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HISTORY OF THE UNITED NETHERLANDS
From the Death of William the Silent to the Twelve Year's Truce—1609
By John Lothrop Motley
MOTLEY'S HISTORY OF THE NETHERLANDS, Project Gutenberg Edition, Vol. 76
History of the United Netherlands, 1603-1604
Death of Queen Elizabeth—Condition of Spain—Legations to James I. —Union of England and Scotland—Characteristics of the new monarch —The English Court and Government—Piratical practices of the English—Audience of the States' envoy with king James—Queen Elizabeth's scheme far remodelling Europe—Ambassador extraordinary from Henry IV. to James—De Rosny's strictures on the English people—Private interview of De Rosny with the States' envoy—De Rosny's audience of the king—Objects of his mission—Insinuations of the Duke of Northumberland—Invitation of the embassy to Greenwich—Promise of James to protect the Netherlands against Spain—Misgivings of Barneveld—Conference at Arundel House—Its unsatisfactory termination—Contempt of De Rosny for the English counsellors—Political aspect of Europe—De Rosny's disclosure to the king of the secret object of his mission—Agreement of James to the proposals of De Rosny—Ratification of the treaty of alliance— Return of De Rosny and suite to France—Arrival of the Spanish ambassador.
On the 24th of March, 1603, Queen Elizabeth died at Richmond, havingnearly completed her seventieth year. The two halves of the littleisland of Britain were at last politically adjoined to each other by thepersonal union of the two crowns.
A foreigner, son of the woman executed by Elizabeth, succeeded toElizabeth's throne. It was most natural that the Dutch republic and theFrench king, the archdukes and his Catholic Majesty, should be filledwith anxiety as to the probable effect of this change of individuals uponthe fortunes of the war.
For this Dutch war of independence was the one absorbing and controllinginterest in Christendom. Upon that vast, central, and, as men thought,baleful constellation the fates of humanity, were dependent. Around itlesser political events were forced to gravitate, and, in accordance totheir relation to it, were bright or obscure. It was inevitable thatthose whose vocation it was to ponder the aspects of the politicalfirmament, the sages and high-priests who assumed to direct human actionand to foretell human destiny, should now be more than ever perplexed.
Spain, since the accession of Philip III. to his father's throne,although rapidly declining in vital energy, had not yet disclosed itsdecrepitude to the world. Its boundless ambition survived as a politicaltradition rather than a real passion, while contemporaries still trembledat the vision of universal monarchy in which the successor of Charlemagneand of Charles V. was supposed to indulge.
Meantime, no feebler nor more insignificant mortal existed on earth thanthis dreaded sovereign.
Scarcely a hairdresser or lemonade-dealer in all Spain was less cognizantof the political affairs of the kingdom than was its monarch, forPhilip's first care upon assuming the crown was virtually to abdicatein favour of the man soon afterwards known as the Duke of Lerma.
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