The Cautionary Towns were three strategic

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

ports which under the 1585

Treaty of Nonsuch The Treaty of Nonsuch was signed on 10 August 1585 by Elizabeth I of England and the Dutch rebels fighting against Spanish rule. It was the first international treaty signed by what would become the Dutch Republic. It was signed at Nonsuch Pala ...

were held by English troops as security for assistance provided by

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...

during the Eighty Years' War against

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. They included

Brielle Brielle (), also called Den Briel in Dutch and Brill in English, is a town, municipality and historic seaport in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland, on the north side of the island of Voorne-Putten, at the mouth of the New ...

or Briel,

Vlissingen Vlissingen (; zea, label= Zeelandic, Vlissienge), historically known in English as Flushing, is a municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the former island of Walcheren. With its strategic location between the Scheldt river ...

, generally known to the English as Flushing, and Fort Rammekens on the nearby island of

Walcheren Walcheren () is a region and former island in the Dutch province of Zeeland at the mouth of the Scheldt estuary. It lies between the Eastern Scheldt in the north and the Western Scheldt in the south and is roughly the shape of a rhombus. The two ...

Background

English and Scottish volunteers serving with the Dutch Protestants against Spain helped capture

, Rammekens and Vlissingen in 1572 and garrisoned them soon after. When the Anglo-Spanish War began in 1585, it was important to keep these strategic ports out of Spanish hands. In the

, the Dutch effectively ceded control of the three ports to

as security for her assistance and it was agreed that England would garrison them at its own expense. Elizabeth's favourite,

Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester (19 November 1563 – 13 July 1626), second son of Sir Henry Sidney, was a statesman of Elizabethan and Jacobean England. He was also a patron of the arts and a poet. His mother, Mary Sidney ''née' ...

was made governor of Vlissingen in 1588, with

Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, KG (5 May 1542 – 8 February 1623), known as Lord Burghley from 1598 to 1605, was an English politician, courtier and soldier. Family Thomas Cecil was the elder son of William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, b ...

, appointed governor of Brielle; he was succeeded by

Edward Conway, 1st Viscount Conway Edward Conway, 1st Viscount Conway PC (1564 – 3 January 1631) was an English soldier and statesman. Notable among his descendants are Queen Elizabeth II and Barack Obama. He was the son and heir of Sir John Conway of Arrow, and his wife Elle ...

who named his daughter Brilliana in honour of the city. When the 1604 Treaty of London ended the Anglo-Spanish War, the Spanish demanded the Cautionary Towns be returned to them but the English refused.

Philip III of Spain Philip III ( es, Felipe III; 14 April 1578 – 31 March 1621) was King of Spain. As Philip II, he was also King of Portugal, Naples, Sicily and Sardinia and Duke of Milan from 1598 until his death in 1621. A member of the House of Habsburg, Phi ...

eventually conceded the point, having decided their neutrality permitted him to gain access to the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

. This presented a threat to the Dutch and when it became apparent the 1609

Twelve Years' Truce The Twelve Years' Truce was a ceasefire during the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Dutch Republic, agreed in Antwerp on 9 April 1609 and ended on 9 April 1621. While European powers like France began treating the Republic as a soverei ...

would not be renewed, they sought to recover the towns; with

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

unwilling to recall

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

and thus short of funds, the Dutch ambassador was authorised to offer up to £250,000 for their purchase. In May 1616, they agreed a price of £213,000. During the

Third Anglo-Dutch War The Third Anglo-Dutch War ( nl, Derde Engels-Nederlandse Oorlog), 27 March 1672 to 19 February 1674, was a naval conflict between the Dutch Republic and England, in alliance with France. It is considered a subsidiary of the wider 1672 to 1678 ...

in 1672, when a combined attack by Charles II of England and

Louis XIV of France , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of ...

brought the Dutch close to defeat, Charles demanded the permanent cession of Brielle, Vlissingen and Sluys to England. However, the Dutch rejected these terms and their position soon recovered.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cautionary Towns Elizabethan era Eighty Years' War (1566–1609) Tudor England 1585 in law Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604)