The siege of Sluis of 1587 took place between 12 June and 4 August 1587, as part of the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...

and the

Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) The Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) was an intermittent conflict between the Habsburg Spain, Habsburg Kingdom of Spain and the Kingdom of England that was never formally declared. It began with England's military expedition in 1585 to what was ...

. 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: Alejandro Farnesio)'', Governor-General of the Spanish Netherlands, and commander-in-chief of the Army of Flanders, set his sights on the two remaining rebel ports in Flanders, Ostend and

Sluis Sluis (; ; ) is a city and municipality located in the west of Zeelandic Flanders, in the south-western Dutch province of Zeeland. The current incarnation of the municipality has existed since 1 January 2003. The former municipalities of Oostb ...

. 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

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 Roger Williams (March 1683) was an English-born New England minister, theologian, author, and founder of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Pl ...

. 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, 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 l ...

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 Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

and the States of Holland.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 language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

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

Hoorn Hoorn () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the northwest of the Netherlands, in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland. It is the largest town an ...

, two important ports of West Friesland, also failed. Notable English soldiers under Leicester's command were Sir Thomas Baskerville and Sir Francis Vere.Olaf Van Nimwegen p. 153 On 16 December 1587, Leicester returned to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, 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 The Spanish Armada (often known as Invincible Armada, or the Enterprise of England, ) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by Alonso de Guzmán, Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aristocrat without previous naval ...

.G Mattingly, ''The Defeat of the Spanish Armada (Penguin 959 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. {{ISBN, 0-521-01941-9.

External links

The Eighty Years War (1568–1648)

The Founding of the Dutch Republic: War, Finance, and Politics in Holland 1572–1588
Battles of the Eighty Years' War

1587 in Europe Conflicts in 1587 16th-century military history of the Kingdom of England History of Zeeland Sluis Eighty Years' War (1566–1609)