
I (hall confine my felf to the Account of
Holland^ as the rich^ft, ftrongeft, anc!
of moft Authority among the Provin-
ces 3 2Xi^ o^ Amflerdam^ as that which
has the fame Preheminencies among the
Cities.

The Sovereign Authority of the Ci- Q^m^
ty oi Jmprdam, confifts, in the De-^^*
crees or Refults of their Senate, which fterdam,
is composed of Six and Thirty Men, by
whom the Juftice is adminiiier'd, ac-
cording to ancient Forms J in the names
of Officers, and Places of Judicature.
But Monies are Levied by Arbitrary
Refolutions, and Proportions, according
to what appears convenient or necefla-
ry ilpoa the Change or Emergency of

occa-

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P4 ^f their Gouev^ment. Chap. IL

occafions. Thefe Senators arc for their
Lives, and the Senate was anciently
chofen by the Voices of the richer
Burghers, or Freemen of the City,
who upon the Death of a Senator met
together, either in a Church, a Mar-
ket, or fome other Place fpacious e-
nough to receive their Numbers > and
there made an Eledlion of the Perfon
to fucceed, by the majority of VoiceSo
But about a Hundred and Thirty, or
Forty Years ago, when the Towns of
Holland began to increafe in Circuity
and in People, fo as thofe frequent Af-
femblies grew into danger of Tumult
and Diforder upon every occafion, by
reafon of their Numbers and Conten-
tion J this Eleftion of Senators came^
by the Refolution of the Burghers, in
one of their General Aflemblics, to be
devolved for evcr^ upon the (landing-
Senate at that time ^ fo, as ever fincc,
when any one of their number dies, a
new one is chofen by the rcil of the
Senate, without any Intervention^ of
the other Burghers 3 which makes the
Government a fort of Oligarchi:^ and
very different from a popular Govern-
ment, as it is generally efteem'd by
thofe, who, paiTmg or living in thefc

Coun-

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Chap- II. Of their Government. 9$

Countries 5 content themfelvcs with
common Obfervations, or Inquiries,
And this Refolution of the Burghers^
either was agreed upon^ or followed
by general Confent or Example^ about
the fame time^ in all the Towns of the
Province, tho* with fome difference m
number of their Senators.

By this Senate are chofcn the chief
Magiftrates of the Town, which are
the Burgomafters, and the Efchevins:
The Burgomafters of Amfterdam are
Four, whereof Three are chofen every
Year 5 fo as one of them ftays in Office
Two Years ^ but the Three laft chofen^
are call'd the Refgning-Burgomafters
for that Year, and prefide by turns,
after the firft Three Months v for fo long
after a new Eleftion, the Burgomafter
of the Year before prefidesj in which
time it is fuppos'd the new ones will
grow inftruded in the Forms and Du-
ties of their Office, and acquainted
with the State of the Cities Affairs.

The Burgomafters are chofen by
moft Voices of all thofe Perfons in the
Senate, who have been citlrr Burgo-
mafters or Efchevins *, and their Au-
thority refembles that of the Lord
Mayor and Aldermen in our Cities.

They

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5^6 of their Government. Chap IL

They reprefent the Dignity of the Go-^
vernment, and do the Honour of the
City upon all Occafions. They difpofe
of all Under-Offices that fall in their
time> and ifliie out all Monies out of
the common Stock or Treafure, judg-
ing alone what is nccelfary for the
Safety^ Convenience, or Dignity of the
City. They keep the Key of the Bank
of Amjlerdam^ (the common Treafure
of fo many Nations,} which is never
open'd without the Prefence of one of
them : And they infpeft and purfue all
the great jPubUck Works of the City^
as the Ramparts and Stadt-houfe^ now
almoft iiniflied, with fo great Magnifi-
cence, and fo vaft Expence.

This Office is a Charge of the great-
eftTruft, Authority, and Dignity > and
fo much the greater, by not being of
Profit or Advantage, but only as a
way to other conftant Employments m
the City, that are fo. The Salary of a
Burgomafter oi Amfterdamy is but Five
Hundred Gilders a Year, thoygh there
are Offices worth FiveThoufand in their
Difpofal J but yet none of them known
to have taken Mony upon fuch occa-
fions, which would lofe all their Cre-
dit in the Town^ and thereby their

Fortunes

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chap. It Of their Go^ernmeni. ^y

Fortunes by any Publick Employments.
They are obliged to no fort of Expence
more than ordinary modeft Citizens, in
their Habits, their Attendance, their
Tables, or any part of their own Do-
meftick. They are upon all Publick Oc-
cafions waited on by Men in Salary from
the Town > and whatever Feafts they
make upon folemn Days, or for the
Entertainment of any Princes or Fo-
reign Minifters, the Charge is defray-
ed out of the Common 1 reafure^ but
proportioned by their own Difcretion.
At other times, they appear in all Pla-
ces with the Simplicity and Modefty of
other private Citizens. When the Bur-
gomaftcr's Office expires, they are of
courfe difposM into the other Charges
or Employments of the Towns, which
are very many and beneficial > unlefs they
l6fe their Credit with the Senate, by ^
any want of Diligence or Fidelity in
the Difcharge of their Office, which
feldom arrives.

The Efchevins are the Court of Ju-
ftice in, every Town. They are at
Amjierdam Nine in Number j of which
Seven are chofen Annually 5 but Two
of the preceding Year continue in Of-
fice. A double Number is named by

H the

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c) 8 of their Go^uernmenti Chap. \h

the Senate, out of which the Burgo-
mafters now chufe, as the Prince of
Orange did in the former Conftitution,
They are Sovereign Judges in all Cri-
minal Caufes. In Civil, after a cer-
tain value, there lies Appeal to the
Court of Juftice of the Province. But
they pafs Sentence of Death upon no
Man, without firft advifing with the
BurgomaftcrS} tho% after that Form
is paft, they proceed themfelves, and
are not bound to follow the Burgo-
mailers Opinion, but are left to their
own : This being only a Care or Fa-
vour of Supererogation to the Life of
Man, which is fo foon cut off, and ne-
ver to be retrieved or made amends
for.

Under thefe Sovereign Magiftrates,
the chief fubordinate Officers of the
Town, are the Treafurers, who receive
and iflue out all Monies that are pro-'
perly the Revenues or Stock of the
City : The ^ Scouts who takes care of
the Peace, feifes all Criminals, and
fees the Sentences of Juftice executed^
and whofe Authority is like that of a
Sheriff in a County with us, or a
Conftable in a Parifh. The Tenjioner^
wko i^ a Civil-Lawyer, vers'd in the

Cuftom^j
K

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chap. II. of their Government. jpp

Cuftoms, and Records^ and Privileges
of the Town, concerning which he
informs the Magiftracy upon occalion,
and Y'm6ic2itcs them upon Difputes
with other Towns ^ he is a Servant of
the Senate and the BurgomaflcrS;, de-
hvers their MefTagcs, makes their Ha-
rangues upon all Fubhck Occafions, and
is npt unlike the Recorder in one of our
Towns.

In this City o^ Amfterdam is the fa-
mous Bank> which is the greaceft Trea^
fure, cither real or imagmary, that is
known any where in the World. The
place of it is a great Vault under the
Stadthoufe, made flrong witlvall the
Circumftances of Doors and Locks,
and other appearing Caution? of Safety,
that can be: And ^tis certain, that
whoever is carried to fee the Bank,
fhall never fail to find the Appearance
of a mighty real Trcafure, in Bars of
Gold and Silver, Plate and infinite
Bags of Metals, \Vhich aire fuppofed to
be all Gold and Silver, and may be io
for ought I know. But the Burgo-
mafters only having the Infpe£tion of
this Bank, and no Man ever taking
any particular Account of what iilues
in and out, from Age to Age, 'tis im-
H 2 poflible

Hosted by Google

100 of their Government. Chap. IL

polTible to make any Calculation, ox
guefs what Proportion the real Trea-
lure may hold to the Credit of it.
Therefore the Security of the Bank lies
not only in the Effefts that are in it,
but in the Credit of the whole Town
or State of Amjierdam^ whofe Stock
and Revenue is equal to that of fome
Kingdoms ^ and who are bound to
make good all Monies that are
brought into their Bank: The Tickets
or Bills hereof make all the ufual
great Payments, that are made between
Man and Man in the Town •, and not
only in moft other Places of the Uni-
ted Trovinces^ but in many other Tra-
ding-parts of the World. So as this
Bank is properly a general Cadi, where
every Man lodges his Mony, becaufe
he cfteems it fafer, and caficr paid in
and out, than if it v/ere in his Coffers
at home : And the Bank is fo far
from paying any Interefl: for what is
there brought in, that Mony in the
Bank is worth fomething more in
common Payments, that what runs
currant in Coin from Hand to Hand ^
no other Mony palling in the Bank,
tut in the Species of Coin the befi:
known, the moft afcertain'd, and the

moft

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chap. 11. Of their Government. i o r

mofl generally current in all parts of the
Higher as well as the Lower Germany.
The Revenues of Amfterdam arife
out of the conftant Excife upon all
forts of Commodities bought and fold
within the Precinft : Or, out of the
Rents of thofe Houfcs or Lands that
belong in common to the City ; Or,
out of certain Duties and Impofitions
upon every Houfe, towards the Ufes of
Charity, and the Repairs, or Adorn-
inents, or FortificationS:> of the Place :
Or elfe, out of extraordinary Levies
confented to by the Senate, for fur-
niihing their Part of the Publick
Charge that is agreed to by their De-
puties in the Provincial-States, for the
ufe of the Province : Or by the De-
puties of the States of Holland in the
States-General, for Support oF^the
Union. And all thefe Payments are
made into one Common Stock of the
Town, not, as many of ours are, into
that of the Parifli, fo as Attempts
may be eafier made at the Calculati-
ons of their whole Revenue: And I
have heard it affirmed, That what is
paid of all kinds to Publick Ufes of
the States- General, the Province, and
the City in Amfierdamy amounts to
H 3 above

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ioz of their Go'vernment. Chap. 11^

above Sixteen hundred thoufand Pounds
Sterling ^ Yean But I enter into no
Computations, nor give tl^efe for any
thing more, than what I have heard
from Men who pretended to make
fuch Enquiries, which, I confefs, I did
nor. 'Tis certain, that, in no Town,
Strength, Beauty, and Convenience are
better provided for, nor with more un-
limited Expence, than in this, by the
Magnificence of their Publick Build-
ings, as St^idthoufe and Arfenals •, the
Number and Spacioufnefs, as well as
Order and Revenues qf their many Ho-
fpitals y the Commodioufnefs of their
Canals, running through the chief
Streets of Paflage-, the mighty Strength
of their Baftions and Ramparts 5 and
the Neatnefs, as well as Convenience,
of their Streets, fo far as can be com-
pafs*d in fo great a Confluence of
induftrious People : All which could
never be atchievcd without a Charge
much exceeding what feems propor-
tioned to the Revenue of one lingle
Town,
Qovern. The Scnatc chufes the Deputies,
^^^^^/^^^ which are fent from this City to the
Hoiknr States of Holland^ the Sovereignty
whereof is reprefented by Deputies of

the

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chap- IL Of their Government, 105

the Nobler and Towns, compofing
Nineteen Voices : Of which the No-
bles have only the firft, and the Cities
Eighteen, according to the number of
thofe which are called Stemms ^ the
other Cities and Towns of the Pro-
vince having no Voice in the St^it^s,
Thefe Cities were originally but Six,
"Dort:, Haerlem^ T)elf, Leyden^ Amfter-
dam and Tergou, But were cncreafed,
by Prince William of Najfau^ to the
number of Eighteen, by the Addition
of Rotterdam^ Qorcum^ Schedam^ Scho-
noven^ Briely Alcmaer^ Horne^ Enchu-
fen^ Edam^ Moninckdam^ Medenblicky
and Termeren. This makes as- great
an Inequality in the Government of
the Province, by fuch a fmall City as
Termeren having an equal Voice in
the ProvincialrStatcs with Amfterdam^
(which pays perhaps half of all Charges
of the Province, ) as fecms to be in
the States- General, by fo fmall a Pro-
vince as Qveryjpl having an equal
Voice in the States -General with that
of Hollandy which contributes more
than half to the general Charge of the
Union. But this was by fome Wri-
ters of that Age interpreted to be
done by the Princess Authority, to
^ H 4 leffeE

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104 ^/ ^^^^^"^'^oojernment. Chap. II.

lefTen that of the Nobles, and babnce
that of the greater Cities, by the Voi-
ces of the Imaller, whofe Dependen-
ces were eaiicr to be gained and fe-
cured.

The Nobles, though they are few in
this Province, yet are not reprefented
by all their Number, but by Eight or
Nine, who as Deputies from their Bo-
dy have Seffion in the States-Provin-
cial > and ^vhp, when one among them
dyes, chufe another to fucceed him«
Though they have all together but
One Voice equal to the fmalleft Town j
yet they are very confideral^le in the
Government, by poflelTing many of
the beft Charges both CivU and Mili-
tary, by having the Direftipn of all
the Ecclefiaflical Revenue that was
ieis'd by the State upon the Change
of Religion •, and by lending their De-
puties to all the Councils both of the
Generalty and the Province, and by
the Nomination of One Counlcllor in
the Two great Courts of Juftice. They
give their Voice firft in the AfTembly
of the States, and thereby a great
Weight to the Bufincfs in Confultation,
The Fenfioner of Holland is feated
with thcm^ delivers their Voice fpt
' , them^

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chap* II. of their Go'vernment. i<>5

them, and alTifts at all their Deliberati-
ons, before they come to the AiTembly.
Heis^ properly, but Minifter or Servant
of the Provmce, and fo his Place or
Rank is behind all their Deputies ^ but
has always great Credit, becaufe he is
perpetual, or feldom difcharged ^ though
of right he ought to be cholen or renew-
ed every fifth Year. He has place in all
the feveral AiTemblies of the Province^
and in the States propofes all Affairs, ga-
thers the Opinions, and forms or digefts
the Refolutions •, pretending likewife a
Power, ngt to conclude any very impor-
tant Affair by plurality of Voices, when
he judges in his Confcience he ought
not to dp it, and that it will be of ill
Confequencc or Prejudice to the Pro-
vince. He is likewife one of their con-
flant Deputies in the States-General.

The Deputies of the Cities are drawn
out of the Magiftratcs and Senate of
each To\vn: Their Number i^ uncer-
tain and Arbitrary, according to the
Cuftoms or Pleafure of the Cities that
fend theiji, becaufe they have all toge-
ther but one Voice, and are all main-
tained at their Cities charge : But com-
monly one of the Burgomafters, and
the Eenfioner are of the Number.

The

Hosted by Google

10 6* of their Government. Chap II,

The States of Holland have their
Seflion in the Court at the Hague^ and
aflcmble ordinarily four times a if ear,
in February 9 June^ September^ and Na-
vember. In the former Seilions, they
provide for the filhng up of all vacant
Charges, and for renewing the Farms
of all the fever^l Taxes, and for con-
fulting about any matters that concern
cither the general Good of the Pro-
vince, or any particular Differences
arifing between the Towns. But in
November^ they meet purpofely to re-
folve upon the Continuance of the
Cliarge which falls to the fhare of their
Province the following Year, according
to what may have been agreed upon
by the Deputies of the States-General,
as neccffary for the Support of the State
or Union.

For extraordinary Occafions, they
are convoked by a Council called the
Gecommitteerde Raeden^ or the Com-
miilioned Counfellors, who are pro-
perly a Council of State, of the Pro-
vince, compofed of feveral Deputies 5
One from the Nobles % One from
each of the chief Towns > And but
One from Three of the fmallcr Towns,
each of tbt Three chufing' him by

tups

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chap. IL Of their Government. 107

turns. And this Council fits conftant-^
ly at the Hague^ and both propofes
to the ProvinciaUStates, at their ex-
traordinary AfTemblics, the matters of
DeUberation^ and executes their Refo-
lutions.

In thefe AflembUes, though aU arc
equal in Voices, and any one hinders
a Relult > yet it feldom happens, but
that united by one common Bond of
Intereft, and having all one common
End of Publick Good, they come
;ifter full Debates to eafie Refolutionsj
yielding to the Power of Reafon, where
it IS clear and ftrong, and fupprefling
all private Paffions or Interefts, fo as
the fmaller part feldom contefts. hard
or long? what the greater agrees of.
When the Deputies of the States a-
gree in Opinion, they fend fome of
their number to their rcfpe£tive Towns,
propoling the Affair and the Reafons
alledged, and defiring Orders from
them to conclude > which feldom fails,
if the Neccffity or Utility be evi-
dent : If it be more intricate, or fuf-
fers Delay, the States adjourn for
fuch a time, as admits the Return of
all the Deputies to their Towns j
where their loflyence and Intereft^ and

the

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I o 8 'of their Go^ernnunt. Chap, II,

the ImpreHions of the Debates in their
Provincial AfTembhes, make the Con-
fent of the Cities eafier gain'd,

Befides the States and Council men-
tioned, the Province has likewife a
Chamber of Accounts, who manage
the general Revenues of the Province :
And, befides this Truft, they have the
abfolute Difpofition of the ancient De-
mefn of Holland^ without giving any
Account to the States of the Province.
Only at times, either upon ufual Inter-
vals, or upon a Necellity of Mony,
the States call upon them for a Sub-
lidy of Two or Three Hundred Thou-
fand Crowns, or more, as they are
preft, or conceive the Chamber to be
grown rich, beyond what is proportio-
ned to the general Defign of encreafing
the Eafe and Fortunes of thofe Perfons
who compofe it. The States of Hol-
land difpofe of thefe Charges to Men
grown aged in their Service, and who
have palsM through moft of the Em-
ployments of State, with the Efteem of
Prudence and Integrity 5 and fuch Per-
ibns find here an honourable and profi-
table Retreat.

The Provinces of Holland and Zea-
land^ as they ufed formerly to have

ope

Hosted by Google

Chap-IL of their Government. 105?

one Governor in the Time of the
Houfes of Burgtindy and Aujiriai fo
rhey have long had one common Ju<
d^cature^ which is exercifed by Two
Courts of Juftice, each of them com-
mon to both the Provinces. The firfl
is compofed of Twelve CounfellorSj-
Nine of Holland, and Three of Zea-
land^ of whom the Governor of the
Provinces is the Head 5 by the old
Conftitution ufed to prefide when-
ever he pleafed, and to name all the
Counfellors except One, who was cho-
ien by the Nobles. This Court judges
without Appeal in all Criminal Caules>
but in Civil there lies Appeal to the
other Court, which is called the High
Council, from which there is no Ap-
peal, but only by Petition to th^ States
of the Province for a Revifion : When
thefe judge there is Reafon for it, they
grant Letters-patents to that purpofe,
naming fome Syndionies out of the
Towns, who being added to the Coun-
fellors of the two former Courts rc-
vife and judge the Caufe in the laft Re-
fort. And this Courfe feems to have
been inftituted by way of Supply or
Imitation of the Chamber of Mechljn^
to which, before the Revolt of the

Fr^"

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110 of their Go'vernment. Cli^p. It,

Provinces, there lay an Appeal, by way
of Revifion, from all or moft of the
Provincial Courts of Juftice, as there
Itill doth in the i5/>^;?^y/?^ Provinces of the
Netherlands.
Govern^ The Union is made up of the Seven
^'^^^p^' Sovereign Provinces before iiamed,
Provinces, who chufe their refpedive Deputies,
and fend them to the Haguey for the
compofing of Three feveral Colleges,
call'd The States-General, The Coun-
cil of State^ and the Chamber of Ac-
counts. The Sovereign Power of this
United-State lies cfteftively in the
AiTembly of the States-General, which
ufed at iirfl: to be convoked upon ex-
traordinary Occaiions, by the Council
of State 'y but that feldom, in regard
they ufualiy confifted of above Eight
JHundred Perfons, whofe meeting toge-
ther in one place, from fo many feveral
parts, gave too great a (hake to the
whole Body of the Union ^ made the
Debates long, and fometimcs confu-
fed ; the Refolutions flow, and, upon
fudden Occafions, out of time. In the
Abfence of the States-General, the
Council of State reprefented their Au^
thority, and executed their Refoluti-
ons, and judged of the neceflity of a

new

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chap. 11. of their Government.

new Convocation y 'rill after the Earl of
Leicejiefs Departure from the Govern-
ment, the Provincial-States defired of
the General, That they might, by their
conftant refpeftivc Deputies, continue
their Afllmblies under the Name of
States-General^ which were never after
afTembled but at Bergen ap Zoom^ for
ratifying with more folcmn Form and
Authority, the Truce concluded with
Duke Albert and Spain,

This Defire of the Provinces was
grounded upon the Pretences, That
the Council of State convoked them
but fcldom, and at Will-, and that be-
ing to execute all in their Abfence,
they thereby arrogated to themfelves
too great an Authority in the State. But
a more fecret Reafon had greater weight
ia this Affair, which was, That the
Englijh Ambaflador had, by agreement
with Queen Elizabeth'^ a conftant place
in their Council of State ^ and upon
the Diftates arifing between the Pro-
vinces and the Earl o{ Leicefier^ with
fome Jealoufies of the Queen's Difpo-
fition to make a Peace with Spain^
they had no mind that her Ambafla-
dor (hould be prefent any longer ill
the firft Digeftion of their Affairs,

whi<:h

1 1 I

Hosted by VjOOQIC

T^ I %

of their Government. Chap; tL

which was then ufually made in the
Council of State. And hereupon they
firft: fram'd the ordinary Council, call'd
ihQ States-General^ which has ever fince
pafs'd by that Name, and fits conftant-
ly in the Court at the Hague^ reprc-
fents the Sovereignty of the Union,,
gives Audience and Difpatches to all.
Foreign Minifters y but yet is indeed
only a Reprefentative of the States-Ge-
neral, the AlTemblies whereof are whol-
ly difufed.

The Council of State, the Admiral-
ty, and the Treafury, are all fubordi-
nate to this Council : All which are
continu'd in as near a Refemblance, as
could be, to the feveral Councils ufed
in the time when the Provinces were
fubjeft to their feveral Principalities >
or united under One in the Houfes of
Burgundy and Auftria : Only the feve-
ral Deputies (^compofing one Voice}
now fucceeding the fingle Perfons em-
ployed under the former Governments :
And the Hague^ which was. the ancient
Seat of the Counts of Holland^ flill
continues to be fo of all thefe Coun-
cils > where the Palace of the former
Sovcraigns, lodges the Prince of Orange
as Governor, and receives thefe feve-,

ra!

Hosted by VjOOQIC

chap. IL- Of their Goijemment. 1 1 5

ral Councils as attending ftill upon the
Sovereignty, reprefented by the States-
General.

The Members of all thefe Councils
ate placed and changed by the feve-
ral Provinces, according to their diffe-
rent or agreeing Cuitoms. To the
States- General every one fends their
Deputies, in what number they pleafc;
fome TWO5 fome Ten or Twelve > which
makes no Difference, becaufe all Mat-
ters ate carry*d, not by the Votes of
Perfons, but of Provinces j and all the
Deputies from one Province, how few
or many foever, have one fingle Vote.
The Provinces differ likewiie in the
time fixed for their Deputation 5 fome
fending for a Year, fome for more, and
others for Life. The Provinces of Hoi-
land^ fend to the States- General one of
their Nobles, who is perpetual j Two
Deputies chofen out of their Eight
chief Towns > and One out of Norths
Holland i and with thefe. Two of their
Provincial Council of State, and their
Tenjioner,

Neither Stadtholder or Governor,

or any Perfon in Military Charge, has

Seffion in the States-General. Every

Province prefides their Week in turns^

L and

Hosted by Google

114-

of their G on) ernment. Cliap. 11;

and by the moft qualified Perfon of
the .Deputies of that Province : He
fits in a Chair with Arms, at the mid-
dle of a long> Table^ capable of hold-
ing about Thirty Perfons ^ for about
that Numbtr this Council is ufually
compofed of Th !: Greffier^ who is in
nature of a Secretary, fits at the lower
end of the Table : When a Foreign
Minifter has Audience, he is feated at
the middle of this Table, over-againft
the Prefident, who propofes all Mat-
ters in this AfTembly; makes the Gref^
fief read all Papers 3 puts the Que-
ftion y calls the Voices of the Pro-^
vinces ^ and forms the Conclufion,
Or, if he refufes to conclude accord-^
ing to the Plurality, he is obliged to
relign his Place to the Prefident of the
enfuing Week, who concludes for
him.

This is the Courfe in all Affairs be-
fore them, except in Cafes of Peace
and War, of Foreign Alliances, of
Raifing or Coining of Monies, or the
Privileges of each Province or Mem-
ber of the Union. In all which. All
the Provinces mull: concur. Plurality
being not at all weighed or obfervea;
This Council is not Sovereign, but

only

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chap. IL of their Go^oemment,

only reprcfcnts the Sovereignty > and
therefore, though Ambafladors are both
received and knt in their Name ^ yet
neither are their own chofen, nor Fo-
reign Minifters anfwer'd, nor any of
thofe mentioned Affairs refolv'd^ with-
out confulting firll the States of each
Province by their refpeftive Deputies,
and receiving Orders from them > and
in other important Matters, though de-
cided by Plurahty, they frequently con-
fult with the Council of State.

