Nieuwpoort 1600

A highly illustrated study of the battle of Nieuwpoort in 1600, one of the key engagements of the Eighty Years War.

The Eighty Years' War began as a limited Dutch rebellion seeking only religious tolerance from their Spanish overlords. However, it quickly escalated into one of the longest wars in European history. Spain’s failed invasion of 1599 and the subsequent mutinies convinced Dutch leaders that they should take the offensive.

This campaign pitted two famous leaders’ sons against each other: Maurice of Nassau and Archduke Albert VII. Maurice led an unproven new model army, while Albert commanded Spain’s ‘unbeatable’ Tercios, each force numbering around 11,000 men.

The Dutch aimed to land near Nieuwpoort, capture it, and then march on to Dunkirk, the northern home port of the Spanish fleet. However, they were cut off by the resurgent and reunited Spanish army. The two forces then faced each other on the beach and in the dunes north of Nieuwpoort.

Using specially commissioned artwork, Nieuwpoort 1600 reveals one of the greatest battles of the Eighty Years' War – a battle whose influence on military theory and practice has been profoundly significant ever since.