Siege of Leiden

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Siege of Leiden
partof=the Eighty Years' War


caption=
date=1574
place=Leiden
result=Dutch Rebel Victory
combatant1=Dutch rebels
combatant2=
commander1=Pieter Adriaansz. van der Werff, Mayor of Leiden
commander2=Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alva
strength1=11,000
strength2=15,000
casualties1=500
casualties2=2,000

The Siege of Leiden occurred during the Eighty Years' War in 1573 and 1574, when the Spanish attempted to capture the rebellious city but ultimately failed.

Background

The Netherlands belonged to the kingdom of Spain. Most of the counties of Holland and Zeeland were occupied by rebels in 1572, who wanted to end the reign of terror of the Spanish Duke of Alba, governor-general of the Netherlands. This territory had a very high density of cities, which were protected by huge defenseworks and by the boglands, which could easily be put under water.

The Duke of Alba tried to break resistance using brute force. He used Amsterdam as a base. This was the only city that remained on the Spanish side. Alba's cruel treatment of the population of Naarden and Haarlem was notorious. The rebels learned that no mercy was shown there. The county of Holland was split in two when Haarlem was conquered by the Spaniards. First Alba failed to conquer Alkmaar in the north, but the city held out for a long time and Alba decided to turn south to the main territory of the rebels, heading for Leiden.

First siege of Leiden

The city of Leiden had plenty of food stored for the siege when it started in October 1573. The siege was very difficult for the Spanish, because the soil was too loose to dig holes, and the city defense works were very good. The leader of the rebels, William the Silent, Prince of Orange, tried to help Leiden by sending an army into the Netherlands. Alba halted the siege in April 1574 and defeated the army of Orange in the Battle of Mookerheyde.

Second siege of Leiden

Alba's army returned to continue the siege in June 1574. The city considered surrendering, because there was nearly no chance of relief. The rebel army was defeated and the rebel territory was very small compared to the huge Spanish empire.

In September 1574, the Dutch decided to break the dikes in the south to let in seawater and so relieve the siege. However, in the absence of storms, for months the water did not rise high enough to flood the area and so lift the siege. Mayor van der Werff inspired his citizens to hold on by offering his arm as food. Thousands of inhabitants died of starvation. They held on because they knew that the Spanish would kill them all to set an example, as had happened in Naarden and Haarlem.

Relief

On 2 and 3 October, after the storms finally came, a relief force of Geuzen (Sea Beggars) were approaching Leiden via flat-bottomed boats. The waterlogged Spanish army lifted the siege. The rebel fleets brought herring and white bread to the starving population. The people also got 'Hutspot' (carrot and onion stew) in the evening. According to legend, a little orphan boy named Cornelis Joppenszoon found a cooking pot full with 'Hutspot' that the Spaniards had had to leave behind when they left their camp, the Lammenschans, in a hurry to escape from the rising waters.

Aftermath

In 1575, the Spanish treasury ran dry, so that the Spanish army could not be paid anymore and it mutinied. After the pillaging of Antwerp, the whole of the Netherlands rebelled against Spain. Leiden was once again safe.

October 3 is celebrated every year in Leiden. It is a huge party, with an enormous funfair and a dozen open air discos in the night. The municipality gives free herring and white bread to the citizens of Leiden.

Trivia

*There was an earlier Siege of Leiden (1420).