From the Berlin Wall to an iconic speech by Winston Churchill, Zelensky’s speeches to friendly parliaments are time and again laced with historical references. It was therefore expected that he would mention the downing of MH17 and the Second World War in his speech to the House of Representatives. But Zelenski also made a reference that rang a bell with fewer Dutch people: the conquest of Brielle, or Den Briel, by the Watergeuzen.
They took over this South Holland port city from the Spaniards on April 1, 1572. This happened a few years after the start of what is now called the Eighty Years’ War, the battle in which the Netherlands broke away from the Spanish Empire. The conquest is seen as the first important victory of the Dutch over the Spaniards. It provided the insurgents with a base of operations.
In the days of the capture of Brielle, the war had even more the character of a popular uprising. The Watergeuzen were also not a centrally controlled force, but rather a group of marauding pirates. It is not for nothing that their name came from the French gueux; poor man or thief. The Geuzen saw their chance when it turned out that few Spanish troops were present in Brielle.
Similar battle
Four days later, the Spaniards tried to retake the town, but failed, partly because a carpenter had flooded the area by breaking a lock. With Den Briel as their base of operations, the Watergeuzen were able to take Vlissingen, Veere and Zierikzee from the Spaniards, among others. A few months later, a large number of cities in Holland and Zeeland sided with the insurgents.
Zelensky drew a parallel between the situation of the Netherlands in the 16th century and Ukraine today. After the victory over the great Spanish Empire, the Netherlands could build a country on values such as freedom, democracy and diversity of religion, he said. His point: Ukraine is fighting a similar battle against a major world power today.
With this tolerance for other religions, things were not going so well among the Watergeuzen, who were mostly Calvinist, a Protestant movement immediately after the victory over Den Briel. Several months after taking over the city, they hanged 19 local Catholic clergymen who refused to convert.
Nationally, the conquest of Brielle is not celebrated in the Netherlands, but the port city itself will, from Friday. The city owes its shield spell to the event: Libertatis Primitiae; firstfruits of freedom.