Nor has this N4ethod or Conftituti-
on ever been broken fince their State
began, excepting only in on^ Affair,
which was in January 1(568, fwhen His
Majefty fent me over to propofe a
League of Mutual Defence with this
State, and another for the Preferva-
tion of Flanders from the Invaiion of
France-^ which had already conquered
a great part of the Spanifh Provinces,
and left the reft ^t the Mercy of the
next Campania, Upon this Occafion I
had the Fortune to prevail with the
States-General, to conclude Three Trea-
ties, and upon them draw up and fign
the feveral Inflruments^ in the fpace
of Five Days ^ without pafling the
cdential Forms of their Government
I 3 by

J15

Hosted by Google

i\6 of their Go^enment. Ghap. IL

by any recourfc to the Provinces,
\vhich mud likewife have had it to the
feveral Cities : There, I knew, thofe
Foreign Minifters, whofe Duty and In-
tereft it was to oppofe this Affair, ex-
pefted to meet, and to elude it, which
could not have failed^ in cafe it had
run that Circle, fmce engaging the
Voice of one City muft have broken
it. ^Tis true, that in conckiding thefe
Alliances without Commiffion from
their Principals, the Deputies of the
States- General ventured their Heads, if
they had been difowned by their Pro-
vinces > but being all unanimous, and
led by the clear evidence of fo direft,
and io important an Intereft, (which
muft have been loft by the ufual De-
lays,) they all agreed to run the ha^
zard ^ and were io far from being dif-
owned, that they were applauded by
all the Members of every Province :
Having thereby changed the whole
Face of Affairs in Chriftendom, and laid
the Foundation of the Tripple- Alliance,
and the Peace of -^/at, (^which were
concluded about Four Months after.}
So great has the force of Reafon and
Intereft ever proved in this State, not
only to the uniting of all Voices in

their

Hosted by VjOOQIC

chap. IL of their Go^vevnment. 117

their AfTemblies, but to the abfolving
of the greateft Breach of their Origi-
nal Gonftitutions 5 even in a State,
whofe Safety and Greatnefs has been
chiefly founded upon the fevere and
exaft Obfervance of Order and Me-
thod, in all their Counfels and Executi-
ons. Nor have they ever us'd, at any
other time, any greater means to agree
and unite the feveral Members of their
Union, in the Refolutions neceflary,
upon the moft preiling Occalions, than
for the agreeing-Provincestoname fome
of their ableft Ferfons to go and confer
with the diflcnting, and reprefent thofe
Reafons and Interefts, by which they
have been induced to their Opini-
ons.

The Council of State is compos-d
of Deputies from the feveral Provin-
ces, but after another manner than the
States-General, the number being fix*d.
Gelderland fends Two, Holland Three,
Zealand and Utrecht Two apiece,
Friezland^ Overyjfel and Groninghen^
each of them One, making in all
Twelve. They Vote not by Provin-
ces, but by Perfonal Voices -, and eve-
ry Deputy prefides by Turns. In this
Council the Governor of the Pro-
I 5 vinces

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I- 1 8 of their Gonjcrnment. Chap. 11.

vinces has Seflloii) andadecifiveVoice 5
and the Trcafurer-Gencral, Seflion, but
a Voice only deliberative ^ yet he has
much Credit here, being for Life •, and
fo is the Perfon deputed to this Coun-
cil from the Nobles of Holland^ and
the Deputies of the Province of Zea-
land. The reft are but forTwo, Threcj
or Four Years.

The Council of State executes the
Refolution of the States-General •, con-
fults and propofcs to them the moft
expedient ways of railing Troops, and
levying Monies, as well as the Propor-
tions of both, which they conceive ne-
cellary in all Conjunftures and Revolu-
tions of the State : Superintends the
Milice, the Fortifications, the Contri«
butions out of Enemies Country, the
Forms and Difpofal of all Pafsports,
and the Affairs, Revenues, and Govern-.
ment of all Places conquered fince the
Union ^ which, being gain'd by the
common Arms of this State, depend
upon the States- General, and not upon
any particular Province.

Towards the End of every Year, this
Council forrns a State of the Expencc
they conceive will be neceflary for the
Year enfuing) prefcn ts it to the States-
General^

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chap. II. Of their Gonjernfnent. 1 1 ^

General) defiring them to demand {o
much of the States-Provincial, to be
raifed according to the ufual Proporti-
ons^ which are of looooo G''*

G'' St. D;

Gelderland 3612 — ; — of 00

Holland • -58309— — 01 :'io

Zealand 9183 — —14,- -02

Utrecht 5830 ij \\

Friezland 1 1 661 Lf 10

Overyffel 35-71 -08 :.q4

Groningiie )-(>3o ij 11

This Petition^ as 'tis calPd, is made
to the States-General, in the Name of
the Gover^ior and Council, of State,
which is but a Continuance of the
Forms ufed in the time of their Sove-
raigns, and ftill by the Governors and
Council of State in the Spantjh Nether-
lands : Petition fignifying barely
asking or demanding, tho' implying
the Thing demanded to be wholly in
the Right and Power of them that
give. It was ufed by the firft Counts,
only upon extraordinary Occafions, and
Neceflities ; but in the time of the
Houfes oi Burgundy and Auftria^ grew
to be a thing of Courfe, and Annual,
I 4 as

Hosted by VjOOQIC

110 of their Government. Chap. IL

as it is ftill in the Spanip Provinces.
The Council of State difpofes of
all Sums of Mony deflin'd for all ex-
traordinary Affairs, and expedites the
Orders for the whole Expence of the
State, upon the Refolutions firft taken,
in the main, by the States-General.
The Orders muft be Signed by Three
Deputies of feveral Provinces, as well
as by the Treafurer-General, and then
Regiftred in the Chamber of Accounts,
before the Receiver- General pays them,
which is then done without any diffi-
culty, charge, or delay.

Every Province raifes what Monies
it pleafes, and by what ways or means ^
fends its G^ota^, or fliare, of the general
Charge, to the Receiver- General, and
converts the refb to the prefent ufe, or
referves it for the future Occalions> of
. the Province.

The Chamber of Accounts was erect-
ed about Sixty Years ago, for the Eafe
of the Council of State, to examine
and ftate all Accounts of all the feveral
Receivers, to Control and Regifter the
Orders of the Council of State, which
difpofes of the Finances : And this
Chamber is composed of Two Deputies
from each Province, who are changed
every Three Yqgrj. Be-

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Cliap- II. of their Gowernment.

Befides thefe Colleges, is the Coun.
cil of the Admiralty J who, when the
States-General, by Advice of the Coun-
cil of State, have dcftin'd a Fleet of
fuch a Number and Force to be ict out,
have the abfolute Difpofition of the
Marine Affairs, as well in the Choice
and Equipage of all the fevcral Ships,
as in ifluingche Monies allotted for that
Service.

This College is fubdivided into Five,
of which Three are in Holland^ viz.
One in Amfterdanh another at Rotter-^
dam^ and the Third at Horn : The
Fourth is at Mlddlebotirgh in Zealand^
and the Fifth at Harlingtien in Friez-
land. Each of thefe is compofed of
Seven Deputies, Four of that Pro-
vince where the College refides^ and
Three named by the other Provinces.
The Admiral, or, in his Abfence, the
Vice-Admiral, has Seflion in all thefe
Colleges, and prelides when he is pre-
fent. They take Cognizance of all
Crimes committed at Sea •, judge all
Pirats that are taken, and all Frauds
or Negligences in the Payment or Col-
leftions of the Cuftoms v which are
particularly aff€<9ted to the Admiralty,

and

III

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Til

of their Government. Chap II,

and appliable to no other Ufe. This
Fond being not fufficient in times of
War, is lupplied by the States with
whatever more is ncceflary from other
Fonds s but in time of Peace, being lit-
tie exhaufted by other conftant Charge,
befides that of Convoys to their feveral
Fkets of Merchants in all Parts, the
Remainder of this Revenue is applied
to the Building of great Ships of
War, and furnifhing the feveral Arfe-
nals and Stores with all forts of Pro-
vifion, neceiTary for the Building and
Rigging of more Ships than can be
needed by the Courfe of a long
War. ^ ^

So loon as the Number and Force of
the Fleets, defign'd for any Expedition,
is agreed by the States-General, and
given out by the Council of State to
the Admiralty ^ each particular Col-
lege furniflies their own Proportion,
which is known as well as that of the
Icveral Provinces, in all Monies that
arc to be raifed. In all which, t^e
Adiriral has no other Share or Advan-
tage, befides his bare Salary, and his
proportion in Prizes that are taken.
The Captains and Superior OiBcers of
each Squadron are chofen by the fe-
veral

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.Chap. II. Of their Government. j z 5

veral Colleges -, the number of Men
appointed for every Ship: After which,
each Captain ufes his befl Diligence
and Credit to fill his Number with the
beft Men he can get, and takes the
whole care and charge of ViftualHng
his own Ship for the Time intended
for that Expedition, and fignify'dtohim
by the Admiralty ^ and this at a cer-
tain Rate of fo much a Man. And by
the good or ill Difcharge of his Trull,
as well as that of providing Chirur-
geons Medicines:, and ail things necef-
lary for the Health of the Men, each
Captain grows into good or ill credit
with the Seamen, and, by their Report,
with the Admiralties : Upon whofe
Opinion and Efteem the Fortune of all
Sea-Officers depends : So as, in all
their Expeditions, there appears rather
an Emulation among the particular
Captains who (hall treat his Seamen
beft in thefc Points, and employ the
Monies alloted for their Vidualling,
to the beft Advantage, than any little
Kndvifti Practices, of tilhng their own
Purfes by keeping their Men's Bellies
empty, or forcing them to corrupted
unwholfome Diet : Upon which, and
upon Cleanlinefs in their Ships, the

Health

Hosted by VjOOQIC

I Z4 0/ ^^^^^ Government. Chap. IL

Health of many People crowded up
into fo little Rooms, feem chiefly to
depend.

The Salaries of all the Great Officers
of this State, are very fmall : I have
already mentioned that of a Burgoma-
fter's of Amfterdam to be about Fifty
Pounds fterling a Year : That of their
Vice- Admiral (^for fince the laft Prince
oi Orange's Death, to the Year 1670,
there had been no Admiral) is Five
Hundred, and that of the Tenjioner of
Holland Two Hundred.

The Greatnefs of this State feems
much to confifl: in thefe Orders, how
confufed foever, and of different Pie-
ces, they may feem : But more in two
main EfFefts of them, which are, The
good choice of the Officers of chief
Truft in the Cities, Provinces, and
State : And the great Simplicity and
Modefty in the common Port or Living
of their chiefeft Minifters •, without
which, the Abfolutenefs of the Senates
in each Town, and the Immenfity of
Taxes throughout the whole State,
would never be endured by the People
with any patience 3 being both of them
greater than in many of thofe Govern-
ments^ w^hich are efteem'd inpfl: Arbi-
trary

Hosted by VjOOQIC

chap. 11. of their Government. 12.5

trary among their Neighbours. But ia
the AfTemblies and Debates of their
Senates, every Man's Abilities are dif-
covered, as their Difpofitions are, in
the Condu6t of their Lives and Dome-
ftick, among their fellow-Citizens. The
Obfervation of thefe either raifes, or
fuppreflcs^ the Credit of particular Men,
both among the People, and the Se-
nates of their Towns 5 who, to main-
tain their Authority with lefs popular
Envy or Difcontent, give much to the
general Opinion of the People in the
choice of their Magiiftrates : By this
means it comes to pafs, that, though
perhaps the Nation generally be not
wife, yet the Government is, Becaufe
it is compofed of the wifeft of the Na-
tion 'y which may give it an Advantage
over many others, where Ability is of
more common Growth, but of lefs Ufe
to the Publickj if it happens that nei-
ther Wifdom nor Honefty are the Qua-
lities, which bring Men to the Manage-
ment of State- Affairs, as they ufually
do in this Commonwealth.

Befides, though thefe People, who
are naturally Cold and Heavy, may
not be ingenious enough to furnifli a
pleafant or agreeable Converfation, yet

they

Hosted by VjOOQIC

I 2, 6 of their Government. Chap. IL

they want not plain down-right Senfe
to underiland and do their Bufinefs
both piiblick and private^ which is a
Talent very different from the other >
and I know not, whether they often
meet : For the Fifft proceeds from
jHeat of the Brain, which makes the
Spirits more airy and volatile, and
thereby the motions of Thought lighter
and quicker, and the Range of Imagi-
nation rnuch greater than in cold Heads,:
where the Spnits are more earthy and
dull : Thought moves flower and hea-
vier, but thereby the Impreflions of it
are deeper, and iaft longer : One Ima-
gination being not fo frequently, nor
fo eafily, effaced by another, as where
new ones are continually arifing. This
makes duller Men more conftant and
lieady, and quicker Men more incon-
flant and uncertain 5 whereas the great-
eft Abihty in Bufinefs feems to be the
fteady purfuit of fomc one thing, /till
there is an End of it, with perpetual
Apphcation and Endeavour not to be
diverted by every Reprefentation of
new Hopes or Fears of Difficulty or
Danger, or of fome better Defign. The
firft of thefc Talents cuts like a Razor>
the other hke a Hztchct : One has

Thin-

Hosted by VjOOQ IC

Cliap. 11. of their Government. i ^y

Thinnefs of Edge^and Finenefs of Metal
and i emper, but is eafily turn'd by any
Subftancethat is hard, and refifts. T'o-
ther has Tough nefs and Weigh t, which
makes it cut through, or go deep^
where-ever it falls y and therefore one is
for Adornment, and t' other for Ufe.

It may be faid further, that the Heat
of the Heart commonly goes along
with that of the Brain > fo that Paffi-
ons are warmer, where Imaginations
are quicker : And there are few Men^^un-
lefs in cafe of fome evident Natural De-
fed) but have Senfe enough to diftin-
guifli in grofs between Right and Wrong,
between Good and Bad, when repre-
fented to them ; and confequently have
Judgment enough to do their Bufinefs>
if it be lefc to it felf, and not fwayed
nor corrupted by fome Humor or Paf-
fion, by Anger or Pride, by Love ot
by Scorn, Ambition or Avarice, De-
light or Revenge j fo that theColdnefs
of Paffions fecms to be the natural
ground of Ability and Honefty among
Men, as the Government or Moderati-
on of them the great End of Philo-
fophical and Moral Inftruftions. Thefe
Speculations may perhaps a little lefTen
the common Wonder, How wc (hould

meet

Hosted by VjOOQIC

1 2.8 of their Government. Chap. IL

meet with in one Nation fo little (hew
of Parts, and of Wit, and fo great E-
vidence of Wifdom and Prudence, as
has appeared in the Conduft and Suc-
cefles of this State, for near an Hun-
dred Years : which needs no other Te-
ftimony, than the mighty Growth and
Power it arrived to, from fo weak and
contemptible S(tcds and Beginnings.

The other Circumftance, I mention-
ed as an Occafion of their Greatnefs,
was, the SimpHcity and Modefty of their
Magiftrates in their way of Living j
which is fo general, that I never knew
One among them exceed the common
frugal popular Air; and fo great, that
of the Two chief Officers in my Time,
Vice- Admiral T)e Ruitevy and the Pcn-
{\ox\ttT>eJViti (One, generally efteem-
ed by Foreign Nations, as great . a
Seaman ; and the other, as great a
States-mail, as any of their Age,) I
never fatv the firft in Cloaths better
than the commoneft Sea-Captain, nor
with above one Man following him,
nor in a Coach : And in his own
Houfe, neither was the SizCy Building,
Furniture, or Entertainment, at all ex-
ceeding the Ufe of every common
Merchant and Tradefman in his Town^

For

Hosted by LjOOQIC

Gliap. II- Of their Go^vemment. i z^

For the Penfioner T)e IVit^ who had
the great Influence in the Govern-
ment, the whole Train and Expence of
his Domcftick went very equal with
other common Deputies or Minifters
of the State ^ His Habit grave, and
plain, and popular • His Table, what
only ferv'd turn for his Family, or a
Friend 3 His Train (^befides Commif-
farie? and Clerks kept for him in an
Office adjoining to his Houfe^ at the
publick Charge,} was only one Man^
who performed all the Menial Service
of his Houfe at home> and upon his
Vifits of Ceremony, putting on a plain
Livery-Cloak, attended his Coach a-
broad: For, upon other occafions, He
was feen ufually in the Streets on foot
and alone, Uke the commoneft Burgher
of the Town. Nor was this manner of
Life afFcfted, or us'd only by thefe par-
ticular Men, but was the general fafhi-
ori and mode among all theMagiftrates
of the State : For I fpeak not of the ^
Military Officers, wh6 are reckoned
their Servants, and live in a different
Garb, though generally modeller than
in other Countries.

.Thus this ftomachful People, who

could not endure the leaft Exercife of

K Ar-

Hosted by VjOOQIC

2 Oj their Government. Chap. IL

Arbitrary Power or Impofitions, or the
fight of any Foreign Troops undei*
the Spanijh Government ^ Have been
fince inured to all of them, in the
higheft Degree, under their own popu-
lar Magiftrates ; Bridled with hard
Laws y Terrified with fevere Executi-
ons > Environed with Foreign Forces v
And oppreft with the moft cruel Hard-
fliip and Variety of Taxes, that was
ever known under any Government.
But all this, whilft the way to Office
and Authority lies through thofe Qua-
lities, which acquire the general Efteem
of the People > Whilft no Man is ex-
empted from the Danger and Current
of Laws> Whilft Soldiers are confined
to Frontier- Garrifons, (^the Guard of
Inland, or Trading Towns being left
to the Burghers themfelves >) And whilft
no great Riches are feen to enter by
publick Payments into private Purfes,
either to raife Families, or to feed the
prodigal Expences of vain, extravagant,
and luxurious Men j But all pubhck
Monies arc applied to the Safety, Great-
ntk^ or Honour of the State, and the
Magiftrates themfelves bear an equal
Share in all the Burthens they impofe.

The

i

Hosted by VjOOQIC

Chap. IL Of their Go'vernment. 131

The Authoriry of the Princes of O- TheAmho^
range, though intermitted upon the uarp^4'{/t/
timely Death of the laftj and Infancy orange.
of this prefent Prince ^ Ytty as it muft
be ever acknowledg'd to have had a
moft eflential part in the firft Frame of
this Government^ and in all the For-
tunes thereof, during the whole Growth
and Progrefs of the State : So, has it
ever preferv'd a very ftrong Root, not
only in Six of the Provinces, but even
in the general and popular AfFedions
of the Province of Holland it klf,
whofe States have, for thefe laft Twen-
ty Years, fo much endeavoured to fup-
prcfs, or exclude^ it.

This began in the Perfon of Prince
Wtlliafn of NaJfaWy at the very Birth
of the State 3 and not fo much by
thq Quality of being Governor of
Holland and Zealand in Charles the
Fifth's^ and Thilip the Second's time-,
as by the efteem of fo great Wifdom,
Goodnefs and Courage, as excell'd in
that Prince, and feems to have been
from him derived to his whole Race,
being, indeed, the Qualities that natu-
rally acquire Efteem and Authority
among the People, in all Governments.
K 2 Nor

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i^t of their Gowemment^ Cliap^IL

Nor has this Nation in particular,
llnce the Time perhaps of Civilis^ e-»
ver been without fome Head, under
fome Title or other •, but always an
Head fubordinate to their Laws andCu-
lloms, and to the Sovereign Power of
the State.

In the firft Conftitution of this Go-
vernment, after the Revolt from Spairiy
All the Power and Rights of Prince
1 Villi am of Orange^ as Governor of
the Provinces, feem to have been care-
fully ' referv'd. But thofe which re-
mained inherent in the Soveraign, were
devolved upon the AfTembly of the
States-General, fo as in them remained
the Power of making Peace and War,
and all Foreign Alliances, and of rai-
fmg and coining of Monies. In the
Prince, the Command of all Land and
Sea-Forces, as Captain-General and
Adnliral, and thereby the Difpofition
of all Military Commands; The Power
of pardoning the Penalty of Crimes ^
The chufing of Magiftrates upon the
Nomination of the Towns ^ For they
prefented Three to the Prince, who
elefted One out of that number. Ori-
ginally the States- General were con-^

yoked

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Ciicip. II. of their Government. 1 3 5

voked by the Council of State, where
the Prince had the greateft Influence :
Nor, fmce that change, have the States
ufed to refolve any important Matter
without his Advice. Befides all this.,
as the States-General reprefrnted the
Sovereignty, fo did the Prince of
Orange the Dignity, of this State, by
publick Guards, and the Attendance
of all Military Officers -, By the Appli-
cation of all Foreign Minilters, and all
Pretenders at home^ By the Splendor ^
of his Court, and Magnificence of hi$
Expence, fupported not only by the
Penfions and Rights of his fevcral
Charges and Cpmrnands, but by a
mighty Patrimonial Revenue in Lands
and Sovereign Principalities, and Lord-
iliips, as well in France^ Germany^ and
Burgundy^ as m the feveral parts of the
Seventeen Provinces ^ fo as Prince
Henry was ufed to anfwer fome, that
would have flattered him into the De^
Jfigns of a more Arbitrary Power, That
lie had as much as any wife Prince
would defire in that State > iince he
wanted none indeed, befides that of Pu-
mfliing Men, and raifingMony > where^
as he had rather the Envy of the firft
K 3 fliould

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15 4 of their Gon)emment. Chap. IL

fliould lye upon the Forms of the Go-
vernment > and he knew the other
could never be fupported without tht
Confent of the People, to that degree
which was neceflary for the Defence of
fo fmall a State ^ againft fo mighty
Princes as their Neighbours.

Upon thefe Foundations was this
State firft eftabhfti'd, and by thefe Or-
ders maintained, 'till the Death of the
laft Prince oi Orange: When, by the

freat Influence of the Province of
loUand amongft the reft, the Autho-
rity of the Princes came to be (har'd
among the feveral Magiftracies of the
State j Thofe of the Cities aftum^d
the laft Nomination of their feveral
Magiftratess The States-Provincial, the
Difpofal of all MiUtary Commands in
thofe Troops, which their Share was to
pay > and the States- General, theCom-
mand of the Armies, by Officers of
their own Appointment, fubftitutedand
changed at their Will. No Ppwer re-
mained to pardon what was once con-
demned by Rigor of Law 5, nor any
Perfon to reprefent the Port and Dig-
nity of a Sovereign State: Both which
could not fail of being fcnfibly mifs'd

by

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Cliap. 11. Of their Go^emmentr 13?

by the People -, fmce no Man in parti-
cular can be fecure of offending, or
wQuld therefore abfolutely defpair of
Impunity himfclf, though he would
have others do fo^ and Men are ge-
nerally pleafed with the Pomp and
Splendor of a Government, not only
as it is an Amufement for idle People^
but as it is a Mark of the Greatnefs,
Honour and Riches, of their Coun-
try.

However, thefe Defeats were for
near Twenty Years fupply'd in fome
mcafure, and this Frame fupported by
the great Authority and Riches of the
Province of Holland^ which drew a fort
of Dependance from the other Six > and
by the great Sufficiency, Integrity, and
Conftancy of their Chief Minifter, and
by the Effe£t of both in the profperous
Succeffes of their Affairs : Yet having
been a Conftitution ftrain^d againft the
current Vein and Humour of the Peo-
ple j It was always evident, that upon
the Growth of this young Prince, the
great Virtues and Qualities he derived
from the Mixture of fuch Royal and
fuch Princely Blood, could not fail, in
time, of raiftng his Authority to equal,
K 4 at

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J 5 (J of their Goa^ernment. Chap. II.

at leaft, if not to furpafs that of his
Glorious Anceftors.

Becaufe the Curious may defire to
know fomething of the orher Provinces,
as well as Holland^ at leaft, in general, and
where they dijfl^er^ It may be obferv'd.
That the Conftitutions of Gelderlandy
Zealand^ and Utrecht :, agree much with
thofe of Hollands the States in each
Province being composed of Deputies
from the Nobles and the Cities > But
with thefe fmall Differences > In Gelder-
land^ all the Nobles, that have certain
Fees, or Lordflhips, in the Province, have
Sellion, they compofe one half of the
States, and the Deputies of the Town^
the prhcr-, and though fome certain
Perfpns among them are deputed tp
the States-General 5 yet any of the
Nobles of Gelder may have place
there, if he will attend at his own
Charge.

InZealand^ the Nobility having been
cxtinguifh'd in the Spanijh. Wars > And
the Prince of Orange pofTeffing the Mar-
quifats of Flufhtng and Terveer^ His
Highnefs alone makes that part of the
States ix\ the Province, by the Quali-
fy and Title of Firft, or Sole, Noble of

ZeaUndi

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chap. II. of their Government. 157

Zealand i And thereby has, by his De^
puty, the firft Place, and Voice, in the
States of the Province, the Council of
State, and Chamber of Accounts: As
Soveraign of Flujhing and Terveer^ he
likewife creates the Magiftrates, and
cpnfequently difpofes the Voices, not
only of the Nobles, but alfo of Two
Towns, whereas there are in all but Six,
that fend their Deputies to the States,
and make up the Sovereignty of the
Province.

In Utrecht^ befides the Deputies of the
Nobles, and Towns, Eight Delegates
pf the Clergy have Seflion, and make a
third Member m the States of the Pro-^
vince. Thefe are eledted out of the four
great Chapters of the Town, the Prefer-
ments and Revenues whereof, (though
anciently Ecclefiaftical} yet are now ppf-
feiTed by Lay-perfons, who are mpft of
them Gentlemen of the Province.

The Government of the Province
of Friezland is wholly different from
that of the Four Provinces already
mentioned > and is compofed of Four
Members, which are called. The Quar-
fer of OftergOy confiding of Eleven
Baillagesi Of JVejiergo^ confifting of
Nines and oi Seveawqldmy confifting of

Ten»

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I J 8 Of their Gmjemment. Chap. IL

Ten. Each Baillage comprehends a cer-
tain number of Villages, Ten, Twelve,
Fifteen, or Twenty, according to their
fcveral Extents, The Fourth Member
coniifts of the Towns of the Province,
which are Eleven in Number. Thefe
Four Members have each of them right
of fending their Deputies to the States,
that is, Two chofen out of every Bail-
lage, and Two out of every Town. And
ihefe reprefent the Sovereignty of the
Province, and deliberate and conclude
of all Affairs, of what Importance fo-
ever, without any Recourfe to thofe
who deputed them, or Obligation to
know their Intentions, which the De-
puties of all the former Provinces are
ftri£tly bound to, and either muft fol-
low the Inftruftions they bring with
them to the Aflembly, or know the
Refolution of their Principals before
they conclude of any new Affair, that
arifes.

