At his last public speech in front of the States General, Charles famously said "my life has been one long journey". His son Philip will return in Spain in 1559 and never visit the Low Countries again, ruling these territories as King of Spain rather than Duke of Burgundy. Flanders and Belgium were part of the Spanish Netherlands from 1556, and entered a period of decline in favor of the Dutch Republic which was soon to break off from the Spanish empire. Symbolic of this is the Sack of Antwerp by Spanish forces in 1576, which forced many merchants to flee to Amsterdam and Holland. The Dutch Golden Age lasted for most of the 17th century.