Part 1 The background: historical background - the Habsburgs and the Burgundian inheritance, the extension of Habsburg power, the structure of government, other divisive influences, a new ruler - continuity and change. Part 2 Descriptive analysis: prelude to revolt 1559-1566 - growing opposition - garrisons, Spanish councillors and bishoprics, the heresy factor a turning point?; the first revolt 1566-1568 - the "compromise" of nobility, the crisis of 1566-67 - iconoclasm and the Spanish debate and the defeat of the rebels, Alva and the invasion of William of Orange; Alva's regime and the second revolt 1568-1576 - 1572 - the sea beggars and William of Orange, Holland and Zealand, Spanish mutiny and bankruptcy, the pacification of Ghent and the widening of resistance; from fragile unity to deepening crisis - the break-up of the Netherlands 1576-1584 - the Unions of Arras and Utrecht, Anjou and the Act of Abjuration; the birth of the Dutch Republic to the twelve years' truce 1584-1609 - Elizabeth I and the Armada, Leicester's brief governorship, political and constitutional arrangements, the Spanish Netherlands; the twelve years' truce 1609-1621; war with Spain 1621-1648. Part 3 Assessment: the economics of revolt - the Dutch Republic, the southern provinces, Spain; military aspects of the revolt - the terrain, the armies, fortress warfare; political and constitutional issues - was the Dutch revolt a revolution? - did the States-General of the Netherlands become revolutionary in the 16th century?, the campaign to dismiss Granvelle 1566, Alva and 1572, the peace talks at Breda (1575) and the revolt of 1576, the Union of Utrecht (1579). Part 4 Documents.
