Sack of Antwerp facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sack of Antwerp
Part of the Eighty Years' War
Date 4 November 1576 Location Antwerp, Spanish Netherlands (present-day Belgium) Result Dutch rebels unite against Spanish crown Decline of Antwerp as commercial hub
Belligerents
Mutinying Spanish Tercios (Army of Flanders)	People of Antwerp German and Walloon troops
Commanders and leaders
Sancho d'Avila Julian Romero Juan del Águila	Count Eberstein   † Governor Compagny Marquis d’Havré
Strength
6,000	20,000 (civilians included)
Casualties and losses
Unknown	7,000–18,000

The Attack on Antwerp, also known as the Spanish Fury at Antwerp, was a terrible event during the Eighty Years' War. It was one of the biggest massacres in the history of the Low Countries, which is the area we now call Belgium and the Netherlands.

On November 4, 1576, Spanish soldiers who had not been paid attacked the city of Antwerp. This attack lasted for three days and caused a lot of horror for the people living there. At the time, Antwerp was a very important city for art, trade, and money in the Low Countries. The extreme violence of this attack made the different parts of the Low Countries come together. They decided to unite against the Spanish king. This event also caused Antwerp to lose its place as the most important city in the region. It helped Amsterdam become a major city instead.

Why Did the Attack Happen?

The main reason for the attack was that King Philip II of Spain had not paid his soldiers. The king had recently run out of money. Bankers refused to help the king send money until they had a deal. For example, the soldiers' pay could not be sent from Spain using a "letter of exchange," which was like an old-fashioned money order. So, the Spanish government had to send actual cash by sea. This was much more expensive, slow, and dangerous. To make things worse for King Philip, 400,000 florins (a type of gold coin) meant for the troops were taken by Queen Elizabeth I of England. This happened when the ships carrying the money had to stop in English ports to escape a storm.

The Spanish soldiers were very angry because they had been fighting without rest or pay. They had already attacked other towns like Zierikzee and Aalst. Because of these attacks, the fifteen loyal parts of the Low Countries (the areas of Holland and Zeeland were already fighting against Spain) decided to meet. They formed a group called the States-General. Their goal was to get rid of the mercenaries (soldiers who fight for money) from the Netherlands. It was common for soldiers who weren't paid to choose a new leader, called an Eletto. They would then march in perfect order to get what they felt they were owed. In this case, the Spanish soldiers decided to get their overdue pay by looting Antwerp.

The Attack Begins

Antwerp is sacked

The idea to attack Antwerp came from Sancho d'Avila, the Spanish commander of the Citadel of Antwerp (a fortress in the city). He tried to convince Count Otto IV van Eberstein, who led the German troops in the city, to hand Antwerp over to the Spanish.

However, Eberstein warned Governor Compagny of Antwerp. Together, they quickly set up defenses against the Spanish. On November 3, Governor Compagny allowed 6,000 Walloon soldiers, led by the Marquis of Havré, into the city. This was a risky move because these troops were not very reliable. About 10,000 regular people also helped build quick defenses against the Citadel. D'Avila had also prepared his attack. He contacted other Spanish soldiers who had mutinied (rebelled) in nearby towns like Aalst, Lier, Breda, and Maastricht. These groups all headed towards Antwerp.

On November 4 at 11:00 AM, the Spanish soldiers attacked. The defenses built by the civilians were useless against the experienced Spanish fighters, who quickly rushed into the city. Just as people had feared, the Walloon soldiers did not fight. Instead, they either ran away or, according to some reports, even joined in the looting. The German soldiers and civilians tried to fight back, but they were no match for the Spanish. Eberstein, the German commander, drowned in the Scheldt river while trying to escape.

At least 7,000 people died, and a huge amount of property was lost. One English writer who saw the events, George Gascoigne, estimated that 17,000 people died. The terrible cruelty and destruction of these three days of looting became known as the Spanish Fury.

What Were the Results?

This shocking event made many people in the Netherlands, even some Catholics, turn against the Spanish royal family (the Habsburg monarchy). It also made King Philip's reputation even worse. Just four days after the attack, the States General, influenced by what happened, signed the Pacification of Ghent. This agreement united the parts of the Netherlands that were rebelling with the parts that had been loyal to Spain. Their goal was to remove all Spanish soldiers from the Netherlands. They also wanted to stop the persecution (hunting down) of people with different religious beliefs. This effectively undid all the progress Spain had made in the previous 10 years, since the start of the Dutch Revolt.

Furthermore, the attack ruined Antwerp's important fabric trade. English traders did not want to risk visiting a city that looked like a war zone. They started looking for new places to trade. By 1582, all English trade with Antwerp had stopped. The city's large Jewish population was especially affected. Antwerp then lost its status as one of the richest and most powerful cities in Europe. It did recover later, but it never became as glorious as it once was.

The attack led to Antwerp's decline as the main economic, financial, and cultural center of the Netherlands. It helped Amsterdam become the new leading city. This event also added to the Black Legend about Spain, which was a collection of negative stories about the Spanish Empire.

See also

• Spanish Fury at Mechelen
• English Fury at Mechelen
• French Fury
• Sack of Rome (1527), when unpaid Imperial troops looted Rome.

Sources

• The Baldwin Project
• University of Leiden