Walka z wiatrakami. Antyhiszpańskie powstanie w Niderlandach jako konflikt asymetryczny w perspektywie historii środowiskowej
Tilting at windmills. The Dutch Revolt as an asymmetric conflict from the perspective of environmental history

Summary/Abstract: Although the Eighty Years’ War has been a much-researched topic in Western European historiography, in Poland it still remains on the margin of interest of modern historians. In the present article, the initial stage of the Dutch Revolt against Spain, until the year 1574, was presented as an asymmetric conflict from the perspective of environmental history. As a result of the defeat of William of Orange’s regular army during the campaign of 1568, the main burden of the fighting was borne by the ‘watergeuzen,’ i.e. the captains and crews of frequently pirate ships equipped with letters of marque. Their actions kept the fire of revolt burning, and the capture of the port of Den Briel offered a sign for starting a new march into Brabant. The development of the events in the Netherlands and the military situation were influenced by climatic changes. The Little Ice Age left its mark on both the reasons for and particular events of the uprising. Cold winters or floods accompanying storms and thaws often determined the fate of cities and of the whole conflict.

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