Rising Lowlands: A Netherlandic MMP2 AAR

[NACBEAST]

Rising Lowlands: A History of the Netherlands

Hey there ya'll, NACBEAST here with a new AAR. For fans of my Indian MMP AAR, an update should be coming soon, but a small event that's occurred in a recent round of MMP2 playing.

For the first time in my time in MMP2, I saw the Netherlands managed to break away from Burgundy. At first I thought nothing of it, until I saw the truly amazing war that had been going on for the better part of a decade (at the time I had been playing Tuscany).

So, my curiousity peaked, I reloaded the game as these Netherlandic states and played... and boy did it turn into a ride. I eventually got to about 1483 when I suddenly thought 'hey, this would make for an awesome AAR'.

So, here it is. My first update'll probably be the first of a series of chapters dedicated to setting up of what's been going on (it'll take quite a few chapters to describe what happened), and that won't be seen till after the Indian AAR is updated. There won't be gameplay pictures until 1483, so my narrative (as well as the odd picture) will have to do. It'll be told in a history book manner (my personal favorite), but don't be surprised if what happens in gameplay ends up pressuring just how... authentic a history book it will end up being.

So hope you all will enjoy the ride, expect an update inbetween now and a day or two..

[asd21593]

Looks interesting, I'm in

[gabor]

will surely follow this

[NACBEAST]

Rising Lowlands: A History of the Netherlands


Prologue: The Duchy of Burgundy and The Burgundian-Lorrainian Conflict


The Duchy of Burgundy at the height of its power in 1456 under the leadership of Phillipe The IV (or, The Rash)

Since the beginning of the Valois line of succession, the Duchy of Burgundy, and its Dukes, had aspirations of greatness constantly roaming around in their heads. Their desires for power could only be matched by their equal desire for Kingdom status, which would help to etch the country into the map of Europe for all time. Such a goal, of course, would require a great swath of territory. During the 15th Century (especially in the first half of said century), and lead primarily by Duke Philippe III, Burgundy's military might and diplomatic skill brought many of its fellow duchies, counties, and various other territories under its command, with the Lowlands being the primary target of its expansion.

By 1453, then Duke Phillippe The Good was ready to continue the expansion of his kingdom, the next target of his wrath being the Duchy of Lorraine, a territory who's cultural make up was the most similar to that of the Burgundians outside of the Duchy of Burgundy itself. Philippe was taking a gamble in this matter: by invading Lorraine, a member of the Holy Roman Empire, Philippe assured that Ladislas I, Duke of Austria and Emperor of the Empire, would intervene militarily. The hope that the Duchy of Lorraine could be crushed in time for Philippe to turn back an Austrian invasion was far-fetched at best.

Unfortunately for Burgundy, their aged Duke found such a hope to be perfectly reasonable, especially considering Ladislas's rather lackluster popularity back in Austria, and his lesser skill as a general as compared to Philippe. So, September 12th of 1453, Burgundian soliders officially crossed the borders into Lorraine, and the first domino in the long line of Burgundy's collapse had been tipped over. The second domino would come only months later when, January 2nd, 1454, Philippe died during the difficult winter and left the Duchy to his only son, Philippe The IV, or as history has called him, The Fool.

Philippe The IV, Duke of Burgundy from 1454-1464

Philippe IV was nothing like his father, where Philippe The Good was, as the name implies, good, and good for Burgundy, Philippe IV's foolish (thus, the name) arrogance during the conflict is seen, as many, as the very tool that lead to the downfall of the Duchy. However, we will come to this in good time.

The initial invasion of Lorraine, aside from the death of Philippe The Good, went better than expected, as the Duchy's army collapsed rather quickly under the might of the superiorly numbered Burgundian military. Whilst Austria had to juggle its war with Burgundy with a conflict in northern Italy, Burgundy was free to lay siege to its neighboring Duchy, Ladislas only able to send minor forces to try and alleviate the Duchy's pain.

The campaign in Lorraine ended when, in 1456, Duke Rene's castle fell, and the Duke was forced to proclaim Philippe IV his superior, and his master, effectively turning Lorraine into a vassal state of Burgundy. While Philippe's father might have found this victory quite enough, and would quit while he was ahead, Philippe IV was not so wise. With his ego bloated from the victory over, what was in all reality, a minor duchy, he decided that his next move would be to invade Austria proper, and to force Ladislav to grant him a King's title at sword point.

