Christian republic

Rousseau, in On the Social Contract (in book 4, chapter 8), echoed this, saying that "I am mistaken in saying 'a Christian republic'; the two words are mutually exclusive.".

[9][11][10] Further, he argues, whilst Christianity does not preclude love for one's country, it does require citizens to endure damage to republican government, stating that the best civic virtue in regards to a republic is to show no mercy to the republic's enemies and to put to death or to enslave the inhabitants of an opposing city that has been defeated.

[12] Most important was Calvinist theology, which developed in Geneva (a city-state associated with the Old Swiss Confederacy – a powerful republic – since 1526 due to its anti-Savoy alliance treaty with Bern and Fribourg).

John Calvin did not call for the abolition of monarchy, but he advanced the doctrine that the faithful had the right to overthrow irreligious monarchs.

However, the country did not adopt the republican form of government immediately: in the formal declaration of independence (Act of Abjuration, 1581), the throne of king Philip, was only declared vacant, and the Dutch magistrates asked the Duke of Anjou, queen Elizabeth of England and prince William of Orange, one after another, to replace Philip.

Spearheaded by the Puritans and funded by the merchants of London, the revolt was a success, and led to the Commonwealth of England and the execution of King Charles I.

In England James Harrington, Algernon Sidney, and John Milton became some of the first writers to argue for rejecting monarchy and embracing a republican form of government.

Cities in the Habsburg Netherlands where Calvinists seized control in 1577–8. Run by Committees of XVIII, the most prominent of these – Ghent , Antwerp and Brussels – are known as 'Calvinist republics' (1577–1585).