then to understand how the Dutch revolt started, we must go back to Charles V, in particular in his last years of government and the policies he initiated (which will be taken as an example by his successors) after Charles came of age to rule from alone, he began to consolidate his power in the region with two different strategies: the military conquest at the expense of the French or minor counts and lords who were part of the HRE (in particular he conquered Tournai, Friesland, Utrecht, Overijssel, Groningen, Drenthe, Guelders and Zutphen between 1521 and 1543 ) at the end of this process we see Charles starting a policy of centralization of his lands, with the Pragmatic Sanction of 1549, with which Charles united the Netherlands into a single indivisible entity called the Seventeen Provinces.
Between 1554-56, during a series of abdications, Charles retired to Yuste in Spain and his titles were divided : the Austrian lands went to his brother Ferdinand (who is elected Holy Roman Emperor) and the Spanish lands went to his son Philip , together with the territories in Italy (Naples, Milan, Sardinia), together with the Seventeen Provinces and Franche Comte (after he visited them with his father)
but governance in the Netherlands proved problematic, as the region was a strong local traditions (especially in the northern parts), they also had a vocal Protestant minority and were heavily taxed. These factors contributed to widespread riots.
In 1566 in Steenvoorde in Flanders, the popular iconoclastic revolts called the Beeldenstorm began. With remarkable speed he reached the north of the rivers in the same year, and in reaction the Duke of Alba was sent from Spain to the Spanish Netherlands to bring the rebels into line. Alba's harsh and repressive policies failed and began a gradually growing rift between Spain and the rebels. In 1572 the Watergeuzen captured the city of Brielle and the flames of revolt were rekindled. Many riots broke out in other cities, some spontaneous and some led by Geuzen. In 1572 and 1573, the Spanish army sacked Mechelen, Naarden and Haarlem, killing thousands. In 1576, underpaid Spanish soldiers mutinied and sacked Antwerp. These events, called the Spanish Furies, stiffened the revolt and made a peaceful conclusion more difficult.
Note that up to this point the rebels have not denounced Philip as their ruler. In 1575 the rebels and Spain entered into peace negotiations. The rebels demanded the indemnity of Protestantism and a higher local share in the government (which would equate to lower taxes). But Philip, a devout Catholic, did not give up.
moreover, many Governors were not up to the task, even if elsewhere they showed remarkable skills, an example above all is
Margaret of Parma , which saw further objections to taxation arise and the rise of Calvinism. She also witnessed a power struggle between her, the clerics, the magnates, the council of state and the Protestants. His alarming letters, warning of hundreds of thousands of rebels, led Philip II to send the Duke of Alba at the head of tens of thousands of Spanish troops.
Of course, the same reign of the Duke of Alba began with the Council of Blood which saw a strong repression of the rebels, both Catholic and Protestant. Most prominently, those executed include the Comte de Egmont and Philip de Montmorency, both heroes of Philip II's army. Instead of pacifying the region, this reinforced the local nobility's belief that their king was thirsty for blood and revenge. Additionally, the presence of such a large body of troops led to increased taxes and burdens on local cities. The Duke of Alba was mostly victorious in battle, but the locals increasingly turned against him.
furthermore Alba's policies were seen as extreme, in particular Cardinal de Granvelle thought Alba's use of violence, calling it "counterproductive" in one of his letters. Eventually, after many complaints and poor results, the Duke of Alba was recalled and replaced.
The Dutch also did not represent other Spanish commanders in the same light as Alba. Alessandro Farnese, the Duke of Parma, for example, enjoys a rather favorable reputation in Dutch history books, despite the fact that he came much closer than Alba to putting down the Dutch revolt.
His replacement, Don Luis de Zuniga y Requesens, preferred the compromise. He recommended amnesty to all but the most ardent heretics. He led armies to victory in battle. However, when the money didn't arrive from Spain, he was forced to negotiate and, worse still, some of his troops mutinied and sacked the cities.
King Philip II's illegitimate brother, Don John of Austria, fresh from the great victory of Lepanto, was sent to the Netherlands to be regent, but he died and was replaced by Alessandro Farnese, son of Margaret of Parma. Farnese was able to rally the Catholic rulers and Protestants with loyalist tendencies behind him, with local support he managed to reconquer lost cities: Tournei, Maastricht, Breda, Bruges, Ghent, opened their doors to him rather than risk a long and bloody siege. finally he laid siege to Antwerp and won that city but the intensification of the war of religion in France forced him to have to deal with several fronts at the same time and not be able to close the matter with the rebels, furthermore the Spaniards were the only ones to torture and kill dissenters, Calvinists also tortured and killed Catholics, particularly at Brielle, where Watergeuzens captured civilians and sold them into Mediterranean slavery
it can safely be said that what began as a purely political revolt against the centralist programs of Philip's government, aimed at removing the existing privileges of the various counties and standardizing the administration, turned into a revolt dominated by the thought of a rich elite opposed to real politics and imbued with the reformist thought of the time ( very anti-Catholic, it is slightly millenarian ) because of wrong or too hasty policies and one disastrous campaign from a propaganda point of view in ( the one undertaken by Alba ) therefore I would argue that the revolt and the subsequent 80 years war, can easily be avoided or mitigated, even if there will always exist some friction between a monarch who wants to centralize his domains and his subjects with very strong ties of political independence/autonomy ( a process very similar to the one that happened in Italy between the XIV / XV century with the birth and expansion of lordships to the detriment of neighboring cities or political entities )
