Treaty of Nonsuch

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The Treaty of Nonsuch was signed by Elizabeth I of England and the Netherlands on August 20, 1585 at Nonsuch Palace in Surrey. England initially agreed to supply 400 horses and 4,000 foot soldiers (initially intended as a way of lifting the Siege of Antwerp (1584-1585)), and an annual subsidy of 600,000 florins a year (about a quarter of the annual cost of the revolt). This eventually increased to a commitment of 1,000 horse and 6,350 foot. As a surety for this assistance, the Dutch were to hand over Ostend, Brielle and Vlissingen to England. This provoked the objection of Zeeland, which was to lose the most by this measure. In addition, the treaty provided for an English governor-general of the rebel provinces. Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester was granted this post.

Philip II of Spain took the treaty as a declaration of war against him by Elizabeth. Three years later he launched the Spanish Armada in an attempt to invade and conquer England. The vast resources spent by Philip on the Armada (about 44.7m florins) undoubtedly helped the Dutch revolt succeed as the Duke of Parma, who led the Spanish forces in the later stages of the revolt, was hampered by limited resources (he received only 14.7m florins from Spain).