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How the Netherlands became independent

A war against Spanish rule broke out in the Netherlands in 1568, and the Netherlands was established in 1581. After the signing of the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, Spain officially recognized its independence. The Netherlands had reached the zenith of commercial prosperity, becoming a maritime colonial power in the 17th century and the largest colonial power in the world after Spain.

On May 23, 1568, the Royal Army led by the Duke of Alva encountered William of Orange at Heilichele in the province of Groningen, resulting in heavy casualties. The Battle of Heliherai is often seen as the beginning of the Eighty Years’ War. Alva’s Royal Army was victorious at the Battle of Hemmingen two months later. 10,000 men led by Louis de Nassau (Louis of Nassau), brother of William of Orange, were annihilated by the Duke of Alva.

In 1607 the Dutch fleet attacked the port of Gibraltar, causing serious damage to a Spanish squadron anchored there. Spain was financially bankrupt that year. Both sides were exhausted and eager for a truce, eventually reaching a twelve-year truce in 1609.

On April 9, 1609, the two sides reached an agreement in Amberes and signed the Twelve Years Truce, also known as the Treaty of Amberes. Basis: 12-year truce between the two sides; Spain lifts the trade embargo on the Republic of the United Provinces with Europe; allows the Netherlands to conduct free trade in the West Indies; the Republic of the United Provinces guarantees religious freedom for Catholics. The “Twelve Years Truce Agreement” means that Spain recognizes the independence of the northern provinces such as the Netherlands, Zeeland, and Utrecht.

The “Twelve-Year Truce” lasted until 1621, when the two countries renegotiated the extension of the truce, but resumed the war because they could not reach an agreement.

Siege of Breda in 1625, the Spanish army occupied the city after besieging Breda for six months. Maurice of Nassau on the Dutch side was old and feeble, and the struggle was not fought vigorously until his brother Frederick Henry succeeded him in 1625. In the early days of the war, the Netherlands launched several sieges, gaining the city of s-Hertogenbosch (1629), the city of Wesel, and parts of the Maas river valley. Then in 1634, the Holy Roman Emperor combined the Spanish army to defeat the Swedish army in Nordlingen, placing the Republic under the combined attack of the Holy Roman Empire and the Spanish army. So Holland made an alliance with France; France went to war against both the Holy Roman Empire and Spain.

The Dutch achieved their greatest success at sea: at the Battle of Matanzas Gulf in 1628, capturing a fleet of Spanish treasures at the port of Matanzas (Cuba); Channel between) the Dutch fleet launched a night attack on the Spanish fleet in Antwerp, annihilating the Spanish fleet in the port.

After that, Spain turned to the defensive; in 1639 Admiral Marton Tropp and Prince Condé teamed up to siege the port of Dunkirk to a landslide victory over Admiral Oquundo’s fleet. The victory marked the crushing of the last major attempt of the Spanish fleet and the confirmation of the Netherlands as the number one maritime power. But in 1646, the Netherlands attacked the Spanish Philippines and lost in the Battle of Manila.

The Battle of the Downs meant a shattering of hopes at sea for Spain; four years later, the Battle of Rocroix discredited his infantry, Portugal merged into Spain in 1580, re-separated in 1640, and from then on the colonial struggle become purposeless. Brazil and the Spice Islands, which the Dutch plundered, were in fact Portuguese territories. Exhausted, Spain decided to make peace; and the Dutch began to fear that France would become a dangerous neighbor. Rather than have a thriving France in the South Netherland, it is better to have a weakened Spain.

In addition, the war was in favor of the Dutch ruler, Frederick Henry, and the parliamentarians wanted to end it. Peace talks began in the same year as the Battle of Rocroix. Negotiations dragged on for a long time, and Frederick Henry took advantage of this time to seize some more places, especially in the south of the Selder. Finally Frederick Henry died in 1647, but thanks to his efforts, the Netherlands finally achieved a treaty with Spain that gave it the right to fight for so long. A year later, on January 30 and October 24, 1648, the signing of the Peace of Munster and the Peace of Westphalia announced the end of the Eighty Years’ War, and Spain officially recognized the independence of the Netherlands.