Letters from the Segovia Woods facts for kids

The Letters from the Segovia Woods are important letters sent by Philip II of Spain. He wrote them to his regent, Margaret of Parma, who was in charge of the Habsburg Netherlands (which is now mostly Belgium and the Netherlands).

These letters, sent on October 17 and 20, 1565, and July 31, 1566, said "no" to requests to stop the laws against heresy. Heresy meant having religious beliefs different from the official Catholic Church. Philip's strong refusal to change these laws played a big part in starting the Eighty Years' War.

Why These Letters Were Written

Philip II continued the strict rules against people with different religious beliefs, just like his father, Charles V, had done. But in the Netherlands, many people were against these harsh rules.

In 1565, a group of important leaders in the Netherlands decided to send Lamoral, Count of Egmont to Spain. His job was to ask Philip II in person to make the rules less strict. However, he didn't get an answer right away.

Philip II often moved between different places in Spain. One of his favorite spots was a house called La Casa del Bosque de Segovia. This house was in the woods near the city of Segovia. Because he wrote many letters from this place, thousands of them are called "letters from the Segovia woods." But the ones about religious policy, sent after Egmont's visit, became especially famous in history.

Events in 1565 and 1566

The first two letters from October 1565 arrived in Brussels in early November. They were Philip's answers to Margaret's letters from July 1565. Margaret had asked for the rules of the Inquisition (a religious court) to be relaxed. She also asked for mercy for some Anabaptists who had been found guilty.

Philip II said "no" to all her requests. His letters even sounded a bit annoyed. He mentioned earlier letters where he thought he had already made his orders very clear.

These letters did not help calm the people in the Netherlands. In December 1565, a group of nobles started a political movement called the Compromise of Nobles. They formed this group directly because of Philip's letters.

Also, on January 24, 1566, one of the main leaders, Prince of Orange, showed he was unhappy with Philip's religious rules. He even threatened to quit his job.

Things got even more serious on April 5, 1566. About 400 members of the Compromise group gave a petition (a formal request) to Margaret. They again asked for the laws against heresy to be made less strict.

Margaret then sent two more leaders, the Marquis of Bergen and the Baron de Montigny, to Spain. They carried the petition and tried to convince Philip to agree. But after listening to them, Philip sent a second set of letters from the Segovia Woods on July 31, 1566. In these letters, he said he saw no reason to change his mind. He also clearly told Margaret not to call a meeting of the States General of the Netherlands, which she had suggested.

What Happened Next

While everyone waited for Philip's answer to the petition, the government in Brussels had already stopped enforcing the strict laws. This made the Calvinists (a type of Protestant) in the country feel braver. Many who had left the country because of the harsh rules now came back. They started holding open-air religious meetings, and many people attended.

At first, these meetings were peaceful. But after Philip's final "no" letter arrived, social unrest began. In August and September, there was a wave of angry attacks on churches. People destroyed religious art and church fittings. This event is known as the Iconoclastic Fury or Dutch: Beeldenstorm. Calvinists even took control of some cities, like Valenciennes.

These uprisings made Philip II decide to send an army to the Netherlands. The army arrived in 1567, led by the Duke of Alba. His harsh actions against the rebels started the Dutch Revolt, a long war for independence.

Sources

• Kossmann, E.H., Mellink, A.F. (1974) Texts concerning the revolt of the Netherlands. Cambridge University Press, ISBN: 0-521-20014-8, ISBN: 978-0-521-20014-1

See also

In Spanish: Cartas del Bosque de Segovia para niños