Philippe's soldiers quickly overran Breisgau, a minor strip of territory Austria held in southwest Germany, and then carried on through Wuttemburg in order to invade the province of Tyrol, hoping to establish a foothold and base point for further incursions into Austria. Unfortunately for Philippe, who would not have been aware of this out in the field, Austria's hands were no longer tied with Italians, the Emperor Ladislav having settled the matter in northern Italy (to his chagrin) soon after news came that Philippe had intended to invade Austria proper.

When the Austrian home guard struck at Philippe's troops from the east, and then Ladislav's personal army striking from the south, Philippe found himself completely exposed. Within the next few months, Philippe's progress was erased, and his army greatly damaged, as the large Imperial Army pushed it all the way back to Burgundy proper. It was there that Philippe was pushed back even further, forced to withdraw into his castle in Dijon whilst Ladislas pounded away at his nation's fortresses. Philippe's arrogance would cost him, as the Holy Roman Emperor was now hell-bound and determined to ending Burgundy's independent streak.

In May of 1458, Philippe was forced to leave Burgundy Proper and head to the Lowlands: Austria had managed to completely engulf the Duchy's homeland, only managing to take with him a few thousand remaining Burgundian soliders. Needless to say, Philippe was fuming over his defeat, and wished quite greatly for a return to Dijon to kick the Austrians out.

The way he went about preparing for a new stage of a military campaign was to lean wholly upon the Dutch, who's territory had been wholly untouched by the Austrians. Burgundian conscription sorties moved through the cities and conscripted more and more Dutch citizens into the army (on top of the initial numbers that had been in the army when the initial thrust into Austria had taken place), added crushing new taxes to the merchantry and the nobles to finance a new thrust, and on top of all this, the Burgundian soldiers whom were staying in the Lowlands were beginning to get roudy. Soldiers getting drunk and causing trouble in town squares, stores of grain being taken to 'supplement the army's rations', and would often quarter themselves in the personal homes of the Dutch, in place of the camps.

For many high-society Dutch, this was becoming too much. While many had become part of Burgundy quite willingly, there were still those whom were either against their absorption into the state by diplomacy, or their annexation into it by war. These trangressions, one after the other, were truly beginning to wear upon the Dutch. Even as the Dutch nobility pleaded with Philippe IV to lessen his grip and end some of these more strenuous practices (the taxes in particularly heavily effecting the economy in the Lowlands), their requests fell on deaf ears.

The nobility would not take kindly to Philippe, whom upon leaving back for Burgundy (after having spent considerable time not only preparing to head back to Burgundy, but also nearly failing to protect the Lowlands from Austria), took his army with him, which at that point had a percentage make up of at the very least 75% Dutch.

The Dutch nobles felt that, perhaps, the time was now, as Philippe would have his entire army tangled up with Austria, that these injusticies be answered, the Burgundy's position as overlord of the Lowlands be dissolved, then and forevermore.

'The Dutch Nationalists'

[blsteen]

Cool, the Dutch rise again.

[NACBEAST]

Rising Lowlands: A History of the Netherlands

Chapter 1: The Dutch Nationalists and The Beginning of a Revolution (1457)


The Dutch Nationalists, adults from left to right:
Lodvik de Brugge, Antoon van Bronkhorst and Willem I*
the children:
Rutger de Houtman and Philip de Brussels

Though many individuals are given great credit for the eventually success of the Dutch Revolution, not the least of which being King Robert III of France, the principal five persons seen as the liberators of The Netherlands were collectively grouped as 'The Dutch Nationalists', and were as followed:

Lodvik de Brugge (1404-1460)- Lodvik de Brugge had been born into a noble family who had earned their wealth on the trade coming in and out of the city of Brugge. An excellent soldier who had actually riden as a knight in the service of Burgundy during Burgundy's involvement in the Hundred Years War, his feelings towards his rulers had soured once Duke Philippe IV had rode in and destroyed the livelyhood of Brugge by implementing crushing taxes. His family's longstanding influence in Brugge would help deliver the city, and the region of Vlaandereen, to the Nationalist cause.

