The Prince of Orange, however, had decided that there should be no peace and that the revolutionary movement should be agitated as much as possible. He had completely gained the confidence of Holland and Zeeland, where he was the real master, and he planned to extend his control over the rest of the Seventeen Provinces. Deeply compromised as he was, any agreement with the King would mean disaster and the end of his plans, which aimed at the separation of the Belgian provinces from the Spanish monarchy. Owing to personal circumstances he had first endeavored to resist Philip II by legal means. During his exile and under the government of Alva he had gone farther and had planned a general revolt, and now that the milder attitude of the King threatened to win back some sympathy in Belgium, especially among the Catholics, he foresaw that only the most daring policy would save the revolutionary movement. Agents were therefore sent to the southern provinces to stir up the people against any attempt at conciliation. As a result of their intrigues, the members of the Council of State were arrested by a furious mob and imprisoned. By the time they were liberated they had fallen completely under the influence of the revolutionary leaders. The States-General were called together by the friendly members of the Council of State, and for nine years exercised the chief power in Belgium. It was during their government, which proved on the whole to be Catholic and loyalist, that the Spanish soldiers, deprived of their pay, arose and sacked the city of Antwerp, killing nearly seven thousand people. This event is known as the “Spanish Fury.” This, of course, gave the anti-Spanish party an excellent chance. Under the pressure of William the Silent, the States-General met at Ghent in 1575, and out of their deliberations was born the famous “Pacification of Ghent.” This act was the work of the Prince of Orange, and was intended to reconcile Catholics and Protestants and to settle their religious differences, in order that they might be united in the political struggle against Spain. This attempt at establishing a “peace of religion” was unfortunately premature and provisional. The hostilities between Catholics and Protestants were suspended and religious tolerance was proclaimed; but in Holland and Zeeland, the political sphere of influence of the Prince of Orange, the Catholic worship was provisionally forbidden. The States-General would, it was promised, later on reconsider the whole problem and settle the religious differences definitely. This agreement was, of course, unfavorable to the Catholics, but union was temporarily restored.