In the other Provinces, the Nobles
of theTowns chufe the Deputies which
compofe the States, but in Friezlarid
the Conftitution is of quite another
fort. For every Baillage, which is com-
posed of a certain Extent of Country,
and Number of Villages, (as has been

faid)

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Chap. 11. of their Government. 1^9

faid) is Governed by a Bailly, whom
in their Language they call Greetman^
and this Officer Governs his Circuit,
with the Affiftance of a certain number
of Perfons, who ^re call'd his Affef-
fors, who, together, ju<ige of all Civil
Caufes, in the firft inftance, but with
appeal to the Court of Juftice of the
Province. When the States are con-
voked, every Bailly aflcmbles together
all the Perfons of what Quality ioever,
who poflefs a certain Quantity of Land
within his Diftrid, and thefe Men, by
moft Voices, name the Two Deputies
which each Baillage fends to the Aflem-
bly of the States.

This AfTembly, as it reprcfents the
Sovereignty of the Province ; fo it
difpofes of all vacant Charges, chufcs
the Nine Deputies, who compofe that
permanent College, which is the Coun-
cil of State of the Province^ And like-
wife Twelve Counfellors, (^that is^ Three
for every Quarter) who compofe the
Court of Juftice of the Province, and
judge of all Civil Caufes inthclaft Re-
fort, but of all Criminal from the firft
Inftance. There being no other Crimi-
nal Jurifdiftion, but this only, through
the Province: Whereas, in the other
Pro«

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140 of their Government. Chap. IL

Provinces, there is no Town which
has it not within it felf : And feve^
ral, both Lord^, and Villages, have the
High and Low Juftice belonging to
them.

in the Province of Groningue^ which
is upon the fame Trad of Land, the
Elections of the Deputies out of the
Country are made as in Friezlandy
by Perfons polTefs-d of fet Proporti-
ons of Land.^ but in Overyffel^ all
Nobles, who are .quahfyM by having
Seigncurial Lands, make a part of the
States.

Thefc Three Provinces, with Weji^
phalia^ and all thofe Countries between
the JVez>er^ the Tffel^ and the Rhiney
were the Seat of the ancient Frifons^
who, under the Name of Saxons^ (^gi-
ven them from the Weapon they wore,
made like a Sithe, with the Edge out-
wards, and caird in their Language
Seaxes) were the fierce Conquerors of
our Britijh liland, being call'd in upon
the Dcfcrtion of the Roman Forces,
and the cruel Incurfions of the Ti£is
againft a People, whofe long Wars, at
firft with the Romans^ and afterwards
Servitude under them, had exhauftcd
all the braveft Blood of their Nation,

either

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chap. IL of their Go^efnment. 1 4 J

either in their own^ or their Matters,
fucceediiig Quarrels, and deprefs'd the
Heatts and Courages of the reft.

The Bifliop of Munfierj whofc Ter-
ritories lye in this Tra6t of Land, gave
me the firft certain Evidences of thofe
being the Seats of our ancient Saxonsy
which have fince been confirmed to
me by many things I have obferved in
reading the Stories of thofe Times, and
by what has been affirmed to me upon
Enquiry of the Frizons old Language^
havmg ftill fo great Affinity with our
old Englijhy as to appear eafily to have
been the fame^ moft of their Words
ftill retaining the fame Signification and
Sound J very different from the Lan-
guage of the Hollanders. This is the
moft remarkable in a little Town cal-
led Malcueray upon the Zudder Sea,
in Friezland^ which is ftill built after
the Fafhion of the oldGerman Villages,
defcrib'd by Yacitm } without any ufe
or obfervation of Lines or Angles ^ but
as if every Man had built in a common
Field, juft where he had a mind, fo as
a Stranger, when he goes in, muft
have a Guide to find the way out a-

Upon

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i4i Of their Government. Chap. IL

Upon thefe Informations^ and Re-^
marks, and the particular Account af-
terwards given me of the Conftitu-
tions of the Province of Friezland^ fo
different from the others j I began to
make Rcfle6tions upon them, as the Hke-
lieft Originals of many ancient Confti-
tutions among us, of which, no others
can be found, and which may feem to
have been introduced by the Saxons
here, and by their long and abfolute
Pofleflion of that part of the Ifle, cal-
led England^ to have been fo planted
and rooted among us, as to have wa-
ded fafc, in a great meafure, through
the fucceeding Inundations and Con-
quefts of the T>antjh and Norman Na-^
rions. And, perhaps, there may be much
Matter found for the curious Remarks
of fome diligent, and ftudious Antiqua-
ries, in the Comparifons of the Batlli
or Greetman among the Frifonsy with
our Sheriffe : Of their AJfefforSy with
our Jufiices of Peace : Of their Judg-
ing Civil Caufes in their Diftri6t, upon
the firfl: Refort, but not without Appeal,
with the Courfc of our Quarter- Sefli-
ons : Of their chief Judicature, being
compofed of Counfellors, of Four feve-
ral Quarters, with our Four Circuits :

Of

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chap. li* of their Gowmment. 1 4 $

Of thefe being the common Criminal
judicature of the Country : Of the
Compofition of their States, with our
ParUamentj, atleaft, our Houfe of Com-
mons : In the particulars of Two De-
putes, being chofen from each Town,
as with us^ and Two from each Baillage,
as from each Country here: And thefe
laft by Voices of all Perfons, poflefs'd
of a certain Quantity of Land ^ And at
a Meeting aiTembled by t)i(:Greet?nan to
thatpurpofe^ And thefe Deputies ha-
ving power to refolve of all Matters
without Refort to thofc that chofe 'em,
or knowledge of their Intentions > which
are all Circumftances agreeing with our
Conftitutions, but ablokitcly differing
from thofe of the other Provinces in
the United States, and from the com-
pofition, I think, of the States, either
now, or formerly, ufed in the other
Nations of Europe,

To this Original, I fuppofe, we like-
wife owe what I have often wondered
at, that in England we neither fee,
nor find upon Record, any Lord, or
Lordfliip, that pretends to have the
Exercife of Judicature belong to it,
either that which is called High, or
Low, Juftice, which feems to be a Badge

of

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1 44 0/ their Government: Chap. IL

of Ibme ancient Sovereignty : Though
we fee them very frequent among our
Neighbours, both under more arbitra-
ry Monarchies, and under the moft
free and popular States;

CHAP.

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M5

CHAP. IIL

Of their Situation.

Holland^ Zealand^ Friezland arid
Groninguen^ are feated upon the
Sea, and make the Strength and Great-
nefs of this State : The other Three,
with the conquered Towns in Brabantj
Flanders^ and Cleve^ make only the
Outworks or Frontiers, fcrving chiefly
for Safety and Defence of thefe. No
Man can tell the ftrange and mighty
Changes, that may have been made
in the Face and Bounds of Maritime
Countries, at one time or other, by
furious Inundations, upon the unufual
Concurrence of Land-Floods, Winds,
and Tides j and therefore no Man
knows, whether the Province of Hal-
landy may not have been, in fome
paft Ages, all Wood, and rough une-
qual Ground, as fome old Traditions
go 5 and levelled to what we fee, by
the Sea's breaking in, and continuing
long upon the Land 5 fince, recovered
by its Recefs, and with the help of In-
duftry. For it is evident, that the Sea,
for fome fpace of Years, advances con-
L tinually

Hosted by Google

I 4 (J Of their Situation. Chap. IIL

tiiiually upon one Coaft, retiring from
the oppofite ^ and in another Age,
quite changes this courfe, yielding up
what it had feized, and feizing what
it had yielded up, without any Reafon
to be given of fuch contrary Motions.
But, 1 fuppofe, this great Change was
made in Hollandy when the Sea jfirft
parted England from the Continent,
breaking through a Neck of Land be-
tween '5D^wr and Calais 'y Which may
be a Tale, but I am fur e is no Re-
cord. It is certain, on the contrary,
that Sixteen Hundred Years ago, there
was no ufual Mention or Memory of
any fuch Changes > and that the face
of all thefe Coails, and nature of the
Soil, efpecially that of Holland^ was
much as it is now, allowing only the
Improvements of Riches, Time, and In-
duftry-, which appears by the Defcrip-
. ^^^ ^}ion made in Tacitus^ both of the Li-
jP/^^/^rmW-mits of thellle o^ Batavia^ and theNa>
fium fl'griiyj^^^ of the Soil, as well as the Climate,
/^T^X^Jwith the very Names, and courfe of Ri-
amnes di- ytxSy fliU remaining.

'viditur, ad .

Gallic am rifam latior i^ placidwr verfo ccgnomento Vahaleni' ac(oh
dicunty mox id quo que 'vocabulum mutat Mo fa flumimy ejufiHe im^
minfi or$ eundem in Octanum effanditur.

Cum interim flexti Autumni ^ crebris imbribm fuferfufus amni^
falnfirem hnmilemque Infulam in famm Stagni offUvit,

'Tis

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chap* III. of their Situation. 147

*Tis likely, the Changes arrived iince
that Age in thefe Countries, may have
been made by Stoppages grown in
time, with the rolling of Sands upon
the Mouths of Three great Rivers,
which difembogued into the Sea through
the Coafts of thefe Provinces 5 that is,
the Rhine^ the Mofe^ and the Scheld.
The ancient Rhine divided, where
Skenckfconce now flands, into two Ri-
vers \ of which, one kept the Name,
*till running near Leyden^ it fell into
the Sea at Catwick^ where are ftill
feen, at low Tides, the Foundations of
an ancient Roman Caftle that- com-
manded the Mouth of this River: But
this is wholly ftopt up^ though a great
Canal ftill preferves the Name of the
Old Rhine. The Mofe^ runnipg by
^ort.znd Rotteydam^ fell, as it:, now
does>! into the Sea at the jBr/>4;^with
mighty iflues of W^terv buttheSands,
gathered for Three or Four Leagues upon
this Coaft, make .the Haven extream
dangej^ousi without great skill of Pi-
lots, and ufe of Pilot-boats, that 'come
out with every Tide, to welcome and
fecuire_the Ships bound for that River :
And it is probabkj tliat thefe Sands,
having :obftru£ted. the £ree Courfe of
L 2 the

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48 of their Situation. Chap. IIL

the River has at times caufed or en-
creased thofe Inundations, out of which
fo many Illand^ have been recover'd^
and of which, that part of the Coun-
try is fo much composed.

The Scheld fecms to have had its
Ifllie hj IValcherin in Zealand^ which
was an Ifland in the Mouth of that
River, 'till the Inundations of that, and
the Mofe-i feem to have been join'd
together^ by fome great Helps, or Ir-
ruptions of the Sea, by which, the
whole Country ^as overwhelmed,
which now makes that Inland-Sea, that
ferves for a common Paflage between
Holland^ Zealand^ Flanders-i and Bra-
bant : Th!Z Sea, for fome Leagues from
Zealand^ lyes generally upon fuch
Banks of Sand, as it does upon the
Mouth of the Ma^e^ though feparated
by ^^mething better Channels than are
found in the other.

That which feems likelieft to have
been the occafion of flopping up
wholly one of thefe Rivers, and ob-
ftruiiting the others, is the courfe of
Wcjflerly Winds, (which drive upon
this Shore} being fo much more conftanc
and violent than the Eaft : For, taking
the Scafons, and Yeans one with ano-
ther

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chap. III. Of theh Situation. 149

ther, I fuppofe, there will be obfervM
three parts of Weftcrly for one Ea-
fterly Winds : Befides, that thefe genCr
rally attend the calm Froils and fair
Weather j and the other the ftormy
and foul. And I hav« had occafiori
to make Experiment of the Sands ri-
fing and linking before a Haven, by
two fits of thele contrary Windsy a-
bove four Foot. This, I prefume, is like-
wife the natural Reafon of fo many
deep and commodious Havens found
upon all the Ef^glijh fide of the Channel,
and fo few, (or indeed none} upon the
French and Dutch : An Advantage feem-
ing to be given us by Nature, and ne<-
ver to be equalPd by any Art, or Ex-
pence, of our Neighbours.

I remember no mention in ancient
Authors of that, which is now call'd
the ZudderSea j which makes, me
imagine. That may have been, formed
likewifc by fome great Inundation,
breaking in between the Z'^Z-Iflands,
and others, that lye ftill in a Line con-
tiguous, and like the broken remain-
ders of a continued CoaQ:. This feems
more probable, from the great fliallow-
jaefs of that Sea, and flatnefs of the
,Sai)ds, upon the whole E^ctent of it^
L 3 from

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^5^ Of theW Situation. Chap.IIL

from the violent Rage of (he Waters
breaking in that way, which threaten
the parts of North-Holland about Me^
dtnbhck and Enchufen^ and brave it o-
ver the higheft and ftrongeft Digues
of the Province:^ upon every High Tide,
and ftorm at North-weft. As Ukewife
from the Names of Eaji and fVeJl
Friezlandy which (hould have been one
Continent, 'till divided by this Sea :
For, in the Time of Tacitus^ no other
Diftinftion was known, but that of
Greater or LefTcr Frizons^ and
A frente Trifii ex- that only from the meafure of
gS«/?r;;# then- Numbers, or Forces j and
'vocai?uium,exmocio though they wcrc faid to have
^iriHrnutr^^uem- ^^^^^ L^]^^s among them, yet

ttQnes ufcr, ad Ocea^ t> a ,' J

nnm Rheno pr^tex- that Word ICCmS tO impOrt
untur ^ ambiuntqi |-|^^y ^^^^ ^f f^^Q^ Water,

^/^. Tacit. deMor. which IS made yet plainer by
Ger. the Word ^ Ambiunt ^ that

fliews thofe Lakes to have been inha-
bited round by thefe Nations 5 from
all this I fhould guefs, that the more
Inland part of the Zudder ^Sca, was
one of the Lakes there mentioned, be-
tween which apd the Tejfell and Ulie
Iflands, there lay anciently a great Traft
of Land, (^where the Sands are ftill fo
(hallow^ and fo contiKiu'd, as feems to

make

Hosted by Google

chap. HI. of their Situation. i ? i

make it evident:) But fince covered by
fonie great Irruptions of Waters^ that
joined thofe of the Sea, and the Lake
together, and thereby made that great
Bay, now calPd the ZtidderSea^ by fa-
vour whereof the Town o^ Amfterdam
has grown to be the mod frequented
Haven of the World.

Whatever \t was, whether Nature or
Accident, and upon whatOccalion foe-
ver it arrived. The Soil of the whole
Province of Holland is generally flat,
hke the Sea in a Calm, and looks as if
after a long Contention between Land
and Water, which It (hould belong to.
It had at length been divided between
them : Fgr to confider the great Ri-
vers, and the ftrange number of Ca-
nals that are found in this Province,
and do not only lead to every great
Town, but almoft to every Village,
and every Farm-Houfe in the Coun-
try J and the Infinity of Sails that
are feen every where courfing up and
down upon . them •, one would ima-
gine the Water to have (har'd with
the Land ^ and the People that live in
Boats, to hold fome proportion with
thofe that live in Houfes. And this is one
great Advantage towards Trade, which
L 4 is

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j j I of their Situation. Chap, IIL

is natural to the Situation, and not to
be attained in any Country, where
there is not the fame level and fofr-
nefs of Soil, which makes the cutting
of Canals fo eafie Work, as to be at-
tempted almoft by every private Man :
And one Horfe (liall draw in a Boat
more than fifty can do by Cart, whereas
Carriage makes a great part of the
Price m all heavy Commodities : And
by this eafie way of Travelling, an in-
duftrious Man lofes no time from his
Bufinefs, for he Writes, or Eats, or
Sleeps, while he goes > whereas the
Time of Labouring or Induftrious Men,
is the greatcft Native Commodity of
any Country.

There is, befides, one very great
Lake of frefli Water dill remaining in
the midft of this Province, by the name
pf Hark Maer^ which might, as they
fay, be eaiily drained, and would there-
by make a mighty Addition of Land
to a Country, where norhing is more
wanted ; and receive a great quantity
o^ People, in \vhich they abound, and
who make their Greatnefs and Riches.
Much Dil^rourfe there has been about
fuch an Attempt, but the City oi Ley-
dm having no other way of refrefh-

ing

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chap. III. of their Situation. 1 5 j

ing their Town, or renewing the Wa-
ter of their Canals, but from this
Maer^ will never confent to it. On
the other iide, Amfterdam will ever
oppofc the opening and cleanfing of
the old Channel of the Rhiney which,
they fay, might eaiily be compaflcd,
and by which, the Town of Leyden
would grow Maritime, and fliare a
great part of the Trade now engrof-
fed by Amfierdam, There is in Norths
Holland an Eflay already made, at the
poflibility of draining thefe great
Lakes, by one, of about two Leagues
broad, having been made firm Land,
within this Forty Years : This makes
that part of the Country called the
Bemfter^ being now the richeft Soil of
the Province, lying upon a dead flat,
divided with Canals, and the Ways
through it diftinguifh'd with Ranges of
Trees, which make the pleafantefl:
Summer- Landfchip of any Country I
have feen, of that fort.

Another Advantage of their Situa-
tion of Trade, is made by thofe Two
great Rivers of the Rhine and Mofe^
reaching up, and Navigable, fo mighty
a length, into fo rich and populous
Countries of the Higher and Lower

Germany^

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X54 Of their Situation. Chap, IIL

Germany} which as it brings down all
the Commodities from thofc Parts to
the Magazines of Holland^ that vent
them by their Shipping into all Parts
of the World, where the Market calls
for them j fo, with fomething more
Labour and Time, it returns all the
Merchandizes of other Parts, into thofe
Countries, that are feated upon thcfe
Streams. For their commodious Seat, as
to the Trade of the Streights^ or Bd-^
tique^ or any Parts of the Ocean, I fee
no Advantage they have of mod Parts
of England j and they muft certainly
yield to many we poflcfs, if we had
other equal Circumftances to value
them.

The Lownefs and Flatnefs of their
Lands, makes in a great meafure the
Richnefs of their Soil, that is eafily
overflowed every Winter, fo as the
whole Country, at that Seafon, feems
to lye under Water, which, in Spring, is
driven out again by Mills. But that
which mends the Earth, fpoils the Air?
which would be all Fog and Mift, if
it were not clearM by the (harpnefs of
their Frofts, which never fail with eve-
ry Eafl: Wind for about Four Months
of the Year, and are much fiercer than

in

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Chap. III. Of their Situation. 155^

in the fame Latitude with us, becaufe
that Wind comes to them over a mighty
length of dry Continent > but is inoift-
ned by the VapourSj or io^tcn'd by the
warmth of the Seas motion, before it
reaches us.

And this is the greateft Difadvantagc
of Trade they receive from their Si-
tuation, though neceflary to their
Health i becaufe many times their Ha-
vens are all ihut up for Two or Three
Months with Ice, when ours are open
and free.

The fierce Sharpnefs of thefe Winds
makes the Changes of their Weather
and Seafons more violent and furpri-
ling, than in any place I know ; fo as
a warm faint Air turns in a Night to
a fliarp Froft, with the Wind coming
into the North-Eaft : And the contrary
with another Change of Wind. The
Spring is much (horter, and lefs agree-
able, than with us J the Winter much
colder, and fome parts of the Summer
much hotter 5 and Ihave known more
than once, the violence of one give
way to that of the other, like the cold-
Fit of an Ague to the hot, without any
good Temper between.

The Flatnefs of their Land expofes

ic

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J ^6 of their Situation, Chap. IIL

it to the danger of the Sea, and for-
ces them to infinite Charge in the con-
tinual Fences and Repairs of their Banks
to oppofe it i which employ yearly
more Men, than all the Corn of the
Province of Holland could maintain,
(as one of their chief Minifters has
told me.) They have lately found the
common Sea-weed to be the beft Ma-
terial for thefe Digues, which faften d
with a thin mixture of Earth, yields
a httle to the force of the Sea, and
returns when the Waves give back:
Whether, they are thereby the fafer
againft Water, as, they fay, Hou fes that
ftiake are againft Wind ^ or whether,
as pious NaturaUfts obferve, all things
carry about them that which ferves for
a Remedy againft. the mifchief they dq
in the World.

The extream moifture of the Air, I
take to be the occafion of the great
neatnefs in their Houfes, and clean-
linefs in their Towns. For without
the help of thofe Cuftoms, their
Country would not be habitable by
fuch Crowds of People, but the Air
would corrupt upon every hot Seafon,
and expofe the Inhabitants to general
^nd infeftious Difeafes > which they

hardly

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Chap, III. of their Situation. i 5 7

hardly efcape three Summers together,
elpedally about Leyden^ where the Wa-
ters are not fo eafily renewed, and for
this reafon> I fuppofe, it is^ thzt Leyden
is found to be the neateft and ckanheft
kept, of all their Towns.

The fame moifture of Air makes all
Metals apt to ruft^ and Wood to
mould y which forces them, by continu-
al Pains of rubbing and fcouring, to
feck a* PreventioHj Or Cure : This
makes the brightnefs and cleannefs that
fcems affeftedin their Houfes, and is
caird naturaJ to them, by People who
think no further. So the deepnefs of
their Soil, and wetnefs of Seafons,
which would render it unpaffable, forces
'themj not only tOj^exadnefs of Paving
in their Streets, but to the expence of
to long Cawiles between many of their
Towns, and in their High--ways. As
indeed, moft National Cuftoms are the
EfFeft of fome unfeen, or unobfervcd,
naturaj Caufes, or Neceflitics,

C HA R

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I,«

C H A P. IV.

Of their People and Dijpojttiofis.

THE F cople o( Hol/and may be
divided into thefe feveral Clafles :
The Clowns or Boorsi (as they call
them,} who cultivate the Land. ,The
Mariners or Schippers, who fupply their
Ships, and Inland^Boats. The Mer-
chants or Traders, who fill their Towns.
The Renteeners^ or Men that live in
all their chief Cities upon the Rents
or Intcreft of Eftatcg formerly acquirM
in their Families : : And the Gentlemen,
and Oificers of their Armies.
. The firfl: are a Race of People diligent
rather than laborious a, dull and How
of Underftanding, and fo riot dealt
with by hafty Words, but manag'd ea-
fily by foft and fair> and yielding to
plain Reafon, if you give them time
to underftand it. In the Country
and Villages, not too near the great
Towns,: they feem plain and honeft,
and content with their own 5 fo that

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chap. IV. Of their Peopkj .&CC. iss>

if, in Bounty, you give them a Shilling
for what is worth but a Groat, they
will take the current Price, and give
you the reft again -, if you bid them
take it, they know not what you
mean, and fometimes ask, if you are a
Fool. They know no other Good,
but the Supply of what Nature re-
quires, and the common increafe of
Wealth. They feed moft upon Herbs,
Roots, and Milks-, and by that means^
I fuppofe, neither their Strength, nor
Vigour, feems anfwerableto the Size, or
Bulk, of their Bodies,

The Mariners are a plain, but much
rougher People 5 whether from the E-
lement they live in, or from their
Food, which is generally Fiih, and
Corn, and heartier than that of the
Boors. They are Surly, and Bl-man-
ncr'd, which is miftaken for Pride ^
butr I believe, is learnt, as all Manners
are, by the Converfatioa we ufe. Now
theirs lying only among one another, or
with Winds and Waves, which arc
not mov'd or wrought upon by any
Language, or Obfervance ^ or to be
dealt with, but by Pains, and by Pa-
tience/. Thefe are all the Qualities
their Mariners have learnt j their Va-
lour

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1 60 ' of their People Chap. IV.

lour is Taffive rather than ABive^ and
their Language is little more, than
what is of neceflary ufe to their Bufi-
nefs.

The Merchants and Tradefmen,
both the greater and Mechanick, li-
ving in 1 owns that are of great re-
fort, both by Strangers and Paflengers
of their own, are more Mercurial^
(Wit being (harpen'd by Commerce
and Converfation of Cities,) though
they are not very inventive, which is
the Gift of warmer Heads > yet are they
great in Imitation, and fo far, many
times, as goes beyond the Originals:
Of mighty Induftry, and conftant Ap-
plication to the Ends, they propofc
and purfue. They make ufe of their
Skill, and their Wit, to take Advan-
tage of other Mens Ignorance and
Folly, they deal with, are great Ex-
afters, where the Law is in their own
Hands. In other Points, where they
deal with Men that underftand like
themfelves, and are under the reach of
Juftice and LawS;, they are the plain-
eft and beft Dealers in the World ; ,
which feems not to grow fo much
from a Principle of Confcience, or
Morality^ as from a Cuftom or Habit

intro-

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chap. IV and Dtfpojitions. iCi

introduced by the neceility of Trade a-
mong them, which depends as much
upon Common Honefty, as War does
upon Difciplines and without which all
would break up, Merchants would turn
Pedlars, and Soldiers Thieves.
' Thofe Famihes which live upon
their Patrimonial Eftates in all the
great Cities, are a People differently
bred, and manner'd from the Traders,
though like them in the Modefty of
Garb and Habit, and the Parfimony
of living. Their Youth are generally
bred up at Schools, and at the Uni-
verlitics of Ley den or Utrecht'^ in the
common Studies of Human Learning,
but chiefly of the Civil Law, which
is that of their Country, at leaft as
far as it is fo in France and Spain.
For, (as much as I underftand of
thofe Countries) no Decifions or De*
crees of the Civil Law, nor Confti*
tutions of the Roman Emperors, have
the Force or Current of Law among
them, as is commonly believed, but
only the Force of Reafons when al-
ledged before their Courts of Judica-^
ture, as for as the Authority of Men
efleemed wife, pafTes for Reafon : But
the ancient Cuftoms of thofe fevcral
M Coun*

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1^2. of their People Chap. I V.

Countries) an J the Ordonnances of their
Kings and Princes, conlented to by the
EftateS) or in iv'/.v^r^ verify 'd by Parlia-
ments, have only the Strength and Au-
thority of Lav/ among them.

Where thefe Families are rich, their
Youths, after the courfe of their Stu-
dies at horne, travel for fome Years, as
the Sons of our Gentry ufe to do 3 but
their Journies are chkRy into England
and France^ not njuch into Italy ^ fel-
domer into Spain:, nor often into the
more Northern Countries> unlefs in
Company of Tram of their PubUck
Minifters. The chief End of their
Breeding, is, to make them fit for the
Service of their Country in the Magi-
ftracy of their Towns, their Provm-
ces, and their State. And of thefe kind
of Men are the Civil Officers of this
Government generally compofed, be-
ing defcended of Families^ who have
many times been conftantly in the Ma-
giftracy of their Native Towns for
many Years> and fome for feveral A-
ges.