Antoon van Bronkhorst (1433-1499)- A wealthy merchant from the city of Amsterdam, Antoon van Bronkhorst was the man who provided the Nationalist movement with most of its funding. While not particularly a victim of Burgundy's abuses to the Dutch, Antoon believed that much more wealth and a greater future lay ahead of him under Dutch rule, and would thus receive large returns in his investments.

Rutger de Houtman and Philip de Brussels (1439-1517) (1440-1491)- The two sons of Willem I, Rutger de Houtman and Philip de Brussels had been raised, from birth, to be proper nobility. Having been born only a short while after the Duchy of Brabant had been absorbed into the Duchy of Burgundy, both boys grew up with much of the nobility around them still speaking of their home in terms of Dutch rule and Brabantic glory. Out of all the Dutch Nationalists, these two would perhaps be the ones most involved in the movement for true Dutch Ethnic Glory.

Rutger, Willem's oldest, was the more soldierly and manly of the two sons. Though as eloquent as any aged noble, Rutger had been brought up to become a noble military man, a training which would pay off quite well during the Revolution.

Philip, on the otherhand, was a statesman at heart. A silver spoon in his mouth, and a mind open to knowledge, Philip had taken a personal interest in his studies. Too young to have joined the Catholic church by the time the Revolution got rolling, Philip would find his principal role within the Nationalists as a diplomat of good faith towards neighboring nations, a role he would excel at.

Their collective roles will be explained in more ernest detail in Chapter 3 of this text.

Willem I (1429-1491)

It occurs to me that, though I joined wishing
to merely fight as a good soldier would, that
I have been swept up in the same vigor
that has swept up my children, my family,
my friends, and now, my country

-General Willem I, Journal Entry July 8th, 1462

Willem I was born on the eve of the Duchy of Brabant's absorption into the Duchy of Burgundy, truly the only one of the Dutch Nationalists who could claim a pre-Burgundian birth. While not a particularly skilled statesman, Willem had been brought up from birth to help cement his family's place in Burgundian nobility, hoping to rise up the ranks within the new ruling class. What none, even Willem I, had foreseen was the shere amount of anger that would develop in the Lowlands after many years of Burgundian rule.

Willem I, before the fighting had even begun to break out, had been approached by various nobles who had been stripped of their titles, from all across the Burgundian Lowlands. Willem the first had proven himself an able soldier and skilled tactician during his upbringing, and as such the nobility wished for Willem to join a meeting that was to take place in Amsterdam between various Dutch nobles, and other wealthy or prestigious members of Dutch society.

Though initially wary of what may occur at this meeting, Willem and his two sons left for Amsterdam, where, seemingly destiny, would just so have it that he would run into Antoon and Lodvik, the three men taking to each other quite strongly. As the meeting took place, a general consensus was formed early amongst the nobility that the rule of Phillipe IV had become unjust, and that the Dutch people were now no longer profiting from the overlords that, for most of them, had been forced upon them.

The question of just what to do about this was not as easily answered. While much of the northern Dutch nobles from Holland and Zeeland argued in favor of outright rebellion and taking up arms against the Burgundians, many Dutch nobles in Vlaandereen and Brabant felt that almost all of the risk would be placed on their shoulders, as their land would be assurdely be the frontline for any sort of battle that would occur at the beginning of the war.

Others argued that there was little point in any rebellion at all. After all, if things merely went back to the way they were, with the County of Holland, the Duchy of Brabant, and the territories around Antwerp and Brugge to be free again, it would only be a matter of time for larger countries (the most feared of which being either France or the belligerent Denmark, whom had invaded the County of Oldenburg and made an attempt on Holstein not to long ago) to swallow up in the future.

When the suggestion was made by a Brabantic noble for a single Dutch state, the meeting went into even further of an uproar, as the nobles were at each others throats. Those nobles from Amsterdam would pointedly say that they wouldn't have their landstanding freedoms (from before the annexation of Burgundy) be curtailed in a unified state ruled by 'the backwards autocrats from Brabant', while said 'backwards autocrats' replied that the freedoms that the County of Holland had proposed for its people had been the primary reason why it had been absorbed by Burgundy in the first place.

As the arguing went on for days on end, Antoon would lean over to Willem, and rather rudely commented to his newly met peer that 'the noblemen are arguing over policy for a country that doesn't even exist'. Of course, in a room crowded full of nobles, it was only rational that others would hear his jab at the other members of the nobility. As Antoon was called to explain, what then, did he think would be the next best move, Antoon's reply was simple:

'A free Dutch state, no matter where it would be ruled from in the Lowlands, would most assuredly be better than rule by a Valoisian Duke, who's ego is so bloated that the entirety of the Lowlands could fit into it.'

