Malcontents (Low Countries)

History

After the provinces of the Habsburg Netherlands formed a united front in 1576 through the Pacification of Ghent and the Union of Brussels, they achieved most of their goals when Philip II and his governor-general Don Juan accepted those treaties and removed the Spanish Army of Flanders. The rebelling provinces of Holland and Zeeland were reunited under the States General and Council of State, with Orange as the leading noble. Under the Pacification, Calvinists in Holland and Zeeland received freedom of religion while Catholicism remained dominant elsewhere.

Calvinists in other provinces soon demanded similar freedoms, and adherents of both religions used force against one another, causing unrest in conservative Catholic provinces like Hainaut and Artois. These troops, known as Malcontents, seized Menen on 6 September 1578 under Emanuel Philibert de Lalaing (Montigny), brother of the stadtholder of Hainaut. Montigny's reputation grew among Catholic partisans, and his troops were reinforced with mercenaries of the Duke of Anjou, who left the country in summer 1578.

Many commanders of the States Army destroyed at the Battle of Gembloux also joined Montigny, including Antoine de Goignies (La Motte), who had been governor of Gravelines for the States General but was in secret communication with Don Juan.