Leiden is a city in the province of South Holland. Typical Dutch, with “grachten” (city canals):

Leiden And The “Eighty Years’ War”

Leiden played an important role during the “Eighty Years’ War”, or the “Dutch War of Independence” (1568-1648), during which the Netherlands fought against Phillip II of Spain, because of resentment against the Spanish politics, but in particular to get religious freedom. Phillip II imposed the Roman Catholic religion to everyone in all countries he ruled over and enforced it rigorously with the “Inquisition”. The Netherlands, however, had already embraced the Protestant religion, as a result of which many people were put to death by the Inquisition. This led to unrest, including the “beeldenstorm” (iconoclastic fury) in 1566, and many important cities declaring themselves for William the Silent, prince of Orange, who had become the leader of the revolt. This provoked a counter-reaction from Phillip II, who sent the Duke of Alba to restore the situation in the Netherlands, resulting in the “Eighty Years’ War”.

The first city in Holland that the Spanish troups came across, was Naarden, which capitulated in exchange for the lives of the inhabitants. However, the population was massacred… The next city, Haarlem, put up resistance, but after a siege of about 6 months starvation made them surrender. Finally, the siege of Alkmaar resulted in a victory for the Dutch, after they inundated the surroundings: “Bij Alkmaar begint de victorie” (At Alkmaar the victory begins).

Leiden was next: in 1574 the Spanish besieged it from May to October to get the city back into Spanish hands. However, the city held out, and after again inundating the surroundings the Spanish troups panicked and fled. This victory was not without any casualties, as thousands died of starvation, and on top of that, the plague appeared, of which thousands died as well. The only reason the city held out so long, is for fear of massacre by the Spanish soldiers as they had done in Naarden not so long ago: it was almost certain that the Spanish would do so to set an example for the rest of the country.

Leiden University

In recognition for their sacrifices during the siege, William of Orange (as he is known in the Netherlands) founded a university in Leiden:

Leiden University is the oldest university in the Netherlands, with many well known scholars, including Franciscus Gomarus, Jacobus Arminius, Hugo Grotius and Gerhard Johann Vossius. Also the Dutch royal family have studied there: Queen Juliana, Queen Beatrix and King Willem-Alexander. And although nowhere near as famous as anyone else on this list: yours truly studied Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences at this same institution of learning…