Though the joke was not so well received in what most would consider a very serious situation, however it did manage to bring the nobility back into reality of the current situation. Disagreements and politics would have to be put aside until the Dutch would be able to free themselves from the Burgundian yolk. Though there were still murmers of grief coming from nobles from the southern reaches of the Lowlands, armed rebellion was the choice decided upon by the assembled nobles, after another few days of debate.

When the question arose of whom would lead the rebellion, Lodvik was all too ready to step forward.

'As a former member of the Burgundian Army, I know their traditions, their tactics, and their styles. Give me the position as head of this army, and I can assure that Burgundian soliders will never reach as far north as Brussels.'

The experience that Lodvik carried spoke all too loudly to the nobility. With hardly an arguement to be found, the nobility held Lodvik up as the head of the armed resistance, with each of the nobles swearing to send as many serfs and professional soldiers as they could spare for Lodvik to use to his whim.

Lodvik, with his position as 'General of the Noble Resistance' secured, quickly looked to secure a possible second in command. As Willem was the only other man whom seemed to have as much martial training and skill as himself, and as a fellow southern Lowlander, Lodvik quickly nominated Willem as his second. Willem, though not particularly enthralled by the revolution occuring around him at the moment, agreed to Lodvik's request, figuring that with his fellow nobles in an uproar, that the fighting would come to his home one way or the other.

With the matter of leadership settled, Lodvik and Willem returned to their respective homes, letters of correspondence going back and forth between the two as, true to their words, the nobles sent what remaining soliders and serfs remained after the Burgundian Press Gangs were through. Though not the finest of soldiers, they would have to do. Of course, as news of the revolution began to spread, volunteers would also quickly begin to come en mass to the cause.

The Dutch forces, approximately, totaled around 23,000 soldiers, with only 3,000 having been previously trained, 5,000 having been serfs promised freedom and wealth by their masters, and 15,000 volunteers. 14,000 soliders would serve under Lodvik, with the remaining 9,000 being sent to Willem.

One of the few professional soldiers in the revolutionary army at the beginning of the war

On October 7th, 1457, Lodvik and Willem would begin their march.

The Dutch Revolt would begin in ernest.

------------------------
*It appears that, even if it occurs almost 100 years early, William The Silent can't keep his nose out of the Dutch Revolt XD

In a more serious tone, I'm just going by what I happened in the game before and when I jumped in, I know the historical background I gave to this particular Willem is far different from the William of history.

[asd21593]

Viva la revolucion!

[volksmarschall]

Amazing, amazing stuff so far. So Phillip IV's reign leads to disaster against the Austrians and surges Dutch nationalism... and as the Dutch revolt out of Burgundian rule, your army is small and largely inexperienced.

I can't wait for more, especially since the Dutch can truly become one of the greatest powers in Europe, both on the continent and in the New World. Great stuff, keep up the great work!

[gabor]

i guess you're not playing the netherlands, yet; i wonder how many provs will defect burgundy, that is how weak/strong your initial position will be

[merrick]

This looks like fun - and early Dutch Revolt and then ... a Republic? A Kingdom? The Empire? The World?

Besst of luck keeping the Frogs and the Austrians out.

[aldriq]

Glad I caught this new AAR from the start Good luck with your new endeavour!

By the way, I remember ubik mentioning before that switching countries in MM is not advisable as the mod places a ton of human-specific modifiers in the save, so when you switch the AI gets really confused. Is this still the case? If you've already played a few years with the Netherlands with no big issues then it's probably not game-breaking.

[mad general]

I will follow this AAR, it clearly is promising!

[NACBEAST]

Rising Lowlands: A History of The Netherlands

Chapter 2: The Lion Rises (1457-1460)


Though the design would go through some changes, the Lion would quickly become one of the symbols most linked to the Revolt and to the eventual Dutch Nation State.

