n accepted. When, however, the
discussion was shifted to the Hague, the attitude of the Belgic
representatives had stiffened. The cause was not far to seek, for on
November 6, 1632 the ever-victorious Gustavus Adolphus had fallen in the
hour of triumph in the fatal battle of Luetzen. The death of the Swedish
hero was a great blow to the Protestant cause and gave fresh heart to
the despondent Catholic alliance. The negotiations dragged however their
slow length along, the chief point of controversy being the old dispute
about freedom to trade in the Indies. On this point agreement was
impossible. Spain would yield nothing of her pretensions; and the
Hollanders would hear of no concessions that threatened the prosperity
of the East and West India Companies in which so many merchants and
investors were deeply interested. Any admission of a Spanish monopoly or
right of exclusion would have spelt ruin to thousands. The diplomatic
discussions, however, went on for many months in a desultory and
somewhat futile manner; and meanwhile though hostilities did not
actually cease, the campaign of 1633 was conducted in a half-hearted
fashion. The death of Isabel on November 29, 1633, shattered finally any
hopes that the peace party in the Provinces (for there was a strong
peace party) might have had of arriving at any satisfactory agreement.
By the decease of the arch-duchess, who had been a wise and beneficent
ruler and had commanded the respect and regard not only of her own
subjects but of many northerners also, the Belgic provinces reverted to
the crown of Spain and passed under the direct rule of Philip IV. The
Cardinal Infante Ferdinand, fresh from his crushing victory over the
Swedes at Noerdlingen, came as governor to Brussels in 1634, at the head
of considerable Spanish forces, and an active renewal of the war in 1635
was clearly imminent.

In these circumstances Frederick Henry determined to enter into
negotiations with France for the conclusion of an offensive and
defensive alliance against Spain, the common enemy. He had many
difficulties to encounter. The Estates of Holland, though opposed to the
terms actually offered by the Brussels government, were also averse to
taking any step which shut the door upon hopes of peace. Richelieu on
his side, though ready, as before, to grant subsidies and to permit the
enrolment of French regiments for the Dutch service, shrank from
committing France to an open espousal of the Protest