459 years ago today, August 11, 1566 (July 26, 1566 in the lunar calendar), the famous "Movement to Destroy Icons" in European history. The "Iconocracy Movement" was a people's movement launched by Dutch craftsmen, civilians and farmers against the Catholic Church and Spanish colonial rule. It was an integral part of the famous Dutch bourgeois revolution in European history. "Netherlands" means lowlands and includes an area equivalent to today's Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and parts of northern France. In the early 16th century, it was under the rule of the Spanish Habsburg Dynasty. The Spanish rulers and the Catholic Church exercised cruel rule over the people of the Netherlands. King Charles I of Spain issued a "Bloody Edict" in 1550, beheading men, burying women alive, or even burning at the stake of those dissatisfied with Spanish rule. After Charles I abdicated, his son Philip II succeeded to the throne, suppressing the people of the Netherlands even more brutally. He appointed his sister Margaret as governor of the Netherlands, reiterating the execution of the "bloody decree." It is estimated that in the five years from the issuance of the imperial decree to 1566, more than 50,000 people were killed and expelled. Spain's brutal rule aroused strong dissatisfaction among people of all walks of life in the Netherlands, and a massive people's uprising finally broke out. On August 11, 1566, some cities in Flanders first launched an uprising, and the sharp edge of the uprising was initially directed at the church. Armed with wooden sticks and hammers, they rushed into churches and temples, destroying all deceptive "sacred objects" such as so-called sacred icons and sacred bones. The uprising developed rapidly and quickly spread to 12 of the Netherlands '17 provinces. In a short period of time, more than 5500 churches and monasteries were destroyed. Therefore, historically, it is called the "Iconocracy Movement." In fact, they did not limit themselves to destroying the Catholic Church, but also opened prisons to release imprisoned Protestants. In many rural areas, some farmers burned land deeds, set up arms and seized power. The revolutionary movement in the Netherlands scared the reactionary Spanish authorities. They adopted two-pronged tactics. On the one hand, they issued a declaration pretending to agree to the demands of the masses and stop persecuting Protestants; on the other hand, they won over the aristocrats and bourgeoisie in the uprising and divided and disintegrated the revolutionary ranks. Due to the vacillation and rebellion of the aristocrats and the bourgeoisie, the uprising was suppressed by the Spanish reactionaries, and more than 8000 people were killed. However, this uprising was of extremely far-reaching significance. Soon, those insurgents who were not arrested organized guerrillas and attacked the reactionary Spanish rulers at sea and in the dense forest. Finally, they overthrew the reactionary Spanish rule and ushered in the independence of the Netherlands.