LEICESTER, ROBERT DUDLEY, EARL OF

(1533–1588)

This English politician and favorite of Queen Elizabeth I was sent to the Northern Netherlands during the Revolt against Spain, which was supported by its rival England. Leicester’s policy as regent was not very successful, especially his decree that forbade trade with the Spanish enemy—the profits of which financed the war—which earned him the opposition of the merchants of Holland. His attempts to regain his position by force failed. At the insistence of Grand Pen sionary Johan van Oldenbarnevelt and the States of Holland, Leicester was called home by the English queen in 1587.