Battle of Oosterweel

Date: March 13, 1567 • Location: Antwerpen, Belgium

This milestone marked the outbreak and beginning of this historic period, which spanned 1567–1648.

The Battle of Oosterweel took place on 13 March 1567 near the village of Oosterweel, near Antwerp, in present-day Belgium, and is traditionally seen as the beginning of the Eighty Years' War. A Spanish mercenary army surprised a band of rebels and killed or captured almost all of them.