The Second Civil War
De Tweede Burgeroorlog
On June 11th, 1643, King Willem Dumonceau recalled Parliament after 9 years of closure. Willem wanted to assert more power over the Parliament, whilst suffering from paranoia - believing Parliament could not be trusted. Willem proposed a bill to Parliament which would essentially render Willem an absolute monarch, reducing Parliament to a mere advisory body which Willem would have complete authority over. Willem, who hoped the Parliament would be willing to do so, had convinced himself that Parliament would do his bidding, as it was their job.
Instead, after a month of delay, the Parliament, already wary of Willem’s health and ability to command such power over Parliament, passed a bill called 'De Beperkingswet' (The Limitation Act), which restricted Willem’s ability to propose bills to Parliament directly, instead having to go through processes with the upper house. Parliament equallt did not trust Willem’s dedication to Parliament and democracy, so the bill dictated that Parliament must be called once every three months. Willem dissolved the Parliament four days of the bill being passed in both houses, meaning the Parliament was one of the shortest-lived in Aubervijan history. This period is referred to as De Beperkt Parlement (The Limited Parliament).
On December 4th, 1643, Willem ordered the arrest of five men;
Antonie Bosschaert,
Johannes de Lairesse,
Campegius Berckheyde,
Lambert van Poelenburgh,
Hugo van Hövell tot Westerflier.
These five men were known as ‘De Liga van Vijf’ (the League of Five). All five were good friends of each other, and commanded great influence within Parliament. All five were notorious republicans, often speaking out against the monarchy at any chance they could get. The five were deemed a threat by Willem, who charged them with treason, collusion against the Crown and blasphemy, among other trumped-up charges. Instead, the five simply went to court, where the charges were dropped soon after.
Willem then attempted to overrule the decision of the courts, holding his own, separate trial without the five attending. He suspended their membership in Parliament, however at the next session, they attended regardless and nothing was done to ensure their suepension. Willem ultimately found it humiliating, and understood how difficult it was to command Parliament to do his bidding.
On the 2nd of January, 1644, the League of Five became the League of Six (de Liga van Zes), as Vincent-Martien Florentijn Casper de Maurissens (later shortened to Vincent Martien) was introduced to the five by Lambert van Poelenburgh. Vincent Martien was a captain in the Army, and was already an MP. The five deemed Vincent Martien to be, at first, a dull, uninteresting character, but he would later prove his worth.
During a sitting of Parliament called by the King on the 1st of February, Willem ordered a troop of 15 men to storm Parliament, carrying the arrest warrants for the six. Instead, politicians sympathetic with the six or the republican cause held the doors together, preventing the troop from entering, in a rather chaotic series of events. Eventually, their arrests were abandoned, and Willem, once again humiliated, was even more wary of Parliament, which he was right to be.
Vincent Martien saw the chaos that unfolded as a chance to turn it into something bigger. It is deemed very cunning and crafty by historians today, but Vincent Martien deliberately spurred unrest within the army, and convinced Parliament that the nation was descending into civil war, and that sides had to be chosen in order to preserve Aubervijr.
The republicans managed to muster a force of around 40,000 men. They met in the rural town of Slenaken, and agreed amongst themselves that Aubervijr had to be defended, and so began to draw up plans for a civil war.
As this happened, Parliament, now convinced that Willem was a threat to democracy and their very existance, passed a bill called "Afschaffingswet", or the “Abolition Act". The bill stripped the King of all of his powers over the Parliament, and of his very title as ‘King’. The bill didn’t directly strip him of his titles, however deemed that the monarchy was no longer valid, and that a “provisional committee” would instead take the place of the head of state, on the 1st of March.
King Willem, who now just Willem, declared the acts of the Parliament to be high treason, and rallied royalist forces in the town of Hulsberg. Initial estimates suggest Willem rallied a force numbering some 22,000 men.
The league of six, however held a meeting with King Willem in the town of Ermelo, which was deemed to be in the middle of their influence. The aim of the meeting was to prevent all-out war and come to an agreement which would prevent the bloodshed all sides feared, however the meeting didn’t end well. King Willem abandoned the meeting not long after it started, and war was now seen as the only option.
The first battle of the civil war occured on the 12th of March, 1644, when a skirmish between 600 royalists and 340 republican forces.
300 Commonwealth longbowmen sat on two hills with a view of the valley below, with 150 in each hill. The remaining 2,900 sat behind a treeline in the valley, where the Royalists were marching to meet them. At exactly 11:13 AM, longbowmen, who had been crouched behind a false summit, stood up and began firing on the Royalists.
