Geuzen ( Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɣøːzə(n)] ; lit. ' The Beggars ' ; French : Les Gueux ) was a name assumed by the confederacy of Calvinist Dutch nobles, who from 1566 opposed Spanish rule in the Netherlands . The most successful group of them operated at sea, and so were called Watergeuzen ( Dutch pronunciation: [ˈʋaːtərɣøːzə(n)] ; lit. ' Water Beggars ' ; French: Gueux de mer ). In the Eighty Years' War , the Capture of Brielle by the Watergeuzen in 1572 provided the first foothold on land for the rebels, who would conquer the northern Netherlands and establish an independent Dutch Republic . They can be considered either as privateers or pirates , depending on the circumstances or motivations.
26-607: Gueux can mean different things: Les Gueux ("The Beggars") and les Gueux de mer ("Sea Beggars"), name taken on during the Eighty Years' War by the Dutch rebels against Spain . Claude Gueux , short story by Victor Hugo Reims-Gueux - a French racing circuit Gueux , a commune of the Marne département , in France Gueuze ,
52-578: A base. These privateers under the command of a succession of daring and reckless leaders, the best-known of whom is William 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
78-617: A diversion in the south, William wrote to Louis asking for help. That spring, Louis, along with his youngest Nassau brother Henry and the Elector Palatine ’s son Christopher of Bavaria, crossed the Meuse with their army. They hoped to be a decent diversion but found themselves outmaneuvered by the Spanish troops under an experienced leader, Sancho d'Avila . Leading the charge on the Spanish Louis
104-498: A pejorative term used with pride by the people called that way. In 1569 William of Orange , who had now openly placed himself at the head of the party of revolt, granted letters of marque to a number of vessels manned by crews of desperadoes drawn from all nationalities. Eighteen ships received letters of marque, which were equipped by Louis of Nassau in the French Huguenot port of La Rochelle , which they continued to use as
130-447: A style of beer Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Gueux . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gueux&oldid=1093203176 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
156-562: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Les Gueux The leaders of the nobles who signed a solemn league known as the Compromise of Nobles , by which they bound themselves to assist in defending the rights and liberties of the Netherlands against the civil and religious despotism of Philip II of Spain , were Louis of Nassau and Hendrick van Brederode . On 5 April 1566, permission
182-578: The 1571 Battle of Lepanto in 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 slogan Liever Turks dan Paaps seems 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
208-536: The Spanish troops. Louis won the army the Battle of Heiligerlee but his younger brother Adolf fell in the battle. Although William wanted Louis to retreat to Delfzijl , Louis remained in Groningen , where he met the much smaller army led by Alva himself (2,000 Spaniards against 12,000 Protestants). Louis fell back towards Jemmingen where, on July 21, 1568, the battle raged for three hours until Alva's army drove them over
234-611: 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. Louis of Nassau Louis of Nassau (Dutch: Lodewijk van Nassau, January 10, 1538 – April 14, 1574) was the third son of William I, Count of Nassau-Siegen and Juliana of Stolberg , and
260-587: The Turks to be less threatening than the Spaniards. During the years between 1579 and 1582, representatives from Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmed Paşa travelled 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
286-483: The battles at Jarnac and Moncontour . At the latter action, he was given command of the right wing of the Huguenot army and, after Coligny was wounded and left the field, he took control of the whole force. He was unable to prevent its defeat, but covered the retreat with his cavalry. Ultimately, he was able to improve their French connections as governor of the principality of Orange . In 1572 Watergeuzen had captured
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#1732858125304312-506: The bridges of the Ems and eventually into the Ems itself. Many drowned trying to cross the river; Louis stripped himself of his heavy armor and was able to swim across to safety. In the end the Dutch rebellion lost 7,000 men at the battle of Jemmingen . After Jemmingen, Louis re-joined his brother William and went back to France where they joined up with Huguenot leader Admiral Coligny . He fought in
338-607: The city of Brielle and claimed it for William. Soon most cities in Holland and Zeeland were in the hands of the rebels and William once again became stadtholder of Holland and Zeeland. Louis quickly raised a small force in France, and entered Hainaut on May 23, capturing Mons . Suddenly Alva found himself held between two enemies with his own army rebellious and unpaid. William tried to relieve his brother at Mons but after an attempt on his life from which he barely managed to escape, he
