During the revolt of the Netherlands, 'rebels' developed for the first time in modern history political philosophies that had a decisive impact on political reality, influenced the actual course of events, led in fact to the creation of a new state. This was a form of theorizing from sheer necessity to the legitimate sovereign. As such it stands at the beginning of a long tradition of civil disobedience. The volume contains sixty-seven fragments of pamphlets, letters, treaties and other documents, translated from the Dutch, Latin and French, that together provide an insight into the motives of the 'rebels' and into discussions about the legality of the Revolt. Through detailed annotation and an editorial introduction, Professor Kossman and Dr Mellink gather together the threads of the complicated story and analyse some of the major theoretical problems discussed by sixteenth-century Netherlands, and sixteenth-century Europe in general and to all those interested in the history and development of political theory.