How did towns in Holland and Zeeland respond after Brielle was captured in 1572?
Following the capture of Brielle by the Geuzen in April 1572, a wave of support spread through the towns of Holland and Zeeland. The Calvinists, acting as a radical minority, played a pivotal role by pressuring conservative town magistrates to either cooperate with the revolt or resign.1
As a result, numerous townsâincluding Flushing, Veere, Enkhuizen, Oudewater, Gouda, Dordrecht, Leiden, Hoorn, and Haarlemâjoined the movement, with Amsterdam being the notable exception that kept the Geuzen out. This shift in power allowed the Calvinists to seize control of churches for their services, close monasteries, and eventually forbid Roman Catholic services.1
This momentum culminated in July 1572, when the states of Holland gathered in Dordrecht and proclaimed William, the prince of Orange, as the stadtholder of Holland and Zeeland, providing the revolt with a formal legal basis.1