 The Low Countries, Flanders, Brabant and Holland,<ref>What is now approximately Belgian Limburg was part of the Bishopric of Liège and ruled by the bishop (shown in brown on the map).</ref> were part of the inheritance of Philip II of Spain, who was a devout Catholic and self-proclaimed protector of the Counter-Reformation, and suppressed Protestantism through his Governor-general or Regent, Margaret of Parma the illegitimate daughter of Emperor Charles V, who was herself more willing to compromise.Although Protestants so far represented only a relatively small proportion of the Netherlandish population, but including disproportionate numbers from the nobility and upper bourgeoisie, the Catholic Church had evidently lost the loyalty of the population, and traditional Catholic anti-clericalism was now dominant.<ref>Elliott, 90–91</ref>

The region affected was perhaps the richest in Europe, but still seethed with economic discontent among parts of the population, and had suffered a poor harvest and hard winter.However, recent historians are generally less inclined to see the movement as prompted by these factors than was the case a few decades ago.<ref>Arnade, 95–98, and 116, especially note 105 (where "reputation" is presumably a misprint for "refutation").