Discontent Under Foreign Rule

In 1566, Philip II was short on money, and so he cancelled enforcement of the strict heresy laws he had previously called for. Dutch Protestants began to openly threaten Spanish rule, holding open-air prayer meetings guarded by armed men, even starting to smash Catholic religious images in churches. Philip II, shocked by this behavior, came to believe that up to half of the population of the Low Countries had joined the Protestants, and therefore sent a large army that drove the Protestant leaders into Exile, led by his nephew the Duke of Parma. With help from Spain’s rivals, England and France, these leaders returned, and captured fortified towns in the northern (Dutch) provinces.