The battle was strategically, a royalist victory. The outnumbered republicans retreated not long after conflict started, however Ronald Weijn, a politician and the commander of the 600 royalists, was somehow captured. Its not clear how, witnesses say Weijn was somehow isolated from his soldiers and was dragged from his horse during the early stages of the skirmish. However, it dealt a blow to the royalist cause early on. The loss or capture of royalist commanders would prove to be the theme of the war.
Over the course of the next two weeks, a major battle occured between Willem and Vincent Martien, near the town of Nuth. Willem’s force numbered some 4,500, whilst Vincent Martien commanded around 3,750 - however, the battle ended as a republican victory, with the royalists losing over half of their men. Willem was never an adept military commander, and whenever he took command of any force, it often led to a defeat.
Between March and November of 1644, numerous battles occured, most being minor, small battles however several decisive battles also took place. Royalist forces were becoming better at repelling republican attacks towards the winter of 1644, and less battles took place from November until early spring of 1645.
On November 14th, 1644, representatives of Parliament met with the leaders of the Church of Aubervijr. Aubervijr had adopted their own form of Messianism since its arrival in the country, strongly based on laurenism and revenism. Willem was a courantist.
Parliament, soon after, declared that they had the support of the church, and thus the backing of God, and that Willem was a tyrant who had betrayed God. From that point forwards, republican soldiers and officers had to swear oaths to both Parliament and to God, which emphasised the importance of religion. Today, Aubervijans view religion as an equal to nationality, and the church and state function very closely.
Soon after, the royalists lost thousands of men to defection, not willing to fight against the church and thus against God, and some even joined and fought for the republican cause. Willem was quickly running out of options and loyal commanders, often feeling betrayed, with his mental state and paranoia worsening.
The royalists were able to retreat further north, where they set up a smaller frontline - where they could concentrate larger amounts of their forces. Light skirmishes occurred near every month along this border, but to no avail, and little progress was ever made. Major battles, however, sometimes occured, which allowed the victor of these battles to move further north, into royalist territory or further south, into republican territory.
Towns along the frontline were frequently the targets of attacks, with both sides aiming to capture strategic towns to support supply and as bases to defend or attack from. Often, small villages could see soldiers on both sides skirmishing within them, and civilians were at risk of being caught up in the conflict.
Willem’s commanding officers were often killed, wounded or captured in battles, and Willem quickly ran out of able officers for his forces. Those Willem didn’t trust, he had executed, and eventually it became apparent that Willem was not a good King, nor a good steategist or leader. Royalist supply lines were ruined and hard to maintain, and harsh winters in the north led to crop failures, with the spread of disease rampant.
Willem suffered massive defeats in the mean time. However, on On January 1st, 1649, following two years of consecutive, heavy defeats, and with his army falling apart, Willem was defeated for the final time at the Battle of Schinnen. Willem then surrendered to Boudewijn Haverstreng, a major general the same night. Haverstreng escorted him to Parliament. The remaining royalist forces quickly collapsed in their disorganisation, with royalist officers being rounded up and executed. Eventually, royalist soldiers ended up just going home, or were crushed by republican forces.
Citizen Willem Dumonceau, as he was now known, was declared a traitor by Parliament on the 4th of January. Sat in-front of a high court, full of judges, religious heads and politicians, Willem’s trial lasted 2 weeks and 4 days. He was sentenced to death on the 22nd of January, 1649. Four further counter trials were held over the course of the next two months, however to no avail.
Willem was quoted during his trial as saying; “I am wearing the mask of the court jester, and feeling sorry as him.“
On the 11th of April, 1649, Willem was taken to the Mechelen Estate, a countryside residence in Southern Aubervijr, where he spent his final days. On the 16th of April, his executioner, Gert-Jan Japink, arrived. Willem was allowed to walk in the surrounding countryside with Gert-Jan, and the two often left for hours on end, walking and conversing. The two were apparently very fond of each other, and Willem was said to have accepted his fate.
The execution, on the 20th, was delayed by ten days by order of Vincent Martien, aiming to coincide with the end of the month. On the 28th, Gert-Jan fell ill, however despite advice not to, agreed to carry out the execution, after being asked to personally by Willem. On the 30th, after having been escorted into the courtyard, Willem was given thirty minutes to read the Bible. Afterwards, an archbishop arrived and prayed for him. He was executed by hanging shortly after 11:00 AM, after reciting the Lord's Prayer.
Following his execution, his body were sown together and he was interred in the chapel of Mechelen Cathedral, now known as the Royal Chapel. Willem’s son, Frederik, with assistance from the few royalist soldiers who had fled to the countryside, fled to the Imperium, narrowly avoiding capture on several occasions.
