Dutch Declaration of Independence (1581)
The Dutch Declaration of Independence, signed on July 26, 1581, was formally called the Act of Abjuration or, in Dutch, the Plakkaat van Verlatinghe. A coalition of Dutch provinces in the northern portion of the federation called the United Provinces issued the declaration to pronounce their independence from Spanish rule under King Philip II. A literal English translation of Plakkaat van Verlatinghe would be “Placard of Desertion”; this title was given to the document because Dutch rebels believed that Philip had essentially deserted the Low Countries, like a shepherd who had deserted his flock, and the document outlines his abuses against the provinces.
The Dutch Declaration of Independence, regarded as the first modern declaration of independence, was forged during the Eighty Years' War, often called the Dutch War of Independence. The first phase of this war was the Dutch Revolt of 1568–1609, during which the Netherlands' northern provinces achieved independence from...
