The Dutch Declaration of Independence, signed on July 26, 1581, was formally called the Act of Abjuration or, in Dutch, the Plakkaat van Verlatinghe. A coalition of Dutch provinces in the northern portion of the federation called the United Provinces issued the declaration to pronounce their independence from Spanish rule under King Philip II. A literal English translation of Plakkaat van Verlatinghe would be “Placard of Desertion”; this title was given to the document because Dutch rebels believed that Philip had essentially deserted the Low Countries, like a shepherd who had deserted his flock, and the document outlines his abuses against the provinces.