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Two hundred Dutch nobles stormed into Margaret of Parma's hall, led by Hendrik v
1566 Event

April 5

200 Dutch Nobles Storm the Palace: The Petition That Started a Revolt

Two hundred Dutch nobles stormed into Margaret of Parma's hall, led by Hendrik van Brederode in a wild wig and heavy velvet. They didn't ask; they demanded an end to the Spanish Inquisition's bloody grip on their lives. The desperate gamble worked temporarily: the Queen suspended the courts and sent envoys to Madrid. But Philip II refused their pleas, and that single refusal sparked eight decades of war. It wasn't a noble petition; it was the spark that turned a family feud into a nation born in blood.

April 5, 1566

460 years ago

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