364-543: The end of 1569, 84 Sea Beggars' ships were in action. However, in 1572, Queen Elizabeth I of England abruptly 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 Treslong and Lenaert Jansz de Graeff , made a desperate attack upon Brielle , which they seized by surprise in the absence of the Spanish garrison on 1 April 1572. Encouraged by this success, they now sailed to Vlissingen , which
390-534: The entire campaign and the sources of the war-treasury to his interrogators. Louis entered Friesland on April 24, to which Alva responded by sending an army under the command of Jean de Ligne, Duke of Aremberg . The Spaniards had an inferior force, and Aremburg wanted to wait for reinforcements from the Count of Meghem , but he was late in coming and Aremberg's men were mutinous and pressured him to offer battle. The two armies met at Heiligerlee on May 23, where Louis ambushed
416-561: The grandfather of Cornelis Evertsen the Elder . As part of a propaganda campaign including prints, pamphlets and much else, many Geuzen medals were created as badges of affiliation, using a wide range of symbolism, including that associated with the Ottoman Empire . William I of Orange sought Ottoman assistance against the Spanish king Philip II . The "Geuzen" were expressing their anti-Spanish and anti-Catholic sentiments. They considered
442-603: The northern Netherlands through Friesland , Jean de Villers entered the southern provinces between the Rhine and the Meuse and the Huguenots would invade Artois . The Army under Louis's command would eventually be the only one to gain a victory. Jean de Villers and his troops were captured two days after they crossed the Meuse, while the Huguenots were attacked and defeated by French royal troops at St. Valery. Jean de Villers eventually betrayed
468-589: The port of Hoorn in the Battle on the Zuiderzee . Mixing with the native population, they quickly sparked rebellions against Duke of Alba in town after town and spread the resistance southward. In 1574 the Sea Beggars, under Admiral Louis de Boisot participated in the lifting of the Siege of Leiden . Some of the forefathers of the Dutch naval heroes began their naval careers as sea beggars, such as Evert Heindricxzen,
494-491: The words "Quoi, Madame. Peur de ces gueux?" "What Madame, afraid of these beggars?". It was from this moment on that the opponents of King Philip's policy proudly took the name Beggars ( Les Gueux , Geuzen) as their own. With the coming of Alva , Louis and his brother William withdrew from the Netherlands. From outside they gathered an army and in 1568, with the help of French Huguenots , they were able to invade from three sides. Louis and his younger brother Adolf would enter
520-513: The younger brother of Prince William of Orange Nassau . Louis was a key figure in the revolt of the Netherlands against Spain and a strongly convinced Calvinist , unlike his brother William, whom he helped in various ways, including by arranging the marriage between him and his second wife Anna of Saxony . In 1569 William appointed him governor of the principality of Orange , giving him an indisputable position in French politics. In 1566 he
546-411: Was also taken by a coup 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 of Holland joining 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 of Admiral Bossu off
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#1732858125304572-462: 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 a medal
598-515: 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"). The appellation
624-594: Was one of the leaders of the league of lesser nobles who signed the "Compromis des Nobles" . The Compromise was an open letter, in the form of a petition, to King Philip II of Spain stating that he should withdraw the Inquisition in the Netherlands. On April 5, 1566, with the following of two hundred horsemen, the Compromise was presented to the regent Margaret of Austria . During this audience one of her councilors, count Charles of Berlaymont , tried to calm her nerves with
650-473: Was struck having on one side the head of Philip II, on the other two clasped hands with the motto Fidèle 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 by Alba , but its principles survived and were to be ultimately triumphant. In the Dutch language the word geuzennaam is used for linguistic reappropriation :
676-514: Was unable to come to Louis's aid. Alva was now able to bring the surrender of Mons on good terms and on September 19 Louis and his army left Mons with the honors of war. Diverting Alva's attention to Mons had made it possible for the North to strengthen itself and although he may have regained Mons he had lost Holland, which was now strong enough to resist. In 1574 funds were running low and the Spanish were closing in on Middelburg and Leiden . Hoping for
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