Such were moft or all of the chief
Minifters, and the, Perfons that compo-
fed their chief Councils, in the time
of my Refidence among them, and not

Men

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chap. IV. and Difpqfitions. 1 6 3

Men of mean or Mechanick Trades^ as
it is commonly received among Foreign-
ers, and makes the Subjed: of Comical
Jefts upon their Government. This
does not exclude many Merchants^ or
Traders in grofs, from being often {^ctn
in the Offices of their Cities^, and.
fometimes deputed to their States > nor
feveral of their States, from turning
their Stocks in the Management of
fome very beneficial Trade by Ser-
vants, and Houfes maintained to that
purpofe. But the Generality of the
States and Magiftrates are of the other
fort 5 their Eftates confifting in the
Penfions of their Publick Charges, in
the Rents of Lands, or Intereft of
Mony upon the CantoreSp or in Aftions
of the Eaji-India Company, or in Shares
upon the Adventures of great Trading-
Merchants.

Nor do thefe Families, habituated as
it were tq the Magiftracy of their
Towns and Provinces, ufually arrive
at great or exceflive Riches > the Sa-
laries ,of Publick Employments and
Intereft being low, but the Revenue of
Lands .being yet very much lower,;
and feldom exceeding the Profit of Two
in the Hundred. They content them-
) Ml felvcs

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rtf 4 Of their People Chap. IV.

felves with the Honour of being ufeful
to the Publick, with the Eftecm of
their Cities or their Country, and with
the Eafe of their Fortunes j which fel-
dom fails, by the Frugality of their li-
ving, grown univerfal by being (I fup-
pofc) at firft necefTary, but fince ho-
nourable, among them.

The mighty Growth and Excefs of
Riches is fecn among the Merchants and
Traders, whofe Application lyes whol-
ly that way, and who arc the better
content to have fo little (hare in the
Government, defiring only Security in
what they pofTefs ; troubled with no
Cares but thofe of their Fortunes, and
the Management of their Trades, and
turning the reft of their Time and
Thought to the Divertifement of their
Lives. Yet thefe, when they attain great
Wealth, chufe to breed up their Sons in
the Way, and marry their Daughters
into the Families of thofe others moft
generally credited in their Towns, and
verled in their Magiftracies j and there-
by introduce thei; Families into the way
of Government and Honour, which con-
fifts not h re in Titles, but in Publick
Employments.
The next Rank among them, is that

of

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Ciiap. IV. and Difpojitions. ' 16^5

of their Gentlemen or Nobles, who,in the
Province of Holland^ (10 which I chief-
ly confine thefe Obfervations} are very
few, moft of the Famihes having been
extinguiflied in the long Wars with
Spain. But thofe that remain, are in
a manner all employed in the Military
or Civil Charges of the Province or
State. Thefe are, in their Cuftoms, and
Manners, and way of living, a good
deal different from the reft of the Peo-
ple j and having been bred much a-
broad, rather afteft the Garb of their
Neighbour Courts, than the Popular
Air of their own Country. They va-
lue themfelves more upon their No-
bility, than Men do in other Coun-
tries, where ^tis more common ^ and
would think themfelves utterly difho-
noured by the Marriage of one that
were not of their Rank, though it
were to make up the broken Forrune
of a Noble Family, by the Wealth of
a Tlebean. They ftrive to imitate the
French^ in their Mien, their Cloaths,
their way of Talk, of Eating, of Gal-
lantry or Debauchery ; and are, in my
Mind, fomething worfethan they would
be, by affefting to be better than they
/iced) making fometimes but ill Copies,
M 5 whereas

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1 66 Of their People Chap. IV.

whereas they might be good Originals,
by refining or improving the Culloms
and Virtues proper to their own Coun-
try and CUmate. They are otherwife
an Honeftj Well-natur'd, Friendly,
and Gentlemanly fort of Men> and ac-
quit themfelves generally with Honour
and Merit, where their Country em-
ploys them.

The Officers of their Armies live
after the Cuftoms and Fafliions of the
Gentlemen > and fo do many Sons of
the rich Merchants, who, returning
from Travel abroad, have more defigns
upon their own Fleafure, and the Va-
nity of appearing, than upon the Ser-
vice of their Country : Or, if they
pretend to enter into that, it is rather
by the Army than the State. And all
thefe are generally defirous to fee a
Court in their Country, that they
may value themfelves at home, by the
Quahties they have learnt abroad-, and
make a Figure, which agrees better
with their own Humour, and the man-
ner of Courts, than with the Cuftoms
and Orders, that prevail in more Popu-
lar Governments.

Thefe are fome Cuftoms, or Difpo-
iitions, that feem to run generally

through

Hosted by Google

chap, IV. and Difpojitions. iCy

through all thefe Degrees of Men a-
mong them •, as great Frugality, and
Order3 in their Expences, Their com-
mon Riches lye in every Man's having
more than he fpends •, or, to fay it
more properly, In every Man's fpend-
ing lefs than he has coming in, be that
what It will : Nor does it enter into
Mens Heads among them. That the com-
mon port or coiirfe of Expence fliould
equal the Revenue^ and when this hap-
pens, they think at leaft they have liv'd
that Year to no purpoi'e 5 and the
train of it difcredits a Man among
them, as much as any vitious or prodi<
gal Extravagance does in oiher Coun-
tries. This enables every Man to bear
their extream Taxes, and makes them
lefs fenlible than they would be in o-
ther Places: For he that lives upon
Two Parts in Five of what he has
coming in, if he pays Two more to
the State, he does but part with what
he (hould have laid up, and had no
prefent Ufe for > whereas, he that fpends
yearly what he receives, if he pays but
the Fiftieth Part to the Publick, it goes
from him like that which was neceffary
to buy Bread or Cloaths for himfelf or
his Family.

M 4 This

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i^g of their People Chap. IV.

This makes the Beauty and Strength
of their Towns, the Commodioufnefs
of Travelling in their Country by
their Canals, Bridges, and Cawfeys^
the Pleafantnefs of their Walks, and
their Grafts in and near all their Ci-
ties : And in (hort, the Beauty, Con-
venience, and fometimes Magnificence,
of their Publick Works, to which eve-
ry Man pays as willingly, and takes as
much Plealure and Vanity in them, as
thofe of other Countries do in the
fame Circumftances, among the PofTef-
lions of their Families, or private In-
heritance. What they can fpare, be-
fides the neceflary Expence of their
Dorneftick, the Publick Payments,
and the common courfe of ftill en-
creafing their Stock, is laid out in the
Fabrick, Adornment, or Furniture of
their Houfes: Things not fo tranfitory,
or fo prejudicial to Health, and to Bu-
Unefs, as the conftant Excefles and
Luxury of Tables^ nor perhaps alto-
gether fo vain as the extravagant Ex-
pen ccs of Cloaths and Attendance ; at
leaft, thefe end wholly in a Man's felf^
and the Satisfaftion of his perfonal Hu-
mour J whereas the other make not
only the Riches of a Family^ but con-
tribute

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chap. IV. and Diffofitions. 1 6s>

tribute much towards the publick Beau-
ty and Honour of a Country.

The Order in cafting up their Ex-
pences, is fo ^reat and general, that
no Man offers at any Undertaking)
which he is not prepared for, and Ma-
iler of his Defign, before he begins-,
fo as I have neither obferved nor heard
of any Building, pubUck or private,
that has not been finiftied in the time
dciigned for it. So are their Canals,
Cawfeys, and Bridges j fo was their
Way from tht Hague to SkeveUng^ a
Work that might have become the
old Romans'^ confidering how foon it
was difpatch'd. The Houfe at the Haguey
built purpofely for cafting of Cannon,
was finifh'd in one Summer, during the
Heat of the firft Engltjh War, and looked
rather hke a Defign of Vanity in their
Government, than Neceffity or Ufe,
The Stadthoufe oi Amfierdam has been
left purpofely to Time, without any
Limitation in the firft Defign, either of
that, or of Expence j both that the
Diligence apd the Genius of fo many
fucceeding M^giftrates fliould be em-
ployed in the CoUeftion of all things,
that could be efteem'd proper to en-
creafc the Beauty or Magnificence of

that

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170 Of their People Chap/IV.

that Strufture; and perhaps a little to
reprieve the Experiment of a current
Prediftion, That the Trade of that Ci-
ty fliould begin to fall the fame Year
the Stadthoufe (hould be finilVd^ as it
did at Antwerp.

Charity feems to be very National
among them, though it be regulated
ty Orders of the Country, and not
ufually mov'd by the common Objedts
of Compaflion. But it is fcen in the
admirable Provisions that are r^iade but
of it for all fort of Perfons that can
want, or ought to be kept, in a Go-
vernment. Among the many and va-
rious Hofpitals, that are in every Mans
Curiofity and Talk that travels their
Country, I was affeiled with none
more than that of the aged Sea- Men
at Enchufyen-i which is contrived, fi-
nifhed and ordered, as if it were done
with a kind Intention of fome well-na-
tur'd Man, that thofe, who had paft
their whole Lives in the Hardfliips and
Incommodities of the Sea, fliould find
a Retreat ftor'd with all the Eafes and
Conveniences, that Old Age is capable
of feeling and enjoying. And here I
TCitt with the only rich Man, that I ever
faw in my Life : For one of thefe old

Sea-Men

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chap. IV. and Difpojttionf. 171

Sea-Men eiitertaining me a good while
with the plain Stories of his Fifty
Years Voyages and Adventures, while
I was viewing their Hofpital, and the
Church adjoining 3 I gave him at part-
ing a piece of their Coin about the
value of a Crown : He took it fmi-
ling> and offer'd it me again •, but
whcii I refused it, he askt me. What he
fliould do with Mony ? for all that
ever they wanted, was provided for
them at their Houfe. I left him to
overcome his Modefty as he could ^
but a Servant coming after me, faw
him give it to a little Girl that opened
the Church-door, as (he pafs'd by him:
Which made me reflect upon the fan-
taftick Calculation of Riches and Po-
verty that is current in the World, by
which a Man that wants a Million, is
a Prince > He that wants but a Groat,
is a Beggar i and this was a poor Man,
that wanted nothing at alL

In general, All Appetites and Pafli-
ons feem to run lower and cooler
here, than in other Countries where I
have conversM. Avarice may be excep-
ted. And yet that (hall not be fo
violent, where it feeds only upon In-
duftry and Parfimony, as where it

breaks

Hosted by Google

i-j-L Of their People Chap. IV.

breaks out into Fraud, Rapine, and
Oppreflion. But Quarrels are feldom
ittn among them, unTefs in their Drink,
Revenge rarely heard of, or Jealoufie
known. Their Tempers arc not airy
enough for Joy, or any unufual Strains
of pleafant Humour -, nor warm enough
for Love. This is talkt of fometimes
among the younger Men> but as a
thing they have heard of, rather than
felt 3 and as a Difcourfe that becomes
them, rather than affefts them. I have
known fome among them, that pcrfo-
natcd Lovers w^ll enough 3 but none
that I ever thought were at heart in
Love J nor any of the Women, that
feem'd at all to care whether they were
fo or no. Whether it be, that they arc
fuch Lovers of their Liberty, as not to
bear the Servitude of a Miftrefs, any
more than that of a Matter 5 or, that
the Dulnefs of their Air renders them lels
fufceptible of more refined Paflions>
or, that they are diverted from it by
the general Intention every Man has
upon his Bufincfs, whatever it is (no-
thing being fo mortal an Enemy of
Love, that fuffers no Rival, as any Bent
of Thought another way.}

The

Hosted by Google

chap. IV. and Dlfpojttions. ij^

The fame Caufes may have had the
fame EfFeds among their Married Wo-
men, who have the whole Care and
abfolute Management of all their Do-
meftick ^ and live with very gene-
ral good Fame : A certain fort of
Chaftity being hereditary and habitual
among them, as Probity among the
Men.

The fame Dulnefs of Air may dif-
pofe them to that ftrange Afliduity and
conftant Application of their Minds,
with that perpetual Study and Labour
upon any thing they defign and take
in hand. This gives them Patience to
purfue the Queft of Riches by fo long
Voyages and Adventures to the Indiesy
and by fo long Parfimony as that of
their whole Lives. Nay, I have (for
a more particular Example of this Dif-
pofition among them) known one Man
that was employed Four and Twenty
Years about the making and perfefting
of a Globe, and another above Thirty
about the inlaying of a Table. Nor
does any Man know, how much may
have been contributed towards the
great things in all kinds, both pub-
lick and private, that have been at-
chieved among them by this one Hu-
mour

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174 ^/ their People Chap IV.

mour of never giving over what they
imagine may be brought to pafs, nor
leavmg one Scent to follow another
they meet with •, which is the Pro-
perty of the lighter and more ingeni-
ous Nations : And the Humour of a
Government being ufually the fame
with that of the Ferfons that compofe
it, not only in this, but m all other
Points •, fo as, where Men that govern
are Wife, Good, Steady and Juit, the
Government will appear fo too > and
the contrary, where they are other-
wife.

The fame Qualities in their Air
may encline them to the Entertain-
ments and Cuftoms of Drinking, which
are fo much laid to their Charge, and,
for ought I know, may not only be
necelTary to their Health, (^as they ge-
nerally believe it,) . but to the Vigour
and Improvement of their Underftand-
ings, in the midft of a thick foggy
Air, and fo much Coldnefs of Temper
and Complexion, For though the tJfe
or Excefs of Drinking may deftroy
Mens AbiUties who live in better Cli-
males, and are of warmer Confcitu-
tionss Wine to hot Brains being like
Oyl to Fire, and making the Spirits, by

too

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Chap, IV. and Difpojttions. 175

too much Lightnefs, evaporate into
Smoak, and perfeft aiery Imaginations >
or, by too much Heat, rage nito Fren-
zy, or at leaft into Humours and
Thoughts, that have a great Mixture
of it 'y yet on the other fide, it may
improve Mens Parts and Abilities of
cold Complexions, and in dull Air ^ and
may be necejflary to thaw and move
the frozen or unaftive Spirits of the
Brain > to rowze fleepy Thought, and
refine groffer Imaginations, and per-
haps to animate the Spirits of the
Heart, as well as enliven thofe of the
Brain : Therefore the old Germans
feem'd to have fome Reafon in their
Cuftom, not to execute any great Re-
folutions which had not been twice
debated, and agreed at two feveral
AfTemblies, one iji an Afternoon,
and t'other in a Mornings Becaufe,
they thought, their Counfels might
w^ant Vigour when they were fober,
as well as Caution when they had
drunk.

Yet in Holland I have obferved ve-
ry few of their chief Officers or Mini-
Iters of State vitious in this kind 5 or
if they drunk much, 'twas only at fee
Feafts, and rather to acquit themfelves,

than

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I -J 6 Of their People Cliap. IV.

than of Choice or Inclination : And for
the Merchants and Traders, with whom
it is cuftomary, they never do it in a
Morning, nor 'till they come from
the Exchange, where the Bulinefs of
the Day is commonly difpatclVdj nay,
it hardly enters into their Heads, that
'tis lawful to drink at all before that
time> but they will excufe it, if you
come to their Houfe, and tell you how
forry they are you come in a Morning,
when they cannot offer you to drink 5
as if at that time of Day it were not
only unlawful for them to drink them-
felves, but fo much as for a Stranger to
do it within their Walls.

The Afternoon, or, atleaft, the Even-
ing, is given to whatever they find
will divert them 5 and is no more than
needs, confidering how they fpend the
reft of the Day, in Thought, or in
Cares ^ in Toils, or in Bufinefs. For
Nature cannot hold out with conftant
Labour of Body, and as little with con-
ftant Bent, or Application, of Mind:
Much Motion of the fame Parts of the
Brain either wearies and waftes them too
fafl: for Repair, or elfc (^as it were} fires
the Wheels, and fo ends, either in ge-
neral Decays of the Body, or Diftrafti-

ons

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chap. IV and Difpojitions. 177

ons of the Mind (For thefe are ufu-
ally occafion'd by perpetual motions
of Thought about ibme one Objeftj
whether it be about ones felf in ex-
cefles of PridC) or about another in
thofe of Love^ or of Grief.} There-
fore none are fo excufable as Men of
much Care and Thought, or of great
Bufincfs, for giving up their times of
leifure to any Pleaiures or Diverfions
that offend no Laws, nor hurt others
or themfelves : And this feems the rea-
fon, that, in all Civil Conftitutions^not
only Honours, but Riches, are annex->
ed to the Charges of thofe who go-
vern, and upon whom the Fublick
Cares are meant to be devolved ^ not
only, that they may not be diftrafted
from thefe, by the Cares of their owrt
Domeftick or Private Jnterefts > but,
that by the help of Efteem, and of
Riches, they may have thofe Pleafiires
and Diverfions in their reach, which
idle Men neither need nor deferve,
but which are neceffary for the Re-
frefhment^or Repair, of Spirits, exhauft-
ed with Cares, and with Toilj and
which ferve to fweeten and preferve
thofe Lives that would otherwife wear
outJ too faft, or grow too uneafie in the
Service of ;Iie Publick. N The

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1 y 8 - Of their People Chap. IV.

The Two Charafters that are kft by

the old Roman Writers, of the ancient

Batavi or Holla7iders ^ are,

^mmtHY (Fa6n 'y^^j. (-j^^y wcre both the

Itr/e foTffimo^^^^ braveft among the German
-virorum mxiiioy i^e- Nations, and the rnoft obfti-
r/lir nt nate Lovers and Defenders of
fibrHTTtpendos ui cor- their Liberty •, which made

\t tSS' """ ^^^^^ exempted from all
Tribute by the Romans^ who
delirM only Soldiers of their Nation,
to make up fome of their Auxiliary-
Bands, as thev did in former
gentium virtute fr^- Agcs of tholc Nations m Jta/y .
cifm Batavi nonmuU that wcrc their Fricnds, and
/:L'^Kt,^l2; AlUes. The laft Difpofition
coimt. Tacit. deMor. feems to liavc coHtinu a , con-
^^^' ilant and National among them,

ever fince that time, and never to have
more appeared, than in the Rife and
Conftitutions of their prefent State,
It does not feem to be fo of the Firft,
or that the People in general can be,
faid now to be Valiant ^ a Quality, of
old, fo National among them, and
which, by the feveral Wars of the
Counts of Holland^ (^efpecially with the
Frizons^^-din^h^ the defperate Defences
made againft the Spaniards^ by this
People, in the beginnings of their State,

(hould

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chap* tV. and Vifpojttions. i j^

Oiould feem to have lafted long, and
to have but Ltely decayed : That is,
fince the whole Apphcation of their
Natives has been tiirnM to Commerce
and Trade, and the Vein of their Do-
meftick Lives fo much to Parfimony,
(by Circumftances which will be the
Subje6t of another Chapter J ) andfince
the main of all their Forces, and Body ^

of their Army has been composed, and
continually fupply'd out of their Neigh-
bour-Nations.

For Soldiers and Merchants are not
found, by Experience, to be more in-
compatible in their Abode, than the
Difpofitions and Cuftoms feem to be
different, that render a People fit for
Trade, and for War. The Soldier thinks
of a fhort Life, and a merry. The Tra-
der thinks upon a long, and a pain-
ful. One intends to make his For-
tunes fuddenly by his Courage, by Vi-
(Story and Spoil : The t'other flower,
but furer, by Craft, by Treaty, and
by Induftry. This makes the firft
franc and generous, and throw away,
upon his Pleafures, what has been got-
itn in one Danger, and may either be
loft, or repair'd, in the next. The
other wary and frugal, and loath to
N 2 part

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I 8 o Of their People Chap. IV-

part with in a Day, what he has been
labouring, far a Year, and has no hopes
to recover, but by the fame Faces of
Diligence and Time. One aims only -
to preferve what he has, as the Fruit
of his Father's Fains •, or what he (hall
get, as the Fruit of his own : T'other
tfimks the price of a little Blood is
more than of a great deal of Sweat-,
^ and means to live upon other M n's

Labours, and poflefs in an Hour, what
they have been Years in acquiring :
This makes one love to live under
ftanch Orders and Laws ; while t^'othcr
would have all depend upon Arbi-
trary Power and Will. The Trader
reckons upon growing Richer, and
by his account Better, the longer he
lives-, which makes him careful of his
Health, and his Life, and fo apt to be
orderly and temperate in his Diet j
while the Soldier is Thoughtlefs, or
Prodigal of both ^ and halving not
his Meat ready at Hours, or when
he has a Mind to it, eats full and
greedily, whenever he gets it > and
perhaps difference of Diet may make
greater difference in Mens natural
Courage, than is commonly thought
of

For

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chap. IV. and Difpofitions. i ? i

For Courage may proceed, in fome
meafure, from the temper of Air, may-
be formed by Difcipline, and acquired
by Ufe, or infus'd by Opinion 3 but
that which is more natural, and £b
more National in fome Countries than
in others, f:ems to arife from the Heat
or Strength of Spirits about the Heart,
which may a great deal depend upon
the Meafures and the S,ubftance of the
Food, Men are us'd to. This made a
great Phyfician among us fay, He
would make any Man a Coward with
Six Weeks Dieting •, and Prince Mau-
rice of Orange call for the Englijh that
were newly come over, and had (as
he faid) their own Beef in their BeU
lies, for any bold and defperate Aftion.
This may be one reafon, why the Gen-
try, in all Places of the World, are bra-
ver than the Peafantry, whofe Hearts
are deprefTed, not only by Slavery, but
by fliort and heartlefs Food, the Effeft
of their Poverty. This is a Caufe, why
the Yeomanry and Commonalty of
England are generally braver than in
other Countries, becaufe by the Plen-
ty, and Conftitutions of the Kingdom,
they are fo much caller in their Rents
and their Taxes, and fare fo much
N ^ better

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1 8 z Of their People Chap. IV,

better and fuller, than thofe, of their
Rankj in any other Nation* Their
chief, and, indeed, conftantFood, being
of Flefli : And among all Creatures,
both the Birds and the Beafts, we fhall
ftill find thofe that feed upon Flefh, to
be the fierce and the bold ^ and on the
contrary, the fearful and faint-hearted
to feed upon Grafs, and upon Plants.
I think, there can be pretended but
two lExceptions to this Rule, which
are the Cock and the Horfe> whereas
the Courage of the One, is noted no
where but in England^ and there, only
in certain Races: And for the Other^
all the Courage we commend in them,
is, the want of Fear 5 and they are ob-
ferv'd to grow much fiercer, whenever
by Cuftom, or Neceflity, they have
been us'd to Flefli.

From all this may be inferred. That
not only the long Difufe of Arms a-
mong the Native Hollanders^ (efpecir
ally at Land,) and making ufe of other
Nations, chiefly in their Milice : But
the Arts of Trade, as well as Peace,
and their great Parfimony in Diet, and
eating fo very little Flefli, ("which the
common People feldom do above once
a Week,) may have helped to debafe

much

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chap. IV. and Difpojitions. / i 8 1

much the ancient Valour of the Na-
tion, at leaft, in the Occafions of Ser-
vice at Land. Their Seamen are
much better^ but not fo good as thofe
o? Zealandy who are generally brave >
which, I fuppofc;, comes by thefe ha-
ving upon all occafions turned fo much
more to Privateering, and Men of War ^
and thofe of Holland^ being generally
employed in Trading and Merchant-
Ships > while their Men of War arc
Manned by Mariners of all Nations,
who are very numerous among them,
but efpecially, thofe of the Eafiland
Coafts of Germany-, Suedes^ T>anesy and
JSlorwegians.

""Tis odd, that Veins of Courage
fhould feem to run like Veins of good
Earth in a Country, and yet not only
thofe of the Province of Hainault
among the Spanijh^ and of Gelderland
among the United Trovinces^ are
efteem'd better Soldiers than the reft 5
But the Burghers of Valenciennes a-
mong the Towns oi Flanders ^ and of
Nitnmeguen among thofe of the Lower
Geldery are obferv'd to be particularly
brave. Btt there may be Firmnefs and
Conftancy of Courage from Tradition,
as well as of Belief: Nor methinks
N 4 fhould

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I 8 4 of their People Chap. 1 V»

fiiould any Man know how to be a
Coward, that is brought up with the
Opinion, That all his Nation or City
have ever been VaUant.

I can fay nothing of what is ufually
laid to their Charge, about their being
Cruel, befides, what we have fo often
heard of their barbarous Ufage to
Ibmc of our Men in the Eaji-Indies^
and what we have fo lately feen of
their Savage Murther of their T^enjio-
ner de Wit \ a Perfon that deferv*d
another Fate, and a better return from
his Country, after eighteen Years fpent
in their Miniftry^ without any Care of
his Entertainments or Eafe, and a little
of his Fortune. A Man of unweary'd
Induftry, inflexible Conflancy, founds
clear, and deep Underftanding, with un-
tainted Integrity J fq that whenever he
was blinded, it was by the Paflion he
had for that which he efteem'd the
Good and Intereft of his State, This
Teftimony is juftly due to him from all
that praftis'd him> and is the rnore wil-
lingly paid, fince there can be as little
Intereft tp flatter, as Honour to reproach,
the dead. But this Aftion of that People
may be attributed to the Misfortune
pf their Country ^ and is fo pnlit:?

the

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chap- IV. and Vifpofttions. i S 5

the appearance of their Cuftoms and
Difpofitions, living, as I faw them, un-
der the Laws and Orders of a quiet
and fettled State, and one muft confefs
Mankind to be a very various Creature,
and none to be known, that has not
been feen in his Rage, as well as his
Drink.

They are generally not fo long liv'd,
as in better Airs •, and begin to decay
early, both Men and Women, efpecially
at Amjlerdam : For, at the Hague^ ("which
is their beft Air) I have known two
cgnfiderable Men, a good deal above
Seventy, and one of them in very good
Senfe and Health : But this is not fo
ufual as it is in England^ and in Spain.
The Difeafes of the Climate feem to
be chiefly the Gout and the Scurvy;
but all hot and dry Summers bring
fome that are infedious among them,
efpecially into Amfierdam and Ley den :
Thefe are ufual Fevers, and lye moft
in the Head, and either kill fuddenly,
or languifli long before they recover.
Plagues are not fo frequent, at leaft
not in a degree to be taken notice of,
for all fupprefs the Talk of them as
much as they can, and no Diftinftion is
m^d? in the Regiftry of the dead> not

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I 8^ Of their People Chap. IV.

much in the Care and Attendance of
the Sick : Whether from a behef of
Predeftination, or elfe, a Preference of
Trade, which is the Life of the Coun-
try, before that of particular Men.

