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The Siege of Middelburg (1572–1574) was a siege that lasted two years and took place in the years between 1572 and 1574 during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604). A Dutch rebel army with the support of English laid siege to Middelburg which was being held by Spanish forces under Cristóbal de Mondragón. The Spanish held out and only capitulated when news of the relief effort to save Middelburg was defeated at Rimmerswiel.〔Motley pg 527-29〕 ==Background== By 1566, the king of Spain's family had inherited the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands and was ruled by the Spanish Monarchy. In 1568, William I of Orange, stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland and Utrecht, and other noblemen were dissatisfied with Spanish rule in the Netherlands.〔Motley, p. 159.〕 A series of revolts emerged against the Spanish authorities, mainly caused by religious and economic impositions on the Dutch population who also sought to end the harsh rule of the Spanish Duke of Alba, governor-general of the Netherlands. The Dutch rebels hoped to expel Alba and his Spanish troops from the country and as a result hostilities increased, leading to the Eighty Years' War. In April 1572, the Sea Beggars, Dutch rebels captured Brielle which caused a sensation, and a chain reaction of events took place especially on Walcheren island. After Brielle had been captured this soon led to the seizure of the town of Flushing. Other cities in the province of Zeeland soon joined the rebels, and by mid-1572 only Arnemuiden and Middelburg, on the island of Walcheren, and Goes, on the island of Zuid-Beveland, remained under Spanish control, all of them besieged and threatened by the Dutch forces under Stadtholder William of Orange with the support of English troops sent by Elizabeth I. The rebels wreaked havoc by looting properties and torching churches with many of the villages on the island falling into their hands, and also towns like Arnemuiden and Veere were handed over by the inhabitants sympathetic to the rebel cause.〔〔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. 8-11 )〕 During the uprising Middelburg still had a strong Spanish garrison and at the end of April 1572 an attempted assault was made consisting of around 1100 Dutch rebels led by Jerome Tseraerts. Due to lack of resources and support they pulled back after a day suffering losses where they then resorted to looting the outside of the city. In June another attempt was made again, this time by only a hundred Dutch rebels. Led by Bernard Nicholas the storming attempt was successful as the outer defenses were seized but soon after a sortie by the garrison managed to drive the Dutch out. Middelburg was not yet besieged and the Spanish were able to supply the city without any hindrance. On November 4 nearly 1500 Dutch and English under Jerome Tseraerts and who just returned from the failed siege of Goes arrived on the island of Walcheren and then made plans to besiege Middelburg.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Siege of Middelburg (1572–1574)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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