The Spanish Fury: Antwerp's City of Blood

In 1576, the Spanish Army of Flanders, unpaid and mutinous, sacked Antwerp in a three-day orgy of violence known as the Spanish Fury. This episode explores the brutal sack that killed thousands, destroyed much of the city's wealth, and became a propaganda disaster for Philip II. We trace the road to the massacre: the death of the Duke of Alba, the failures of his successor Luis de Requesens, the bankruptcy of the Spanish crown, and the mutinies that plagued the army. We hear about the heroic defense by the citizen-soldier Jan van Schoonwal, the looting of the Citadel, and the burning of the city's commercial quarter. The aftermath saw the Pacification of Ghent, uniting the rebellious provinces and making the sack a turning point in the Dutch Revolt. We also consider the legacy of the Fury in Dutch national memory and its use in anti-Spanish propaganda. This is the story of how one city's catastrophe reshaped the struggle for the Netherlands. #SpanishFury #Antwerp #DutchRevolt #ArmyofFlanders #PhilipII #DukeofAlba #LuisdeRequesens #JanvanSchoonwal #PacificationofGhent #Netherlands #16thCentury #Mutiny #Sack #History #Europe #Spain #War #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo