Geuzen

This article is about the 16th century opposition to Spanish rule. For other uses, seeGueux.

Battle between Dutch and Spanish ships on the Haarlemmermeer,26 May 1573. Sailing before the wind from the right are the Spanish ships, identified by the flags with a red cross. Approaching from the left are the ships of the Sea Beggars.Hendrick Cornelisz Vroom.

Relief of Leiden by the 'Sea Beggars' on flat-bottomed boats, on 3 October 1574, during theSiege of Leiden.Otto van Veen,1574.

Geuzen(Dutch pronunciation:[ˈɣøːzə(n)];lit. 'The Beggars';French:Les Gueux) was a name assumed by the confederacy ofCalvinistDutch nobles, who from 1566 opposedSpanish rule in the Netherlands.The most successful group of them operated at sea, and so were calledWatergeuzen(Dutch pronunciation:[ˈʋaːtərɣøːzə(n)];lit. 'Water Beggars';French:Gueux de mer). In theEighty Years' War,theCapture of Brielleby theWatergeuzenin 1572 provided the first foothold on land for the rebels, who would conquer thenorthern Netherlandsand establish an independentDutch Republic.They can be considered either asprivateersorpirates,depending on the circumstances or motivations.

Origin of the name

The leaders of the nobles who signed a solemn league known as theCompromise of Nobles,by which they bound themselves to assist in defending the rights and liberties of the Netherlands against the civil and religious despotism ofPhilip II of Spain,wereLouis of NassauandHendrick van Brederode.On 5 April 1566, permission was obtained for the confederates to present a petition of grievances, called the Request, to the regent,Margaret, Duchess of Parma.About 250 nobles marched to the palace accompanied by Louis of Nassau and Brederode. The regent was at first alarmed at the appearance of so large a body, but one of her councillors,Berlaymont,allegedly remarked "N'ayez pas peur Madame, ce ne sont que des gueux"(" Fear not madam, they are only beggars ").

Traditional emblem of the Geuzen

The appellation was not forgotten. In a speech at a great feast held by some 300 confederates at the Hotel Culemburg three days later, Brederode declared that if need be they were all ready to become beggars in their country's cause. Henceforward the name became a party title. The patriot party adopted the emblems of beggary, the wallet and the bowl, as trinkets to be worn on their hats or their girdles, and amedalwas struck having on one side the head of Philip II, on the other two clasped hands with the mottoFidèle au roy, jusqu'à porter la besace( "Loyal to the King, up to carrying the beggar's pouch" ). The original league of Beggars was short-lived, crushed byAlba,but its principles survived and were to be ultimately triumphant.

In theDutch languagethe wordgeuzennaamis used forlinguistic reappropriation:a pejorative term used with pride by the people called that way.

"Sea Beggars"

William II de la Marck(1542–1578), a leader of the Sea Beggars

In 1569William of Orange,who had now openly placed himself at the head of the party of revolt, grantedletters of marqueto a number of vessels manned by crews of desperadoes drawn from all nationalities. Eighteen ships received letters of marque, which were equipped byLouis of Nassauin the FrenchHuguenotport ofLa Rochelle,which they continued to use as a base.

Theseprivateersunder the command of a succession of daring and reckless leaders, the best-known of whom isWilliam de la Marck, Lord of Lumey,were called "Sea Beggars", "Gueux de mer"in French, or"Watergeuzen"in Dutch. At first they were content merely to plunder both by sea and land, carrying their booty to the English ports where they were able to refit and replenish their stores. Already by the end of 1569, 84 Sea Beggars' ships were in action.

Capture of Brielle,1 April 1572 (Frans Hogenberg)

Historic parade in Den Briel to celebrate the 540th anniversary of the Capture of Brielle on April 1, 2012. The leaders of the sea beggars, William II de la Marck, Lord Lumey (middle), Willem Bloys van Treslong (left) and Lenaert Jansz de Graeff (right).

However, in 1572, QueenElizabeth I of Englandabruptly refused to admit the Sea beggars to her harbours. No longer having refuge, the sea beggars, under the command of De la Marck,Willem Bloys van TreslongandLenaert Jansz de Graeff,made a desperateattackuponBrielle,which they seized by surprise in the absence of the Spanish garrison on 1 April 1572. Encouraged by this success, they now sailed toVlissingen,which was also taken by acoup de cul.The capture of these two towns prompted several nearby towns to declare their support for the revolt, starting a chain reaction that resulted in the majority ofHollandjoining in a general revolt of the Netherlands, and is regarded as the real beginning of Dutch independence.

