Five Brothers and a War

History—1500 to 1600 AD

Anabaptists were religious zealots, who engaged in mass religious events, including running around the streets of Amsterdam stark naked, prophesying the imminent end of the world. They would engage in acts of ecstasy, including the placing of red hot coals in their mouths. These excessive actions were enough to ostracize them from Holland. They then concentrated themselves in Münster, Germany, where they waited for the second coming of Jesus. The Catholic bishop in Münster hired troops to kill the Anabaptists, which was largely accomplished in a 1535 bloodbath. Within this environment, a movement was formed by John Calvin that was neither humanistic nor Anabaptist, though it took elements from both. It was rational, yet required adherents to toil daily in God’s service. It also concluded that the leaders of nations who suppressed non-Catholics were evil, and would be brought to God’s justice and judgment. Intellectuals were attracted to Calvinism by the lofty nature of John Calvin’s thoughts and writings. Workers loved the notion that their work was pleasing to God. The religion demanded discipline and a strict adherence to doctrine. It completely rejected all of the extravagant trappings of Catholicism in favor of plain, simple churches. All of this made the religion attractive to the Dutch, and a great many embraced it with open arms. Of course there were still Catholics, but their numbers would wane continuously for hundreds of years. The other major player of the century, one who would shape Holland forever, was Willem van Oranje (“William of Orange”). Willem was born on April 24, 1533 in the castle of Dillenburg in the duchy of Nassau within the Holy Roman Empire. The county of Nassau was located relatively close to modern Holland, being in Hesse, Germany, and only 137 km (85 miles) from the extreme southern tip of Holland. It was established in the 1100s. Over the centuries, Nassau underwent a dizzying number of changes to its geographical borders, caused by the death of its title-holders and then the resultant splitting and later recombining of the territory among the heirs.

holland

Five Brothers and a War

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