Count Egmont on the scaffold before his execution (Brussles, 1568) 插畫檔

Lamoral, Count of Egmont, was executed on June 5, 1568, for high treason and heresy, on the orders of King Philip II of Spain. Although Egmont himself was a devout Catholic throughout his life and loyal to the Spanish royal house, he became caught up in the escalating Dutch struggle for independence (the Eighty Years’ War). As a member of the Dutch Council of State, Egmont, together with William of Orange, opposed Philip II’s uncompromising religious policies. They demanded religious tolerance for the growing Protestant population and resisted the introduction of the Spanish Inquisition in the Netherlands. To nip the rebellion in the bud, the Spanish king dispatched the notorious Duke of Alba to the Netherlands with an army. While William of Orange fled in time, Egmont remained in the country because he mistakenly believed that his loyal service in the Spanish military would protect him. Alba, however, lured Egmont and the Count of Hoorn into a trap and had them arrested in September 1567. He brought them before a special political tribunal, the infamous “Council of Troubles” (Conseil des Troubles). The execution of these two prominent, Catholic, and essentially loyal statesmen in Brussels’ market square was intended to serve as a deterrent to nip any opposition in the bud. However, the plan backfired: Instead of intimidating the population, Egmont’s execution turned him into a martyr and only served to further fuel the nationwide uprising against Spanish rule. Wood engraving, published in 1899.