what role did religion play in the struggle between the spanish and the dutch?

[onathalie-31]

[Mosaic]

It's not simple to answer and needs to be put into the context of what was happening in the rest of Europe at the time. In the time of the Thirty Years War (1618 - 1648) mainland Europe was the scene of widespread armed conflict. While some of this was fired by the spread of protestantism and the attempts by catholic rulers to prevent it, local and regional political interest also played an important part, as did the power-play of royal dynasties. The same process is reflected in Holland where Spanish Catholic Habsburg power was challenged by indigenous protestant groups - and yet by the end of the struggle large swathes of the Dutch population remained catholic.