History of Amsterdam - Conflict With Spain

Conflict With Spain

The 16th century brought a rebellion by the Dutch against the Habsburg king Philip II of Spain. The uprising was mainly caused by the lack of political power for the local nobility and by the religious intolerance of the Spanish. Although Amsterdam began the war on the Spanish side, it changed sides in 1578 and gave its support to William I of Orange. The rebellion led to the Eighty Years' War and Dutch independence.

One of the results of the war was that Spanish religious intolerance gave way to Dutch tolerance. In Amsterdam people were free to believe what they wanted (within certain limits). In the city a large Roman Catholic minority remained (and Roman Catholicism is still one of the major religions in Amsterdam), but the majority of the people belonged to the Reformed Church and other Protestant denominations.

During these years religious wars raged throughout Europe and many people fled to the Dutch Republic and Amsterdam, where they sought refuge. Wealthy Jews from Spain and Portugal, prosperous merchants from Antwerp and the Huguenots from France all sought safety in Amsterdam.