Catharina Rose d. after June 1587, was the heroine of the Spanish siege of Sluis during the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Refo ...

. At the Spanish siege of the city of Sluis in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

in June 1587, Rose was made commander and leader of the women which were given the task of defending the area between the blue tower and the smith towers. This hill was later called Venus-hill or the Women's hill after them. They were allowed to depart after the surrender of the town. Rose is the subject of the novel ''Gideon Florensz.'' (1854) by Geertruida Bosboom-Toussaint.

References

* http://www.inghist.nl/Onderzoek/Projecten/DVN/lemmata/data/Rose 16th-century births 16th-century Dutch people Women in 16th-century warfare Dutch people of the Eighty Years' War 1580s deaths Women in war in the Netherlands {{Netherlands-mil-bio-stub