The Capture of Aalst of 1584, also known as the Betrayal of Aalst, took place in early February, 1584, at Aalst, County of Aalst,

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

(present-day

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

), during the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Refo ...

and the

Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) The Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) was an intermittent conflict between the Habsburg Kingdom of Spain and the Kingdom of England. It was never formally declared. The war included much English privateering against Spanish ships, and several wid ...

.''The Army of Flanders and the Spanish Road''. Geoffrey Parker p.42 In 1584, after the successful Spanish military campaign of 1583, the Governor-General Don

Alexander Farnese, Prince of Parma Alessandro Farnese (10 January 1635 – 18 February 1689) was an Italian military leader, who was Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands from 1678 until 1682. He is not to be confused with his better known great-grandfather Alexander Farnese, D ...

, was focused in subjecting by hunger the cities located on the

Scheldt The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corr ...

and its tributaries.Geoffrey Parker p.209 One of these cities was Aalst, located on the Dender river. In January, the garrison of Aalst, composed of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

troops under the command of Governor Olivier van den Tympel, was surrounded and blocked by the Spanish forces led by Parma.Nuyens p.253 In this situation, the English soldiers, tired of the lack of supplies and pay, finally surrendered the city to Parma, in exchange for 128,250

florins The Florentine florin was a gold coin struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains (3.499 grams, 0.113 troy ounce) of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a purcha ...

and entered the service of the Spanish army. The advance of the Prince of Parma was unstoppable, and on April 7, after three months of siege, the city of

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality co ...

surrendered. The next goal of the Spaniards was

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...

, and on May 24, the city capitulated without a single shot fired.

Notes

References

* Geoffrey Parker. ''España y la rebelión de Flandes''. Editorial Nerea, S.A., Madrid, 1989. * Geoffrey Parker. ''The Army of Flanders and the Spanish Road, 1567-1659''. Second edition 2004. Cambridge University Press. * Willem J. F. Nuyens. ''Geschiedenis der nederlandsche beroerten in de XVIe eeuw: Geschiedenis van den opstand in de Nederlanden, van de komst van Alva tot aan de bevrediging van Gend: (1567-1576)''. Landenhuysen, 1867.

External links

''España y la rebelión de Flandes'' by Geoffrey Parker
{{coord missing, Belgium Aalst Aalst Aalst Aalst Aalst 1584 1584 in the Habsburg Netherlands Conflicts in 1584

Capture Capture may refer to: *Asteroid capture, a phenomenon in which an asteroid enters a stable orbit around another body *Capture, a software for lighting design, documentation and visualisation *"Capture" a song by Simon Townshend *Capture (band), an ...

Aalst, Belgium

See also

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References

External links