Why did the liberation movement in the Netherlands begin during the reign of Philip II, and not earlier, in the era of Charles V?
August 8, 2020 | Education
| Charles V passed a law against the Reformation and instituted a tribunal of the Inquisition. Dissatisfaction with taxes and religious persecution increased, but under Charles V it rarely escalated into open disobedience: at that time the Netherlands had ample opportunities for trade in Europe and the New World. Philip II decided to eradicate Calvinism in the Netherlands and to this end strengthened the power of the Church and the Inquisition there. All these measures, which came from a foreign monarch, acquired the character of national oppression. The Spanish authorities lost all support in the country.
