Editing Reformation (section)

===Revolt in the Netherlands===
{{Main|Eighty Years' War}}
[[File:Beeldenstorm (Iconoclastic Fury) in Antwerpen 1566 Frans Hogenberg.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.3 |alt=People dragging down sculptures and breaking windows in a large church|Engraving of the sack of the [[Cathedral of Our Lady (Antwerp)|Church of Our Lady in Antwerp]] (1566) by [[Frans Hogenberg]]]]

More Protestants fell victim to persecution in the seventeen provinces of [[Habsburg Netherlands]] than in any other country between 1523 and 1555.{{refn|group=note|Around 1,900 individuals were executed for heresy; about two-thirds of them were Anabaptists.{{sfn|Cameron|2012|p=387}}}}{{sfn|Lindberg|2021|p=283}} The ruthless persecution prevented the establishment of Evangelical congregations although Luther's ideas were widely discussed in [[Flemish people|Flemish]] communities.{{sfn|Lindberg|2021|pp=285–286}} Reformed theology spread among the [[Walloons]] through individuals' correspondence with Calvin and the Genevan academy from the 1540s. Nicodemism was not unusual but uncompromising Protestants disturbed Catholic ceremonies.{{refn|group=note|In [[Tournai]], a Protestant man seized the sacramental bread during the mass, condemning "papist idolatry". An other man called a Catholic cleric a false prophet in [[Ghent]].{{sfn|Lindberg|2021|p=288}}}}{{sfn|Lindberg|2021|pp=287–288}} The preacher [[Guido de Bres]] (d. 1567) established the first permanent Reformed congregations.{{sfn|Cameron|2012|p=387}} He was a main contributor to the ''[[Belgic Confession]]'', a confessional document based on the ''Gallican Confession'', first published in [[Walloon language|Walloon]] in 1561, and in Dutch in 1562. The ''Confession'' sharply criticised the Anapabtists, and emphasized the importance of church discipline.{{sfn|Cameron|2012|p=387}}{{sfn|Lindberg|2021|pp=288–289}}

In 1566, {{nowrap|[[Compromise of Nobles|300 nobles]]}} requested {{nowrap|Philip II's}} [[List of governors of the Habsburg Netherlands|governor]] [[Margaret of Parma]] (d. 1586) to moderate anti-heretic legislation. Although the petitioners were mocked as "[[Geuzen|beggars]]",{{sfn|Lindberg|2021|p=289}} Margaret was open to a compromise. Protestant refugees returned from abroad, and religious enthusiasts stirred up public demonstrations.{{sfn|MacCulloch|2003|p=302}} On the night of 20–21 August 1566, a Protestant mob sacked the [[Cathedral of Our Lady (Antwerp)|Antwerp Cathedral]], introducing a [[Beeldenstorm|popular iconoclastic movement]] that spread all over the Netherlands.{{sfn|Cameron|2012|p=388}}{{sfn|Eire|2022|p=129}} In 1567, Philip appointed [[Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba]] (d. 1582) to crush the riots. Alba arrived at the head of a 20,000-strong army, and introduced a reign of terror, leading to the execution of thousands of people.{{sfn|Lindberg|2021|p=289}} A prominent aristocrat [[William the Silent]], [[Prince of Orange]] (d. 1584) assumed the leadership of the resistance. His "Sea Beggars"—a squadron of privateers—seized the provinces of [[County of Holland|Holland]] and [[County of Zeeland|Zeeland]] by 1572,{{sfn|Cameron|2012|pp=388–389}} although the Reformed communities were in the minority in most towns.{{refn|group=note|For instance, Protestants made up less than 3 per cent of the population in the town of [[Alkmaar]] in 1576.{{sfn|Collinson|2005|p=139}}}}{{sfn|Collinson|2005|p=139}}

{{nowrap|Philip II's}} government faced bankruptcy and his unpaid Spanish troops [[Sack of Antwerp|sacked Antwerp]] in 1576. This led to a [[Eighty Years' War, 1576–1579|general revolt]] against Spanish rule. The Catholic aristocrat [[Philippe III de Croÿ]], [[Duke of Aarschot]] (d. 1595), made an alliance with William the Silent but rivalry between Catholics and Protestants did not abate. In 1581, the northern provinces united under William's leadership, and [[Act of Abjuration|renounced allegiance]] to Philip. In the south, Margaret of Parma's son [[Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma|Alessandro Farnese]] crushed the revolts,{{sfn|Cameron|2012|p=389}} forcing about 100,000 Protestants to seek refugee in the north.{{sfn|Lindberg|2021|p=290}} Developed from the union of seven northern provinces, the [[Dutch Republic]] remained under the loose leadership of the [[House of Orange-Nassau|House of Orange]].{{sfn|Cameron|2012|p=389}} The Reformed pastors were eager to transform the whole society along their ideas. They failed because William preferred a more tolerant approach, and significant Protestant groups associated church discipline with Catholicism. As a consequence, Evangelical, Annabaptist and Catholic communities survived in the Dutch Republic.{{sfn|Lindberg|2021|p=291}} Heterodox theologies could also spread, such as the views of [[Jacobus Arminius]] (d. 1609) who argued that an individual could resist divine grace. Although [[Arminianism]] was rejected at the international [[Synod of Dort]] in 1619, it continued to influence Protestant theologians.{{sfn|Cameron|2012|p=390}}