A Letter sent from the Prince of Parma unto the Borrowmaisters, Sheriffs, and Magistrate of the Town of Anwerpet Also to the great Counsel called Den Breeden Raedt, and the Fraternities of the same.  
Whereunto is adjoined the Answer of the said Borrowmaysters, Sheriffs, Treasurers, Receiver, and counsel, with the common consent and general advow of the Whole Town.  
Printed at London for Edward Aggas. 1585.   


Alexander Prince of Parma and pleasance, Governor, Lieutenant, and Captain general, etc.  
dearly and well-beloved, The tediousness of this inward war & desolation which this Country hath sustained, have given you sufficiently to understand, and as it were palpably to feel the small duty that you owe unto the causers of the same, who in respect of their own passions and particular interest, have procured the destruction of the poor people. It is not therefore necessary to repeat unto you all such things as have passed since the beginning of these troubles, sith even the most ignorant have evidently perceived that the stirrers up of these wars bent not their endeavour to the maintenance of common commodity and quiet, but rather to whatsoever tended to the particularities of their dangerous devices. For in case we should begin to rip up their dealings we should find first that the late of Orange sought no other but a continual confusion of all things, and never cared for succouring any one of those towns which my L. the King's army besieged & conquered. The like may we report of the French, for yourselves are to testify how they purposed to entreat your wives and children in recompense of such and so many honours as you strained yourselves to heap upon them. Now that God hath been served in calling out of this world as well the one as the other, and that thereby you do on the one side find your forces decay, and on the other do perceive your Kings great power together with such happy success as it pleaseth God the Creator daily to grant unto him to increase, it were more than time for you to have some respect to your own safeguard, & the discommodity of your poor people oppressed & environed with so many mischiefs, whereunto in the end they shall be forced to stoop. A Cause that being moved by private zeal which we bear to the country, as well in respect of the place from whence we be descended, as also of such courtesies as we there tasted in our youth, we have heretofore by our letters endeavoured to represent unto you, even as well to you particularly, as also generally to all other the towns & provinces such means as in God and our consciences, did unto us seem most expedient for the restoring of the whole country to peace and quietness, but in as much as the late of Orange and others (who sought only by the destruction of the country & blood of so many innocents to intrude themselves into the government and dominion of the same) did wickedly detain & suppress our said letters, we thought it good now for a final conclusion to write yet this one unto you, wherein we desire you with all fervency & zeal possible to take pity upon your wives, children, & desolate country. Once again call to remembrance & look back upon such rest and felicity as every man heretofore did enjoy under the obedience of his Majesty, & contrariwise consider of the destruction and extremity wherinto at this present your country is reduced, which yet daily (if the war continue) will more & more increase, unto the very type & uttermost period of the same. Henceforth stop your ears against the lying inventions & subtle persuasions of those which do maintain & feed you with this error of mistrust of the goodness & sincerity of the king your natural prince, which nevertheless is such that notwithstanding the injuries be bitter & hard to digest, yet doth he not stand upon them, but offereth you perfect & perpetual oblivion. Furthermore in case you be disposed, according to the desire of more than half your Bnrgesie of Antuerpe (as by such advertisements as daily and hourly from all parts we do understand) to enter communication & parley, we do promise ye that for our parts we will in such wise concur with you in whatsoever honestly and reasonably you may propound, that you shall effectually perceive that we be rather led by a fatherly affection and unfeigned good will the we bear to your private benefit and tranquility, than any other our own interest and particular passion, or mistrust of the success of our enterprises. Whereas contrariwise if you do purpose to be obstinate & stubborn, yourselves will procure the impairing of all conditions of reconsiliation: furthermore protesting that ourselves are altogether blameless in the shedding of so much innocent blood, as also of whatsoever calamities may hereafter ensue. To the end therefore that hereafter no man pretend cause of ignorance of this our good will together with such offers as we make unto you, we do write our Letters to the same effect, unto the great Counsel called Den Breeden Raedt, and other the Fraternities: beseeching the Creator so to touch the hearts of those that may do most among you, that the wealth & quiet which you are hereby to hope for, may according to our hope, shortly ensue. And so praying the Lord to have you most dearly & well-beloved in his holy & worthy protection, we cease. From our Camp at Stabrocck this 13. of novemb 1584.  
