Siege of 's-Hertogenbosch
Siege of 's-Hertogenbosch | |||||||||
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Part of the Anglo–Spanish War | |||||||||
The defeated Spanish garrison leaving 's-Hertogenbosch, 17 September 1629 by Pauwels van Hillegaert 1635. Oil on Canvas. | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Spain | United Provinces | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
(Spanish Relief Army) |
Frederick Henry Ernest Casimir Horace Vere William Brog | ||||||||
Strength | |||||||||
3,000 infantry 4,000 armed civilians |
24,000 infantry of which:
4,000 cavalry 116 cannons | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||
1,200 killed 1,200 diseased and injured | Unknown |
The siege of 's-Hertogenbosch also known as the siege of Bois-Le-Duc
Background
The
The blockade caused an economic crisis for the Republic and it reacted by trying to harm the enemy in its colonies. In 1628 one of the many schemes undertaken met with spectacular success when Admiral Piet Hein of the Dutch West India Company captured the Spanish treasure fleet. The vastly improved financial situation of the Republic allowed for a major counter-stroke and Stadtholder Frederick Henry decided to break the Habsburg morale by conquering their main stronghold in the Netherlands. This came very unexpectedly; most had predicted the goal of his campaign would be Breda, which had been retaken by the Habsburgs in 1625.
Siege
Advancing from
Of course the Habsburg authorities didn't remain idle while their main bulwark was being reduced. They sent a large relief army under command of Frederick Henry's Catholic cousin
Meanwhile, the Protestant forces dug themselves ever closer to the city along the southern road from the direction of
Aftermath
Bishop Michael Ophovius tried to plead with Frederick Henry for religious tolerance, but though the stadtholder himself would gladly have granted religious freedom to the Catholics, as he tried to gain popularity in the Spanish Netherlands in the hope support for the rebellion would grow, due to vehement Calvinist resistance it had already been decided to be as strict in this respect as in the rest of the Republic; only nunneries could remain until the last nun of those present in 1629 had died.
The fall of 's-Hertogenbosch was an enormous blow to the prestige of the Spanish monarchy and the worst defeat in the North since the
Although its population would remain predominantly Catholic, 's-Hertogenbosch would stay firmly in the hands of the Republic as part of the Generality Lands until French revolutionary forces captured it in 1794; only then would the Batavian Republic grant equality to Catholics. The former Duchy of Brabant remains divided to this day between Belgium (Flemish Brabant, Brussels and Walloon Brabant) and the Netherlands (North Brabant).
References
- Citations
- Bibliography
- ISBN 9780198207344.
- Markham, C. R. (2007). The Fighting Veres: Lives of Sir Francis Vere And Sir Horace Vere. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 978-1432549053.
- van Nimwegen, Olaf (2010). The Dutch Army and the Military Revolutions, 1588-1688. Volume 31 of Warfare in History Series. Boydell & Brewer. ISBN 9781843835752.
External links
- Siege of 's-Hertogenbosch 1629 on the Google Books Library Project