Interestingly, the Crown Jewels were missing days after the execution of King Willem. They wouldn’t be reclaimed until 1661, when they were recovered in a wooden crate stashed in an abandoned royalist fort, located near the town of Sneek. Thereafter, the Crown Jewels were declared to be the direct property of the state, and were put on display in the House of the People. But after several failed robbery attempts, they were moved to a secure vault below the Houses of Parliament.
The Commonwealth of Aubervijr - a democratic state, and more importantly a Republic - was declared an hour after the King’s execution. Over the course of several months, individual members of the royal family believed to have betrayed the Commonwealth were tried, some imprisoned and others executed. The Constitution drafted soon after on June 26th. Aubervijr elected a new leader - Vincent Martien - on June 22nd - marking the date of elections, even today.
Vincent Martien is known as the 'Father of The Commonwealth',. He resigned on May 7th, 1661, after suffering from a stroke. He was 67 at the time of his resignation. Prior, he led Aubervijr into a period of economic prosperity and recovery and is widely regarded as one of the best leaders Aubervijr has had. He served as the honourary President of Aubervijr until his death.
Peter Luttenberg, who led Aubervijr as Chancellor in 1702, proposed the 'Het Compromisvoorstel' (the Compromise Proposal). The Compromise would restore the monarchy, with the monarch acting as a constitutional monarch with limited powers. This resulted in the Coup of 7 April, which saw Peter Luttenberg arrested and charged with high treason, among other crimes and sentenced to death, which preserved the Commonwealth as it stands today.
Overall, the civil war left 84,830 soldiers dead. Its estimated some 40,000 civilians lost their lives in the conflict. The recovery period from the civil war lasted 12 years, and Aubervijr was arguably better off after the period ended than it had been at any point before. Vincent Martien expressed a deep regret in his later life for the human suffering inflicted by the civil war, and took the blame for all the death and suffering caused. His final months were spent in great pain and discomfort as his health worsened; he believed his suffering was an act of God for the “crimes he committed”. He would die in 1670, at the age of 75, a few weeks before his 76th birthday, surrounded by his family, in his family home. The mourning period over the country for his death lasted a week, and he is buried in the de Maurissens family tomb in the cathedral of his birth-town, Brunssum.
De Tweede Burgeroorlog
On June 11th, 1643, King Willem Dumonceau recalled Parliament after 9 years of closure. Willem wanted to assert more power over the Parliament, whilst suffering from paranoia - believing Parliament could not be trusted. Willem proposed a bill to Parliament which would essentially render Willem an absolute monarch, reducing Parliament to a mere advisory body which Willem would have complete authority over. Willem, who hoped the Parliament would be willing to do so, had convinced himself that Parliament would do his bidding, as it was their job.
Instead, after a month of delay, the Parliament, already wary of Willem’s health and ability to command such power over Parliament, passed a bill called 'De Beperkingswet' (The Limitation Act), which restricted Willem’s ability to propose bills to Parliament directly, instead having to go through processes with the upper house. Parliament equallt did not trust Willem’s dedication to Parliament and democracy, so the bill dictated that Parliament must be called once every three months. Willem dissolved the Parliament four days of the bill being passed in both houses, meaning the Parliament was one of the shortest-lived in Aubervijan history. This period is referred to as De Beperkt Parlement (The Limited Parliament).
On December 4th, 1643, Willem ordered the arrest of five men;
Antonie Bosschaert,
Johannes de Lairesse,
Campegius Berckheyde,
Lambert van Poelenburgh,
Hugo van Hövell tot Westerflier.
These five men were known as ‘De Liga van Vijf’ (the League of Five). All five were good friends of each other, and commanded great influence within Parliament. All five were notorious republicans, often speaking out against the monarchy at any chance they could get. The five were deemed a threat by Willem, who charged them with treason, collusion against the Crown and blasphemy, among other trumped-up charges. Instead, the five simply went to court, where the charges were dropped soon after.
Willem then attempted to overrule the decision of the courts, holding his own, separate trial without the five attending. He suspended their membership in Parliament, however at the next session, they attended regardless and nothing was done to ensure their suepension. Willem ultimately found it humiliating, and understood how difficult it was to command Parliament to do his bidding.
On the 2nd of January, 1644, the League of Five became the League of Six (de Liga van Zes), as Vincent-Martien Florentijn Casper de Maurissens (later shortened to Vincent Martien) was introduced to the five by Lambert van Poelenburgh. Vincent Martien was a captain in the Army, and was already an MP. The five deemed Vincent Martien to be, at first, a dull, uninteresting character, but he would later prove his worth.
