The Earl of Leicester as Governor-General of the United Netherlands

Sale: CNG 75, Lot: 1324. Estimate $200.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 23 May 2007.  Sold For $400. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

LOW COUNTRIES, Verenigde Nederlanden (United Netherlands). 1581-1795. AR Twintigste Leicesterreal of stoter (3.18 g, 11h). Dordrecht mint. Dated 1587. Laureate, draped, and armored bust of the Earl of Leicester right / Bundle of seven arrows within ornate frame; 1587 in legend. Gelder, Nederlandse 44.2; P&W Ho29; NM 2.18.42. VF, toned.

Between 1568 and 1648, the Seventeen Provinces (mod. Benelux) revolted against Philip II of Spain, who had received the territories as part of the inheritance of his father, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Very quickly the revolt became an opportunity for outside interests, particularly England, to become involved as a way of indirectly attacking Spain. Following the Plakkaat van Verlatinghe, or formal declaration of independence from Philip in 1581, the northern provinces offered the crown to Elizabeth I. Preferring rather to continue with indirect aid, Elizabeth refused. However, the assassination of Willem van Oranje in 1584 compelled England to act in a more direct way. Under the terms of the Treaty of Nonesuch in 1585, Robert Dudley, First Earl of Leicester and Elizabeth’s long-time favorite, was appointed Governor-General and sent with an English expeditionary force to support the Dutch in 1586. Dudley, however, publicaly unpopular, proved to be a poor commander and within a year of his arrival returned to England, eventually to command the land troops preparing for an anticipated invasion of England by the Spanish.