Signed Alexander, and somewhat lower, Garnier. The superscription, To our dearly and well-beloved the Borrowmaisters, Sheriffs, and Counsel of the town of Antuerpe.   

The Answer.  
MY Lord, your highness Letters of the 13, of this month, respectively written unto the Magistrate, the deans of Fraternities, & the great Counsel of this Town have been received & read, as well by our College, as by all the members of our town in the great counsel of the same expressly assembled to that end: Whereunto of one consent we have resolved for answer to show to your highness in all reverence, that the exhortation to us made that we should consider of the intent of those that have been procurers of this inward war, we have accepted in very good part as proceeding from your highness good affection that you bear to these countries, which you do wish to be reduced to some better quietness, as ourselves do also heartily desire the same, and in consideration thereof do most humbly thank you. But under your correction, it seemeth that your highness are not sufficiently informed of the true original and fountain of this war▪ for it is manifest to all the World that against our wills, and to our great grief we were forced thereto by the drifts and practices of those, who for their own private purposes, and to the end to establish in these countries a dominion in effect more than royal, have under pretence of religion, with their sinister informations procured at the Kings majesties hands (unto whom as also to all other the high and mighty Princes his predecessors, these countries have evermore borne as faithful and true obedience, as ever any other nation in the world did bear to their Prince) generally against all the inhabitants of the country, of whatsoever estate, condition, age, or kind, the erection of the most horrible & cruel persecutions the were ever herd of or practised, together with infinite confiscations of goods, proscriptions, banishments, and bloody executions, by fire, sword and halter, against all sorts of poor, honest, and innocent people, who even unheard in their just & lawful defence, have been without imposition of any crime condemned, only for gathering together to pray and call upon one God, through our only mediator Jesus Christ, according to his own word and commandment: whereupon contrary to the treaties, agreements and edicts, so firmly made and published by the Lady of Parma, your highness mother, with the aduow and consent of the whole counsel of estate, yea even in the kings name, under his authority and seal, have ensued such tyrannical executions by the late Duke of Alva, and the Spaniards, not against the poor commons only, but also against the principal governors, Lords, Barons, & Nobles of the country, of whom his majesty had received most notable service: the manifest infringing of all rights customs & privileges, sworn unto by all Princes of these countries: the subversion of all seats of Justice, which have been committed unto such men as by all ancient laws & privileges of the country, were utterly uncapable of the same. The raising of diversforts, and untolerable, unjust, & unlawful exactions, together with the utter oppression of all the liberties of the whole country. Which things being so notoriously committed against all ordinary form of Justice, could not possibly bring forth any other fruit than this miserable war which have overwhelmed us in this flood of mischiefs & sea of calamities. We do therefore beseech your highness to believe that we never entered into this war of any pleasure neither by the motion or persuasion of the late Lord the P. of Orange of famous memory, who came not hither, but at the instant request of the estates, as well of the Prelates, as of the Nobles & towns, neither usurped any other authority then with great importunity was laid upon him. But that of mere extremity, and inevitable necessity we were forced and constrained to take Armour, and to enter into these Conflicts, whereof we desire nothing in this World, more earnestly, than some good end by a happy peace and general tranquility.  
