Siege of Haarlem

Siege of Haarlem
Part of the Eighty Years' War
Stained glass window in St. Bavochurch by Friso ten Holt (1980), commemorating the siege of Haarlem.
Date 1572 – 1573 Location Haarlem (present-day Netherlands) Result Spanish victory
Belligerents
Dutch Rebels England	Spain
Commanders and leaders
Wigbolt Ripperda William the Silent	Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo
Strength
2,550 infantry and 225 cavalry (Haarlem) 5,000 soldiers (William the Silent)	17,000–18,000 troops [1]
Casualties and losses
2,000 dead or wounded (Haarlem) 5,000 dead or wounded (William the Silent)	1,700 dead or wounded

Dutch Revolt Oosterweel Dahlen Heiligerlee Groningen Jemmingen Jodoigne Brielle Goes Mechelen (1572) Zutphen (1572) Naarden Haarlem Flushing Borsele Haarlemmermeer Zuiderzee Namur Alkmaar Leiden Reimerswaal Mookerheyde Buren Zierikzee Aalst Maastricht (1576) Antwerp (1576) Gembloux Rijmenam 1st Deventer Maastricht (1579) Mechelen (1580) Hardenberg 1st Breda Dunkirk Antwerp (1584-85) Empel Boksum Zutphen (1586) 1st Bergen op Zoom Gravelines Medemblik Spain Geertruidenberg 2nd Breda 2nd Deventer 2nd Groenlo Turnhout 3rd Groenlo 2nd Bredevoort Doetinchem Nieuwpoort Ostend Sluys Lingen 4th Groenlo Gibraltar Playa-Honda 2nd Gibraltar Jülich 2nd Bergen op Zoom 3rd Breda Bahia Puerto Rico 5th Groenlo Bay of Matanzas 's-Hertogenbosch Albrolhos Bruges Slaak Maastricht (1632) Saint Martin Leuven Schenkenschans Lizard Point 4th Breda Venlo Kallo Geldern English Channel The Downs Providencia 1st Hulst Cape St. Vincent 2nd Saint Martin 2nd Hulst La Naval de Manila Puerto de Cavite

Anglo-Spanish War San Juan de Ulúa Goes Haarlem Ponta Delgada Terceira Island Zutphen 1st Cádiz 1st Calais – Gravelines – Ireland Bergen-op-Zoom Corunna – Lisbon Berlengas Strait of Gibraltar Flores Craon Cape Finisterre Blaye San Mateo Crozon Cornwall Las Palmas 1st San Juan Pinos 2nd Calais 2nd Cádiz Turnhout Groenlo Azores Voyage 2nd San Juan Nieuwpoort Kinsale Ostend Castlehaven

The siege of Haarlem was an episode of the Eighty Years' War. From December 11, 1572 to July 13, 1573 an army of Philip II of Spain laid bloody siege to the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands, whose loyalties had begun wavering during the previous summer. After the naval battle of Haarlemmermeer and the defeat of a land relief force, the starving city surrendered and the garrison was massacred. The resistance nonetheless was taken as an heroic example by the Orangists at the sieges of Alkmaar and Leiden.

Contents 1 Pretext 2 Under siege 3 Surrender 4 External links 5 Notes 6 References

Pretext

The city of Haarlem had a moderate view in the religious war that was going on in the Netherlands at that time. The city managed to escape from the Reformed iconoclasm in 1566 that affected other cities in the Netherlands. When the city of Brielle was conquered by the Geuzen revolutionary army on April 1, the Haarlem municipality did not immediately start supporting the Geuzen. Initially, most city administrators -- unlike many citizens -- did not favor open revolution against Philip II of Spain, who had inherited rule of the Netherlands from his father, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. However, after much political debate the city officially turned against Philip II on July 4, 1572.

The ruler of Spain was not pleased, and sent an army up north under command of Don Fadrique (Don Frederick in Dutch), son of the Duke of Alva. On November 17, 1572 all citizens of the city of Zutphen were murdered by the Spanish army, and on December 1 the city of Naarden suffered the same fate.

From Amsterdam, still a pro-Spain city, the message came that perhaps negotiations with Don Fadrique were possible. The city administration sent a deputation of 4 people to Amsterdam. The cities defenses were commanded by city-governor Wigbolt Ripperda, a commandor put in charge by the William the Silent, the Prince of Orange. He strongly disapproved of negotiating with the Spanish army, and called the city guard together in De Doelen, and convinced them to stay loyal to the Prince of Orange. The city's administration was replaced with pro-Orange members. When the deputation came back from Amsterdam, they were convicted as traitors and sent to the Prince. The Sint-Bavokerk (Saint Bavo Church) was cleared of Roman Catholic symbols the same day.

Under siege

On December 11, 1572 the Spanish army put Haarlem under siege. The city was not very strong, militarily speaking. Although the city was completely surrounded by citywalls, they were not in good shape. The area around the city could not be inundated, and offered the enemy many places to set up camp. However, the existence of the Haarlemmermeer (a great lake) nearby made it difficult for the enemy to cut off the transportation of food into the city completely.

In the Middle Ages it was unusual to fight in the winter, but the city of Haarlem was crucial and Don Fadrique stayed and put the town under siege. During the first two months of the siege, the situation was in balance. The Spanish army dug two tunnels to reach the city walls and collapse them. The defenders made tunnels to blow up the Spanish tunnels. The situation became worse for Haarlem on March 29, 1573. The Amsterdam army, faithful to the Spanish king, occupied the Haarlemmermeer and effectively blocked Haarlem from the outside world. The hunger in the city grew, and the situation became so tense that on May 27 many (Spanish-loyal) prisoners were taken from the prison and murdered. On December 19 no less than 625 shots were fired at the defensive wall between the Janspoort to the Catherijnebridge. This forced the defenders to put up a completely new wall.

Two city gates, the Kruispoort and the Janspoort collapsed from the fighting.

Kenau Simonsdochter Hasselaer, a very strong woman, helped defending the city.

In the beginning of July William I of Orange put together an army of 5000 soldiers near Leiden, to rescue Haarlem. However, the Spanish trapped them at the Manpad and defeated the army.

Surrender

In the early days of the battle, the Spanish army tried an assault of the city walls, but this attempt to quickly conquer the city failed due to the insufficient preparation by the Spanish army, which had not expected much resistance. This initial victory gave the defenders' morale a big boost.

After seven months the city surrendered on July 13, 1573. Usually, after such a siege, there would be a period of time that the soldiers of the victorious army could pillage the city, but the citizens were allowed to buy themselves and the city free for 240,000 guilders.

The written assurances that had been given to the city were respected, but the whole garrison (which included many English, French Hugenots and Germans) was executed with the exception of the Germans. 40 burghers considered guilty of sedition were executed as well; the besiegers having run out of ammunition, many of them were drowned in the Spaarne river. Governor Ripperda and his lieutenant were beheaded. Don Fadrique thanked God for his victory in the Sint-Bavokerk. The city would have to host a Spanish garrison.

Although ultimately the city could not be kept for the Prince of Orange, the siege showed other cities that the Spanish army was not invincible. This idea, and the great losses suffered by the Spanish army, helped the cities of Leiden and Alkmaar in their sieges. The latter city would later defeat the Spanish army, a major breakthrough in the Dutch Revolt. In the Sint-Bavo church the following words can still be read:

In dees grote nood, in ons uutereste ellent
Gaven wij de stadt op door hongers verbant
Niet dat hij se in creegh met stormender hant.

In this great need, in our uttermost misery,
we gave up the city, forced by hunger,
not that he took her by storm.

External links

• Haarlem Shuffle - The Siege of Haarlem

Notes

1. ^ Siege Warfare: The Fortress in the Early Modern World, 1494-1660 By Christopher Duffy pg 71

References

• Het beleg van Haarlem; Haarlem's heldenstrijd in beeld en woord 1572-1572, F. De Witt Huberts, Oceanus, 1944, no ISBN
• Geschiedenis en beschrijving van Haarlem, van de vroegste tijden tot op onze dagen, F. Allan, J. J. van Brederode, Haarlem 1874
• Deugd boven geweld: een geschiedenis van Haarlem, 1245-1995, G.F. van der Ree-Scholtens (red), Uitgeverij Verloren, Hilversum 1995 (ISBN 90-6550-504-0)