The opening of the Dutch Revolt more resembled a a gust of wind breezing against the walls of tyranny than it did an explosive force, as the first two years of the Revolution were silent, save for skirmishes with fort garrisons. Lodvik and Willem's first moves was to secure their home provinces, Willem targeting the fortresses and small villages around Brussels, whilst Lodvik concentrated his large forces near Brugge. The cities were two of the four wealthiest cities in the Burgundy Occupied Lowlands (a term used by the revolutionaries whom, even in the early stage of the war, refused to recognize Burgundian rights to their land), and as such, their walls were much more solid, their networks of keeps running farther across the terrain, and their stores of food and water much larger than the smaller sections of the Lowlands.

Still, capturing these cities were the first of many goals the nobility of the Lowlands had for the revolt. If the southern corridors of the Dutch Lowlands could be secured, it would make the eventual Burgundian return to the Lowlands much more difficult. Whilst Philippe IV would beat his head against the garrisons, Willem and Lodvik would swiftly move to the north, with Lodvik beginning the slow capture of Antwerp and its surrounding territories, and Willem securing the unofficial seat of the revolt, Amsterdam.

Of course, even the best laid plans of mice and men go awry.

The first hitch in the execution of the Dutch warplan was the inability to aquire the capitulation of the cities of Brussels and Brugge until late into the year of 1459, when Lodvik would successfully aquire Brugge in September of that year, whilst Willem would break through the walls of Brussels mid-October. However, the loss of time would dearly cost Lodvik, and would greatly damage the revolt's chances.

By May of 1458, Philippe IV of Burgundy had managed to recapture Burgundy proper from the Austrians, and had even managed to force his way into Breisgau once again. However, Philippe's ambitions of forcing Austria to surrender were hardly within his reach, as made clear by the fact that every time Philippe even so much as attempted to move south, bands of Austrian soldiers would disrupt his lines, and pick off small bands of his soldiers, requiring him to wait for reinforcements from home before attempting to move again.

Duke Philippe had all but abandoned the hopes of forcing the Austrians to crown him King of Burgundy: however, he was not about to abandon the Netherlands to the Dutch. In fact, in July of the same year, when Philippe received the news of the steady Dutch weathering of the fortresses in the north, Philippe realized that he had a large problem forming on his hands and that, if he didn't quickly move back north, he was going to end up with a large chunk of his Duchy missing.

Therefore, the Philippe-Ladislav Pact of 1458 was quickly written up and signed in Breisgau in November of 1458: both Dukes of their respective Duchies present as both the leaders of the main bodies of their armies, and of their lands. The Pact, if it could even be called that, settled the Austrian-Burgundian dispute caused by Philippe III's invasion of Lorraine. In exchange for a pledge from Burgundy that the Duchy would no longer attempt more invasions of member-states of the Holy Roman Empire, and that Burgundian garrisons would be evacuated from Breisgau by March of 1459, Emperor Ladislav would recognize Burgundian dominance over Lorraine, and would not require Burgundy to dissolve Lorraine's status as a vassal to the Duke of Burgundy.

With the war with Austria over, Duke Philippe quickly made a quick tour throughout Burgundy Proper, his army pressing Burgundian citizens into its ranks in order to make up for the continued losses against the Austrian armies, before heading north through French territory. The pressing of new soldiers alone took until deep into the autumn of 1459, and the march of the soldiers to the north took even more time. Finally Philippe and his soldiers arrived in the souther Lowlands just as the region of Vlandereen fell to the Dutch Rebels under Lodvik. October 3rd of 1459 was when the first major battle of the Dutch Revolt took place, with Lodvik and Philippe meeting on the field of battle twenty miles north of Brugge.

The Battle of Brugge pitted the 23,000 remaining Burgundian soldiers, lead by Duke Philippe IV himself, against the 12,000 remaining Dutch volunteers, serfs, and soldiers under Lodvik. The battle began early in the morning when Philippe attempted to overun Lodvik's forces with a mass cavalry charge aimed at the center lines of the Dutch Rebel forces, the Duke of Burgundy hoping to shatter the lines then and there, and break through into the meat of the Dutch Army.

Philippe's gambit was, at first, successful: indeed, the initial line of men-at-arms whom had been lined up in the center of the army, mostly made up of volunteers, cracked and bended rather easily, with a few dozen Burgundian cavalry managing to break into the lines. However, while Dutch casualties were high, the Burgundian cavalry was suffering mass losses itself: Lodvik had pulled most of the trained soldiers farther back in the lines, each of the soldiers ared with a longbow and several arrows to fire off. Within hours the cavalry charge found itself subjected to extremely large amounts of arrow fire, with each round of arrows taking more knights than the last.

