Siege of Leiden
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| Siege of Leiden | |||||||
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| Part of the Eighty Years' War | |||||||
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| Combatants | |||||||
| Dutch rebels | Spain | ||||||
| Commanders | |||||||
| Unknown | Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alva | ||||||
| Eighty Years' War |
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| Oosterweel – Rheindalen – Heiligerlee – Jemmingen – Jodoigne – Brielle – Haarlem – Flushing – Borsele – Zuiderzee – Alkmaar – Leiden – Reimerswaal – Mookerheyde – Gembloux – Maastricht – 1st Breda – Punta Delgada – Antwerp – Boksum – Zutphen – 1st Bergen op Zoom – Gravelines – 2nd Breda – Turnhout – Nieuwpoort – Ostend – Sluys – Gibraltar – 2nd Bergen op Zoom –3rd Breda – Bay of Matanzas – 's-Hertogenbosch – Maastricht – 4th Breda – Kallo – The Downs – Hulst – Puerto de Cavite |
The siege of Leiden occurred during the Eighty Years' War in 1573 and 1574, when the Spanish attempted to capture the rebellious city but ultimately failed.
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[edit] Background
The Netherlands belonged to the kingdom of Spain. Most of the counties of Holland and Zeeland were occupied by rebels in 1572, who wanted to end the reign of terror of the Spanish Duke of Alva, governor-general of the Netherlands. This territory had a very high density of cities, which were protected by huge defenseworks and by the boglands, which could easily be put under water.
The duke of Alva tried to break resistance with brutal force. He used Amsterdam as a base. This was the only city that remained on the Spanish side. Alvas' cruel treatment of the population of Naarden and Haarlem were notorious. The rebels learned that there was no mercy. The county of Holland was split in two when Haarlem was conquered by the Spaniards. First Alva failed to conquer Alkmaar in the north, but the city held out for a long time and Alva decided to turn south to the main territory of the rebels and headed for Leiden.
[edit] First siege of Leiden
The city of Leiden had plenty of food stored for the siege which started in October 1573. The siege was very difficult for the Spanish, because the soil was too loose to dig holes, and the city defense works were very good. The leader of the rebels, William the Silent, Prince of Orange, tried to help Leiden by sending an army into the Netherlands. Alva halted the siege in April 1574 and defeated the army of Orange in the Battle of Mookerheyde.
[edit] Second siege of Leiden
The army of Alva returned in June 1574 to continue the siege. The city thought of surrendering, because there was nearly no chance of relief. The rebel army was defeated and the rebel territory was very small compared to the huge Spanish empire.
In September 1574, the Dutch decided to cut the dikes in the south to let the seawater in and relieve the siege. However, in the absence of storms, for months the water did not rise high enough to lift the siege. Mayor van der Werff inspired his citizens to hold on by offering his arm as food. Thousands of inhabitants died of starvation. They held on because they knew that the Spanish would kill them all to set an example, as had happened in Naarden and Haarlem.
[edit] Relief
On 2 and 3 October, after the storms finally came, a relief force of Geux de Mer (Sea Beggars) were approaching Leiden by flat bottomed boats. The waterlogged Spanish army lifted the siege. The rebel fleets brought herring and white bread to the starving population. The population got 'Hutspot', boiled onions with carrots, in the evening. According the legend the little orphan boy Cornelis Joppenszoon found a cooking pot full with 'Hutspot' in the camp of the Spaniards (the Lammenschans).
[edit] Aftermath
The Spanish treasury was empty in 1575, so the Spanish army could not be paid anymore and it mutinied. After the pillaging of Antwerp, the whole of the Netherlands rebelled against Spain. Leiden was safe now.
October 3 is celebrated every year in Leiden. It is a huge party, with an enormous funfair and a dozen of open air discos in the night. The municipality gives free herring and white bread to the citizens of Leiden.
[edit] Trivia
- There was an earlier Siege of Leiden (1420).
