Siege of Leiden

Part of the Eighty Years' War & the Anglo–Spanish War

Relief of Leiden by the Geuzen on flat-bottomed boats, on 3 October 1574. Otto van Veen.

Date	October 1573 - 3 October 1574
Location	Leiden (present-day Netherlands)
Result	States-allied victory

Belligerents

Dutch Rebels

England

French Huguenots

Spain

Commanders and leaders

Pieter Adriaanszoon van der Werff (Mayor of Leiden)

Francisco de Valdez

Strength

11,000

15,000

Casualties and losses

500

2,000

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. In the end the siege failed when the city was successfully relieved in October 1574.

In the war (eventually called the Eighty Years' War) that had broken out, Dutch rebels took up arms against the king of Spain, whose family had inherited the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands. Most of the counties of Holland and Zeeland were occupied by rebels in 1572, who sought to end the harsh rule of the Spanish Duke of Alba, governor-general of the Netherlands. This territory had a very high density of cities, which were protected by huge defense works and by the low-lying boglands, which could easily be flooded by opening the dykes and letting in the sea.

The Duke of Alba tried to break resistance using brute force. He used Amsterdam as a base, as this was the only city in the country of Holland that had remained loyal to the Spanish government. Alba's cruel treatment of the populations of Naarden and Haarlem was notorious. The rebels learned that no mercy was shown there and were determined to hold out as long as possible. The county of Holland was split in two when Haarlem was conquered by the Spanish after a costly seven-month siege. Thereafter, Alba attempted to conquer Alkmaar in the north, but the city withstood the Spanish attack. Alba then sent his officer Francisco de Valdez to attack the southern rebel territory, starting with Leiden. In the meantime, due to his failure to quell the rebellion as quickly as he had intended, Alba submitted his resignation, which king Philip accepted in December. The less harsh and more politic Luis de Zúñiga y Requesens replaced him as governor-general.

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Wikipedia