Capture of Geertruidenberg (1589)

For the 1573 battle, see Capture of Geertruidenberg (1573).

The Capture of Geertruidenberg of 1589, also known as the English betrayal of Geertruidenberg, took place on April 10, 1589, at Geertruidenberg, Duchy of Brabant, Flanders (present-day the Netherlands), during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604).^[1][2]

Capture of Geertruidenberg (1589)
Part of the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604)
Date April 10, 1589 Location Geertruidenberg, Duchy of Brabant (present-day the Netherlands) Result Spanish victory[1][2]
Belligerents
England United Provinces	Spanish Empire
Commanders and leaders
John Wingfield	Alexander Farnese

Events

On April 10, 1589, the garrison of Geertruidenberg, composed of numerous English and some Dutch troops commanded by Governor Sir John Wingfield, surrendered the city to the Army of Flanders led by Don Alexander Farnese, Governor-General of the Spanish Netherlands (Spanish: Alejandro Farnesio).^[2][3] A few days before, when pay did not arrive in time, the English soldiers mutinied, and was rumored that Wingfield had intended to surrender (or "sold") the city to the Spaniards.^[4] The States-General and Prince Maurice of Nassau (Dutch: Maurits van Oranje) accused him of treason for its surrender, but Wingfield denied the charges against him. The fact was that Geertruidenberg was in Spanish hands.^[2][3]

Engraving of Don Alexander Farnese by Emanuel van Meteren.

The same year, in September, Parma sent a force under Count Peter Ernst of Mansfeld to besiege Rheinberg.^[5] The garrison capitulated to the Spaniards in February 1590.^[5][6]

Geertruidenberg was recaptured in June 1593 by an Anglo-Dutch force under the command of Maurice of Nassau and Francis Vere respectively.^[7]

See also

• Siege of Bergen op Zoom (1588)
• Siege of Rheinberg (1586–1590)
• Sir William Stanley
• Rowland York
• Spanish Army of Flanders
• List of governors of the Spanish Netherlands

Notes

1. John Leslie Price p.30
2. Jeremy Black. War in the World: A Comparative History, 1450-1600. Wars of Religion.
3. Jonathan Israel. The Dutch Republic: Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall 1477–1806 p. 234
4. Mary Arshagouni Papazian p.186
5. Israel. p. 29
6. Luc Duerloo p.46
7. Knight, Charles Raleigh: Historical records of The Buffs, East Kent Regiment (3rd Foot) formerly designated the Holland Regiment and Prince George of Denmark's Regiment. Vol I. London, Gale & Polden, 1905, p. 38-39^{[permanent dead link]}

References

• Jeremy Black. War in the World: A Comparative History, 1450-1600. First published 2011 by Palgrave MacMillan. ISBN 978-0-230-29858-3
• Mary Arshagouni Papazian. John Donne and the Protestant Reformation: New Perspectives. Wayne State University Press 2003.
• John Leslie Price. Dutch Society: 1588-1713. First published 2000 by Pearson Education Limited, USA. ISBN 978-0-582-26426-7
• Jonathan Israel. Conflicts of Empires: Spain, the Low Countries and the Struggle for World Supremacy, 1585-1713. London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 1997. ISBN 1-85285-161-9
• Luc Duerloo. Dynasty and Piety: Archduke Albert (1598-1621) and Habsburg Political Culture in an Age of Religious Wars. MPG Books Group. UK. ISBN 2-503-50724-7

External links

• Jeremy Black. War in the World: A Comparative History, 1450-1600. Wars of Religion.