Strangers among them are apt to com-
plain of the Spleen, but thofe of the
Country feldoift or never : Which I
take to proceed from their being ever
bulle, or eaiily fatisfy'd. For this feems
to be the Dileafe of People that are
idle^ or think themfelves but ill enter-
tzin'dy and attribute every Fit of dull
Humour, or Imaginatian> to a formal
Dileafe^ which they have found this
Name for^ whereas, fuch Fits are in-
cident to all Men, at one time or other3^
from the fumes of Indigeftion, from the
common Alterations of fome infenfibie

degrees in

* UBt titafepis: ^ cads moBiB Bmntnr Health and

MumviTs vioiSy, ^ Jafiter bssmidi'Hi Au^tu^ Vi^or • ^ Or

Vertwsttcr Jpecses amtmfruzSy. ^ pt£hra ta^^tss trom iOmC

Ktmc inimy. alks ima WAhihs. 'umtsgs agebat chan^CS Or

C(mdfmniy hms- tile allium- tmcmtu& m agri^ ^ ,

Jt IjU£ ^icitdeif ^ ^^antes ptfture €aruL approa ClieS

virg. Georg. of change

in Winds
and Weather, which afFe£!: the finer Spi-
rits of the Brain, before they grow fen»
fible to other Parts > and are apt td al-
-..,:, ter

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chap. IV. and Difpojitions. 187

ter the fliapes, or colours, of whatever
is rcprefented to us by our Imaginati-
ons, whilft we arc fo aflfefted. Yet this
EfFeft is not fo flrong, but that bufinefs,
or Intention of Thougiit, commonly
either refifts, or diverts ic: And thole
who undcrftand the motions of it, let it
pafs, and return to themfelves. Butfuch
as are idle, or know not from whence
thefe Changes ari(e, and trouble their
Heads with Notions, or Schemes oF ge-
neral Happinefs> or Unhappincfs,in Life,
upon every fuch Fit, begin Reflcdlions
on the Condition of their Booies, their
Souls, or their Fortunes y and (^as all
things are then repreiented in the worft
colours} they fill into melancholy appre-
henfions of one or other, and fomctimes
of them all : Thcfe make deep Impref-
lion in their Minds, and are not ealily
worn out by the natural Returns of
good Humour, efpecially, if they are
often interrupted by the contrary ^ as
happens in fome particular Conftitu-
tions, and more generally in uncertain
Climates, efpecially, if improved by
Accidents of ill Health, or ill Fortune.
But this is a Difeafe too refin'd for this
Country and People, who are well,
when they are not ill > and pleas'd,

when

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1 88 * of their People Chap. IV.

when they are nor troubled j are con-
tent>becaufe they think little of it 5 and
feek their Happinefs in the common
Eafe and Commodities of Life, or the
encreafe of Riches 5 not amufing them-
fclves with the more fpeculative Con-
trivance of Paflion, or Refinements of
Pleafure.

To conclude this Chapter; Holland
is a Country, where the Earth is better
than the Air, and Profit more in re-
qucft than Honour ^ where there is
more Senfc, thm Witj more good Na-
ture, than good Humour •, and more
Wealth than Pleafure : Where a Man
would chufe rather to Travel, than to
Live> fhall find more things to ob-
ferve, than defire^ and more Perfons to
efteem, than to love. But the fame
Qualities and Difpofitions do not va-
lue a private Man and a State,' nor
make a Converfation agreeable, and a
Government great: Nor is it unlikely,
that fome very great King might make
but a very ordinary private Gentleman^
and fome very extraordinary Gentle-
man, might be capable of making but
a very mean Prince.

CHAP.

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i8^

CHAP. V-

of their Religion.

I Intend not here to fpeak of Religi-
on at all as a Divine, but as a mere
Secular Man, when I obferve theocca-
fions that feem to have eftablifli'd it in
the Forms, or with the Liberties, where-
with it is now attended in the United
Provinces. I believe the ReformM Re-
ligion was introduced there, as well as
in England^ and the many other Coun-
tries where it is profefs'd, by the Ope-
ration of Divine Will and Provi-
dence > and by the fame, I believe the
Roman Catholick was continued in
France: Where it feem'd, by the con-
fpiring of fo many Accidents in the
beginning of Charles the Ninth's
Reign, to be fo near a Change, And
whoever doubts this, feems to queftion
not only the Will, but the Power, of
God. Nor will it at all derogate from
the Honour of a Religion, to have
been planted in a Country, by Secular

means?

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1 9P of their Religion. Chap. V.

means, or Civil Revolutions, which
have, long fince, fuccecded to thofe
Miraculous Operations that made way
for Chriftianity in the World. 'Tis
enough, that God ^Imighty infufes Be-
licl into the Hearts of Men, or elfe, or-
dains it to grow out of Religious En-
(juiries and Inftruftions -, and that
where-ever the generahty of a Nation
come by thefe means to be of a Belief,
it IS by the force of this concurrence
introduced into the Government, and
becomes the eftablifh'd Religion of that
Country. So was the RetormM Pro-
feffion introduced into England:^ Scot-
land^ Suedeny "Denmark^ Holland^ and
many Parts of Germany. So was the
Roman-Catholick reftor'd in France
and in Flanders ; where, notwithftand-
ing the great Concullions that were
made in the Government by the Hu-
gonots and the Gueufes-i yet they were
never efteem'd, in either of thofe Coun-
tries, to amount further than the Se-
venth or Eighth part of the People.
And whofoever defigns the change of
Religion in a Country, or Govern-
ment, by any other means than that of
a general Converlion of the People, or
the greateft part of them, defigns all

the

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chap. V^ Of their Religion. tp\i

the Mifchiefs to a Nation, that ufe to
uflier injor attend^ the two greateftDi-
ftempecs of a State, Civil War, or Ty-
ranny -, which are Violence, Oppreffi-
on, Gruelty, Rapine^ Intemperance, In-
juftice, and, in fliort, the miferable Ef-
fufion of Human Blood, and the Con-
fufion of all Laws, Orders, and Vir-
tues, among Men.

Such Confequences as thefe, I doubt,
are fomething more than the difputed
Opinions of any Man, or any particu-
lar AiTembly of Men, can be worth ^
fince the great and general End of all
Religion, next to Mens Happinefs here-
after, is their Happinefs here j as ap^
pears /by ^ the Commandments of God,
being the beft and greateft Moral and
CiviU as well as Divine, Precepts, that
have been given to a Nation j and by
the Rewards proposed to the Piety of
the Jews ^ throughout the Old Tefta--
menr, which were the Blellings of this
Life, as Health, length of Age, number
of Children, Plenty, Peace, or Vi-
ctory.

Now the way to our future Happi-
nefs, has been perpetually difputed
throughout the World, and muft be left
at laft, to the Impreflions made upon

every

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19^ of their Religion. Chap* V-

every Man's Belief, and Confcience^ ei-
ther by natural) or fupernatural. Argu-
ments and Means j which Impreflions
Men may difguife or difTemble, but no
Man can refitt. For Behef is no more
in a Man's Power, than his Stature, or
his Feature > and he that tells me, I
muft change my Opinion for his, be-
caufe 'tis the truer and the better,
without other Arguments, that have to
me the force of Conviftion, may as
well tell me, I muft change my Grey
Eyes, for others like his that are Black,
becaufc thefe are lovelier, or more in
efteem. He that tells me, I muft in-
form my Self, has reafon, if 1 do it:
not: But if I endeavour it all that I
can> and perhaps, more than he ever
did, and yet ftill differ from him ;
and he, that, it may be, is idle, will
have me ftudy on, and inform my felf
better, and fo to the end of my Life ^
then 1 eafily underftand what he means
by informing, which is, in fliort, that
I muft do it, 'till I come to be of his
Opinion.

If he, that, perhaps, purfues his Plea-
sures or Interefts, as much, or more,
than I do ; and allows me to have as
good Sen% as he has in all other mat-
ters 3

Hosted by Google

CJlap. V- Of their Religion^ 1 9 5

ters, tells me, I (hould be of his Opi-
nion, but that Paflion or Intereft
blinds me > unlcfs he can convince me
how, or where, this lics^ he is but
where he was^ only pretends to know
me better than I do my felf, who can-
not imagine, why I fhould not have as
much Care of my Soul, as he has of
His.

A Man that tells me, my Opinions are
abfurd or ridiculous, impertinent or un-
reafonable, becaufe they differ from
His, feems to intend a Quarrel inftead
of a Difpute> and calls me Fool, or
Mad- man, with a httle more Circuni-
ftance-, though, perhaps, Ipafs for one
as well in my Senfes as he, as pertinent
in Talk, and as prudent in Life : Yet
thefc are the common Civilities, in Re-
ligious Argument, of fufficient and
conceited Men, who talk much of
Right Reafon, and mean always their
own 5 and make their private Imagi-
nation the meafure of general Truth.
But fuch Language determines all be-
tween us, and the Difpute comes to
end in three Words at laft, whick_it
might as well have ended in at firft.
That he is in the right, and I am in the
wrong.

O The

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1^4 of their Religion. Chap.V.

The other great End of Religion,

which is our Happinefs here, has been

generally agreed on by all Mankind,

as appears in the Records of

Fimt diverfA rei- ^\{ their Laws, as well' as all
HbHs. qui. qmcmque thcir Rcligions, which come
fiuxer'mt, c&tem fe- to be cftablilli'd by the Concur-
Re^'"^'''''' ^^''•^' rence of Mens Cuftoms and
Opinions > though in the lat-
ter, that Concurrence may have been
produced by Divine Imprellions or In-
fpirations. For all agree in Teaching
and Commanding, in Planting and Im-
proving, not only thofe Moral Virtues^
which conduce to the felicity and tran-
quility of every private Man's Life 5
but alfo thofe Manners and Difpofitions
that tend to the Peace, Order, and
Safety of all Civil Societies and Go-
vernments among Men, Nor could I
ever underftand, how thofe, who call
themfelves, and the World ufually callsj
Religioiis Me7i^ come to put fo great
weight upon thofe Points of Belief
which Men never have agreed in, and
fo little upon thofe of Virtue and Mo-
rality, in which they have hardly ever
difagreed. Nor, why a State (hould
venture the Subveriion of their Peace,
and thcir Order 51 which are certain

Goods,

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chap. V. Of their Religion. i pj

Goods, and fo univerfally efteem'd, for
the Propagation of uncertain or conte-
fled Opinions.

One of the great Caufes of the firfl
Revolt in the Low-Countries y appeared
to be, The Opprellion of MensConfci-
€ncesy or Perfecution in their Liberties,
their £fl:ates and their Lives, upon Pre-
tence of Religion. And this at a time,
when there feemM to be a confpiring
Difpofition in mod Countries of Chri-
fl:endom,to feek the Reformation of fome
Abufes, grown in the Dodrine and Di-
fciphne of the Church, either by the Ruft:
of Time, by NegHgence, or by Human
Inventions, Pallions and Interefts. The
rigid Oppolition given at Rome to this
general Humour, was followed by a de-
fection of mighty Numbers in all thofe
feveral Countries, who profeflcd to re-
form themfclves,according to fuch Rules
as they thought were neceflary for the
Reformation of the Church. Thefe
Perfonis, though they agreed in the
main of difowning the Papal Power,
and reducing Belief from the Autho-
rity of Tradition to That of the Scrip-
turcj yet they differed much among
themfelves in other Circumftanccs, efpe-
cially of Difcipline, according to 'the
O 2 Perfu;*-

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I p4 of their Religion. Chap. V.

Perfuafions ^nd Imprefllons of the
Leading Doftors in their feveral Coun«
tries. So the Reformed of France be-
came univerfally Cahinijis ^ but for
thofe of Germany^ though they were
generally Lutherans^ yet there was a
great mixture both of Calvintfts and
Anabaptifts among them.

The firft Perfecutions of thefe Re-
formed arofe in Germany^ in the time
of Charles the Fifch5 and drove great
]M umbers of them down into the Se-
venteen Provinces, efpecially Holland
and Brabant^ where the Privileges of
the Cities were greater, and the Em-
peror's Government was lefs fevere, as
among the Subjefts of his own Native
Countries. This was the occafion, that
in the Year 15-66, whcn^ upon the firft
Infurreftion in Flanders^ thofe of the
Reformed Profeffion began to form
ConfifiorieS) and levy Contributions
among thcmfelves, for Support of their
Common Caufe-, it was refolved, upon
Confultation, among the Heads of themy
that for declining all Differences among
themftlves> at a time of common Exi-
gence, The publick Profellion of their
Party fliould be That of the Lntherans^
though v/ith Liberty and Indulgence to

thofe

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chap. V. Of their Religion. " ipj

thofe of different Opinions. By the
Union of Utrecht -^ concluded in i f 75),
Each of the Provinces was left to or-
der the matter of Religion, as they
thought fit and mofl: conducing to the
welfare of their Province > with this
Froviiion, that every Man fhould re-
main free in his Rehgion, and none be
examined or entrapped for that caufe^
according to the Pacification at Gant.
But in the Year If 83, it was enaded by
general Agreement, That the Evange-
lical Rehgion fhould be only profeffed
in all the Seven Provinces: Which came
thereby to be the Eflablifht Religion of
this State.

The Reafons, w hich feem'd to induce
them to this Settlement, were many,
and of weight: As firft, becaufebythe
Perfecutions arrived in France^ (where
all the Reformed were Calvinijis) mul-
titudes of People had retired out of
that Kingdom into the Low-Countries :
And by the great Commerce and con-
tinual Intcrcourfe with Englanti^ where
the Reformation agreed much with the
Calvinijis in point of Dodrine, though
more with the Lutherans in point of
Difcipline, Thofe Opinions came to be
credited and propagated more than any
O 3 other

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1 P 8 Of their Religion. Chap. V,

other, among the People of thefe Pro-
vinces, fo as the Numbers were grown
to be greater far in the Cities of This
than of any other Profeilion. Second-
ly, the Succours and Supplies both of
Men and Mony, by which the weak
Beginnings of this Commonwealth were
preferved and fortify'd, came chiefly
from England^ from the Proteftants of
France^ (^when their Affairs were fuc«
cefsful} and from the Calviniji Princes
of Germany^ who lay neareft, and were
readied to relieve them. In the next
place, becaufe thofe of this Profeflion
feem*d the moft contrary and violent
againft the Spaniards^ who made them^
felves Heads of the Roman Catholtcks
thoughout Chriftendom, and the Ha-
tred oi S fairly and their Dominion, was
fo rooted in the Hearts of this People^
that it had Influence upon them in the
very Choice of their Religion. And
lafl:ly, becaufe, by this Profeflion, all
Rights and Jurifdiftion of the Clergy
or Hierarchy being fupprefled, there
was no Ecclefiaftical Authority left to
rife up and trouble or fetter the Civil
Power-, and all the Goods and Pof-
feflipns of Churches and Abbies were
feized wholly into the hands of the State^i

which

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chap- V. Of their Religion. i^c^

which made a great Encreafe of the pub-
lick Revenue, a thing the moft ne-
ceiTary for the Support of their Govern-
ment.

There might perhaps be added one
Rcafon more, which was particular to
One of the Provinces: For, whereas in
moft, if not all, other parts of Chriften-
dom, the Clergy compofed one of the
Three Eflates of the Country, and
thereby (har*d with the Nobles and
Commons in their Influences upon the
Government, that Order never made
any part of the E dates in Holland^ nor
had any Vote in their Aflembly^, which
conlifted only of the Npbles and the
Cities > and this Province bearing always
the greatefl Sway in the Councils of the
Union, was moft enclined to the Settle-
ment of that Profeflion which gave
leaft Pretence of Power or Jurifdi&on
to the Clergy, and fo agreed moft with
their own ancient Conftitutions.

Since this Eftabliftiment, as well as
before^ the great care of this State has
ever been, to favour no particular or
curious Inquifition into the Faith or
Religious Principles of any peaceable
Man, who came to live under the Pro-
teftion of their Laws, and to fuffer
O 4, no

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100 ' of their Religion. Chap.V.

no Violence or Oppreflion upon any
Man's Confcience, whofe Opinions
broke not out into Expreflions or A6tir
ons of ill Confequence to the State. A
free Form of Government either mak-
ing way for more Freedom in Religi-
on y or elfe, having newly contended lb
far themftives for Liberty in this Point,
they thought it the more unreafonable
for them to opprcfs others. Perhaps
while they were fo threatened and en-
dangered by Foreign Armies, they
though it the more neceflary to pro-
vide againft Difcontents within, which
can never be dangerous, where they are
not grounded or fathered upon Op-
preflion in point either of ReHgion or
Liberty. But m thofe two Gales, the
Flame often proves moft violent in a
State, the more 'tis fliut up, or the
longer concealed.

1 he Roman Catholick Religion was
aione excepted from the common Pro-
tection of their Laws, making Men
fas the States believed} worfe Sub-
jtdcs than the reft^ by the acknowledg-
ment of a Foreign and Superior Ju-
rifdidtion ^ for fo muft all Spiritual
Power needs be, as grounded upon
greater Hppes and Fe^r3 than any Gi-

vil^

Hosted by Google

Chap.V. Of their Religion. loi

vilj at leaft, where ever the Perfuafions
from Faith are as ftrong as thofe from
Senfej of which there are fo many
Teftimonies recorded by the Martyr-
doms, Penancesj or Confcientious Re-
ftraints and Severities, fuffer'd by infi-
nite Perfons in all forts of Religions.

Befides, this Profellion feemed ftill
a Retainer of the Spanifh Government,
which was then the great Patron of it
in the World : Yet, fuch was the Care
of this State to give all Men Eafe in
this Point, who ask no more than to
ferve God, and fave their own Souls,
in their own Way and Forms j that
what was not provided for by the
Conftitutions of their Government, was
fo, in a very great degree, by the Con-
nivance of their Officers, who, upon
certain conftant Payments from every
Family, fuffer the Exercife of the Ro-
man Catholick Religion in their feve-
ral Jurifdiftions , as free and eafie,
though not fo cheap, and fo avowed,
as the reft. This, I fuppofe, has been
the reafon, that though thofc of this
Profellion are very numerous in the
Country, among the Peafants, and
conliderable in the Cities 5 and not ad-
jnitted fo any Publick Charges ^ yet

they

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tot of their Religion. Chap. V.

they feem to be a found Piece of the
State, and faft jointed in with the reft ^
and have neither given any Difturbance
to the Government, nor expreft any In-
clinations to a Change, or to any Fo-
reign Power, either upon the former
Wars with Sj^aiuy or the later Invafi-
ons of the Bifhop of Munjier.

Of all other Religions, every Man en-
joys the free Exercife in his own Cham-
ber, or his own Houfe, unqueftioned
and unefpy'd : And if the Followers of
anySe<3: grow fo numerous in any Place,
that they affeft a Publick Congregati-
on, and are content to purchafe a Place
of Aflembly, to bear the Charge of a
Faftor or Teacher, and to pay for this
Liberty to the Publick > they go and
propofe their Dcfi re to the Magiftrates
of the Place where they refide, who in-
form themfelves of their Opinions, and
Manners of Wprfhip^ and if they find
nothing in either, deftrudive to Civil
Society, or prejudicial to the Confti-
tutions of their State, and content
themfelves with the Price that is offerM
for the Purchafe of this Liberty, They
eafily allow itj But with the conditi-
on, That one or more Commiflioners
fliall be appointed, who (hall have free

Admiifion

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chap. V. Of their Religion. 2.03

AdmilTion at all their Meetings, fllall be
both the Obfervcrs and WitnelTcs of
all that is Afted or Preached among
them, and whofe Teftimony fliall be
received concerning any thing that
paiTes there to the Prejudice of the
State: In which cafe, the Laws and
Executions are as fevere as againft any
Civil Crimes.

Thus the Jews have their allowed
Synagogues in Amfierdam and Rotter-
dayn : And in the firft, almoft all Se6ts,
that are known among Chriftians> have
their publick Meeting-places > and
fome whofe Names are almoft worn out
in all other Parts, as the Browniftsy
Familijis^ and others : The Arminiansy
though they make a great Name among
them, by being rather the Diftinftion
of a Party in the State, than a Se£t
in the Church 5 yet are, in comparifon
of others, but few in number, though
confiderable by the Perfons, who are
of the better Quality, the more learned
and intelUgent Men, and many of them
in the Government. The Anabaptifis
are juft the contrary, very numerous,
but in the lower Ranks pf People, Me-
chanicks and Sea-men, and abound
chiefly ip North-Holland.

The

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20 4 0/ t^^^^ Religion. Chap. V,

The Calvinijis make the Body of the
People^ and are pofTefled of all the
publick Churches in the Dominions
of the State, as well as of the only
Minillers or Paftors, who are maintain-
ed by the Publick ^ But thefe have
neither Lands, nor Tithes, nor any
authorized Contributions from the Peo-
ple, but certain Salaries from the State^
upon whom they wholly depend : And
though they are often very bold in
taxing and preaching publickly againft
the Vices, and fometimes the innocent
Entertainments, of Perlbns moft conli-
derable in the Government, as well as
of the Vulgar 3 yet they - are never
heard to ccnfure or control the pub-
lick Aftions or Refolutions of the
State : They are, in general, through-
out the Country, pailionace Friends
to thelnterells of the Houfe o^ Orange i
and, during che Intermifllon of that
Authority, found ways of exprelTing
their Aifedions to the Perfon and For-
tunes of this Prince, without offend-
ing the State, as it was then conftitu-
tt^. They are fierce Enemies of the
Armintan Party, whofe Principles were
thought to lead them, in Barnevelfs
time, towards a Conjundion, or atleaft

Com-

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chap. V- of their Religion. 205

Compliance, with the Spanijh Religion
and Government , both which, the
WoMi^o^ Orange y in the whole courfe
of the War, endeavoured to make irre-
concileable with thofe of the State.

It is hardly to be imagined, how all
the Violence and Sharpnefs, which ac-
companies the Differences of Religion
in other Countries, feems to be ap-
peafed or fofcned here, by the general
Freedom which all Men enjoy, either
by Allowance or Connivance > nor, how
Faftion and Ambition are thereby dif-
abled to colour their IntereiTed arvd
Seditious Defigns with the Pretences
of Religion, which has coil the Chri-
ftian World fo much Blood for thcfe
laft Hundred and Fifty Years. No Man
can here complain of Prefliire in his
Confcience •, Of being forced to any
publick Profefllon of his private
Faith 'y Of being reftrain'd from his
own manner of Worfliip in his Houfe,
or obliged to any other abroad: And
whoever asks more in point of Reli-
gion> without the undifputed Evidence
of a particular Miflion from Heaven^
may be juftly fufpeded, not to ask for
God's fake, but for his own \ lince
pretending to Sovereignty, inftead of

Liberty?

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toS of their Religion. Chap. Vo

Liberty^ in Opinion, is indeed pretend-
ing the fame in Authority too> which
conllfts chiefly in Opinion : And what
Man, or Party foever, can gain the
common and firm Belief, of being moft
immediately infpired, inftruded, or fa-
voured 6f God, will eafily obtain the
Prerogative of being moft honoured and
obey'd by Men.

But in this Commonwealth, no Man
having any reafon to complain of op-
prefllori in Confcience j and no Man
having Hopes, by advancing his Re-
ligion, to form a Party, or break in
upon the State, the Differences in O-
pmion make none in Affeftions, and
little in Converfation, where it ferves
but for Entertainment and Variety,
They argue without Intereft or Anger j
they differ without Enmity or Scorn-,
and they agree without Confederacy.
Men live together, like Citizens of the
Worlds affociated by the common Ties
of Humanity, and by the Bonds of
Peace, under the impartial Protection
of indifferent Laws, with equal En-^
couragement of all Art and Induftry,
and equal Freedom of Speculation and
Enquiry > all Men enjoying their ima-
ginary Excellencies and Acquilltions of

Know-

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chap. V. of their Religion. 2,07

Knowledge, with as much Safety as their
more real Pofleflions and Improvements
of Fortune. The Power of Religion a-
mong kthem, where it is^ lies in every
Man s Heart. The Appearance of it is
but like a piece of Humanity, by which
every one falls moft into the Company
or Converfation of thofe,whafe Cuftoms
and Humours, whofe Talk and Difpo-
fitions he likes beft: And as in other
Places, 'tis in every Man's choice with
whom he will eat or lodge, with whom
go to Market, or to Courts So it
feems to be here, with whom he will
Pray, or go to Church, or Aflbciate
in the Service and Worfliip of God:
Nor is any more Notice taken, or
more Cenfure pafs'd, of what every
one chufes in thefe Cafes, than in the
other.

I believe the Force of Commerce,
Alliances, and Acquaintances, fpreading
fo far as they do in fmall Circuits,
(fuch as the Province of Holland^ may
contribute much to make Converfation,
and all the Offices of common Life, fo
ealie, among fo different Opinions, of
which fo many feveral Perfons are of-
ten in every Man's Eye j and no Man
checks or takes Offence at Faces, or

CuftomSjj

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2 8 of their Religion. Chap. V.

Cuftoms, or Ceremonies, he fc^s every
day, as at thofe he hears of in Places
far diftantj and perhaps by partial Re-^
lations, and comes to fee late in his
Life, and after he has long been pof-
fefs'd by Paffion or Prejudice againft
them. However it is, Religion may
pollibly do more good in other Placcsi
but it does lefs hurt here : And where-
ever the invifible EfFefts of it are the
greateft and moft advantagious, I am
fure the vifible are fo in this Country^
by the continual and undifturbed Civil
Peace of their Government for fo long
a courfe of Years j and by fo mighty
an Encreafe of their People, wherein
will appear to confift chiefly the vaft
Growth of their Trade and Riches,
and confequently the Strength and
Greatnefs of their State,

CHAP.

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icp

CHAP. VL

Of their Trade.

