The Eighty Years' War

The Eighty Years’ War faced the seventeen provinces from the Netherlands against the King of Spain. The rebellion began in 1568 and ended in 1648.

The expenses caused by the Eighty years’ war, that lasted the same number of years that its name indicates, finished with the sink of the Spanish economy. Most of the money came from the gold and silver found in America but the war was long enough to exhaust the Spanish kingdom. And during this war, The Black Legend about Spain was born.

Flanders was very important for the Spanish Empire. It was a constant threat for England and France.

The end of the war reached in 1648 with the Peace of Münster (a treaty part of the Peace of Westphalia), when the Dutch Republic was recognized as an independent country.