y, he demanded the enforcement of strict heresy laws by the Inquisition in the Netherlands. Through all these incidents Philip dug his own grave in the Low Countries. He alienated himself from his people, as well as outraged them (Adams 3). Responses to these forms of alienation were immediate, and through the leadership of William of Orange, the Dutch were able to remove Granvelle and the ecclesiastical reforms were temporarily ended. However, an example of Philip's poor decision making abilities came into play when he still insisted on religious conformity. He was a staunch Catholic, although he did not see eye to eye with the Pope, and would fight to the death in order for the Netherlands to be a Catholic state. Because of this poor judgment on his behalf, the Calvinist middle class in the Low Countries participated in the Iconoclastic Fury. Calvinists entered into Catholic churches and massively destroyed church property such as paintings and stained glass windows (Darby3). In response, Philip actually made a great decision in sending in Alva to crush the rebels with physical force. The result of the Iconoclastic Fury was the disenfranchisement of many of the Dutch moderates, leading them to join sides with the Calvinists. Philip saw this vulnerability and sent in Alva to crush the rebels when he had the chance (Parker 210).
             However, Philip's decision to send Alva into the Low Countries ended up to be proved a poor one at that. Alva adopted policies of political and religious oppression. He even went as far to raise taxes again as well, as reintroducing episcopal reforms. Philip's allowance and encouragement of these policies led to another wave of rebellion in 1572. This did not pan out to be much of a rebellion because the Spanish army was quite successful in dividing the north and south districts of the Netherlands. In fact, by the 1580's, Philip and the Spanish army had almost reconquered a...