^'Hp^IS evident to thofe^ who have
Jl read the moft, and travdl'd far-
thell, that no Country can be found
either in this prefent Age, or upon Re-
cord of any Story, where fo vaft a
Trade has been managed, as in the nar-
row compals of the Four Maritime
Provinces of this Commonwealth : Nay,
it is generally efleem'd, that they have
more Shipping belongs to them, than
there docs to all the reft of Europe.
Yet they have no Native Commodi-
ties towards the Buildings or Rigging of
the fmalleft VefTeU their Flax, Hemp,
Pitch, Wood, and Iron, coming all from
abroad, as Wool does for cloathing
their Men, and Corn for feeding them.
Nor do I know any thmg properly of
their own growth, that is conhderable
either for their own neceflary ufe, or
for Traffick with their Neighbours,
befides Butter, Cheefe, and Karthen-
P Wares,

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XX c of their Trade. Chap^VL

Wares. For Havens, they have not
any good upon their whole Coaft :
The bed are Heiverjluysy which has no
Trade at alU ^nd FluJJingue^ which has
little, in comparifon of other Towns m
Holland: Y>wt Amlierdam^t\yiK, triumphs
in the Spoils of Lisbon and Antwerp^
(which before engrofs'd the greateft
Trade of Europe and the Indies^ {^^vc^.%
to be the moft incommodious Haven
they have, being feated upon fo (hal-
low Waters, that ordinary Siiips cannot
come up to it without the Advantage
of Tides s nor great ones without
unlading. The Entrance of the Tejfely
and Paflage over the Zudder-Sea^ is
more dangerous than a Voyage from
thence to Spain^ lyi^g ^1^ ^"^ blind
and narrow Channels > lb that it eafily
appears, that 'tis not an Haven that
draws Trade, biit Trade that fills an
Haven, and brings it in vogue. Nor
has Holland ^xo^n rich by any Native
Commodities, but by force of Induftry^
by Improvement and Manufaftyre of
all Foreign Growths > by being the
general Magazine of Europe^ and fur-
niOiing all Parts with whatever the
Market wants or invites 5 and by their
Sea-men, being, a^^they have properly

been

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chap. VL Of their Trade.

been call'd, the common Carriers of
the World.

Since the Ground of Trade cannot
be deduc'd from Havens, or Native
Commodities, (zs may well be conclud-
ed from the furvey oi Holland^ which
has the leaft and the worft> and of
Ireland^ which has the mod and the
bell, of both^} it were not amifs to
confider, from what other fource ic
may be more naturally and certainly
derived : For if we talk of Induftiy,
we are (till as much to feek, what ic
is that makes People induftrious in
one Country, and idle in another. I
conceive the true Original and Ground
of Trade, to be, great multitude of
People crowded into fmall compafs of
Land, whereby all things neceifary to
Life become dear, and all Men, who
have Pofleflions, arc induced to Par-
iimony > but thofe who have none,
are forc'd to Induftry and Labour, or
elfc to Want. Bodies that are vigorous,
fall to Labour j fuch as are not, fupply
that Defeft by fome fort of Inventions
or Ingenuity. Thefe Cuftoms arife firft
from Neceillty, but encreafe by Imita-
tion, and grow in time to be habitual
in a Country J and where-ever they are
Pi fo,

2.1 r

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XIX

of their Trade. Chap. VL

fo, if it lyes upon the Sea, they natu-
rally breakout into Trade, both becaufe,
whatever they want of their own, that
is neccflary to fo many Mens Lives,muft
be fupply*ci from abroad ^ and becaufe,
by the multitude of People, and fmal-
ncfs of Country, Land grows fo dear>
that the Improvement of Mony, that
way, is intonfiderable, and fo turns to
Sea, where the greatnefs of the Profit
makes amends for the Venture.

This cannot be better illuftratcd,
than by its contrary, which appears
no where more than in Ireland ^y where,
by the largcncfs and plenty of the
Food, and fcarcity of People, all things
neceflary to Life are fo cheap, that an
induftrious Man^by Two Days Labour,
may gain enough to feed him the reft
of the Week^ which I take to be a
very plain Ground of the Lazinefs at-
tributed to the People: For Men na-
turally prefer Eafe before Labour, and
will not take pains, if they can live
idle^ though, when, by neccfllty, they
have been inured to it, they cannot
leave it, being grown a cuftom necef-
fary to their Health, and to their very
Entcrtailiment : Nor perhaps is the
change harder, from conftant Eafe to

La-

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chap. VL Of their Trade. % 1 3

Labour, than from conftant Labour to
Eafe.

This Account of the Original of
Trade, agrees with the Experience of
all Ages, and with the Conftitutions
of all Places, where it has moft flou-
ridi'd in the World, as Tyre^ Carthage^
Athens^ Sjracufe^ Agrigentumt Rhodes^
Venice -i Holland -, and will be fo obvi-
ous to every Man, that knows and con-
liders the Situation, the Extent, and
the Nature, of all thofe Countries, that
it will need no Enlargement upon the
Comparifons.

By thefe Examples, which are all of
Commonwealths, and, by the Decay, or
Diffplution, of Trade, in the Six Firll,
when they came to be conquered, or
fubje£ted to Arbitrary Dominions, it
might be concluded, that there is
fomething, in that form of Government^
proper and natural to Trade, in a more
peculiar manner. But the height it ar-
riv'd^to at Bruges and Antwerp^ under
their Princes, for Four or Five Defcents
of the Houfe o^ Burgundfy and Two of
Anjlria^ (hews, it may thrive under
good Princes and Legal Monarchies^ as
well as under Free StateSo Under Ar-
bitrary and Tyrannical Fowcr3 it muft
P3 of

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ii4 Of their Trade. Chap.VL

of neceflity decay and difTolve, be-
caufe this empties a Country of Peo-
ple, whereas the others fill it j this
extinguifhes Induftry, whilft Men are
in doubt of enjoying themfelves what
they get, or leav^ing it to their Chil-
dren *, the others encourage it, by fe-
curing Men of both: One tills a Coun-
try with Soldiers, and the other with
Merchants •, who were never yet
known to live well together, bccaufe
they cannot truft one another: And as
Trade cannot live without mutual truft
among private Men j fo it cannot grow
or thrive, to any great degree, without
a Confidence both of pubhck and private
Safety, and confequently a Truft in the
Government, from an Opinion of its
Strength, Wifdom, and Juftice> which
muft be grounded either upon the Per-
fonal Virtues and Qualities of a Prince,
or elfe upon4:he Conftitutions and Or-
ders of a State.

It appears to every Man's Eye who
hath traveird Holland^ and obferv'd
the number and vicinity of their great
and populous Towns and Villages,
with the prodigious Improvement of
almoft every Ipot of Ground in the
Country^ and the great Multitudes

con-

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chap. VI. Of their Trade. % i j

conftantly employed in their Shipping
abroad, and their Boars at home. That
no other known Country in the
World, of the fame exrent, holds any
proportion with this in numbers of
People ; and if that be the great
Foundation of Trade, the beft ^SiCcownt
that can be given of theirs, will be
by conlidermg the Caufes and Acci-
dents, that have ferv'd to force or in-
vite fo vaft a confluence of People in-
to their Country. In the firft rank
may be placed, the Civil Wars, Cala-
mities, Perfecutions, Oppreilions, or
Difcontents, that have been fo fatal to
m0ft of their Neighbours, for fome
time before as well as iince their State
began.

The Perfecutions for matter of Re-
hgion, in Germany under Charles the
Fifth, in France under* Henry the Se-
cond, and in England under Queen
Marjy forcM great numbers of People
out of all thofe Countries, to Ihelter
themfelves in the feveral Towns of the
Seventeen Provinces, where the ancient
Liberties of the Country, and Privi-
ledges of the Cities, had been invio-
late under fo long a Succefllon of Prin-
ces, and gave Protcftion to tbcfe op-
P 4, preffed

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zi6 Of their Trade. Chap. VI

prefTed Strangers^who filPd their Cities
both with People and Trade, and raised
Antwerp to fuch an height and rc-
nown, as continuM 'till the Duke of
Alva's Arrival in the Lo^jj -Countries,
The Fright of this Man, and the Or-
ders he brought, and Arms to exe-
cute them, began to fcatter the Flock
of People that for fome time had been
nefted there > fo as^in very few Months,
above a Hundred Thoufind Families
remov^'d out of the Country. But
when the Seven Provinces United, and
began to defend themfelves with Sue-
cefs under the Conduft of the Prince
of Orange:, and the Countenance of
England and France-^ and the Perfecu-
lions for Religion began to grow (harp
in the Spanijh Provinces, all the Profef-
fors of the- Reformed Religion, and
Haters of the Spanifh Dominion, retir'd
into the (Irong Cities of this Common-
wealth, and gave the fame Date to the
growth of Trade there, and the Decay
of it at Antwerp,

The long Civil Wars, at firft of
France^ then of Germany-^ and laftly of
England^ ferved to encreafe the fwarm
in this Country, not only by fiich as
V/cre pcrfccuted at home, but great

numbers

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chap. VL Of their Trade. z 1 7

numbers of peaceable Men, who came
here to feek for Quiet in their Lives,
and Safety in their PofTeflions or
Trades j like thofe Birds that upon
the approach of a rough Winter- fea-
fon, leave the Countries where they were
born and bred^ fly away to fome kinder
and fofter Climate, and never return
'till the Frofts are paft, and the Winds
are laid at home.

The Invitation thefe People had, to
fix rather in Holland than in many bet-
ter Countries, feems to have been, at
firft, the great Strength of their Towns,
which by their Maritime Situation,
and the low Flatnefs of their Country,
can with their Sluces overflow all the
Ground about them at fuch diftances,
as to become inacceflible to any Land-
Forces. And this natural Strength has
been improved, efpecially 2ZAmJierdamy
by all the Art and Expence that could
any ways contribute towards the De-
fence of the Place.

Next, was the Conftitution of their
Government, by which, neither the
States-General, nor the Prince, have any
Power to invade any Man's Perfon or
Property within the Precinfts of their
Cities. Npr could it be fear'd that the

Senate

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2 1 8 of their Trade. Chap. VI.

Senate of any Town fliould confpire to
any fuch violence •, nor if they didy
could they poflibly execute it, having
no Soldiers in their Payjand the Burghers
only being employed in the Defence of
their Towns, and Execution of all Civil
Juftice among them.

Thefe Circumftanccs gave fo great a
Credit to the Bank oi Amfterdams and
that was another Invitation for People
to come, and lodge here what part of
their Mony they could tranfport, and
knew no way of fecuring at home.
Nor did thofe People only lodge Mo-
nies here, who came over inco the
Country > but many more, who never
left their own : Though they provided
for a Retreat, or agamft a Storm, and ^
thought no place fo fecure as this, nor
from whence they might fo eafily draw
their Mony into any Parts of the
World.

Another Circumftance, was, the ge-
neral Liberty and Eafe, not only in
point of Confcience, but all others
that ferve to the Commodioufnefs and
Quiet of Life ; every Man following
his own Way, minding his own Buii-
nefs, and little enquiring into other
Mens J whichj I fuppofe, happen 'd by

fo

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chap. VI. of their Trade. 1 1 9

fo great a Concourfe of People of fe-
veral Nations, different Religions and
CuftomSjasleftnoihing ftrange or new^
and by the general Humour, bent all
upon Induftry, whereas Curioiity is
only proper to idle Men.

Befides, it has ever been the great
Principle of their State, running through
all their Provinces and Cities, even with
Emulation^ to make their Country the
common Refuge of all mifcrable Men ^
from whofe Protedion, hardly any Al-
liance, Treaties, or Interefts, have e-
ver been able to divert or remove them.
So as, during the great Dependance
this S^te had upon France^ in the time
of Hmry the Fourth, all the Perfons dif-
graced at that Court or banifh'd that
Country, made this their common Re-
treat s nor could the State ever be
prcvaird with, by any Inflances of the
French Ambaffadors^to refufe them the
ufe and liberty of common Life and Air,
under the Protection of their Govern-
ment.

This firmnefs in the State, has been
one of the Circumftances, that has in-
vited fo many unhappy Men out of all
their Neighbourhood, and indeed from
moft parts ol Europe^ to flielter thcm-

felves

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2 1 o Of their Trade. Chap. VL

felves from the Blows of Juftice, or of
Fortune. Nor indeed does any Coun-
try feem fo proper to be made ufe of
upon fuch Occafions, not only in refpedt
of Safety, but as a Place that holds fo
conftant and eafie Correfpondencies
wath all Parts of the World, and whi-
ther any Man may draw whatever Mo-
ny he has at his Difpofal in any other
Place 5 where neither Riches expofe
Men to Danger, nor Poverty to Con-
tempt : But on the contrary, where
Parfimony is honourable, whether it be
neceffary or no> and he that is forced
by his Fortune to live low, may here
alone live ift Fafhion, and upon equal
Terms (in appearance abroad} with the
chiefefl: of their Minifters, and richeft
of their Merchants : Nor is it eafily
imagin'dj how great an EfFe£t this Con-
flitution among them, may, in cpurfe
of time, have had upon the encreaft
both of their People and their Trade.

As the two firft Invitations of Peo-
ple into this Country, were the
Streng h of their Towns, and Nature
of their Government J fo, two others
have grown with the courfe of Time^
and progrefs of their Riches and
Power. One is the Reputation of their

Govern^

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chap. VL Of their Trade. i z i

Government, ariiing from the Obfer*.
vation of the Succels of their Arms, the
Prudence of their Negotiations, the
Steadinels of their Counfels, the Con--
ftancy of their Peace and Quiet at home,
and the Confideration they hereby arri-
ved at among the Princes and States of
Chriftendom. From all thefe, Men
grew to a general Opinion of the Wif-
dom and Conduft of their State 3 and
of its being eftablifti'd upon Foundations,
that could not be (haken by any com--
mon Accidents, nor confcqucntly in
danger cf any great or fudden Revo-
lutions-, and this is a mighty Induce-
ment to induftrious People to come and
inhabit a Country, who feek not only
fafety under Laws from Juftice ana
Opprcilion, but likewife under the
Strength and good Conduit of a State,
from the Violence of Foreign Invafions,
or of Civil Commotions.

The other, is, the great Beauty of
their Country (forced m time, and by
the Improvements of Induliry,infpighc
of Nature,) which draws every Day
fuch Numbers of curious and idle Per-
fons to fee their Provinces, though not
to inhabit them. And indeed their
Country is a much better Miftrefs

than

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Zll

of their Trade. Chap. VL

than a Wife -, and where few Perfons
who are wdl at home, would be content
to hve-, but where none that have Time
and Mony to fpare, would not for
once be willing to travel > and as Eng-
land (hcwSy in the beauty of the Coun-
try , what Nature can arrive at •, fo
does Holland^ in the number, greatnefs,
and beauty of their Towns, whatever
Art can bring to pafs. But thefe and
many other matters of Speculation a-
mong them, filHng the Obfervations of
all common Travellers, fliall make no
part of mine, whofe defign is rather to
difcover the Caufes of their Trade and
Riches, than to relate the Effefts.

Yet it may be' noted hereupon, as a
piece of Wifdom in any Kingdom or
State, by the Magnificence of Courts,
or of Publick Structures ^ by encou-
raging Beauty in private Buildings, and
the Adornment of Towiis with plea-
fant and regular Plantations of Trees ^
by the Celebration of fome Noble Fe-
Ilivals or Solemnities ^ by the Inftitu-
tion cvf fome great Marts or Fairs > and
by the Contrivance of any extraordi-
nary and renown'd Spe£tacles, to in-
vite and occafion, as much and as of-
ten as can be, the concourfe of bufie

or

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Chap.VL of their Trade. Z13

or idle People from the neighbouring
or remoter Nations^ whofe very Paf-
fage and Intercourfe is a great encreafe
of Wealth and of Trade, and a fecret
Incentive of People to inhabit a Coun-
try, where Men may meet with equal
Advantagesjand more Entertainments of
Life, than in other places. Such were
the Oympick and other Games among
the Griecians 5 fuch the Triumphs,
Trophies, and Secular Plays of old
Rome^ as well as the Speftacles exhi-
bited afterwards by the Emperors,
with fuch ftupendious Effeds of Art
and Expence, for courting or enter-
taining the People ^ fuch the Jubi-
lees o^Nc^ Rome} the Jufts and Tour-
naments formerly ufed in moft of the
Courts of Chriftendom} the FeftivaPs
of the more celebrated Orders of
Knighthood •, and in particular Towns,
the Carnavals and Fairs > the KirmiQies,
which run through all the Cities of the
Netherlands^znd in fome of them, with
a great deal of Pageantry, as well as
Traffick , being equall Baits of Pleafure
and of Gain.

Having thus difcover'd, what has
laid the great Foundations of their
Trade, by the multitude of the People,

which

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tLi4 of their Trade. Chap. VL

which has planted and habituated In--
duftry among them, and^ by that, all
forts of Manufafture^ as well as Par*
iimony, and thereby general Wealth :
I (hall enumerate very briefly, fome
other Circumftances, that feem, next
to thefe, the chief Advancers and En-
couragers of Trade in their Coun-
try.

Low Intereft, and dearnefs of Land,
are EfFefts of the Multitude of People^
and caufe of fo much Mony to lye ready
for all Projeds, by which gain may be
cxpefted, as the cutting of Canals, ma-
king Bridges and Cawfies, levelling
Downs, and draining Marflies, befides
all new Effays at Foreign Trade, which
are proposed with any probability of
Advantage.

The uTe of their Banks, which fecures
Mony, and makes all Payments eafie,
2nd Trade quick.

The Sale by Regiftry, which was
introduced here and in Flanders in the
time of Charles the Fifth, and makes
all Purchafcs fafe.

The Severity of JuiTice, not only
agjinft all Thefts, but all Cheats, and
Counterfeits of any Publick Bills,
(which is capital among them,} and

even

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Cliap. VL Of their Trade. %z<;

even againft all common Beggars, who
are difpos'd of either into Work-hou-
ksy or Hofpitals, as they are able or
Hnable to labour.

The Convoys of Merchant-Fleets in-
to all parts, even in time of Peace, but
efpecially into the Streights ; which
give their Trade Security againft many
uncxpefted Accidents, and their Nati-
on Credit abroad, and breeds up Sea-
men for their Ships o^ War:
. The Lownefs of their Cuftoms, and
Eafinefs of paying them, which^ witl^
the Freedom of their Ports, invite both
Strangers and Natives to bring Com-
modicies hither, not only as to a Mar-
ket, but as to a Magazine, where they
lodge ^till they are invited abroad to o»
ther and better Markets,

Order and Exadfnefs in managing
their Trade, which brings thrir Com-
modities in Credit abroad. This was
firft introduced by fevere Laws and Pe=.
ijalries, but is tmco:. grown into Cu-
ftom. Thus there have been above
Thirty feveral Placarts about the man-
ner of curing, picklingv and barrelling
Herrings. Thus all Arms made at U-
trfcht:, are forfeited, if ibid without
Mark, or marked without Trial And I
Q^ ©bfer-

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^i6 of their Trade. Chap. VL

obferved in their Indian-HouCcy that all
the Pieces of Scarlet, which are fent in:
great quantities to thofe Parts, are mark-
ed with the Eng/ijb Armsy and Infcrip-
tions in Englijh ^ by which they main-
tain the Credit gained to that Commo-
dity, by our former Trade to Parts,
where ^tis now loft or decayed.

The Government managed either by
Men that trade, or whofe Families have
rifen by it, or who have themfelves fome
Intereft going in other Mens Traffick,
or who are born and bred in Towns,
the Soul and Being whereof confifts
wholly in Trade, which makes fure of
all favour, thatj from time to time^
grows neceffary, and can be given it
by the Government.

The Cuftom of every Town's affeft-
ing fome particular Commerce or Sta-
ple, valuing it fclf thereupon, and fo
improving it to the greateft height 3 as
Flajjingiie-, by that of the JVeJi - Indies ;
Middlebtirghy oiFrenchV^mts-y Terveery
by the Scouh Staple ^ T>ort^ by the
EngliJhStA^Xc and Rhemjh Wines •, Rot^
ierdam^ by the Englijh and Scotch Trade
at large, and h^FrenchWmtSy Leyderii
by the Manufafture of all forts of
Stuffs, Silk, Hair, Gold and Silver 5

Hosted by Google

Chap.VL Of their "n^adc. ii;

Haerlemy by Linnen, Mixt-StuflFi, and
Flowers J "iyelf^ by Beer and Dutch-
Purcelanej Surdam^ by the Built of
Ships > Enchujfen and Mazlandjluys^
by Herring- Fifhing; Friezldndy by the
Greenland Trade ^ and Amflerdamy by
that of the Eaji-Indies^ Spain^ and the
Streights.

The great Application of the whole
Province to the Fifliing-Trade, upon
the Coafts of England and Scotland^
which employs an incredible number of
Ships and Sea-men, and fupplies moft
of the Southern Parts oi Europe with a
rich atid neceflary Commodity.

The laft, I mall mention, is, the
mighty Advance they have made to-
wards engrofling the whole Commerce
of the EaJl'Indiesy by their Succelles
againft the ^ortuguefeSy and by their
many Wars and Viftorics agiinft the
Natives, whereby they have forced
them to Treaties of Commerce, ex-
clufive to all other Nations, and to th€
Admiflion of Forts to be built upon
Streights and Paflcs, that command the
Entrances into the Traiffick of fuch
Places. This has been atchieved by
the multitude of their People and Ma-
riners, that has been able to furniih
0^2 every

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2.x8 of their Trade. Chap. VL

every Year fo many great Ships for
fuch Voyages, and to lupply the lofs of
fo many Lives, as the Changes of Cli-
mate have coft, before they learnt the
method of living' in them : By the vaft-
nefs of the Stock that has been turned
wholly to that Trade •, and by the
Condud and application of the Ea/i-
India Company, who have managed it
like a Common-wealth, rather than a
Trade, and thereby rais'd a State in
the Indies^ govern d indeed by the
Orders of the Company, but other-
wife appearing to thofe Nations like a
Sovereign State, making War and Peace
with their greateft: Kings, and able to
bring to Sea Forty or Fifty Men of
Warj and Thirty Thoufand Men at Land,
by the modefteft Computations. The
Srock of this Trade, befides what it
turns to in France y Spain^ Italy^ the
Stretghts^ and Germany ^ makes them fo
great Mailers in the Trade of the Nor-
thern Parts of Europe^ as Mufconjy^ To-
land^ Tomer anidy and all the Balticky
where the Spices, that are an Indian
Drug, and European Luxury, command
all the Commodities of thofe Coun-
tries, which are fo neceflary to Life, as
then' Corn \ and to Navigation, as

Hempr

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chap, VI. Of their Trade. 125)

Hemp> Pitch 3 Mafts, Planks, and
Iron.

Thus the Trade of this Country is
difcover'd to be no EfFeft of common
Contrivances, of natural Difpofitions or
Situation, or of trivial Accidents^ but
of a great Concurrence of Circum-
ftances, a long courfe of Time, force
of Orders and Method, which never
before met in the World to fuch a de-
gree, or with fo prodigious a Succefs,
and perhaps never will again. Having
grown, (to fum up all} from the Si-
tuation of their Country, extended
upon the Sea^ divided by Two fuch
Rivers as the Rhine and the Mofe^
with the Vicinity of the EmSy IVefer^
and Elve} From the Confluence of
People out of Flanders^ England y
France^ and Germany^ invited by the
Strength of their Towns, and by the
Conftitutions and Credit of their Go-
vernment > By the Liberty of Confci-
ence, and Security of Life and Goods,
(^fubjefted only to conftant Laws 5}
From general Induftry and Parlimo^y^
occafion'd by the Multitude of People^
and Smalnefs of Country j From
cheapnefs and eafinefs of Carriage by
convenience of Cahals % From low Ul>^
0^3 and

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^j© of their Trade. Chap.VL

and dcarnefs of Land, which turn Mo-
ney to Trade^ the Inftitution of Banks j
Sale by Rcgiftry •, Care of Convoys ^
Smalnefs of Cuftoms y Freedom of
Forts 5 Order in Trade ^ Intereft of
Perfons in the Government > particular
Traffick affected to particular Places^
Application to the Fifliery 3 and Acqui-
litions in the Eaji-Indies.

It is no confVant Rule, That Trade^
makes Riches -, for there may be a
Trade that impoverifhes a Nation : As
it is not going often to Market, that
enriches the Gpuntry-man 5 but, on
the contrary, if, every time he comes
there, he buys to a greater value than
he fells, he grows the poorer, the oft-
lier he goes: But the only and cer-
tain Scale of Riches, arifing from Trade
in a Nation, is the Proportion of what
is exported for the Confumption of
others, to what is imported for their
own.

The true ground of this Proportion
lies in the general Induftry and Parfi-
mony of a People, or in the contrary
of both, Induftry encreafes the Na-
tive Commodity, either in the Produft
of the Soil, or the Manufactures of
the Country, which raifes the Stock

for

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chap. VI. Of their Trade. 151

for Exportation. Parfimony leiTens the
confumption of their own> as well as
of Foreign, Commodities > and not
only abates the Importation by the iaft,
but encreafes the Exportation by the
iirftj for, of all Native Commodities,
the lefs is confumed m a Country^
the more is exported abroad j there
being no Commodity, but, ,at one Price
or other, will find a Market, which
they will be Mafters of, who can af-
ford it cheapeft : Such are always the
moft induftnous and parfimonious Peo-
ple, who can thrive by Prices, upon
which the Lazy and pxpenfive cannot
live.

The vulgar Miftake, That Importa»
tion of Foreign Wares, if purchafed
abroad with Native Commodities, and
not with Mony, does not make a Na-
tion pooref, is but what every Man^
thatgiveshimfelf Leifurc to think, muft
immediately reftifie, by finding out^
that, upon the end of an Account be-
tween a Nation, and all they deal
with abroad, whatever the Exportation
wants in value, to balance that of the
Importation, muft of necellity be made
up with ready Mony,

By this we find out the FoyndatioB
CL4. .#f

Hosted by Google

132. of their Trade. Chap. VL

of the Riches of Holland^ as of their
Trade by the Circumftances already re-
hearfed. For never any Country tra-
ded (o much, and confumed fo httle:
They buy infinitely, but 'tis to fell
again, either upon Improvement of the
Commodity, or at a better Market,
They are the great Mafters of the In-
dian Spices, and of the Terfian Silks >
but wear plain Woollen, and feed up-
on their own Fi(h and Roots. Nay,
they fell the fineft of their own Cloth
to France^ and buy coarfe out of Eng-
land for their own Wear. They fend
abroad the beft of their own Butter,
into all parts, and buy the cheapeft out
of Ireland^ or the North of England^
for their own ufe. In fhort, they fur-
nilh infinite Luxury, which they never
praftife 3 and traflick in Pleafures, which
they never tafte.