While the rather large contingent of Burgdunian cavalry remained locked up in the muddle of the rebel center lines, Lodvik attempted to counter Philippe's movements: the serfs and what few cavalry divisions Lodvik could find in the Lowlands quickly moved into the empty spaces left behind by Philippe's cavalry charge, the Dutch men managing to take advantage of Philippe's rash move. The success was limited as the best the few regiments could do when compared to the mass forces of Philippe's army was to distract the Duke from further offensive actions.

Realizing his losing position, Lodvik called for a strategic withdrawl to the east on October 17th, 1859, moving east to regroup with Willem's forces near Brussels. The loses on both sides were minor, thanks to Lodvik's quick withdrawal from the battle, with 990 (approx.) Burgundians fallling as compared to 1,440 (approx.) Dutch.

The city of Brussel had just fallen to Willem when he received notice from Dutch scouts that Lodvik and Philippe were on their way to the region of Brabant, Willem quickly sending a message to Lodvik. In the message, Willem request that Lodvik not take the direct path to Brussels, and instead to take a more indirect path that would lead him to the outskirts north of the city. Within days Willem received a message in the affirmative from Lodvik, sending the message to inform Willem that he would move towards the north. With that, Willem began preparing for the arrival of Philippe and his troops through the most direct path to Brussel.

Willem, believing that Philippe would believe Lodvik wanting to take refuge in the rebel friendly stronghold, and would therefore seek to beat Lodvik to the city in order to try and pressure Lodvik into a surrender, further strengthened the garrisons along the path to Brussels with his own soldiers and serfs and volunteers, hoping the keep walls and the forts along the way could provide protection to the rebels, whilst they fired heavily upon the Burgundian soldiers with volleys of arrows.

The Brussels Campaign (as Philippe's attempted offense on the city is often remembered as) proved Willem to be quite right. The Campaign's official starting date is usually placed around October 26th, 1459 when Philippe's forces began coming under heavy archer fire forty miles outside of Brussels. The pattern for the next month would prove quite disastrous for the Burgundians: everytime Philippe's forces would come upon a keep or a network of forts, they'd find themselves under extreme fire from Willem's archers (both professional and volunteer), they'd then charge the keeps and forts in an effort to overwhelm the Dutch soldiers, the Dutch would then abandon the forts and keeps, and withdraw all the way back to the next series of forts and keeps in the line. This pattern would repeat until, finally, Philippe's forces would reach the walls of Brussels.

Unfortunately, the only thing greeting Philippe were Willem's forces in front of the walls, and Lodvik's forces marching in from the north. The Battle of Brussels, a two day battle that stands as the crowning moment of The Brussels Campaign, as Philippe found himself fighting on two sides, and losing, badly. The highlight of the battle itself was Willem's cavalry charge: at the dawn of the second day of the battle, Willem and his regiment of professional cavalry charged towards the rear of Philippe's lines, hoping to break through and capture the Duke himself. The success of this charge could put the rebels in a position to demand anything from the Duchy of Burgundy that it would want.

Willem's Charge (Painted 1624)
A painting which, as with most art of the era, sacrifices historical accuracy for drama. For example, the Burgundian archers in this picture firing towards Willem's cavalry wouldn't have been positioned where Willem's Charge would have taken place

Willem's cavalry charge proved to be the final straw for Philippe and his forces. As the rear guard fell apart, and Lodvik's forces swept through the Burgundian ranks, Philippe called for a retreat, the Duke retreating back towards Antwerp. The casualities during the campaign were crushing: 5,500 Burgundians died during the month long march to Brussels, their thick numbers only serving to help the volleys of arrows meet their marks, and then 1,500 more died when crushed between the Dutch forces. The Dutch Rebel loss paled in comparison, with the estimated casualities during the march being <100 and during the battle itself the body count amounted to, approximately, 600.

Willem and his forces, being the better rested compared to Lodvik's forces, immediately began pursuing Philippe, Lodvik remaining behind in Brussels to recover his forces from the initial beating taken by his rebel forces previously. As the Burgundians and Dutch progressively moved closer and closer to Antwerp, Philippe found that his forces were shedding numbers faster than he could replace with reinforcements. Whether they be taken by the elements, or by more minor skirmishes against the chasing Dutch rebels, or even by defections (it has been noted that some Dutch soldiers whom joined the Burgundian army during the initial Press, had defected, in small numbers, to the Dutch Rebel Army as the war went on).

