Alessandro Farnese, duke of Parma and Piacenza

Alessandro Farnese, duke of Parma and Piacenza (born Aug. 27, 1545, Rome [Italy]—died Dec. 3, 1592, Arras, France) was the duke of Parma and Piacenza and the regent of the Netherlands (1578–92) for Philip II, the Habsburg king of Spain. He was primarily responsible for maintaining Spanish control there and for perpetuating Roman Catholicism in the southern provinces (now Belgium). In 1586 he succeeded his father as duke of Parma and Piacenza, but he never returned to Italy to rule.

Heritage and early career

The family of condottieri (chiefs of bands of mercenaries) into which Alessandro Farnese was born obtained its high position in the 15th century in the service of the popes, as well as through a custom of contracting politically useful marriages. A Farnese even became pope in 1534, assuming the name of Paul III; he set up the papal states of Parma and Piacenza as a duchy in order to award them to his illegitimate son Pier Luigi. A son of Pier Luigi, Ottavio (duke of Parma from 1547 to 1586), married Margaret, the illegitimate daughter of the Habsburg emperor Charles V; and from this union twins were born, only one of whom, Alessandro, survived.

The lineage of his mother and the quarrels of his father with the emperor determined Alessandro’s destiny. When still a child, he was sent to the court of Philip II of Spain, another member of the Habsburg family, as a guarantee of Duke Ottavio’s loyalty to the Habsburgs. Philip was then in Brussels, in the Netherlands, and Alessandro stayed there from 1556 to 1559, becoming acquainted with men who would be the principal actors in the dramatic religious and political conflict soon to tear the Netherlands asunder. In 1559 he went to Madrid, where he became a friend of the royal family. He next returned to the Netherlands, in 1565, where his mother, Margaret of Parma, had been regent for six years. In the same year, at the age of 20, he married the Portuguese infanta Maria after protracted matrimonial negotiations. He did not meet his betrothed until two days before his marriage, and the household that established itself at Parma in 1566 was not particularly happy, since the chief interests of the young husband remained hunting, riding, and warfare. Farnese’s correspondence of this period is filled with complaints of his enforced idleness.

The opportunity for action that he had so long awaited arrived unexpectedly in 1571 when, appointed as a lieutenant to Don Juan of Austria, he fought brilliantly against the Turks in the Battle of Lepanto. The following year, however, Farnese returned, not without resentment, to Parma. Religious disturbances in the Netherlands soon freed him from inactivity when, in 1577, Don Juan, by then the Spanish governor-general, charged with suppressing the revolt, appealed for his support. In 1578 Farnese fought energetically in the Battle of Gembloux, in which the rebellious Dutch forces were routed, and punished a number of towns with a harshness that contrasts with his subsequent attitude.

Promotion to governor-general

Don Juan died October 1, 1578, and a few days later Philip II appointed Farnese as governor-general of the Netherlands. For the first time the sovereign had made a fortunate choice. Farnese had intellectual flexibility, which in the Netherlands contrasted favourably with the severity and sectarianism of earlier Spanish governors. He was a great soldier, with a fundamental knowledge of his profession. A sociable man, gifted with considerable natural attraction, he rejected all fanaticism. In many ways he resembled his foe William of Orange, who had also, for the first time, encountered an adversary of his own stature.

Thus, Farnese began, at the age of 34, a brilliant career, which ended only with his death. He immediately showed the full measure of his astuteness by undertaking a diplomatic reconciliation with the Dutch states that had Roman Catholic majorities, while continuing military operations against the Union of Utrecht, the alliance of rebellious provinces, mostly Protestant, led by William of Orange. Although seriously ill, Farnese conducted the difficult siege of Maastricht and captured the town on June 29, 1579, thus delivering a heavy blow to the prestige of his adversary. His negotiations with the southern, largely Catholic, provinces, in the meantime, were concluded by the Treaty of Arras in May 1579. One of the main achievements of his administration was accomplished in this treaty, which restored peace in the southern provinces. The agreement was reached at the cost of certain Spanish concessions, which included the removal of foreign troops and Farnese’s own departure within six months. An expert politician, Farnese succeeded, however, in keeping himself in the Netherlands as commander and regent, going so far as to enter into conflict with his mother, whom the king had initially appointed to the position in order to attain his purpose.

The removal of foreign troops and the organization of a “national” force left Farnese with only 15,000 poorly trained soldiers, the majority of whom were of the same nationality as their opponents. It was a pitiful band that he led to the sieges of the next two years. Unable to attempt long sieges, Farnese negotiated as quickly as possible and granted honourable surrenders. He captured the city of Tournai in November 1581 and permanently established his government there. He succeeded in forcing another surrender the following year, but his army was at the end of its strength and could no longer undertake extensive operations against the Union of Utrecht, which continued under the leadership of William.

Farnese, using all his talents of persuasion, then succeeded in obtaining from the king, and the Spanish-controlled provinces, the recall of Spanish troops and the dispatch of Italian units into the Netherlands. Finally, with sufficient reinforcements, he switched to the offensive at the end of 1582. Heading an army of 60,000 men, with full powers to act, he devised and carried out an excellent strategy.

Toward the middle of 1583, by conquering the towns of Diest and Westerlo, he endangered communications between Antwerp and Brussels. He subdued several coastal towns and tentatively planned to encircle the United Provinces by capturing the county of Zutphen. In the first half of 1584 he conquered three more strategic positions, thus cutting off Antwerp from the sea. Ypres and Bruges surrendered in turn.

Without further delay, Farnese launched the siege of Antwerp. In order to isolate the city, Farnese built fortlets and a pontoon bridge across the lower Scheldt River and succeeded in frustrating all attempts of the beleaguered forces to leave the city. The city surrendered at the end of 13 months, on August 17, 1585, concluding one of the most celebrated sieges of military history.

The capture of Antwerp was the climax of Farnese’s career: the construction of a solid line of defense against the United Provinces consolidated the union of the Catholic Netherlands, which later became Belgium. The assassination of William of Orange at Delft on July 10, 1584, moreover, relieved Farnese of a powerful adversary. On the death of his father in 1586, Alessandro became duke of Parma.

Last years

Farnese undoubtedly would have pressed the war northward if Philip II had not compelled him to participate in his plan to conquer England. He was instructed to concentrate his forces on the Channel coast preparatory to invading England, but the defeat of the Invincible Armada in 1588 ended that dream. In Spain part of the responsibility for the disaster was laid on Farnese, and his popularity underwent a serious decline.

At this point Farnese fell ill and was tended at Spa (now in Belgium), while his lieutenants were left to face the Dutch army, reconstituted by Maurice of Nassau, as well as they could. Exhausted by illness, he died at Arras, France, at the age of 47, just in time to avoid learning of his intended disgrace at the hands of Philip II.

Of all the regents for the Netherlands, none could rival Alessandro Farnese, either as strategist or as diplomat. His great achievement was the restoration of Spanish rule in the southern provinces and the secure perpetuation of Roman Catholicism there.