An immediate source of conflict therefore lay with the grandees as their position was overlooked, most evidently through the creation of the Consulta which consisted of three loyal servants to Philip, including Cardinal Granvelle, which hence replaced the grandees in terms of the amount of influence they could exert on the Governess General, Margaret of Parma. The fact that the once highly influential political body of the Netherlands, the Council of State, had little significance and was largely ignored infuriated the grandees as their political clout in Dutch affairs was reduced, which again caused tension between the grandees and Philip II, which can be shown through the movement powered by Count Egmont, Hornes and Prince William of Orange against the much hated Granvelle.
Another political factor, although somewhat minor, was the role Margaret of Parma, the Governess General, played. The character and inexperience of Margaret may explain her ineptness in being to deal the Iconoclastic Riots effectively. For example her exaggeration through the Servgovia letters to Phillip II regarding the riots which can be seen as the cause as to why Philip sent the Duke of Alva, ‘The Iron Duke’ to help the situation. This consequently led to Alva’s reign of terror which unquestionably had major political causes; such as the execution of central members of the nobility (Egmont and Hornes) which had a terrifying effect on the other grandees. This execution portrayed how vulnerable the grandees had become compared to before Philip had come to power, they were no longer exempted from punishment as their influence and positions of authority were now so diminished.
It can be argued that regarding Philip’s policy over religion it was not primarily a religious struggle yet did have repercussions. The growth of heresy initiated many of the new religious reforms which in turn had many political consequences. The religious issues however were particularly fundamental. With the introduction of the Bishoprics Scheme in 1561, the increased new amount of fourteen bishoprics and 3 new archbishops also brought along a new wave of inquisitors to stamp out heresy, which therefore led to further political implications not only those of religion. Heresy had been growing in the Netherlands since Charles V reign when it had first started to spread from Germany. This new increase of heresy can be seen as to why the bishopric scheme and the inquisition where introduced as Philip had been well known for being uncompromising on matters of religion.
One cause of the Dutch Revolt was indeed primarily concerned with religion, the Bishoprics Scheme, however had large political implications, as for the grandees it was the political implications that they were more against, rather than the introduction of the new diocese and appointment of bishops. One example as to why the grandees were angered was because of the fact that with the Bishoprics Scheme, anticlericalism was combated, and thus abuses such as nepotism and simony were brought to an end. This ending, of in particular nepotism, therefore hindered the bishops as they now found it difficult to find a place for their illegitimate children to reside. The grandees on the other hand feared the Bishopric Scheme as it brought along a new wave of Inquisitors as thus they felt that the Dutch people would not have freedom concerning religion. This introduction of a Dutch Inquisition, also brought fear to the neighbouring Protestant countries which were involved heavily in the trade industry based in Antwerp, therefore this fear greatly hindered trade in the Netherlands. One of the most evident and even important results created by the Scheme was the fact that Granvelle was made primate of the new bishops, and thus his power was again heightened as he was already on the Consulta, thus combining his political and religious power.
William of Orange’s involvement is a key example of how the political issues outweighed the religious differences for the grandees. In particular Orange was at this stage solely motivated by his own political position which was under threat with the succession of Philip. Although Orange was an advocate for religion he would not be the figurehead for the revolt movement until much later, and even later he was willing to change his religious beliefs to political reasons, though born a Calvinist Orange had to convert to Catholicism to fulfil the terms of the heritance on becoming Prince of Orange from his cousin and then later conformed to Calvinism for the political advantages. However, it is clear that after the first wave of the revolt, the Iconoclastic Riots that religion did have some significance in terms of prompting Orange to lead the Dutch Revolt because of his wish for religious tolerance. Orange’s links with the French Huguenots paired with his success of receiving help from Protestant Elizabeth I of England without doubt made it easier for him to embark on the Revolt. This, joint with Orange’s decision to finance the Watergeuzen meant that Orange made it more religious following the first wave of revolt. However, for the grandees and nobles, the political motives in the Netherlands were undeniably the most important factor in furthering the revolt compared to religious matters. It can be seen that religious factors were indeed important in terms of motivating the revolt yet only up to the year of 1572.
After the ‘Petition of Compromise’ and thus Margaret’s relaxation of heresy laws meant that hedge preaching of was able to thrive in an environment where it would not be suppressed and thus heresy grew from the ideas spreading from Germany. This hedge preaching can be seen as the trigger cause of the Iconoclastic Riots in 1566, a religious cause, and therefore religion was seen as the main driving force by the peasants.
With the Sea Beggars attack on Brielle in 1572, the religious differences between Spain and the Netherlands concerning Catholicism had come to the forefront of the reasons for the Revolt. However the religious policies of Philip II had not differed greatly to those of Charles V, and thus it can be seen that during Charles’ reign; the involvement of the grandees was much more integrated, however Philip managed to alienate the grandees (e.g. with the introduction of the Consulta and the Segovia letters which consequently brought Alva). Therefore it can be seen that the causation of the Revolt was purely religious, Orange sided with whichever political body could further his own cause at the time.