When he arrived in Antwerp, historians write, he barely had enough troops to hold his position in the city, and that by the time Willem and his men had broken through and approached the walls of the city, his numbers were so few that they were able to board upon small Burgundian Navy and escape. Though the city would not fall to Willem until later into February, the expulsion of Philippe IV from the Lowlands, even if only temporary, was a cause for much celebration amongst the rebel forces.

A celebration, however, that would not be obtained without a significant loss. Lodvik de Brugge, hardly a young man by the time the war began, fell to exhaustion and war injuries January 22nd, 1460, a mere few weeks before Antwerp would capitulate, and a mere few days after Philippe evacuated from the Lowlands. Lodvik's death has not received much praise or notice in the long history of the Netherlands as, when the history of the Netherlands began, his military record was marred by a large defeat, and the man himself became quickly overshadowed by Willem in his rise to glory. It should not, however, be without mention that without Lodvik, not only would it be unlikely that Willem wouldn't be nominated for a position of power to begin with, but in all likelyhood the war would not have gotten proper support from the nobility, whose minds were quelled by the idea of an experienced general leading the rebellion.

As sad as the event was, the Dutch Revolt had other things that it had to attend to... other situations within its own construction and structure that would need to be dealt with, and one that would set into the bedrock of history a new nation.

Amsterdam: The Seat of the Revolution, and soon to be Seat of Government

[asd21593]

Epic update

[gabor]

Originally Posted by asd21593

Epic update

very true, i had to skim the previous one to remember the characters, great read anyway!

[blsteen]

The Burgundians are fighting a losing battle it seems.

[ubik]

Very Interesting read. Will be following this.

[NACBEAST]

Rising Lowlands: A History of The Netherlands

Chapter 3: The Pristine Provinces of the Netherlands(1460-1463)


Prince Willem I of The Netherlands

I would rather face down one-million Burgundians
than a rabid court of nobles.
-His Excellence, Prince Willem I upon hearing of the nobilities' choice.

In discussing the rise of The Pristine Provinces of the Netherlands, the actual process of hammering out the system of government that would lead and administrate the future, hopeful, territories of the new nation is often overlooked in favor of the glorious battles fought against Duke Philippe IV and his horde of soldiers. After all, the government that would be established in January of 1463 would not last even a century after its founding before being scrapped, the Princes whom would be elected to it, after Willem, would be mostly ineffectual in guiding the nation forward to equal its first rival, England.

While true, these ignore the most base-reasons for the study of the opening government of The Netherlands: the impact it would have upon the continent of Europe. The Netherlands' tradition of having the aristocrats vote for a new monarch would be the foundation on which states such as the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth could find a governmental foundation, and, for better or worse, the basic system of electing a leader would find its way into the heart of Benjamin Churchill's "Glorious Revolution" in Britain during the early 18th Century. Also, if not for the, at the time, unique combination of republican and monarchist forms of government, acceptance of the Dutch state between the common people of the Lowlands and the aristocrats might not have been at all possible.

The Netherlands Compromise

Since the beginning of the Dutch Revolution, talks between the power-players of the Lowlands, from merchants in Amsterdam and Antwerp to aristocrats in Breda and Limburg, had raged on as the attempt was made to hammer out a government that would not only survive possible Burgundian backlash, but thrive once a stable peace was built. While the merchants reminded the nobles that it had been their preferred form of government, a blood-line descended monarchy, that had gotten the Dutch into the unenviable position they were in, the nobility reminded the merchants that the country was, in fact, right in the middle of a very important section of the Holy Roman Empire, and it was doubted that, even if Ladislav of Austria despised the Burgundians, that he would allow the region to 'fall' to a republic, if he could have his way.

The back and forth between aristocrats and merchants continues, as slowly heated arguments turned into tensed discussions, and then tensed discussions turned to finalizing solutions. Finally, by January 4th 1463, the 'The Netherlands Compromise' was finalized between by the assembly of merchants and nobles, a set of laws and governing amendments that both sides could agree on.

