The Capture of Valkenburg of 1574, took place in early February 1574, at

Valkenburg, South Holland Valkenburg () is a village and former municipality in the province of South Holland, in the western Netherlands. Valkenburg is now part of the municipality Katwijk and had a population of 3,900 in 2006. On 1 January 2006, Valkenburg and Rijn ...

(present-day the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

), during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604), in the context of the

siege of Leiden The siege of Leiden occurred during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo–Spanish War in 1573 and 1574, when the Spanish under Francisco de Valdez attempted to capture the rebellious city of Leiden, South Holland, the Netherlands. The siege fai ...

.Fissel p.141 The fortress of Valkenburg (northwest of

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wi ...

), garrisoned by five

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 ...

companies commanded by Colonel Edward Chester, was of strategic importance to facilitate (or complicate) the Spanish efforts at

.Oscar Gelderblom p.47 In early February, when the Spanish troops (sent by ''

Maestre de Campo ''Maestre de campo'' was a rank created in 1534 by the Emperor Carlos V, inferior in rank only to the ''capitán general'' and acted as a chief of staff. He was chosen by the monarch in the Council of State, and commanded a '' tercio''. Their po ...

'' Don

Francisco de Valdés Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name '' Franciscus''. Nicknames In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed " Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father o ...

) advanced over Valkenburg Castle, the English troops surrendered the fortress to the Spaniards and fled towards

. Then, the Spanish forces entered and took possession of the fortress (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

: ''tomando la fortaleza a placer''). For the cowardice demonstrated at Valkenburg, the English troops were rejected by the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

rebel army at

, and finally Chester's troops surrendered to the Spanish army.''From England, Colonel Edward Chester brought five companies to nearby Valkenburg Castle. Orange wanted to get these men into Leiden, but they fled as Spanish units approached the castle, and were subsequently denied admission to Leiden because of their cowardice''. James Tracy p.II Soon after, the English forces at Alphen (now called Alphen aan den Rijn, southwest Leiden), were defeated as well, and at Gouda, another English force was surprised and defeated by a contingent of Spanish troops, with the loss of 300 men and three

colours Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...

for the English.Mark Charles Fissel p.41 In April 1574, Francisco de Valdés halted the siege of Leiden, to face the invading rebel army led by

Louis of Nassau Louis of Nassau (Dutch: Lodewijk van Nassau, January 10, 1538 – April 14, 1574) was the third son of William I, Count of Nassau-Siegen and Juliana of Stolberg, and the younger brother of Prince William of Orange Nassau. Louis was a key ...

and Henry of Nassau-Dillenburg (brothers of Prince William of Orange), but the Spanish forces commanded by General Don

Sancho d'Avila Sancho d'Avila (21 September 1523 – 1583) was a Spanish general. Born at Ávila, he first served as the commander of the Duke of Alba's bodyguard. It was in this function that d'Avila arrested the Count of Egmont. When the Eighty Years' ...

reached them first, leading to the

Battle of Mookerheyde In the Battle of Mookerheyde, Spanish forces defeated Dutch forces composed of German mercenaries on 14 April 1574 during the Eighty Years' War near the village Mook and the river Meuse not far from Nijmegen in Gelderland. Two leaders of the Dut ...

.''The History of The Netherlands (Complete)''
John Lothrop Motley The Dutch suffered a disastrous defeat, losing at least 3,000 men, with both Louis and Henry killed.Radhey Shyam Chaurasia p.256 Finally, the rebel army dispersed due to lack of pay.''Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: F-O''
Tony Jaques p.684

Notes

References

* Mark Charles Fissel. ''English Warfare, 1511-1642''. First published 2001. London, Great Britain. * Oscar Gelderblom. ''The Political Economy of the Dutch Republic''. Published by Ashgate Publishing Limited. England 2009. * Tracy, James. ''The Founding of the Dutch Republic: War, Finance, and Politics in Holland 1572–1588''. Oxford University Press. First published 2008. * A.N. Wilson. ''The Elizabethans''. Published by Arrow Books 2012. Great Britain. * Radhey Shyam Chaurasia. ''History of Europe''. Atlantic Publishers and Distributors 2002. New Delhi. * Motley, John Lothrop. The History of The Netherlands (Complete). Published by the Library of Alexandria. * Jeremy Black. ''War in the World: A Comparative History, 1450-1600''. First published 2011 by Palgrave MacMillan.

External links

James Tracy. ''The Founding of the Dutch Republic: War, Finance, and Politics in Holland 1572–1588''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valkenburg 1574, Capture of Sieges of the Eighty Years' War Sieges involving Spain Sieges involving England Sieges involving the Dutch Republic 1574 in Europe Conflicts in 1574

See also

Notes

References

External links