The Gentlemen and Officers of the
Army change their Cloaths and their
Modes like their Neighbours. But a^
mong the whole body of the Civil
Magiftrates, the Merchants, the rich
Traders, and Citizens in general, the
pafiiions cqntinue ftill the fame. And
others, as conilant among the Sea-meu
^ind Poors : So that Men leave oif
' iheir^

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Chap. VI. of their Trade. a 3 5

their Clothes> only becaufe they are
worn out, and not becaufe they are out
of Fafhion.

Their great Foreign Confumption is
French VJinc and Brandy-, but that may
be allowed them, as the only Reward .
they enjoy of all their Pains^ and as
that alonC) which makes them rich and
happy in their voluntary Poverty, who
would otherwife feem poor and wr.tch-
ed in their real Wealth. Befides, what
they fpend in Wine, they fave in Corn
to make other Drinks,^ which is bought
from Foreign Parts. And upon a prel-
fure of their Affairs, we fee now for
Two Years together, they have deny'd
themfclves even this Comfort, among
all their Sorrows, and made' up in pai-
live Fortitude, whatever they have want-
ed in the aftive.

Thus it happens, that much going
conftantly out, either in Commodity^
or in the Labour of Sea- faring- men ;
and little coming in to be con fumed
at home^ the reft returns in Coin^
and fills the Country to that degree,
that more Silver is feen in Holland^
among the common Hands and Furfes5
than Brafs either in Spam or inFrarice ^
phough one be (o rich in the bell

Native

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^ 3 4 Of their Trade. Chap. VL

Native Commodities, and the other
drain all the Treafuries of the Wefi-^
Indies.

By all this Account of their Trade
and Riches, it will appear. That fome
of our Maxims are not fo certain, as
they are current, in our common Po-
hticks. As firil, That Example and
Encouragement of Excefs and Luxury,
if employed in the Confumption of
Native Commodities, is of Advantage
to Trade: It may be fo to that which
impoveriOies, but is not to that which
enriches a Country •, and is indeed
\tk prejudicial, if it lye in Native,
than in Foreign, Wares. But-the Cu-
Horn, or Humour, of Luxury and Ex-
pence, cannot ftop at certain Bounds :
What begins in Native will proceed in
Foreign Commodities : And though
rhe Example arife amon-g idle Ferfons,
yet the Imitation will run into all De-
grees, even of thofe Men by whofeln-
duftry the Nation fubfifts- And befides,
the more of our own we fpend, the
Icfs we fliall have to fend abroad-, and
io it will come to pafs, that while we
drive a vaft Trade, yet, by buying
much more than we fell, we (liall
come to be poor: Whereas when we

drove

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chap. VL of their Trade. 235

drove a very fmall Traffick abroad^
yet by felling fo much more than we
bought, we were very rich in propor-
tion to our Neighbours. This appeared
in Eduard the Third's time, when we
maintained fo mighty Wars in France^
and carry'd our victorious Arms into
the Heart of Spain : Whereas, in the
28th Year of that King's Reign, the
Value, and Cuftom, of all our Ex-
ported Commodities , amounted to
294184/. — ly s, — 2 d. And that of
Imported, but to 3 85)70/. — o^s, — 6d,
Soy as there mufl have enter'd that Year
into the Kingdom in Coin, or Bullion,
(^or elfe have grown a Debt to the Na-
tion) 25'f2i4/ — 13 J. — Sd. And yet
we then carry 'd out onr Wools un-
wrought, and brought in a great part
of our Cloaths from Flanders.

Another common Maxim is^ That if^
by any Foreign Invafion, or Servitude,
the State, and confequently the Trade,
of Holland,^ fliould be ruin'd, the laft
would of courfe fall to our fliare in
England. Which is no confequence :
For it would certainly break into fe-
veral pieces, and fliift, either to us, to
Flanders^ to the Hans Towns^ or any
other PartS; according as the niofl: of

thofe

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^ J ^ of their Trade. Chap. YL

diofe Circumftances (hould any where
concur to invite it, (^and the likeft to
fuch,} as appear to have formerly
drawn it into Holland^ by fo mighty a
Confluence of People, and fo gene-
ral a Vein of Induftry and Parfimony
among them. And whoever pretends
to equal their Growth in Trade and
Riches, by other ways than ffuch as
are already enumerated, will prove, I
doubt, either to deceive, or to be de^
ceived.

A Third i^y That if that State were
reducM to great Extremities, fo as to
become a Province to fome greater
Power, they would cliufe our Subje-
ftion rather than any other ; or thofe,
at lead:, that are the Maritime, and
the richeft of the Provinces. But it
will be more rcafonably concluded,
from dl the former Diicourfcs, That
though they may be divided by ab-
folute Conqueds, they will never, di-
vide themfelves by confcnt, but all fall
one way, and, by common Agreement,
jUake the beft Terms they can for their
Country, as a Province, if not as a
State: And before they come to fuch
an Extremity, they will firft feek to be
admitted, as a i5(f^/V- Circle, in the

Empire^

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chap. VI. Of their Trade. 1 3 7

Empire (which they were of old 5} and
thereby receive the Proteftion of that
Mighty Body, which, (as far as great
and fmaller things may be compared}
leems the likeft their own State in its
main Conftitutions, but efpecially in
the Freedom or Sovereignty of the Im-
perial Cities. And this I have often
feeard their Minifters fpeak of, as their
laft Refuge, in cafe of being threatened
by too ftrong and fatal a Conjun-
dure.

And if this fhould happen> the Trade
of tht Provinces would rather be pre-
ferv'd or encreas'd, than any way bro-
ken or deftroy'd by fuch an Alteration
of their State, becaufe the Liberties of
tiie Country would continue what they
are, and the Security would be greater
than now it is.

The laft I will mention is of another
Vein > That if the Prince of Orange were
made Soveraign of their Country, tho'
by Foreign Arms, he would be a great
Prince, becaufe this now appears to
be fo great a State< Whereas, on the
contrary, thofe Provinces would foon
become a very mean Country. For
fuch a Power muft be maintained by
Force, as it would be acquired, and as

indee(i

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l^S of their Trade. Chap. VL

indeed all abfolute JDominion muft be
in thofe Provinces. This would raifc
general Difcon tents > and thofe perpe-
tual Seditions among the To wns^ which
would change the Orders of the Coun-
rry, endanger the Property of Private
Men, and (hake the Credits and Safety
of the Government : Whenever this
fhould happen, the People would fjat-
rcr, Induftry would faint. Banks would
diffolvc^ and Trade would decay to fuch
adegree^ as probably, incourfeof time,
their very Digues would be no longer
maintained by the Defences of a weak
People againft fo furious an Invader 5
but the Sea would break in upon their
Land, and leave their chiefefl Cities
ro be Fi(her-Towns, as they were of
ojd.

Without any fuch great Revoluti-
ons, I am of opinion, That Trade has,
for fome Years ago, paft its Meridian,
and begun fenfibly to decay among
them: Whereof there feem to be fe-
vcral Caufes 3 as firf!:, the general
Application, that fo many other Nati-
ons have made to it, within thefe two
or three and twenty Years. For iince
the Peace of Miinjier^ which reftorcd
the Quiet of Chriftendom in 1648,

not

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chap. VI. of their Trade. % 3 ^

not only Sue den and "Denmarki but
France and England^ have more parti-
cularly, than ever before, buficd the
Thoughts and Counfels of their feverai
Governments, as well as the Humours
of their People, about the matters of
Trade.

Nor has this happened without good
degrees of Succcfsj though Kingdoms
of fuch Extent, that have other and
Nobler Foundations of Greatnefs, can-
not raife Trade to fuch a Pitch as this
little State, which had no other to
build upon J no more than a Man, who
has a fair and plentiful Eftatc, can fall
to Labour and Induftry, like one that
has nothing elfc to truft to for the
fupport of his Life. But however, all
thele Nations have come of late to
rtiare largely with them ^ and there
feem to be grown too many Traders
for Trade in the World, fo as they
can hardly live one by another. As
in a great populous Village, the firll
Grocer, or Mercer, that fets up among
them, grows prefently rich, having all
the Cuftom •, 'till another, encouraged
by his Suceefs, comes to fet up by bini,
and fliare in his Gains-, at length fo
many fall to the Trade, that nothing is

got-

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i 4 ^ ^/ f^^^^ TraJe. Chap, VL

got by its and fome muft give oVer> or
all muft break.

Not many Ages paft, Venice ^itidFlo-^
rence pollefs'd all the Trade o^ Europe i
the laft by their Manufadtures > but
the iirft by their Shipping : And the
whole Trade of "Perjia and the Indiesy
whofe Commodities were brought
(Thofe by Land^ and Thefe by the
Arabtan'^ti^^ .to Egypt:, from \Vhence
they were fetched by the ^^/<?r/^;^ Fleets,
and difperfed into moft of the parts of
Europe: And in thofe Times we find
the whole Trade of England was dri-
ven by Venetians^ Florentines^ and
Lombards, The EaJlerfitigSy who were
the Inhabitants of the Ha?2S-To\vns^
as T>antzaC:, Lubeick^ Hamburgh-^ and
others upon that Coaft 5 fell next
into Trade, and managed all that of
thefe Northern parts for many Years,
and brought ic firft down to B^uges^
and from rhenee xo Antwerp, The firit
Navigations of the Tortuguefes to the
EafiJndies broke the Greatnefs of the
Venetian Trade, and drew it to Lisbon:
And the Revolt of the Netherlands^
that of Antwerp to Holland, But in
all this time^ the other and greater
Nations o^ Europe concern'd themfelve's

little

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Ghap, VL Of their Trader 241

little in it 5 their Trade was War ^
their Counfels and Enterprifes were
bufied in the Quarrels of the Half
Landy or in thofe between the Popes
and the Emperors, (^both of the fame
Forge, engaging all Chriftian Princes,
and ending m the greatnefs of the Ec-
ciefiaftical State throughout Chriften-
dorn :} Sometimes in eb. mighty Wars
between England and France^ between
France and Spain : The more general,
between Chriftians and Turks y or more
particular Quarrels between lefTer and
neighbouring Princes. In fliort, the
Kingdoms and Principahties were in
the World like the Noblemen and
Gentlemen in a Country •, the Free-
States and Cities, like the Merchants
and Traders : Thefe at firft dcfpis'd
by the others •, the others ferv'd and
rever'd by them^ 'till by the various
courfe of Events in the World, fome
of thefe came to grow Rich and Pow-
erful by Induflry and Parfimony j and
fome of the others, Poor by WAar and
by Luxury: Which made the Traders
begin to take upon them, and carry it
like Gentlemen > and the Gentlemen
begin to take a fancy of falling to
Trade. By this fliort account it will

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Z4^ of their Trade. Chap.VL

appear no wonder^ either that particu-
lar Places grexy fo Rich, and fo Migh«
ty, while they alone enjoyed aimoft
the general Trade of the World j nor
why not only the Trade in Hollandi
but the Advantage of it in general,
ihould feem to be leflen'd by to many
that fliare it.

Another Caufe of its Decay in that
State, may be, that, by the mighty
Progrefs of their Eafl-India Company^
the Commodities of that Country
are grown more than thefe parts of
the World can take ofFj and confe-
quently, the Rates of them muft needs
be lericned, while the Charge is en-
creas'd by the great Wars, the Armies,
and Forts, ncceflary to maintain, or ex«
tend, the Acquifitionsof that Company,
in the Indies, For, inftead of Five, or
Six, E^fi'India Ships, which ufed to make
the Fleet of the Year, they are now
rifen to Eighteen or Twenty, (I think
Two and Twenty came in one Year to
the United "Trovinces?) This i^ the rea«
fon, why the particular Perfons of that
Company v\ Holland^ make not fo
great Advantage of the fame Stock, as
thofe of ours do in England *y though
their Company be very much richerii

and

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chap. Vt Of their Trade. 14. j

and drives a far greater Trade than
oursj which is exhaulled by no Charge
of Armiesy or Forts, or Ships of War :
And this is the Reafon, that the "Dutch
are forced to keep fo long and (o much
of thofe Commodities m their Maga-
zines here, and to bring them out,
only as the Markets call for them^ or
are able to take off 5 and why they
bring (o much lefs from the Indies^
than they were able to do^ if th:re
were Vent enough here : As I remem-
ber, one of their Sea-men^ newly land-
ed out of their E aft- India Fleets in the
Year 65?^ upon Difcourfe in a Boat be-
tween Delf arid Leyden^ faid, he had
feen, before he came away, thtec heaps
of Nutmegs burnt at a time, each of
which was more than a fmall Church
could hold, which he pointed ac in a
Village that was in fight.

Another Caufe niay be, the great
cheapnefs of Corn, which has been
for thefe Dozen Years, or more, gene-
ral in ;ill thefe Parrs of Europe^ and
which has a very great Influence upom
the Trade of Holland, For a great
Vent o^ Indian Commodities, (^at leaft
the Spices which are the grofs of them}
ufed ro be made into the Northern
\ R t part«

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3

244 of their Trade. Chap.VL

parts of Europe^ in Exchange for Corp^
while it was taken off at good rates
by the Markets of Flanders^ England^
France^ Spain^ or Italy ; in all which
Countries it has of late Years gone fo
low? as to difcourage the Import of fo
great Quantities, as ufed to come from
^Poland and Truffiay and other parts of
the North. Now the lefs Value thofe
Nations receive for Corn, the lefs they
are able to give for Spice, which is a
great Lofs to the Stitch on both fides,
leflening the Vent of their Indian Ware
in the Northern, and the Traffick of
Corn in the Southern parts. The caufe
of this great cheapnefs of Corn feems
no be, not fo much a courfe of plenti-
ful and feafonable Years, as the gene-
ral Peace that has been in Europe fince
the Year 59 or 60 > by which fo many
Men and fo much Land have been
turned to Husbandry, that were before
employed in the Wars, or lay wafted
by them in all the Frontier-Provinces
of France and Spain^ as well as through-
out Germany i before the Peace of Mun-
Jter s and in England^ during the Afti-
ons or Confequences of a Civil War :
And Plenty grows not to a height,
but by the Succeflion of fever al peace-
ful

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chap. VI. Of their Trade. 2.45

fill, as well as feafonable, Years.
The laft Claufe I will mention, is,
the mighty Enlargement of the City of
Amfierdam, by that which is called the
New Town; the Extent whereof is
fo <bacious, and the Buildings of fo
much greater Beauty and Coft than
the Old, that it muft have employ'd a
vaft Proportion of that Stock which
in this City was before wholly turned
to Trade. Befides there feems to have
been growing on for thefe later Years,
a greater Vie of Luxury and Expence
among many of the Merchants of that
Town, than was ever formerly known :
Which was obferved and complained
of, as well as the Enlargement of their
City, by fome of the wifeft of their
Minifters, while I refided among them,
who defigned fome Regulations by
Sumptuary Laws > as knowing the
very Foundations of their Trade
would foon be undermined, if the ha-
bitual Induftry, Parfimony, and Sim-
plicity of their People, came to be
over-run by Luxury, Idlenefs, and Ex-
cefs. However it happcn'd, I found it
agreed by all the moft diligent and cir-
cumfpeft Enquiries I could make, that
in the Years dp and 70, there was
R 3| hardly

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5

xj^6 Of their T^ade. Chap.VL

hardly any Foreign Trade among them
befides that of the Indies j by which
the Traders made the Returns of their
Mony 5 without Lofs y and none, by
which the common Gain was above
Two or Three in the Hundred. So, a§
it feems to be with Trade, as with the
Sea, (its Element,) that has a certain
pitch, above which it never rifes in the
higheft Tides 5 and begins to Ebb, as
foon as ever it ceafes to Flow ^ and
ever Iqfes ground in one place,^ pro-
portionably to what ;t gains in ano-
ther.

CHAP.

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^47

CHAP. VIL

of their Forces and Revenues.

np^HE Strength, and Forces, of a
JL Kingdom, or State, were meafu-
red, in former Ages, by the Numbers of
Native and Warlike Subjefts, which
they could draw into the Field, upon
any War with their Neighbours. Na-
tional Quarrels were decided by Nati-
onal Armies, not by Stipendiary For-
ce's, (raifed with Mony, or maintained
by conftant Fay.} In the feveral King-
doms and Principalities of Europe^ the
Bodies of their Arinies were compo-
fed, as they are ftill in Tolandy of the
Nobility and Gentry, who were bound
to attend their Princes to the Wars,
with certain Numbers of Armed Men^
according to the Tenure and Extent of
the feveral Lordfhips, and Lands, they
held of the Crown : Where thefe were
not proportionable to the Occafion^
the reft were made up of Subjefts
drawn together by Love of their Prince^
R 4 or

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^4* Of their Forces Chap.VlL

or their Country : By defire of Con-
queft and Spoils, or neceility of De-
fence; Held together by Allegiance op
Religion J and fpirited by jHonour,
Revenge, or Avarice ("not of what they
could gut fiom their Leaders^ but from
their Enemies,} A Battel or TwOj
fairly fought, decided a War •, and a
War ended the Quarrel of an Age,
and either loft or gain'd the Caufe or
Country contended for : 'Till the
change of Times and Accidents brought
it xo a new Decilion > 'till the Virtues
and Vices of Princes made them
ftronger or weaker, either in the Love
^nd Obedience of their People, or in
fuch Orders and Cuftoms as rendered
their Subjefts more or lefs Warlike or
Effeminate, Standing- Forces or Guards
in conftant Pay, were no where us'd
by lawful Princes in their Native or
Hereditary Countries, but only by
Conquerors in fubdued Provinces, or
Ufurpers at home ^ and were a De-
fence only againft Subjefts, not againft
Enemies.

Thefe Orders feem firft to have been
changed in Europe by the Two States
of Venice and Holland: Both of them
fmgll in Territories a? Land, and thofe

extended

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Ghap. VII. and Revenues. ^45>

extended in Frontier upon powerful
Neighbours •, both of them weak in
number of Native Subjefts > and thofe
lefs warlike at Land, by turning fo
much to Traffick> and to Sea: But
both of them mighty in Riches and
Trade •, which made them endeavour
to balance their Neighbours Strength
in Native Subjects, by Foreign Stipen-
diary Bands : and to defend their
Frontiers by the Arts of Fortification,
and Strength of Places, which might
draw out a War intp length by Sieges,
when they durft not venture it upon
a Battel-, and fo make it many times
determine by force of Mony, rather
than of Arms. This forced thofe Prin-
ces, who frontier^ upon thefe States,
to the fame Provifions> which have
been encreasM by the perpetual courfe
of Wars, upon the Continent of Eu-
rope^ ever fmce the Rife of this State,
until tli.e Peace o^t\i&Tirenees^ between
Princes bordering one upon the other \
and fo, ready for fudden Inroads orln-
vafions.

The Force therefore of thefe Pro-
vinces is to be meafur'd, not by the
Number or Difpofitions of their Sub-
lets, but by the Strength of their Ship-

Pii^g>

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25 P Of their Forces Chap, VIL

ping, and ftanding-1 roops, which they
conilantly maintain, even in time of
Peace i and by the Numbers of both,
which they have been able to draw
into the Field, and tq Sea, for Support
of a War: By their conftant Revenue
to maintain the firft^ and by the tem-
porary Charge, they have been able to
furnifli, for Supply of the other.

I will not enumerate their Frontier
Towns, (which ^s ^ comrnqn Theme,}
or the Forces neceflary for the Garri-
fons of them. Nor che Nature and Va-
riety of their Taxes and Impofitions,
though I have an exaft Lift of them by
mc, expreffing the feveral Kinds, Rates,
and Proportions, upon every Province
and Town: But this would fwell a Dit
courfe, with a great deal of tedious
matter, and to little purpofe. I ftiall
therefore be content only to obferve,
what I have informed my felf of their
Forces, and Revenues in general, from
Perfons among them, the beft able tQ
give that Account.

The ordinary Revenue of this State
confifts, either in what is levied in the
conquered Towns, and Country of
Brabanty Flanders ^ qr thtRkine^ which
is wholly adminxfter'd by the Council

of

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chap. VII. and Revenues, ij i

pf State: Or elfe, the ordinary Fonds,
which the Seven Provinces provide
every Year according to their feveral
Proportions, upon the Petition of the
Council of State, and Computation of
the Charge of the enfuing Year> gtven
in by them to the States- General. And
this Revenue commonly amounts to
about one and twenty MilHpns of Gil-
ders a Year > every Million making a-
bout Ninety Thoufand Pounds Sterling-^
intrinfick Vdue.

The chief Fonds out of which this
rifeSj) is, the Excife and the Culloms :
The firft is great, and fo general, that
I have heard it obferv'd at Amfterdam-i
That when in a Tavern, a certain Difh
of Fifli is eaten with the ufual Sawce,
above Thirty feveral Excifes are paid,
for what is necellary to that fmall
Service. The laft: are low and eafie,
and apply 'd particularly to the Admi«
ralty.

Out of this Revenue is fupply'd the
Charge of the whole Milice, of all Pub-
lick Officers of the State, aaid Ambaf.
fadors, .or Minifters abroad,- and the
Intereft of about Thirteen Millions ow-^
ing by the States- General,
^\i^ Standing- Forces in the Year 70,

upon

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^S^ of their Forces Chap, VII.

upon fo general a Peace, and after all
Reformations, were Twenty $ix Thou-
fand Two Hundred Men, in Ten Regi-
ments of Horfe, confifting of Fifty
Troops •, and Nineteen of Foot, con-
fifting of Three Hundred and Eighty
Companies. The conftant charge of
thefe Forces flood them in Six Millions
One Hundred and Nineteen Thoufand
Gilders a Year.

Their Admiralties, in time of Peace,
maintain between Thirty and Forty
Men of War, employed in the feveral
Convoys of their Merchants Fleets, in
a Squadron of Eight or Ten Ships to
attend the Algertnes and other Cor fairs
in thcMediterraneam and fome always
lying ready in their Havens for any
fudden Accidents or Occafions of the
State. The common Expence of the
Admiralties in this Equipage, and the
Built Qf Ships, is about Six Millions a
Year.

Belides the Debt of the Generalty,
the Province of Holland owes about
Sixty Five Millions, for which they pay
Intereft at Four in the Hundred 5 but
with fo great Eafe and Exadncfs both
in Principal and Intereft, that no Man
ever demands it twice ^ they might

take

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chap. VII- and Revenues. 15 j

take up whatever Mony they defir*d.
Whoever is admitted to bring in his
Mony^ takes it for a great deal of Fa-
tour > and when they pay off any
part of the Principal, thofe, it belongs
to, receive it with Tears, n6t knowing
how to difpofe of it to Intereft, with
fuch Safety and Eafe. And the com-
mon Revenue of particular Men lies
much in the Cantores, either of the Ge-
nerality, or the fevcral Provinces, which
arc the Rcgiftries of thefe publick
Debts.

Of the feveral Impofts and Excifes>
thofe that are upon certain, and immo-
vable PofTeflions (as Houfes and Lands}
are collefted by the Magiftratcs of the
feveral Places, and by them paid in to
the Receivers, becaufe both the Num-
ber and Value of them are conftant,
and ealily known. Thofe which arife
out of uncertain Confumptions, arc all
fet out to F'arm 3 and to him that bids
moft, fome every Three Months, fome
every Six, and fome yearly.
y The Colledion, Receipt and Diftri-
bution of all Publick Monies, are
made, without any Fee to Officers,
who receive certain conftant Salaries
from th^ State, which they dare not

encreafe

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i5 4 ^/ their Forces Chap, VIL

encreafe by any private Pradices, or
Extortions: So, whoever has a Bill of
any publick Debt, has fo much ready
Mony in his Goffers^ being paid cer-
tainly at call, without charge or trou-
ble ^ and aiTign'd over in any Payment^
like the beft Bill of Exchange.

The extraordinary Revenue is, when
upon fome great Occafions, or Wars^
the Generahty agrees to any extraor-
dinary Gonrributions : As fometimes
the Hundredth Penny of the Eftates of
all the Inhabitants $ Pole, or Ghimney-
mony ^ or any other Sublidies, and
Payments, according as they can agrees
and the Occafions require 5 which have
fometime reached fo far, as cveh to an
Impofition upon every Man that tra-
vels in the common Ways of their
Gountry, by Boat, or in a Goach> in
Wagon, or on Horfeback.

By all thefe means, in the firft Year
of the Englifh War, in 1665-, there
were raifed in the Provinces, Forty
Millions, of which Twenty Two in the
Province of Holland, And upon the
Biflhop o^ Munjler's invading them, at
the fame time by Land, they had in
the Year 6(5, above Thrcefcore Thou-
fand Land-men in Pay ^ and a Fleet

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Chap.VIL and Reofemes. 255

of above an Hundred Men of War at
Sea.