We do also most humbly thank your Highness for such Parley as at this present you do offer us the fruition of, and can not sufficiently commend & extol your magnanimity, who having more than any other Governor your predecessors, made proof of your virtue and valiancy in arms, do nevertheless so courteously offer to accompany the same with all gentleness and clemency: a virtue undoubtedly most commendable, even in the greatest Princes and monarchs. So that having before time been thus persuaded of your highness, if we could have been certified that you had sufficiently been authorised to have granted unto us whatsoever accerding to your wisdom & discretion, you had known necessary for the establishing of a good and perfit peace, we would never have so long delayed the committing of ourselves into your protection: neither would we have sought to enter into any other communication and conditions then your Highness of your own discretion, together with your clemency & courtesy. should have thought reasonable, as nothing doubting but that willingly ye would have followed & moved the King likewise to follow the path of the Noble and commendable examples of other the great kings and princes his Predecessors, who in the like disease having more nearly searched out the root of the mischief, have found it unpossible to attain to the perfit cure thereof, & to the maintaining of their subjects in a steadfast peace & firm quietness, accompanied with all faithful duty & obedience to their superiors, without granting them liberty of their religion, whereof at all times they offered to give account to any unsuspected or not partial Judges, in all free assemblies & lawful synods. For in this respect have they found the especial and most sovereign remedy for all these mischiefs to consist in moderate condescending unto the just & lawful request of their subjects, as appeareth by the examples of the most victorious & mighty Emperors of famous memory Charles the v. Ferdinand and Maximilian in Germany, also of the most Christian kings in France, & the kings of Polland, in their dominions. But when as by infinite testimonies, & even by sundry declarations which your highness have made unto us, we were certainly advertised that it lay not in you any way to dispose of that point, which nevertheless is the only ground & principal pillar whereupon this peace or war doth consist, yea & that the King finding himself subject to the Spanish Inquisition, & the Pope of Rome's commandments, had neither authority nor liberty to grant to his christian subjects the same which the Pope & sundry Italian Princes do permit to the Jews & Turks, & without the which it is utterly unpossible to turn from the people a continual course of all sorts of calamities, we found ourselves past all hope of attaining unto any thing the might breed our assured rest, the same necessity which forced us to enter into these wars, did also constrain us to continue the same, thereby to defend ourselves from so untolerable & wicked oppression, so the after infinite most humble supplications, petitions, declarations & protestations as well by writing as by our deputies sent into Spain, besides the manifold intercessions & mediations of divers christian kings & princes in vain prosecuted for the space of 20 years or more, we were finally compelled to have our recourse to foreign Princes: And at this present pondering the great & singular wisdom, equity & moderation whereby the most christian King doth maintain his subjects as well of the one as the other religion in all rest & tranquility, & finding also ourselves in such want & necessity, we cannot dissemble which your highness, but must needs give then to understand the all the united provinces which are confederate with us by a general & universal resolution have already had recourse to the most christian Majesty, & most humbly have besought him to take our cause in hand, & as his subjects to receive us into his protection, to the end to defend us from so extreme rigour & cruelty: wherein he hath given us so courteous audience & good hope that according to the duty wherein solemnly & generally we all stand now bound unto him, it is no longer in us to enter into any communication or Parley the may never so little be prejudicial to our offer & promise, unless we would willingly incur a just reproach of the greatest unsteadfastness & ingratitude in the world. Moreover as we are but one member of the said generality, also the by solemn oath we have bound ourselves not to enter into any parley or treaty of peace without the general consent & agreement of all others the united provinces, we cannot, though we would, accept your highness offer before we have obtained the consent and good will as well of them, as of the said most Christian Majesty. Hereupon do we therefore most humbly desire your Highness; the according to this your fatherly courtesy & clemency which so freely you offer unto us, it may please you not to mislike that before we enter into any Parley we do according to our duty, send your highness letters unto the said united provinces, & by their consent & agreement do likewise exhibit them unto his said most christian Majesty, to the end the sith it hath pleased him to do us so much honour as to hearken to our most humble complaints which in other place have been rejected, we do nothing without his leave & toleration, lest we should give him just cause to cast us of as deceitful, inconstant, & unthankful persons. As concerning the protestation which it pleaseth your Highness to make toward the end of your letter, we do undoubtedly believe that yourself are not the cause of shedding so much innocent blood, neither of such mischiefs as may ensue, for that the original of this war proceedeth from an other foundation. But withal we do most humbly pray you to consider that for our parts we are not justly to be blamed, as being entered only into defensive war, not tending to any other than the maintaining of ourselves, our wives & children in life & liberty of conscience & in the free calling upon the name of God, through our only Saviour & mediator Jesus Christ, & that therefore for our parts we would willingly cease from all shedding of blood, in case it might likewise please your highness in effect to prosecute the moderation & clemency which in letters it pleaseth you to show unto us, by staying the same likewise on your side, to the end the by the verification of this beginning, we may judge of the assurance of the rest: farther beseeching your highness to believe that we do both admire & love your virtues, & withal our hearts do desire to yield unto you most humble service in what soever our honour, Oath & conscience, (which we pray that we may reserve to God only) may any way permit. Hereupon my L. most humbly kissing your highness hands, we beseech God to send unto you whatsoever may be most for your health.  
From Antwerp this 23 of November. 1584. Of your Highness The most humble at command. The Borrowmaisters, Sheriffs, Treasurers, Receiver & counsel of the Town of Antuerp, having imparted the same to others the members assembled at Breeden Raedt, and the Fraternities of the same Town. By their decree and signed, B. Berlecom. The Superscription, To his Highness.