The Fall of Antwerp, 1585 The Duke of Parma (Alessandro Farnese) is knighted in the order of the Golden Fleece at Fort Kallo, August 11, 1585, as a reward for the impending surrender of the city of Antwerp. Courtesy of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. (more) Fall of Antwerp European history [1585] Actions Cite verifiedCite While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style MLA APA Chicago Manual of Style Copy Citation Share Share Share to social media Facebook X URL https://www.britannica.com/event/Fall-of-Antwerp Give Feedback Feedback Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Feedback Type Select a type (Required) Factual Correction Spelling/Grammar Correction Link Correction Additional Information Other Your Feedback Submit Feedback Thank you for your feedback Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

　　Print Cite verifiedCite While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style MLA APA Chicago Manual of Style Copy Citation Share Share Share to social media Facebook X URL https://www.britannica.com/event/Fall-of-Antwerp Feedback Written by Jacob F. Field Jacob F. Field is an early modern historian based at the University of Cambridge. Jacob F. Field Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Last Updated: Oct 2, 2024 • Article History Table of Contents Date: July 1585 - August 17, 1585 (Show more) Location: Antwerp Belgium (Show more) Participants: Alessandro Farnese, duke of Parma and Piacenza Netherlands Spain (Show more) See all related content → Ask the Chatbot a Question Ask the Chatbot a Question In the years after the Battle of Gembloux, one of the decisive engagements of the Eighty Years’ Warbetween the rising Habsburg Empire and the Low Countries, the Spanish governor-general, Alexander Farnese, slowly consolidated his control of Flanders and Brabant. Spanish control of the southern Netherlands was complete when Farnese captured Antwerp, in what is now Belgium, in one of the most technically brilliant actions of the conflict.

　　Britannica Quiz World Wars Antwerp was the richest and most populous city in the Netherlands and a Calvinist rebel stronghold ever since Spanish soldiers sacked it in 1576, after which most of the Low Countries rose up in rebellion against the Habsburgs. In July 1584, Farnese, the Duke of Parma, laid siege to Antwerp. He constructed a network of forts that cut off access to Antwerp by land. Next, he decided to block the Scheldt River, which connected Antwerp to the rebel-controlled north. Huge piers were thrown out from heavily armed forts on either side of the Scheldt. Between them, a floating bridge of connected barges armed with cannon was constructed. The massive structure was completed on February 25, 1585.

　　Meanwhile the Dutch rebels had cut the dykes around Antwerp, hoping to flood the region, allowing their ships to bypass the blockade. Farnese still controlled the last dyke before Antwerp, the Kouwenstein, so his bridge was not outflanked. On the night of April 4, an attempt was made to destroy the bridge by floating explosive ships down the Scheldt from Antwerp. The plan caused considerable damage, but Farnese’s engineers were able to repair the bridge. A similar attempt on May 20 failed. Elsewhere, rebels from the north failed twice to capture the Kouwenstein on May 6 and 26 . On August 17, after a siege that lasted fourteen months but caused no damage to the city itself, Antwerp surrendered.

　　After taking control of Antwerp, Farnese decreed that all its Protestants must convert to Catholicism or be exiled. Consequently, just under half of Antwerp’s population of about 80,000 migrated north, while the Spanish assault ground to a halt just north of the city. The ensuing frontier between the majority Catholic and Protestant populations effectively divided what are now Netherlands and Belgium today, their borders codified under the terms of the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648.

　　Losses: Spanish, at least 1,600 of 11,700; Dutch rebels, several thousand of 20,000.