Fall of Antwerp This Siege of Antwerp took place during the Eighty Years ' War from July 1584 until August 1585 . At the time Antwerp was not only the largest Dutch city but was also the cultural , economic and financial centre of the Seventeen Provinces and of north - western Europe . On 4 November 1576 , unpaid Spanish soldiery mutinied : they plundered and burnt the city during what was called the Spanish Fury . Thousands of citizens were massacred and hundreds of houses were burnt down . As a result , Antwerp became even more engaged in the rebellion against the rule of Habsburg Spain . The city joined the Union of Utrecht ( 1579 ) and became the capital of the Dutch Revolt , which no longer was merely a Protestant rebellion but had become a revolt of all Dutch provinces . Spanish control . Relieved from the great battles with the Ottomans in the Mediterranean , Philip II of Spain turned his attention back to the uprising in the Low Countries and in 1579 sent Alessandro Farnese , Duke of Parma to head his army in Flanders to regain control over Flanders , Brabant and the United Provinces . When the siege of Antwerp began ( 1585 ) most of the County of Flanders and the Duchy of Brabant , including Brussels , had been recaptured in the preceding year . The army of Flanders had been reinforced in the previous years , both in quantity and quality , and in 1585 it had 61 , 000 men under arms . The siege begins . During the recapture of Flanders and Brabant , Parma improved the logistics of the Spanish army in Flanders by further investing in what is dubbed the " Spanish Route . " It was a main road leading north from Habsburg holdings in Northern Italy into the Low Countries , protected by forts built at strategic intervals , to provide the army with a reliable flow of supplies . When the siege of Antwerp began Parma ' s army was well supplied . The first stage of the siege saw encirclement lines constructed around Antwerp and forts built along the Scheldt estuary . The second stage consisted of commencing a long siege of Antwerp and constructing a bridge across the Scheldt , effectively closing off the city ' s waterways . The bridge , a unique feat of siege engineering at its time , consisted of a strong fort ( reinforced with cannons ) on each side of the Scheldt with a bridge of connected pontoons ( paintings show sizable rowing boats ) running between them . ( This bridge is believed to have been 730m long . ) In response to the closure of the Scheldt by this bridge , the Dutch flooded the lowlands adjacent to the Scheldt , effectively submerging most roads in scattered areas and leaving Spanish forts either flooded or isolated on small islands . Despite the Dutch using these floodplains to try to regain control over the Scheldt ( using low draft oar and sail boats with small cannon emplacements on them ) , the Spanish position largely held firm , as many of the Spanish forts had been equipped with cannon and high quality troops . Several attempts were made by the Dutch to steer " fire ships " into the Spanish pontoon bridge , but the troops stationed in the adjacent forts managed to push them off course with pikes - though with heavy loss of life when the fire ships exploded . 800 Spaniards are said to have been killed , Caspar de Robles being one of the casualties . At one time , the rebels sent the " Finis Bellis " ( " End of War " ) , a huge floating platform into which they put great hope , against the bridge , but the mission failed miserably . In the end the Dutch abandoned their efforts , considering Antwerp a lost cause . Antwerp surrenders . On 17 August 1585 , Antwerp surrendered . After the siege , the Dutch fleet on the river Scheldt was kept in position , blocking the city ' s access to the sea and cutting it off from international trade . Parma stationed experienced Castilian troops within Antwerp to make sure the city would not fall into enemy hands . The moderateness of Parma ' s demands and the behaviour of his troops were a complete surprise given the bloodiness of the siege and the rampage of 1576 : Parma issued strict orders not to sack the city and the Spanish troops behaved impeccably , while Antwerp ' s Protestant majority were given two years to settle their affairs before leaving . Some returned to Roman Catholicism but most moved north and ended what had been a golden century for the city . Of the pre - siege population of 100 , 000 people , only 40 , 000 remained . Many of Antwerp ' s skilled tradesmen were included in the Protestant migration to the north , laying the commercial foundation for the subsequent " Dutch Golden Age " of the northern United Provinces . The blockage of the Scheldt to shipping remained in place and prevented the city recovering its former glory . It was maintained for the next two centuries and was an important and traumatic element in the history of relations between the Netherlands and what was to become Belgium .