During a sitting of Parliament called by the King on the 1st of February, Willem ordered a troop of 15 men to storm Parliament, carrying the arrest warrants for the six. Instead, politicians sympathetic with the six or the republican cause held the doors together, preventing the troop from entering, in a rather chaotic series of events. Eventually, their arrests were abandoned, and Willem, once again humiliated, was even more wary of Parliament, which he was right to be.
Vincent Martien saw the chaos that unfolded as a chance to turn it into something bigger. It is deemed very cunning and crafty by historians today, but Vincent Martien deliberately spurred unrest within the army, and convinced Parliament that the nation was descending into civil war, and that sides had to be chosen in order to preserve Aubervijr.
The republicans managed to muster a force of around 40,000 men. They met in the rural town of Slenaken, and agreed amongst themselves that Aubervijr had to be defended, and so began to draw up plans for a civil war.
As this happened, Parliament, now convinced that Willem was a threat to democracy and their very existance, passed a bill called "Afschaffingswet", or the “Abolition Act". The bill stripped the King of all of his powers over the Parliament, and of his very title as ‘King’. The bill didn’t directly strip him of his titles, however deemed that the monarchy was no longer valid, and that a “provisional committee” would instead take the place of the head of state, on the 1st of March.
King Willem, who now just Willem, declared the acts of the Parliament to be high treason, and rallied royalist forces in the town of Hulsberg. Initial estimates suggest Willem rallied a force numbering some 22,000 men.
The league of six, however held a meeting with King Willem in the town of Ermelo, which was deemed to be in the middle of their influence. The aim of the meeting was to prevent all-out war and come to an agreement which would prevent the bloodshed all sides feared, however the meeting didn’t end well. King Willem abandoned the meeting not long after it started, and war was now seen as the only option.
The first battle of the civil war occured on the 12th of March, 1644, when a skirmish between 600 royalists and 340 republican forces.
300 Commonwealth longbowmen sat on two hills with a view of the valley below, with 150 in each hill. The remaining 2,900 sat behind a treeline in the valley, where the Royalists were marching to meet them. At exactly 11:13 AM, longbowmen, who had been crouched behind a false summit, stood up and began firing on the Royalists.
The battle was strategically, a royalist victory. The outnumbered republicans retreated not long after conflict started, however Ronald Weijn, a politician and the commander of the 600 royalists, was somehow captured. Its not clear how, witnesses say Weijn was somehow isolated from his soldiers and was dragged from his horse during the early stages of the skirmish. However, it dealt a blow to the royalist cause early on. The loss or capture of royalist commanders would prove to be the theme of the war.
Over the course of the next two weeks, a major battle occured between Willem and Vincent Martien, near the town of Nuth. Willem’s force numbered some 4,500, whilst Vincent Martien commanded around 3,750 - however, the battle ended as a republican victory, with the royalists losing over half of their men. Willem was never an adept military commander, and whenever he took command of any force, it often led to a defeat.
Between March and November of 1644, numerous battles occured, most being minor, small battles however several decisive battles also took place. Royalist forces were becoming better at repelling republican attacks towards the winter of 1644, and less battles took place from November until early spring of 1645.
On November 14th, 1644, representatives of Parliament met with the leaders of the Church of Aubervijr. Aubervijr had adopted their own form of Messianism since its arrival in the country, strongly based on laurenism and revenism. Willem was a courantist.
Parliament, soon after, declared that they had the support of the church, and thus the backing of God, and that Willem was a tyrant who had betrayed God. From that point forwards, republican soldiers and officers had to swear oaths to both Parliament and to God, which emphasised the importance of religion. Today, Aubervijans view religion as an equal to nationality, and the church and state function very closely.
Soon after, the royalists lost thousands of men to defection, not willing to fight against the church and thus against God, and some even joined and fought for the republican cause. Willem was quickly running out of options and loyal commanders, often feeling betrayed, with his mental state and paranoia worsening.
The royalists were able to retreat further north, where they set up a smaller frontline - where they could concentrate larger amounts of their forces. Light skirmishes occurred near every month along this border, but to no avail, and little progress was ever made. Major battles, however, sometimes occured, which allowed the victor of these battles to move further north, into royalist territory or further south, into republican territory.
Towns along the frontline were frequently the targets of attacks, with both sides aiming to capture strategic towns to support supply and as bases to defend or attack from. Often, small villages could see soldiers on both sides skirmishing within them, and civilians were at risk of being caught up in the conflict.
