Spain was then the most potent power in Europe, and the
Netherlands, which formed part of the dominions of Spain, was the
centre of commercial prosperity. Holland possessed above 800
good ships, of from 200 to 700 tons burthen, and above 600 busses
for fishing, of from 100 to 200 tons. Amsterdam and Antwerp were
in the heyday of their prosperity. Sometimes 500 great ships
were to be seen lying together before Amsterdam;[9] whereas
England at that time had not four merchant ships of 400 tons
each! Antwerp, however, was the most important city in the Low
Countries. It was no uncommon thing to see as many as 2500 ships
in the Scheldt, laden with merchandize. Sometimes 500 ships
would come and go from Antwerp in one day, bound to or returning
from the distant parts of the world. The place was immensely
rich, and was frequented by Spaniards, Germans, Danes, English,
Italians, and Portuguese the Spaniards being the most numerous.
Camden, in his history of Queen Elizabeth, relates that our
general trade with the Netherlands in 1564 amounted to twelve
millions of ducats, five millions of which was for English cloth
alone.
The religious persecutions of Philip II. of Spain and of Charles
IX. of France shortly supplied England with the population of
which she stood in need--active, industrious, intelligent
artizans. Philip set up the Inquisition in Flanders, and in a
few years more than 50,000 persons were deliberately murdered.
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