page_title: Siege of Eindhoven (1583)
section_title: Prelude
hierarchical_section_title: Siege of Eindhoven (1583) / Prelude
caption_attribution_description: Joyous entry of François, Duke of Anjou (1556-1584) into Antwerp, 19 February 1582, with a triumphal arch on St. Jan's Bridge. Oil painting of a colorful procession of horsemen and infantry on their way to the triumphal arch. Beneath a canopy, the duke is riding a gray, wearing a scarlet coat. Left and right of the procession the procession is separated from the public by militiamen. A captain kneels before the duke. To the right next to a block of houses a glimps of the port of Antwerp. To the right also a construction with barrels of firework.
context_page_description: The Siege of Eindhoven, also known as the Capture of Eindhoven of 1583, took place between 7 February and 23 April 1583 at Eindhoven, Duchy of Brabant, Spanish Netherlands during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo-Spanish War. On 7 February 1583 a Spanish force sent by Don Alexander Farnese, Governor-General of the Spanish Netherlands, commanded by Karl von Mansfeld and Claude de Berlaymont, laid siege to Eindhoven, an important and strategic city of Brabant held by Dutch, Scottish, and French soldiers under the States' commander Hendrik van Bonnivet. After three months of siege, and the failed attempts by the States-General to assist Bonnivet's forces, the defenders surrendered to the Spaniards on 23 April.
  With the capture of Eindhoven, the Spanish forces made great advances in the region, and gained the allegiance of the majority of the towns of northern Brabant. The Spanish victory too, increased the crisis between Francis, Duke of Anjou and the States-General, despite the efforts of Prince William of Orange in preserving the fragile alliance between Anjou and the States-General by the Treaty of Plessis-les-Tours.
context_section_description: On 29 September 1580 Francis, Duke of Anjou (younger brother of King Henry III of France), supported by William of Orange, signed the Treaty of Plessis-les-Tours with the States-General of the Netherlands. Based on the terms of the treaty, Anjou assumed the title of Protector of the Liberty of the Netherlands and became sovereign of the United Provinces. On 10 February 1582, after a vain courtship of Queen Elizabeth I in England, Anjou arrived to the Netherlands, when he was officially welcomed by William of Orange in Flushing. In spite of his ceremonious installation as Duke of Brabant and Count of Flanders, Anjou was not popular with the Flemish and Dutch Protestants, who continued to see the Catholic French as enemies; the provinces of Zeeland and Holland refused to recognise him as their sovereign, and William of Orange, the central figure of the Politiques who worked to defuse religious hostilities, was widely criticized for his "French politics".
  When Anjou's army of 12,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry arrived in late 1582, William's plan seemed to pay off, as even Don Alexander Farnese feared that a strong alliance between the Dutch and French could pose a serious threat, but in fact, Anjou had very little influence in the Netherlands, and he himself was not satisfied with the restrictions of the treaty and wanted more power. On 17 January 1583 the French forces led by Francis of Anjou tried to conquer the city of Antwerp by surprise, but unfortunately for Anjou his plan was discovered. The inhabitants, still traumatised by the Spanish plunder seven years earlier, were determined to prevent another occupation by foreign troops by all means possible. Anjou was decisively defeated by the people of Antwerp, losing as many as 2,000 men. However, at the same time, the rest of the French forces gained control of a great number of towns, including Dunkirk and Dendermonde, and despite an explosion of anti-French feeling in rebel towns, the Prince of Orange managed to prevent an open breach with the French.
  Meanwhile, the Prince of Parma, Governor-General of the Low Countries in the name of Philip II of Spain, in command of an army of 60,000 soldiers, divided in various fronts, after the Spanish conquests of Maastricht, 's-Hertogenbosch, Courtrai, Breda, Tournai, Oudenaarde, among others, between 1579 and 1582, slowed his successful campaign for the moment, waiting to see what the French would do.
caption: The joyous entry of the Duke of Anjou into Antwerp, 19 February 1582, a year before his attempt to take the city by force. Rijksmuseum Amsterdam.
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