Willem’s commanding officers were often killed, wounded or captured in battles, and Willem quickly ran out of able officers for his forces. Those Willem didn’t trust, he had executed, and eventually it became apparent that Willem was not a good King, nor a good steategist or leader. Royalist supply lines were ruined and hard to maintain, and harsh winters in the north led to crop failures, with the spread of disease rampant.
Willem suffered massive defeats in the mean time. However, on On January 1st, 1649, following two years of consecutive, heavy defeats, and with his army falling apart, Willem was defeated for the final time at the Battle of Schinnen. Willem then surrendered to Boudewijn Haverstreng, a major general the same night. Haverstreng escorted him to Parliament. The remaining royalist forces quickly collapsed in their disorganisation, with royalist officers being rounded up and executed. Eventually, royalist soldiers ended up just going home, or were crushed by republican forces.
Citizen Willem Dumonceau, as he was now known, was declared a traitor by Parliament on the 4th of January. Sat in-front of a high court, full of judges, religious heads and politicians, Willem’s trial lasted 2 weeks and 4 days. He was sentenced to death on the 22nd of January, 1649. Four further counter trials were held over the course of the next two months, however to no avail.
Willem was quoted during his trial as saying; “I am wearing the mask of the court jester, and feeling sorry as him.“
On the 11th of April, 1649, Willem was taken to the Mechelen Estate, a countryside residence in Southern Aubervijr, where he spent his final days. On the 16th of April, his executioner, Gert-Jan Japink, arrived. Willem was allowed to walk in the surrounding countryside with Gert-Jan, and the two often left for hours on end, walking and conversing. The two were apparently very fond of each other, and Willem was said to have accepted his fate.
The execution, on the 20th, was delayed by ten days by order of Vincent Martien, aiming to coincide with the end of the month. On the 28th, Gert-Jan fell ill, however despite advice not to, agreed to carry out the execution, after being asked to personally by Willem. On the 30th, after having been escorted into the courtyard, Willem was given thirty minutes to read the Bible. Afterwards, an archbishop arrived and prayed for him. He was executed by hanging shortly after 11:00 AM, after reciting the Lord's Prayer.
Following his execution, his body were sown together and he was interred in the chapel of Mechelen Cathedral, now known as the Royal Chapel. Willem’s son, Frederik, with assistance from the few royalist soldiers who had fled to the countryside, fled to the Imperium, narrowly avoiding capture on several occasions.
Interestingly, the Crown Jewels were missing days after the execution of King Willem. They wouldn’t be reclaimed until 1661, when they were recovered in a wooden crate stashed in an abandoned royalist fort, located near the town of Sneek. Thereafter, the Crown Jewels were declared to be the direct property of the state, and were put on display in the House of the People. But after several failed robbery attempts, they were moved to a secure vault below the Houses of Parliament.
The Commonwealth of Aubervijr - a democratic state, and more importantly a Republic - was declared an hour after the King’s execution. Over the course of several months, individual members of the royal family believed to have betrayed the Commonwealth were tried, some imprisoned and others executed. The Constitution drafted soon after on June 26th. Aubervijr elected a new leader - Vincent Martien - on June 22nd - marking the date of elections, even today.
Vincent Martien is known as the 'Father of The Commonwealth',. He resigned on May 7th, 1661, after suffering from a stroke. He was 67 at the time of his resignation. Prior, he led Aubervijr into a period of economic prosperity and recovery and is widely regarded as one of the best leaders Aubervijr has had. He served as the honourary President of Aubervijr until his death.
Peter Luttenberg, who led Aubervijr as Chancellor in 1702, proposed the 'Het Compromisvoorstel' (the Compromise Proposal). The Compromise would restore the monarchy, with the monarch acting as a constitutional monarch with limited powers. This resulted in the Coup of 7 April, which saw Peter Luttenberg arrested and charged with high treason, among other crimes and sentenced to death, which preserved the Commonwealth as it stands today.
Overall, the civil war left 84,830 soldiers dead. Its estimated some 40,000 civilians lost their lives in the conflict. The recovery period from the civil war lasted 12 years, and Aubervijr was arguably better off after the period ended than it had been at any point before. Vincent Martien expressed a deep regret in his later life for the human suffering inflicted by the civil war, and took the blame for all the death and suffering caused. His final months were spent in great pain and discomfort as his health worsened; he believed his suffering was an act of God for the “crimes he committed”. He would die in 1670, at the age of 75, a few weeks before his 76th birthday, surrounded by his family, in his family home. The mourning period over the country for his death lasted a week, and he is buried in the de Maurissens family tomb in the cathedral of his birth-town, Brunssum.
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