The siege of Sluis of 1587 took place between 12 June and 4 August 1587, as part of the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604). Its capture by the Spanish formed a significant advance towards the Enterprise of England.

Objectives and investment

June 1587 saw Don Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma ''(

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 ...

: Alejandro Farnesio)'', Governor-General of the Spanish Netherlands, and commander-in-chief of the

Army of Flanders The Army of Flanders ( es, Ejército de Flandes nl, Leger van Vlaanderen) was a multinational army in the service of the Habsburg Spain, kings of Spain that was based in the Spanish Netherlands during the 16th to 18th centuries. It was notable for ...

, set his sights on the two remaining rebel ports in Flanders, Ostend and Sluis. The latter had once been a strategic deep-water port, and was still (despite silting) a key to the inland waterways of the Flanders coast, and thus to any potential invasion of Britain. After an initial sortie against Ostend, Parma invested Sluis on 12 June 1587, but not in time to prevent a body of four companies of English foot-soldiers reaching the town from Ostend under the command of Sir Roger Williams. On 24 June, the bombardment of the town began.

Relief efforts and surrender

A relief effort was organised by a fleet of English and Dutch troops under Sir

Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, (24 June 1532 – 4 September 1588) was an English statesman and the favourite of Elizabeth I from her accession until his death. He was a suitor for the queen's hand for many years. Dudley's youth was ov ...

, Governor-General of the United Provinces.Parker p. 126''To replenish the companies of Englishmen, he brought with him 3,000 fresh troops on the Queen's payroll, and 1,500 for units on the payroll of the States General.'
Tracy. Insubordinations, sedition, and mutiny, 1587–1588
/ref> Leicester landed a force of 4000 foot, 400 horse at Ostend, to cut Parma’s communications, but called his men back to the fleet before coming to grips with any Spaniards; while a sea-borne attempt to force the channel and relieve the town was similarly aborted:

Garrett Mattingly Garrett Mattingly (May 6, 1900 – December 18, 1962) was a professor of European history at Columbia University who specialized in early modern diplomatic history. In 1960 he won a Pulitzer Prize for '' The Defeat of the Spanish Armada''. Early ...

concluded that “The chief effect of this fortnight of imbecile manoeuvres was on the morale of the beleaguered garrison”. On 4 August, after of 13 days of constant fighting around the walls, the garrison surrendered with full honours of war.Parker/Martin p. 126–127

Aftermath

The loss of the English-held port of Sluis revealed the inability of Leicester to assert his authority over the Dutch allies, who failed to cooperate successfully in relieving the town,Wilson p. 291–294 and led to recriminations between the governor-general and the

States of Holland The States of Holland and West Frisia ( nl, Staten van Holland en West-Friesland) were the representation of the two Estates (''standen'') to the court of the Count of Holland. After the United Provinces were formed — and there no longer was a c ...

.Parker p. 126''The surrender of Sluis (5 August) was but another occasion for mutual recriminations between the Governor-General and the States of Holland.'
Tracy. Insubordinations, sedition, and mutiny, 1587–1588
/ref> In the following months, the Earl of Leicester launched a series of unsuccessful attacks against the Spaniards.
/ref> In September 1587, Leicester attempted to capture

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 ...

, but failed,The Eighty Years War (1568-1648)
/> and his plans to capture

Enkhuizen Enkhuizen () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia. History Enkhuizen, like Hoorn and Amsterdam, was one of the harbor-towns of the VOC, from where overseas trade w ...

and Hoorn, two important ports of West Friesland, also failed. Notable English soldiers under Leicester's command were Sir Thomas Baskerville and Sir

Francis Vere Sir Francis Vere (1560/6128 August 1609) was a prominent English soldier serving under Queen Elizabeth I fighting mainly in the Low Countries during the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) and the Eighty Years' War. He was a sergeant major-general ...

.Olaf Van Nimwegen p. 153 On 16 December 1587, Leicester returned to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, where the privy council tried in vain to hold him to account for his failures, protected as he was by the favour of the Queen. By contrast, Parma had gained a strategic prize that enabled him to move barges by inland waterways from the Scheldt to Dunkirk, preparatory to the coming of the Spanish Armada.G Mattingly, ''The Defeat of the Spanish Armada (Penguin

959 Year 959 ( CMLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * April - May – The Byzantines refuse to pay the yearly tribute. A Hungari ...

p. 189

Notes

References

* Martin, Colin./Parker, Geoffrey. ''The Spanish Armada: Revised Edition''. Published 1989 by Penguin Books. * C. Duffy. ''Siege Warfare: The Fortress in the Early Modern World 1494–1660''. Volumen 1. London. * Tracy, James. ''The Founding of the Dutch Republic: War, Finance, and Politics in Holland 1572–1588.'' Oxford University Press. First published 2008. * Wilson, Derek (1981). ''Sweet Robin: A Biography of Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester 1533–1588''. Hamish Hamilton * Van Nimwegen, Olaf. ''The Dutch Army and the Military Revolutions 1588–1688''. First published 2010. The Boydell Press, Woodbridge. * Hammer, P.E.J. (1999). ''The Polarisation of Elizabethan Politics: The Political Career of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, 1585–1597''. Cambridge University Press. Great Britain. .

External links

The Eighty Years War (1568–1648)

The Founding of the Dutch Republic: War, Finance, and Politics in Holland 1572–1588
{{coord missing, Netherlands Battles of the Eighty Years' War Sluis Sluis Sluis 1587 in Europe Conflicts in 1587 16th-century military history of the Kingdom of England Battles in Zeeland Sluis Eighty Years' War (1566–1609)