Fall of Antwerp (1584–1585)

:"For the siege of Antwerp in 1914, during World War I, see siege of Antwerp"Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Siege of Antwerp
partof=the Eighty Years' War


caption=
date=July 1584 - August 17, 1585
place=Antwerp, Netherlands (present-day Belgium)
result=Spanish victory
combatant1=Estates General (Dutch)
combatant2= Habsburg Spain
commander1=Philips van Marnix van Sint-Aldegonde
commander2=Duke of Parma
strength1=80,000 inhabitants
strength2=40,000+
casualties1=8,000 KIA
casualties2=UnknownThe Siege of Antwerp took place during the Eighty Years' War from July 1584 until August 1585. At the time Antwerp was not only the largest Dutch city but was also the cultural, economic and financial centre of the Seventeen Provinces and of north-western Europe. On November 4, 1576, the Spanish soldiery plundered the city during what was called "the Spanish Fury". Thousands of citizens were massacred and hundreds of houses were burnt down. Antwerp became even more engaged in the rebellion. The city joined the Union of Utrecht (1579) and became the capital of the Dutch revolt, which no longer was merely a Protestant rebellion but had become a revolt of all Dutch provinces.

Habsburg Control

Relieved from fighting the Ottomans in the Mediterranean and with his Treasury's coffers filled with gold from the Americas, King Philip II of Spain sent Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma and Piacenzain 1579 to head the Spanish army in Flanders to regain Habsburg control over the Low Countries (Flanders, Brabant and the United Provinces). King Philip II assured himself that once the rebellion in the Low Countries was quelled, France would soon yield and Protestant England would then stand alone to bear the full might of the Catholic Habsburg empire. When the siege of Antwerp began (1585) most of Flanders and Brabant had already been recaptured in the years preceding, including Brussels. The Spanish army in Flanders had been reinforced in the previous years both in quantity and quality and in 1585 had 61,000 men under arms.

The Siege begins

During the recapture of Flanders and Brabant, Parma noted the logistical side of the Spanish army in Flanders. What is dubbed the "Spanish Route" was a main road leading north, protected by forts built at strategic intervals, providing the army with a reliable flow of supplies. When the siege of Antwerp began Parma's army was well supplied. The first stage of the siege saw encirclement lines constructed around Antwerp and forts built along the Scheldt estuary. The second stage consisted of commencing a long siege (i.e. starving the population) of Antwerp and the construction of a bridge across the Scheldt, effectively closing off Antwerp's waterways. The bridge, a unique feat of siege engineering at its time, consisted of a strong fort (reinforced with cannons) on each side of the Scheldt with a bridge of connected pontoons (paintings show sizable rowing boats) running between them. (This bridge is believed to have been 730m long.) In response to the closure of the Scheldt by this bridge the Dutch flooded the lower lands adjacent to the Scheldt, effectively flooding most roads in scattered areas and leaving Spanish forts either submerged or isolated on small islands. Despite the Dutch using these flood plains to try and regain control over the Scheldt (using low draft oar and sail boats with small cannon emplacements on them) many of the Spanish forts had been equipped with cannon and high quality troops. Several attempts were made by the Dutch to steer "fire ships" into the Spanish pontoon bridge, but the troops stationed in the adjacent forts managed to push them off course with pikes - though buying it with heavy loss of life when the fire ships exploded. In the end the Dutch abandoned their efforts; considering Antwerp a lost cause.

Antwerp surrenders

On August 17 1585, the city surrendered. After the siege, the Dutch fleet on the river Scheldt was kept in position, blocking the city's access to the sea and cutting it off from international trade. Parma stationed experienced Castillan troops within Antwerp to make sure the city would not fall into enemy hands. Parma issued strict orders not to sack the city, and Spanish troops behaving impeccably. The Protestant majority of the city's population were ordered to leave the city. Most moved north. Of the pre-siege population of 100,000 people, only 40,000 remained in Antwerp, ending what had been a golden century for the city. Much of Antwerp's commerce and skilled tradesmen had moved with its Protestant population - laying the foundation for the later "golden age" of the United Provinces.

The blockage of the Scheldt to shipping crippled the city's economy. It was maintained for the next two centuries (see Scheldt#History) and is an important and traumatic element in the history of relations between the Netherlands and (what was to become) Belgium.

External links

(In Spanish)
*http://www.geocities.com/losterciosespaoles/amberes.htm