Meanwhile Don Juan, the new Spanish governor, had been appointed by Philip II and had arrived in Belgium. Don Juan was the son of Charles V, and the celebrated victor over the Turks in the naval battle of Lepanto (1571). He had no sympathy for the Belgians and did not like the task which was intrusted to him. He attempted, of course, though against his convictions, to negotiate with the rebels, but failed. As we have seen, the Prince of Orange had determined that there should be no peace until his plans had been carried out. By surprising and occupying the fortress of Namur, contrary to the conventions but in order to obtain a stronghold for his protection, Don Juan played, as a matter of fact, into the hands of his enemies. Under the influence of William the Silent the States-General declared the governor a traitor to the country, and called upon Archduke Mathias, brother of Emperor Rodolphe, to be their new governor. Mathias became practically an instrument in the hands of the Prince of Orange, who was appointed as his lieutenant-general. Now followed a period of anarchy and misrule. Germany, England, and France sent into Belgium a host of sectarians and adventurers; these aided the Calvinists in taking Brussels, Antwerp, and Ghent. Ghent became the center of a Calvinistic republic, where the leaders ruled by terror and began a rigorous persecution of the Catholics. It was now quite clear that the Protestants had gained the upper hand in the struggle and that the national revolt had turned into a war against Catholicism. In the midst of these troubles, Don Juan of Austria died at Bouges, near Namur (1578). At this very moment, events of great importance took place. The Prince of Orange, contrary to the provisions of the Pacification of Ghent, had again endeavored to introduce a new “peace of religion,” which had for its object the introduction of Protestantism into the Belgian provinces other than Holland and Zeeland. The Protestant ministers rejected his proposal. What they wanted was not co-ordinate recognition of Catholicism and Protestantism, but the complete supremacy of their own religion. Seeing that his attempts brought about only discontent of both parties, Catholics and Protestants, William the Silent finally declared himself openly as a Calvinist (1578). His rupture with the Catholics was now complete.