In 1573 the Sea Beggars defeated a Spanish squadron under the command ofAdmiral Bossuoff the port ofHoornin theBattle on the Zuiderzee.Mi xing with the native population, they quickly sparked rebellions againstDuke of Albain town after town and spread the resistance southward.

In 1574 the Sea Beggars, under AdmiralLouis de Boisotparticipated in the lifting of theSiege of Leiden.

Some of the forefathers of theDutch naval heroesbegan their naval careers as sea beggars, such as Evert Heindricxzen, the grandfather ofCornelis Evertsen the Elder.

Geuzen symbols

Main articles:Geuzen medals,Liever Turks dan Paaps,Turco-Calvinism,andAnglo-Turkish piracy

Geuzen medal,cast silver, tooled, about 1570, with the slogansLIVER TVRCX DAN PAVS( "Rather Turkish than Papist" ) and EN DESPIT DE LA MES ( "In spite of the Mass" )

As part of a propaganda campaign including prints, pamphlets and much else, manyGeuzen medalswere created as badges of affiliation, using a wide range of symbolism, including that associated with theOttoman Empire.William I of Orangesought Ottoman assistance against the Spanish kingPhilip II.

Dutch Ships Ramming Spanish Galleys off the Flemish Coast in October 1602,1617, oil on canvas byHendrick Cornelisz VroomandCornelis Vroom

The "Geuzen" were expressing their anti-Spanish and anti-Catholic sentiments. They considered the Turks to be less threatening than the Spaniards. During the years between 1579 and 1582, representatives from Grand VizierSokollu Mehmed Paşatravelled several times from Istanbul to Antwerp.

There were, in fact, objective grounds for such an alliance. At the same time that the Dutch rebels were conducting their raids on Spanish shipping, the Ottoman Empire was involved in its own naval war with Spain, culminating in the 1571Battle of Lepantoin Greece. For Spain to face a coordinated double-pronged naval challenge, by the Ottomans in the Mediterranean and the Dutch in north European waters, would be to the advantage of both of its foes.

The sloganLiever Turks dan Paapsseems to have been largely rhetorical, and their beggars medals in the form of a half moon were meant symbolically. The Dutch hardly contemplated life under the Sultan. Moreover, there was no direct contact between the Geuzen and the Turkish authorities. The Turks were considered infidels, and the heresy of Islam alone disqualified them from assuming a more central (or consistent) role in the rebels' propaganda.

In popular culture

• The Geuzen are featured very prominently in Dutch and Flemish popular novels, such asCharles de Coster'sThe Legend of Thyl Ulenspiegel and Lamme Goedzakand comics series such asCori, de ScheepsjongenbyBob De Moor,Tijl UilenspiegelandDe GeuzenbyWilly VandersteenandGilles de GeusbyHanco KolkandPeter de Wit.In English they appear inCecelia Holland's novelThe Sea Beggars.

• During theGerman occupation of The Netherlands in 1940–1945an anti-German resistance group in the area ofVlaardingen,MaassluisandRotterdamadopted the name ofGeuzen.

• The Sea Beggars are also a unique unit of the Dutch Empire inCivilization V.

• The Sea Beggar is the mascot ofProvidence Christian College.

Gallery

• 
  TheBattle on the Zuiderzee
• 
  TheBattle on the Zuiderzee
• 
  TheCapture of Brielle
• 
  TheSiege of Leiden
• 
  The Prince of Orange and Watergeuzen enter Leiden after itsSiege.

See also

• Dutch Revolt
• Sea Dogs

References

Silver medal commemorating theCapture of Briellein 1572 by theSea Beggars

• Kervyn de Lettenhove,Les Huguenots et les Gueux,(six volumes, Brussels, 1882–85)
• Renon de France,Histoire des causes de la désunion... des Pays-Bas,(three volumes, Brussels, 1886–91)
• Jurien de la Gravìere, "Les gueux de mer" inRevue des Deux Mondes(Paris, 1891–92).
• Van der Horst (2005)Nederland: de vaderlandse geschiedenis van de prehistorie tot nu.(3rd edition; in Dutch). Amsterdam, Bert Bakker.ISBN90-351-2722-6.p. 132
• McCabe, Ina Baghdiantz (2008)Orientalism in early Modern France,Berg.ISBN978-1-84520-374-0
• This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Gueux, Les".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.