The Greatiiefs of this Nation, at that
time, feems juftly to have rais'd the
Glory of ours 5 which, during the
Years 6f and 66^ maintained a War,
not only againft this Powerful State^
but againft the Crowns of France and
^enmarky in Conjundion with them :
And all, at a time> when this King-
dom was forced to ftruggle at home
with the calamitous Effefts of a rag-
ing Plague, that, in Three Months of
the firft Year, fwept away incredible
numbers of People ^ and of a prodi«^
gious Fire, that, in Three Days of the
fccond, laid in Afhes that Ancient and
Famous City of LONT>ON, (the
Heart and Center of our Commerce
and Richesj) confiiming the greateft
part of its Buildings, and an im«
menfe Proportion of its Wealth. Yet,
in the midft of thefe fatal Accidents^
thofe Two Summers were renowned
with Three Battels of the mightieft
Fleets that ever met upon the Ocean ^
whereof Two were determined by
entire and unqueftion'd Vidories, and
Purfuit of our Enemies into their

very

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z$6 6f their Forces Chap. VlL

very Havens. The Third having be-^
gun by the unfortunate Divifion of
our Fleet, with the odds of Ninety
of their Ships againfl: Fifty of ours>
and, in fpight of fuch Difadvanta-
ges, having continued, or been re-
newed for Three Days together (^where-
in we were every Morning the Ag-
greflbrs,} ended at laft by the equal
and mutual Weaknefs and Wearinefs
of both Sidesi the Maims of Ships
and TackHng, with Want of Powder
and Ammunition : Having left unde-
cided the greateft Adion that wilt
perhaps appear upon Record of any
Story. And in this Battel, Monfieur
de JVit confefs'd to me^ That we
gained more Honour to our Nation,
and to the invincible Courage of our
Sea-men, than by the other Two Vi-
ftories. That he was fure, their Men
could never have been brought on the
two following Days, after the Difad-
vantages of the firftj and he believed
no other Nation was capable of it, but
Ours.

I will not judge, how we came to
fail of a glorious Peace in the Six
Months next fucceeding, after the

for-

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Chap. VI L and Re'venues. I x| 7

fortune of our laft Victory, and with
the Honour of the War: But as
ahy rough Hand can break a Bone^
whereas much Art and Care are requi-
red to fet it again, and reftore it to
its firft Strength and Proportion: So
^tis an eafic part in a Minifter of
State, to engage a War ^ but 'tis gi-
ven to few to know the Times, and
find the Ways, of making Peace. Yec
when after the fcnfible Events of an
unfortunate Negligence, an indiffe-
rent Treaty was concluded at Bredci
in 67 J within Six Months following^
by an Alliance with this State m
January^ 1668. (which was receiv'd
with incredible Joy and Applaufc
among them,} His Majefty became
the unqueftioned Arbiter of all the
Affairs of Chriftendom j made a Peace
between the two Great Crowns, at
Aix4a-Chapelle^ which was avowed
by all the World, to be perfedly His
Own 5 and was received with equal
Applaufe of Chriftian Princes abroad,
and of his Subjefts at home 5 and
for Three Years fucceeding, by the
ilnfliaken Alliance and Dcpendance of
the United States, His Majefty re-
S maincd

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%$% of their Porces, &q Ckap. Vll.

toained Abfolute Maftcr of the Peace
of Chriftendoiii, and in a Pofture of
giving Bounds to the greateft, as well
as Protedion to the weakeft, of his
Neighbours.

C H A P.

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lj9

CHAP. VIIL
7f)e Caufes of their Fall, in i6jii

IT muft be avowed^ That as This
State, in the Courfe and Progrefs of
ics Greatnefs for fo many Years pad,
has (hined like a Cornet^ fo in the,
Revolutions of this laft Summer, It
fecm*d to fall like a Meteori and has
equally amazed the World by the one
and the other: When we coniider
fuch a Power and Wealth, as was re-
lated in the laft Chapter, to have
fallen in a manner proftrate within the
fpace of One Month: So many Fron-
tier Towns, renowned in the Sieges
and Adions of the Spanijh Wars, en-
tered like open Villages by the French
Troops, without Defence or almoft De«
nial: Moft of them without any Blows
at all, and all of them with fo few :
Their great Rivers, that were eftcem-
ed an invincible Security to the Pro«
vinces of Holland and Utrecht^ pafTed
with as much Eafe, and as fmall Refift-
S % zxic^^i

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icio The Caufes of Chap. VIlL

ances, as little Fords : And in (hort,
the very hearts of a Nation fo valiant
df old againft Romej fo obftinatc againft
Sj^aitty now fubdued, and^ in a man-
ner, abandoning all before their Dan-
ger appeared : Wc may juftly have our
Recourfe to the fecret and fixed periods
of all Human Grcatnefs, for the Ac-
count of fuch a Revolution : Or rather,
to the unfearchable Decrees, and irrcfi-
flible Force, of Divine Providence j
though it fccms not more impious to
queftion it, than to meafure it by our
Scale J or reduce the IfTues and Moti-
ons of that Eternal Will and Power, to
a Conformity with what is efteemed
Juft, or Wile, or Good, by the ufual
Confentj or the narrow Comprthenfion
of poor Mortal Men.

But, as in the fearch, and confidcra-
tion, even of things i>atural and com-
mon, our Talent, I fear, is to Talk
rather than to Know, fo we may be
allowed to Enquire and Reafon upon
all things, while we do not pretend
to Certainty, or call that Undeniable
Truth, which is every Day deny'd by
Ten Thoufand > nor thofe Opinions
Unreafonable, which we know to be
held by fuch, as we allow to be Rea«

fonabk

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chap- VIIL their Fall iniCji. tci

fonable Men, I (hall therefore {tt down
fuch Circumftances, avS to mefeemmoft
evidently to have confpired in this Re-
volution J leaving the Caufes lefs difcer-
nible, to the fearch of more discerning
Pcrfons.

And firft, I take their vaft Trade,
which was an Occafion of their Great-
nefs, to have been One likewifc of
their Fall, by having wholly diverted
the Genius of their Native Subjefts,
and Inhabitants, from Arms, to Traf-
fick, and the Arts of Peace j leaving
the whole Fortune of their later Wars>
to be managed by Foreign and Mer-
cenary Troops i which much abafed
the Courage of their Nation, (^as was
obferved m another Chapter,) and
made the Burghers of fo Uttle moment
towards the Defence of their Towns j
whereas in the famous Sieges of Har-
lemy Alcmary and Leyden^ They had
made fuch brave and fierce Defences,
as broke the Heart of the Spamjh Ar-
mies, and the Fortune of their Af-
fairs.

Next, was the Peace of Munjiety

which had left them now, for above

Twenty Years, too fecure of all Inva*

fions, or Enemies at Land > and fo

S 3 turned

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1,6% TheCaufesof Chap.VIIL

turned their whole Apphcation to the
Strength qf their Forces at Seaj which
have been fince exereifed with two En-
glijh Wars in that time> and enhvened
with the fmall yearly Expeditions into
the Streights againft the Algertnesy and
other Cor fairs of the Mediterranean.

Another was, their too great Parfi-
mony, in Reforming fo many of their
bed Foreign Officers and Troops, up-
on the Peace of Munjier -y whofe Va-.
lour and Conduft had been fo great
Occafions of inducing Spain to the
Counfels and Cpnclufions of that
Treaty,

But the greateft of all others, that
croncurr'd to weaken, and indeed breaks
the ftrength of their Land-Mihce, wass
the Alteration of their State, which
happened by the Terpettial EdiB of
Holland and Weft-Friezland^ upon the
Death of the laft Prince of Orange^
for Exclufion of the Power of Stadt-
holder in their Province, or 2t leaft
the Separation of it from the Charge
of Captain-General. Since that time,
the main De/ign and Application of
thofe Provinces, has been, to work out,
by degrees, all the old Officers, both
Native and Foreign^ who had been

for-

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Chap.VIIL their Fall ini6yu z^5

formerly Sworn to thcFrinccofOrange^
and were ftill thought afFeftionatc ro
the Intercft of that Family j and to fill
the Commands of their Army, with the
Sons, or Kinfmen, of Burgomafters,
and other Officers, or Deputies in the
State, whom they efteem'd fure to the
Conftitutions of their Popular Govern-
ment, and good enough for an Age,
where they faw no Appearance of Ene-
my at Land to attack 'em.

But the Humour of Kindnefs to the
young Prince, both in the People, and
Army, was not to be diflblved, or dif-
perfed, by any Medicines, or Operati-
ons, either of Rigour or Artificer but
grew up infenfibly, with the Age of the
Prince, ever prefaging fome Revolu-
tion in the State, when he fhould
come to the Years of afpiring, and ma-
naging the general Aflfedions of the
People J being a Prince, who joined
to the great Qualities of his Royal
Blood, the popular Virtues of his
Country j Silent and Thoughtful 5 giv-
en to Hear, and to Enquire j of a
found and fteady Underftanding •, much
Firmnefs in what he once refolves, or
once denies 5 great Induftry and Appli^
cation to his Bufinefsj little to his
S 4 ^Ica^

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t6'4 ^^^ (^^^fi^ of Chap. VIIL

Pleafufcsj Piety in the Religion pf
his Country, but with Charity to o-
thers -, Temperance unufual to his
Youth, and to the CUmatej Frugal in
the common management of his For-
tune, and yet Magnificent upon Occa-
fion •, of great Spirit and Heart, a-
fpiring to the Glory of Military Ani-
ons, witti flrong Ambition to grow
Great, but richer by the Service, than
the Servitude, of hi:s Country. In (hdrt,
A Prince of many Virrues, without any
appearing mixture of Vice.

In the Engliflo War, begun the Year
6f . the States disbanded all the Engltjh
Troops that were then left in their Ser-
vice, difperfing the Officers and Soldi-
ers of our Nation, who ftaid with them,
into other Companies, or Regiments, of
their own. After the French Invafion
of Flanders^ and the ftridt Alliance
between England and Hollayid in 68.
they did the fame by all the French
that were remaining in their Service.
So as the feveral Bodies of thefe twq
Nations, which had ever the greateft
part in the Honour and Fortune of
their Wars^ were now wholly difTolv'd,
xn^ their ftanding-Milice compofed in
•anicinnerj ail of their own. Natives,

cner-

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chap. VIII. their Fall m i ^72- 2-^5

enervated by the long Ufes and Arts of
Traffickj and of Peace.

But they were too great a Match
for any of the fmaller Princes their
Neighbours in Germany h and too fe-
cure of any Danger from Spatriy by
the knowledge of their Forces, as well
as Difpofitioris •, and being ftridly
Allied both with England and Sueden^
in Two feveral Defendve Leagues, and
in one common Triple Alliance ^ they
could not forefce any Danger from
France^ who, they thought, would ne-
ver have the Courage, or Force, to en-
ter the Lifts with fo mighty Confede-
rates 5 and who were fure of a Con-
Junction, whenever they pleafed, both
with the Emperor and Spain,

Befides, they knew that France
could not attack them, without paf-
fing through Flanders^ or Ger7nany :
They were fure Spain would not fuffer
it through the firft, if they were backed
in oppofing it, as forefeeing the in-
evitable Lois o^ Flanders^ upon that of
Holland: And they could hardly be-
lieve, the Pallage fliould be yielded by
a Ger7nan Prince, contrary to the ex-
prefs Will and Intentions of the Em-
peror, as well as the common Interefts

of

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\66^ The Caufes of Chap. VIII.

of the Empire : So that they hop'd the
War would, atlcaft, open in their Neigh-
bours Provinces, for whofc Defence
they refolv'd to employ the whole Force
of their State. And would have m^de
a mighty Rellftance, if the Quarrel had
begun at any other Doors, but their
own.

They could not imagine a Conjun-
ftion between England and France-^ for
the Ruin of their State • for, being
unacquainted with our Conftitutions,
they did not forefee, how we (hould
find our Intcreft in it, and meafured
all States, by that which They efteemed
to be their Intereft. Nor cpuld they
believe, that other Princes and States
o{ Europe wouW fuifcr fuch an Additi^
Q'Ci to be made to the Power of France^
as a Conqueft of Holland.

Befides thefe publick Confiderations,
there were others particular to the
Fadtions among them: And fome qf
their Minifters were neither forward
iior fupple enough to endeavour the
early breaking, or diverting, fuch Con^
junftures, as threatened them ^ becaufe
they were not without Hopes, they
might end in renewing their broken
Mcafures with Fr/?;^r^ i which thofe of

the

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Chap.VIIl. theirFalUni^yi. 167

the Commonwealth-Party were more
enclin'd to, by forefeeing the Influence
that their Alliances with England muft
needs have in time, towards the refto-
ring of the Prince of Qrange^s Autho-
rity : And they thought at the word,
that whenever a pinch came, they could
not fail of a fafe Bargain in one Mar-
ket or other, having lo vaft a Treafure
ready to employ upon any good Occa-
fion.

Thefe Confiderations made them com^
mit Three fatal Ovcrfights in their Fo-
reign Negotiations: For they made
an Alliance with England^ without en-
gaging a Confidence and FriendOiip :
They broke their meafures y^ixhFrancey
without clpfing new ones with Sj^ain :
And they reckoned upon the Afliftances
of Sweden^ and their Neighbour-Princes
Q^ Germany^ without making them fure
by Subfidiary Advances, before a War
began.

Laftly, the Prince of Orange was
approaching the Two and Twentieth
Year of his Age, which the States of
Holland had, iince their Alliance with
His Majefty in 1668, ever pretended,
fliould be the time of advancing him
to the Charge of Captain-General, and

Admiral

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i<JS TheCaufesof Chap.VIIL

Admiral of their Forces, though with-
out that of Stadtholder. But the nearer
they drew to this Period, which was
like to make a new Figure in their
Government; the more defirous fome
of their Minifters feemed, either to de-
chnc, or to reftrain \z. On the other
lide, the Prince grew confident upon
the former Promifes, or, at lead, Inti-
mations, of Holland^ and the concur-
ring Difpofitions of the other Six Pro-^
vinces to his Advancement: And his
Party, fpirited by their hopes, and the
great Qualities of this young Prince,
(^now grown ripe for Adtion, and for
Enterprize,} refolv'd to bring this point
to a fudden Decifion •, agamft which,
the other Party prepared, and united
all their Defences ; fo, as this ftrong
Pifcafe, that had been fo long working
in the very Bowels of the State, feem'd
juft upon its Crijis ; when a Conjun-
ftion of Two mighty Kings brought
upon them a fudden and furious Inva-
lion by Land and Sea, at the fame time,
by a Royal Fleet, of above Fourfcorc
Ships i and an Army, of as manyX^^ou-
fand Men.

When the States faw this Cloud rea-
dy to break upon them, (after a long be«

hef

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Chap. VIII. Mr Fall in i Cjil U9

lief, that it would blow over,) they
began, not only to provide (helter at
home, with their ufual Vigour > but to
look out for it abroad, tho' both too
late. Of the Princes that were their
Allies, or concerned in their Danger,
fuch as were far off could not be in
time •, the nearer were unwilling to
(hare in a danger they were not enough
prepared for •, moft were content to Ice
the Pride of this State humbled ^ fomc,
the Injuries, they had received from
them, reveng'd 5 many would have
them mortify*d, that would not have
them deflroy'd- and fo all refolv'd to
leave them to weather the Storm, as
they could, ^ot ont Campania j which,
they did not believe, could go far to-
wards their Ruin, confidering the great-
nefs of their Riches, number of their
Force, and Strength of their Places*

The State, in the mean time, had en-
creas'd their Troops to Seventy Thou-
fand Men, and had begun to repair the
Fortifications of their Frontier Towns:
But fo great a length of their Coun-
try lay open to the French Invafion^
by the Territories of Colen and Liege ^
and to the Bifhop of Munfier^ (their
inveterate Enemy,} by fVeJf^halia^xhzt

they

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i^o TkCaufesof Chap.VllL

ttiey knew not where to expedt, or
provide againft, the firft Danger: And
while they divided their Forces and
Endeavours towards the fecuring of fd
many Garrifons, they provided for
none to any purpofe but Maeftricht ^
which the French left behind them,
and fell in upon the Towns of the
Rhine^ and the Heart of their Pro-
vinces.

Befides, Thofe Miniders, who had
ilill the Diredion of Affairs, bent their
chief Application to the Strength and
Order of their Fleet, rather than of
their Army: Whether more peeked at
England than France^ upon the War
and manner of entring into iX^^ Or, be-
lieving that a Victory at Sea would be
the way to a Peace with this Crown ^
Or, hoping their Towns would not fall
fo faft, but that, before Three or Four
were loft, the Bulinefs at Sea would
be decided *, Or, perhaps content, that
fome ill Succeflcs (hould attend the
Prince of Orange at his firft Entrance
upon the Command of their Armies,
and thereby contribute to their Defigns
of reftaining his Authority^ while they
were forced to leave him the Name of
Captain- General This, indeed^ was not

likely

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Chap.VIIL theirFalliniCji. 171

likely to fail> confidering the ill Con-
ftitution of their old Army, the hafty
Levies of their new, and the height of
the Faftions now broken out in the
State^-, which left both the Towns and
the Troops in fufpence, under whofe
Banners they fought, and by whofe
Orders they were to be governed, the
Prince*Si or the States.

There happened, at the fame time, aii
Accident unufual to their Climate,which
was a mighty Drowth in the Begin-
ning of the Summer, that left their Wa-
ters fordable in places, where they us'd
to be navigable for Boats of greateft
Burthen, And this gave them more
Trouble and Diftraftion in the Defence,
as tiieir Enemies more Facility in the
PafTage, of thofe great Rivers, which
were efteem'd no fmall Security of their
Country,

And in this pofturc were the Affairs
of this Commonwealth, when the War
brok« out, with thofe fatal Events, that
muft needs attend any Kingdom, or
State, where the Violence of a Foreign
Invafion happens to meet with the di-
ftrafted eftate of a Domeftick Sedition
or Difcontent, which, hkc ill Humours
in a Body, make any fmali Wound dan-

gerousi

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ijt ^ The Caufes of Chap. VIlL

gcfbiis, and a great one mortal. They
were ftill a great Body, but without
their ufual Soul > they were a State,
but it was of the T^ip-united Trovince^.
Their Towns were without Order 3
their Burgers without Obedience 5 their
Soldiers without Difcipline $ and all
without Heart: Whereas, in all Sieges,
the Hearts of Men defend the Walls,
and not Walls the Men : And, indeed,
it was the Name of England^ joining
in the Wat againft them^ that brdkc
their Hearts, arid contributed more to
the lofs of (o many Towns, arid To
much Country, than the Armies of
Munfier^ ot o^ France. So that, upon^
all Circumftances coniider*d, it feems
eafier to give an Account, what it was
that loft them fo much, than whait
fav'd them the reft.

No Man at play ^zts a very great
Game, either in his own, or another*s.
Hand, unexpededly loft, but he is apt
to confider, whether it could have been
fatted, and how it ought to have been
play'd. The fame Enquiry will be na-
tural upon the Fall of this State, and
very difficult td refolve.

After the mighty Growth of the
I French^ and Decay of the Spanifh Power^

which

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chap. VIII. their Fall in i Cyz. 17 j

which drew on the Jnvafion of Flan-
ders in 1667. This State had a very
hard Game to play % either they muft
fee Flanders wholly loft, and France
grown to confine upon thcnij (^whom
they liked as an Ally, but dreaded as
a Neighbour :} Or elfe, they muft join
with France to divide Flanders between
them-, but they knew what it was to
(hare with the Lion : Or, they muft
join with Spain to defend Flanders
againft France^ that is, with their old
Enemy, againft their old Friend : Or
laftly. They muft join with England
for the Defence of Flanders ; neither
breaking with France^ nor doling with
Spain J and frame an Arbitrage, but of
fomething a rough Nature 3 rather prc-
fcribing than mediating a Peace, and
threatning a War upon that Crown
that refused it.

They chofe the laft, and wifely, as
all Men thought J but though this Al-
liance was happily planted, yet it was
unhappily cultivated, and fo the Fruit
came to fall, and the Root to wither
upon the firft change of Seafons, in
fuch a manner, and to fuch a degree,
as we have lately feen. Whether they
could have prevented a Conjundion
T of

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i7 4 7he Cjtufes of Chap. VIIL

of England with Franccy (hall be no
part of my Subjeft j for I pretend not
ro know, or to telU^ Secrets of State 5
and intend thefe, not for the Obferva-
tions of an Ambaflador, but of a pri-
vate Man as I am, and fuch as any Gen-
tleman might eafily have made, who
had refided above Two Years, as I did,
in Holland i and had beeil, as I was, a
little enclinM to obferve. I (hall only
fay, That the Conjunftion oi England
with France was to this State, like one
of thofe Difcafes, which, thePhyficians
fay, are hard to difcern, while they are
cafie to cure ^ but when once they
come to be plainly difcover'd, they arc
paft remedy.

But, as Holland had ever defended
it felf again ft Spaing by England and
France j fo it ought to have done
again ft France^ by England and S;[)ainy
and provided early againft their own
Danger, as well as that of Flanders^
by improving and advancing their Con-
federate League with England and Sue-
den^ into a ft rift Defenfive-AUiance
' withi5)>^/V/, as a Principal in the League.
And by agreeing with that Crown, to
furnifh between them fome conftant
Subfidiary Payments Xo Stteden^ for the

fup-

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chap. VIII- their Fall in 1 6j i, 275

fupporc of their (landing Forces, even
in time of Peace. This was the defire
of Spain^ the fnterelt of all that meant
to (ecure the Peace of Chriftendom ;
and the Opinion of fome of the "Dutch
Minifters, though not of the Chiefeft,
^till it was too late: And the Omillion
of this^ was the greateft Fault ever
committed in their Politicks ^ and pro-
ceeded in a great meafure from their
2Lncicnt Animolity to Spain; which:, as
it was the Beginning, fo," by this Ef-
fe£t, it almoft prov'd the End of their
State.

When the War began in the midfl
of the Conjunctures related, -tis hard
to fay, what could have defended them :
But as Men in a Town, threatened with
a mighty Siege, abandon their Suburbs,
and flight thofe Out-works which are
either weak of themfelves, or not well
defenfible for want of Men •> and re-
folve only to make good thofe Ports
which they are able fully to Man, and
eafily to relieve j bccaufe the lofs of
every fmall Out-work docs not only
weaken the Number, but (ink theCou-
rage, of the Garrifon within.

So this State, which came to be in

a manner befieg'd by the mighty and

T 2 nume-

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2,y^ The Caufes of Chap. VIII.

numerous Armies of France and of
Munjlery ought, in my Opinion, to
have left themfelyes but Three Out-
works to maintain > (I mean^ Three Pofts
Handing without the Lines, that cnclo-
fcd the main Body of their Provinces:)
Thefe fliould have htcnMaeJiricht^JVe-
fel and Co ever den. They (hould have
flighted all the reft of their places, that
Isy without thefe upon the Rhtne^ or
in Overyjfel > and drawn the Men into
thefe Townsi fo as to have left them
rathc.r like Camps, than Garrifons ; that
is, Eight Thoiifand Foot, and Two
1 houfand Horfe in Maejirkht^ as many
in JVefel^ and half the number in Coe-
njerden^ if the place would contain
them^ if not, they inight have formed
and fortify'd a Camp, with fomething
a greater number, upon the next Fafs
into Friez,land and Groninguen,

Of the reft of their Horfe, (which
were, I fuppofe, about FiveThoufand)
with at leaft Fifteen Thoufand Foot,
they fliouId have formed a great ftand-
ing Camp, within their Rivers, feme-
where r\t2.T Arnhem j fortify'd it with
Cannon, and all the Art that could bej
furnifti'd it with the greateft care, and
plenty of Provifions. The remainder

; of

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chap. VIII. their Fall in i6yi, zjy

of their Infantry would have been
enough for the reft of their Garrifons ^
of which the Towns upon the Ijfely
T>oesbuYgh^ Zutpheuj i^aventer^ and
SwoUy \Jon\d have been in a manner
flankM (tho* at fome diftance} by the
ftrong Garrifons of Wefel and Coever-
deny and brcafted by the main Camp.

If, with this Difpofition of their For^
ces, they had provided well for the
Strength and Defence of Skinkfconcey
Nimmeguen and Grave^ (which would
likewife have lain within all the Cover
of thefe Out-Pofts:} They might, for
ought I know, have expefted the War
without loiing the Heart and Steadi,
nefs of their Counfels, and not without
probability of making a Defence wor-
thy the former Grcatnefs and Atchieve-
ments of their State,

For a Siege of Maefirkht or Wefel
(io garrifon'd and refolutcly defended,}
might not only have amus'd, but en-
dangered, the French Armies > ^sCoever-
den might have done that of Munfter.

The Rcfiftance of one of thefe Towns
would have encreas'd the Strength of
all the reft : For the Fortune of Bat^
tels, and Sieges, turns upon the Hearts
of Men, as they are more or lefs capa.

bic

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278 the Caufes of Chap. VIIL

ble of general Confidences or Fears,
which are very much raised by Acci-
dents and Opinions. It would not
have been within any common Rules,
to march fo far into the Country, as
to attack the Barfe or Bre^a, Ntmme-
guen or GravCy leaving fuch Camps be-
hind, as thofe at JVefel znd Maejirichty
and having fo much a greater before
them, as that about Arnhem, If any
of thefe Three Pofts had been ilofl:, yet
it could not have happened without
good Conditions, and fo retiring the
Men to ftrengthen either the more in-
ward Garrilbns, or the main Camp,
which would have lain ready to defend
the PafFcs of their Rivers. And if, at
the worft, they had failed in this, yet
the French Army muft afterwardst ei-
ther have attacked a fortify*d Camp of
Twenty Thoufand Men, or left fuch an
Army behind them, when they march'd
towards Utrecht^ and into the Heart of
the Provinces > both of which would
have been Attempts, that, I think,
have hardly been enterpriz^d with Sue-
cefs upon any Invafion.

There feems at leaft fome appear-
ance of Order and Condud: in this
Scheme of Defence 5 whereas there

was

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chap. VIII. their Fall in i Cj i] ij9

was none, in theirs : But perhaps the
greatnefs of the Tempeft from aboard,
and of the Fadions at home, either
broke the Heart, or diftradled the Courfc,
of their Counfels. And befides, fuch
old Sea-men in fo ftrong a Ship, that
had weathered fo many Storms without
lofs, could not but think it hard, to
throw over- board fo much of their
Lading before this began. After all,
I know very well, that nothing is fo
hard, as to give wife Counfel before
Events i and nothing fo eafie, as, after
them, to make wife Reflexions. Many
things feem true in Reafon, and prove
falfe in Experience : Many, that are
weakly confulted, are executed with
Succefs. Therefore, to conclude, we
muft all acknowledge, that Wifdom
and Happincfs dwell with God alone j
and, among Mortal Men, (both of their
Perfons and their States,} thofe are
the wifeft, that commit the feweft Fol-
lies J and thofe the happieft, that meet
with the feweft Misfortunes.

FINIS

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