The Battle of Westbroek was a battle that occurred on 26 December 1481 between the armies of the
prince-bishopric of Utrecht
The Bishopric of Utrecht ( nl, Sticht Utrecht) was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire in the Low Countries, in the present-day Netherlands. From 1024 to 1528, as one of the prince-bishoprics of the Holy Roman Empire, it w ...
and the
county of Holland
The County of Holland was a State of the Holy Roman Empire and from 1433 part of the Burgundian Netherlands, from 1482 part of the Habsburg Netherlands and from 1581 onward the leading province of the Dutch Republic, of which it remained a part ...
. It was one of the last battles of the
Hook and Cod wars
The Hook and Cod wars ( nl, Hoekse en Kabeljauwse twisten) comprise a series of wars and battles in the County of Holland between 1350 and 1490. Most of these wars were fought over the title of count of Holland, but some have argued that the u ...
.
That war had already been won by the Cods and their Burgundian allies. In Utrecht, however, the Hooks revolted and seized the bishop,
David of Burgundy
David of Burgundy (c. February 142616 April 1494) was Bishop of Utrecht. The illegitimate son of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, David was made bishop of Utrecht by his father in 1456 in an attempt to enforce more centralised Burgundian co ...
at the outbreak of the
Second Utrecht Civil War
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds eac ...
.
Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I
Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519) was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death. He was never crowned by the pope, as the journey to Rome was blocked by the Venetians. He proclaimed himself E ...
then won the bishop's freedom.
On 26 December 1481,
Bishop David sent an army of 4,000 to 5,000 men to retake Utrecht. When his forces reached the village of
Westbroek
Westbroek is a village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of De Bilt, and lies about 6 km northwest of Bilthoven
Bilthoven is a village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of ...
on the northern edge of Utrecht, they burned the village to the ground and killed the inhabitants. An armed mob formed in Utrecht and headed toward Westbroek to take revenge. When the mob saw the size of David's army, it tried to flee back to the city. Bishop David's army pursued them and killed everybody they could. Sources vary widely on the number of deaths, from 50 prisoners and 100 dead to 500 dead to 1,500 dead.
References
Conflicts in 1481
1481 in Europe
Westbroek
Westbroek is a village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of De Bilt, and lies about 6 km northwest of Bilthoven
Bilthoven is a village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of ...
Battles in Utrecht (province)
De Bilt
Hook and Cod wars
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