SPAIN AND HOLLAND SHARED HISTORY

CHARLES V
Charles was born in Flanders, spoke French, and became Duke of Bergundy as a child. As he grew up, he inherited three more crowns from different grandparents: Hapsburg Austria, Spain, and the German lands.
He first went to Spain as a foreigner from Flanders, not speaking a word of Spanish, but he soon regarded Spain as the most important part of his empire,setting the capital in the city of Toledo and dying in Silos monatery in Badajoz.
SOCIAL BACKGROUND
In 1492, Columbus landed in America, and within a generation Spain had conquered the once-mighty Inca and Mayan empires. Spain was enriched by silver and gold brought back across the Atlantic by fleets of treasure ships,
Despite the treasure pouring in from America, Charles V also levied heavy taxes on the towns and cloth industry of the Netherlands. He needed money for endless wars, and to built forts to protect his empire.
PHILIP II( CHARLES V'S SON)
The struggle to rule the Low Countries
In 1566 Philip II was short of money. Dutch Protestants began to openly threaten Spanish rule. They held open-air prayer meetings guarded by armed men, then started smashing Catholic religious images in churches. Philip II believed up to half the population of the Low Countries had joined the Protestants, and sent in a big Army which drove the Protestant leaders into exile. With help from England and France, they returned, and captured fortified towns in the northern (Dutch) provinces.
PHILIP THE II AND THE REBELLION OF THE DUTCH PROTESTANTS
Charles V's son Philip II, a devout Catholic, took over Spain and the Netherlands from his father in 1556.
By this time, there were many Protestants in the Netherlands. Like Louis XIV, Philip II believed it was his duty as a king "appointed by God" to fight for the Catholic church. Backed by the the Jesuits and the Spanish Inquisition, his savage repression of Protestants soon led to a rebellion that disrupted the Spanish empire in the Netherlands.
Bankrupted by the cost of keeping armies in the Low Countries, the Spanish Treasury stopped paying the troops in 1575. By 1577, Dutch Protestants led by William of Orange governed virtually all the Netherlands, and demanded freedom of worship. This was too much for Philip, who raised money to send his nephew the Duke of Parma with a powerful army to regain control.
By 1585, Parma had captured the key port of Antwerp, and driven the Dutch rebels back to their northern strongholds. Their situation was desperate and morale low - Queen Elizabeth sent English troops to rescue them from collapse.

This angered Philip II, who sent the Spanish Armada in 1588 to escort the Duke of Parma's army across the North Sea to invade England and put a friendly Catholic on the English throne. Driven off at the sea battle of Gravelines, the Armada failed. The English and Dutch gained new confidence in attacking the Spanish at sea around the world. Spain did not agree to a truce until 1609 - and did not recognise the Dutch Republic until 1648.
By the middle of the 17th century, France was the rising power in Europe. Spain was weakened by wars, corruption and inflation.
A powerful young French king, Louis XIV, took advantage of this weakness. He waged an initially successful campaign,against the decaying Spanish Empire. Year-by-year, his army besieged and captured more towns in Spanish Flanders.
But the Dutch protestant prince William of Orange rallied the Dutch army and beat them back. He also married English king Charles I's grand-daughter Mary - hoping to bring England in on the Dutch side.
England, Holland and Austria formed an alliance, and crushingly defeated Louis' armies.
Treaty of Utrecht 1713
The Allies insisted that Spain and its Empire should be split. The Austrian branch of the Hapsburg family took over the remains of the Spanish Netherlands. In a fairly humiliating peace treaty in 1713, Louis bought peace by sacrificing his gains in what is now Belgium. His kingdom was nearly bankrupt with the expense of years of fighting. But he did manage to hang on to Calais,and Lille.

AMSTERDAM, THE VENICE OF THE NORTH

STREETS,BUILDINGS AND CANALS I

STREETS,BUILDINGS AND CANALS II

STREES, BUILDINGS AND CANALS III

STREETS, BUILDINGS AND CANALS IV

STREETS,BUILDINGS AND CANALS V

STREETS,BUILDINGS AND CANALS VI

THE BICYCLES

THE FLOWERS

THE MUSEUMS

DIAMONDS AND CAKES

RELIGIOUS HOLLAND