My British Empire

  Chapter 425 The panic of the Dutch

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  Flanders is a historical place name in Western Europe, including East-Flanders and West-Flanders in Belgium, Pas-de-Calais and Nord in France, and Zeeland in the Netherlands.

  In the sixteenth century, Flanders generally refers to the southern part of the ancient Netherlands, located in the southwestern part of the Western European lowlands and along the coast of the North Sea.

  The Netherlands is an economically developed area in Western Europe. At this time, it has a population of 3 million, and there are more than 300 cities in 17 provinces. Antwerp in the south is the center of international trade, and Amsterdam is the economic center in the north.

  Here, trade has been prevalent since ancient times, and it is also the richest place in the European continent, and it is also a treasure land that all countries dream of.

  The Habsburg family controlled this place and made it their own money bag, continuously contributing to the Habsburg dynasty.

  The annual tax accounted for half of the fiscal revenue of the Habsburg dynasty.

  With the accession of Philip II, this devout Catholic believer finally revealed his anger towards heresy.

   With the actions of the Inquisition in Spain, all Protestants, ***, have suffered a major blow, and Catholicism has re-established its authority.

   And Philip II, with the victory of the Italian war and the religious suppression, established his domestic prestige, and those old nobles had to succumb to his subordinates and obey his orders.

  So, his eyes turned to the Netherlands, especially the Flanders region, which is a wealthy region. He absolutely cannot tolerate being taken over by Protestantism.

   Not only to maintain the Catholic faith, but also to consolidate his rule, he finally stretched out his claws to the Netherlands.

   First, he sent his new governor to the Netherlands to carry out religious actions.

  In the period of Charles V in history, the number of Protestants who were persecuted reached more than 50,000, and people were already complaining.

  At this time, the new governor was a woman.

  The governor is Margaret, Duchess of Parma.

  She is the illegitimate daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.

  She was raised by Charles V's aunt, Archduchess Margaret of Austria, and sister, Queen Mary of Hungary.

These two ladies are outstanding women, successively served as the Governor of the Netherlands (Margaret 1507-1530, Mary 1530-1555), guarding the most affluent territory for the Habsburg family, is an outstanding political Home.

  Therefore, Margaret was placed high hopes by Philip II, and let her own sister continue to guard the Netherlands.

  After the female governor took office, although she treated people softly and sympathized with the experience of the Dutch people, she still carried out her brother's order without hesitation.

   As a result, the Inquisition prevailed throughout the Netherlands, and all the Protestants were panicked and uneasy.

  Business has been affected, and it is much more depressed than in the past.

  Under the coercion of the new governor, the atmosphere in the Netherlands seemed a little uneasy.

  At this time, Thomas Grassan came to the trade center—Antwerp by boat.

  As soon as he got off the boat, Geleshan felt that although the whole city was still prosperous in business, it made people feel uncomfortable.

   "Hans, what happened in the Netherlands recently?" Sitting in the carriage, looking at the nervous passers-by outside the car, Gele Shan couldn't help asking the person in charge of his family in Antwerp.

  As one of the few wool merchants in the United Kingdom, especially in the Netherlands, which has close ties with England, Geleshan certainly arranged some people to take care of the business.

   "Sir, a trustworthy female governor came to the Netherlands recently. She hates heretics. Although the methods are not drastic, they still have a great impact!"

   "Looking at the pedestrians on the road, you are always worried, and you will be caught by the monk who suddenly appeared! How can you care about doing business!"

  The supervisor who stayed behind pointed at the sad-looking pedestrian, shook his head, and said helplessly.

   "En!" Seeing such a picture, Gele's confidence in completing the task doubled in his heart.

  Boris is a craftsman, and it can also be said to be a weaver.

  He was over 40 years old, originally wanted to go home and retire, keep his previous savings, buy a grocery store, and spend his retirement leisurely.

  Who knew, the tyrant carried out the Inquisition in Spain, expelled and persecuted a large number of Protestants, and then extended his claws to the Netherlands.

  The new female governor faithfully carried out the order of the tyrant, and implemented a series of prohibition and persecution policies against Protestants, which made everyone feel insecure, and even he trembled a little when he usually did things.

  Looking around, there are fewer and fewer pedestrians on the street, and it is getting dark soon. I have to go home quickly, otherwise it will be bad if something happens.

  Boris hurriedly speeded up and returned to his home.

  However, to his surprise, his mother-in-law did not greet him at the door, which made Boris a little angry. He worked hard for his family, but he didn't understand anything.

  Just stepped into the house, Boris' first reaction was that the house was so bright, and his second reaction was, who is this person?

  I saw that in his home, in his seat, sat a well-dressed gentleman, followed by two subordinates, and his wife, who was sitting a little timidly, lowered her head.

   "Well, this gentleman, don't you know why you are here?" Boris was taken aback for a moment, then a smile appeared on his face, and he said in a low voice.

   "Excuse me, are you Mr. Boris, a senior weaver?" Ge Leshan, who was sitting on a chair, smiled kindly and asked.

   "Of course, do you have any orders?" Boris was about to deny when he heard that he was looking for him specially, but when he saw the old wife shrinking on the chair, he sighed and agreed simply.

   "We're here to find you!" As he spoke, Ge Leshan hinted with his eyes, and the guard at the side took out a money bag, revealing the glittering gold coins inside.

   "Here are fifty gold coins, please come with us!" Grashan's voice was very friendly, but his words were very domineering.

   "Where are you going?" Boris couldn't help asking.

   "England!" Gele said habitually.

   "Let me think again!" Boris glanced at the gold coin, swallowed his saliva, and said tremblingly.

  As a senior weaver, he doesn't eat or drink, and it takes him five years to accumulate it. The temptation is too great.

   Seeing that the effect of the gold coin offensive was not obvious, Ge Leshan immediately persuaded:

   "Mr. Boris, even if it's not for gold coins, for your wife, for the family of your married daughter, you should leave the Netherlands!"

   "Think about it, Your Majesty the King hates Protestantism very much. This year's new governor has proved this. Next, I think the situation of the Netherlands and Spain is not far away!"

   Boris shuddered at the thought that his family would be persecuted and judged like the Spanish Protestants.

   Think again that England is also a Protestant country, which should be much better than the Netherlands.

  Looking at the gold coin one last time, Boris made up his mind.

  (end of this chapter)