The compromise was meant to help placate both sides, giving the peasantry something to latch onto and the merchants some means of pressuring the national government, while the aristocrats would be given means to keep national power and interlace relationships with other monarchist countries.

'The Provincial Governments'

For the merchant class the big take away from the Netherlandic Compromise was the establishments of the 'Pristine Provinces'. As a way to placate the peasants, many of whom were now off fighting the Burgundians for offenses against them, the aristocrats allowed for the provincial election of Governors. Rights to vote were restrained heavily, much like in the other free-cities of the empire, so that only property-owning, more precisely large property-owning, Dutch men could vote for these governors. The powers of the provinces were surprisingly wide, with the governors being in charge of provincial militias, the upkeep of fortresses and river/road tolls. Additionally, should the national government pass a law that three-fourths of the governors might find disagreeable, they could band together to undo the law.

The need for such decentralization in the government of the Netherlands was to, quite simply, keep the populace under control. For nobles from the former County of Holland, this was an understandable limitation, the county having been decentralized itself during its free-reign away from Burgundy. For the other nobles, they learned the lesson that the Burgundians hadn't. They had to be able to appease the peasantry with even the vague promise of voting rights and representation in the government, give power to the merchants, and limit how much damage a particularly power-hungry Philippe IV-esque monarch might do, lest this future Dutch state face a similar rebellion to Burgundy's.

Of course, the nobility had their hold on power that made the deal much more agreeable.

The National Stage

For the nobility, the power that was granted to them, not just province by province, but over the entire nation, were more than enough to satisfy them. The nobility were in charge of deciding who the Head of Government and State would be in The Netherlands. With the death or abdication of a 'Prince' of the small state, the nobility would gather in the capitol of the future nation and vote amongst themselves. Whichever candidate could garner a plurality of the votes of the nobility in the gathering would be crowned the Prince of the Netherlands.

The reason why this power was so desired was because of the powers granted to the Prince of The Netherlands. While the governors controlled the roads and the rives, the Prince would control trade of the oceans and seas, establishing tariff laws and embargoes, barring a 3/4s governor veto. The navy and army of The Netherlands on the national level were entirely within the hands of the Prince, even if the governors objected. The military was the one field where the decision of war, size of the army and size of the navy was to be solely the decision of the Prince. Additionally, the Prince could draw upon the individual provinces militias should the need ever arise.

Additionally, taxation outside of river and road tolls, alliances with other nations, diplomacy on an international scale in general, and civil law (that did not obstruct or run against the laws of the Church) were all within the realms of the Prince's power, though all could be checked by the governors if a wide-enough consensus could be built.

For the merchants who attended the negotiations and discussions for the nation, it was understood that, while a too tightly gripped peasantry could be dangerous, a peasantry that were too far out of the reach of a national force would be as dangerous. A prince who would have the ability over the general law, and an army large enough to enforce it, would be a stabilizing force. Also, in a Europe where bloodlines and nobility were prized above all else, and being blue-blooded could mean the difference between being accepted by your neighbors and being ostracized, a monarchist leader was needed in order to manage relationships with other nations. Though this attitude would change with time, it was the dominant attitude amongst the merchants, for now.

Finally, the decision of where to place the capitol was the one most quickly decided. Amsterdam, having served as the point where the rebellion germinated, where the debates for the nation took place and where the final Compromise between the nobles and merchants took place, would serve as, not only a wealthy capitol to the new nation, but also one already greatly symbolic to the creation of the nation.

With the agreement ready, and the disagreements, mostly, settled the bedrock of the nation was set and ready to be announced to the rest of Europe. However, first, they needed a Prince to show off to the rest of the Europeans. So, an additional day of debate went on, as the nobility began to debate whom would be the best leader for the rising nation. One day was all that was needed in order to establish a consensus amongst the normally divided nobility. They sent out their messenger in search of Willem out on the battlefield and, weeks later, on February 1st, the messenger located Willem and informed him of the decision of the nobility.

Willem I was to be the first Prince of The Pristine Provinces of the Netherlands.

The Warrior Prince

[Wolfhashat]

Not bad constitution for the period, look forward to rival with England, or do we still have a long slog with Burgundians till 1480?

[Willem IV]

Originally Posted by NACBEAST

Amsterdam: The Seat of the Revolution, and soon to be Seat of Government

You can't move the capital out of Breda, not with your name.
please do the honourable thing, next sunday