At the time, Spain ruled the Low Country, or what are now Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, which were predominantly Protestant. Spain was a strict enforcer of Catholicism and threatened to execute anyone who worshipped as a Protestant.
Spain also levied heavy taxes on the Low Country’s royals. So, these royals got together and drafted a document that listed their grievances. This was the Petition of Compromise and it asked the Spanish authorities to stop persecuting Protestants, to remove Spanish soldiers from the Low Country, and allow the region’s nobles to once again rule their lands as they saw fit. To Spain, this was no compromise; it was a declaration of indepen- dence, and it was rejected.
Spanish troops were sent into the Low Country to enforce Catholicism and taxation. But, in the Low Country, the simple act of drafting the petition had changed things. As the Nobles talked with each other, they began forming an alliance that presented a largely unified revolt against Spain. That revolt turned into the 80 Years War, which ultimately led to the independence of the Low Country.
The painting titled "The Compromise of the Dutch Nobles at Brussels, 1566," by Édouard De Bièfve in 1849 in the Romantic style. Exhibited at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Liège, Belgium.
On this day in the year 1566, the Petition of Compromise was presented to Spanish authorities and struck a blow for independence and freedom of religion.
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