Since his ascension to the Spanish throne in 1555, Philip II had enacted a series of taxes, religious persecutions (including the resurrection of the Inquisition), and oppressive political policies, which infuriated the Dutch populace, especially the Calvinists and other Protestants in the north of the country. Beginning in 1572, the scattered defensive actions of the Dutch, and the ubiquitous but ephemeral actions of the Sea Beggars were consolidated to create a more or less united Dutch revolutionary force. The Spanish response was brutal, and focused on making an example of those who had revolted. By the fall of 1574, the Spanish had had Leiden under siege, off and on, for almost a year and the residents of the city were starving and disheartened. Spanish policy toward surrendering cities made surrender an unattractive option.
The Dutch forces, under the guidance of William of Orange (William the Silent), were at a disadvantage because their greatest strength lay in their navy. On land they were outnumbered, out-gunned, and out-trained. While it was possible to get to Leiden through the canals, it would have left anyone approaching completely at the mercy of the Spanish troops who were waiting for just such an attempt. Advised by Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, among others, it was decided that the best plan would be to cut through the dikes which protected the Low Countries' dry land, thus enabling the Dutch fleet to sail up to Leiden and meet the Spanish with greater strength. They broke the dike in September but the land was high enough and tides and winds were strong enough against them that the Dutch ships were not able to sail to Leiden. At the beginning of October, however, the winds changed and a storm came in, flooding the polders between the North Sea and Leiden enough that the Dutch ships were able to sail in, sending the Spanish fleeing.
The arriving Dutch ships brought with them herring and white bread, which is apparently Dutch sailor food. And, I suppose, if you're hungry enough, swallowing a herring whole starts to seem like a pretty good idea. The Relief of Leiden was also the origin, at least according to legend, of the Dutch Stampot--the height of Dutch cuisine and also a traditional 3 October dish. The Spanish, fleeing the storm and the incoming Dutch fleet, ran away, leaving their suppers still cooking on their camp-fires and, apparently, Spanish troops at the time where eating mainly boiled root vegetables. Maybe the Spanish were looking for an excuse to go somewhere else for dinner?
On a related note, not everyone was pleased about the piercing of the dikes. I suppose there must be a visceral disinclination to letting the sea in when you live your life below sea level. Also, if you consider how much water would have to be let in to allow ships, with presumably substantial drafts to sail through (the "shallow" drafts of the Dutch ships seems like a relative term when you are sailing through someone's living room), there must have been substantial damage to the intervening polders. And it is a pretty long way from the North Sea to Leiden. My squinty interpretation of this Google map puts it at about 7 miles of houses and towns and fields that had to be flooded several feet deep to let the ships come through.
In a minor set of coincidences, this 3 of October was the first Monday of the month. The first Monday of the month, at noon, is the time for testing the warning sirens which would be used to alert the Dutch of flooding polders and incoming Germans, presumably. What was funny, though, is that this month there was something wrong with the sirens at Leiden and they didn't go off when they were supposed to. They ended up going off a little later on and I wonder how many people, presumably fairly inebriated as they celebrated the flooding which had saved Leiden, heard the siren, thought "must be noon", looked at their watch, and panicked a little.
No comments:
Post a Comment