The Spanish Fury: Antwerp 1576 and the Sack That Shocked Europe

In November 1576, Spanish mutineers unleashed a three-day orgy of violence on Antwerp, the richest city in Europe. Known as the Spanish Fury, the sack left thousands dead, destroyed a quarter of the city, and shattered Habsburg credit. This episode traces the road to the Fury: the unpaid tercios of the Army of Flanders, the collapse of royal authority after Philip II's bankruptcy, and the fateful decision by the Council of State to let the mutineers march. We explore the walled fortress of the Citadel, the desperate defense by the burgher militia, and the aftermath that drove the rebellious provinces of Holland and Zeeland into open war. Through the eyes of merchants, soldiers, and the Spanish commander Sancho d'Avila, we piece together how one act of state failure turned a commercial capital into a charnel house and sealed the fate of the Netherlands. #SpanishFury #Antwerp1576 #EightyYearsWar #Tercios #ArmyOfFlanders #SanchoDAvila #CitadelOfAntwerp #Habsburg #PhilipII #Mutiny #Sack #NetherlandsHistory #SpanishEmpire #MilitaryHistory #16thCentury #History #FexingoHistory #EuropeanHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo