Frederik van den Bergh (18 August 1559 – 3 September 1618) was a soldier in the
Eighty Years' War
The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...
. His titles included Lord of Boxmeer.
Life
Frederik van den Bergh was born in
Ulft. He first fought on the
Dutch side
Side or Sides may refer to:
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of the conflict. In 1582 he was promoted to ritmeester gaining control of a cavalry unit. A year later he became governor of
Venlo
Venlo () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in southeastern Netherlands, close to the border with Germany. It is situated in the province of Limburg (Netherlands), ...
, handing command of his cavalry to his brother. In 1584 he, his brothers
Herman and
Hendrik and their father
Willem IV van den Bergh
Willem IV, Count van den Bergh (1537-1586) was the Dutch Stadtholder of Guelders and Zutphen from 1581 until his arrest for treason in 1583.
Biography
Early years
Willem was the son of Count Oswald II van den BerghThe name "Van den Bergh" i ...
went over to the Spanish side in the war because they weren’t happy with their career possibilities.
One of his first actions in Spanish service was taking part in the
Siege of Grave in 1586. He was shot in the leg during this action. In 1586 he recovered and took part in an assault on
Nijmegen
Nijmegen ( , ; Nijmeegs: ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and the ninth largest of the Netherlands as a whole. Located on the Waal River close to the German border, Nijmegen is one of the oldest cities in the ...
. He was hit on the head by a falling stone passing out and missing the rest of that action. He played a major role in action at the
Ijssel
The IJssel (; ) is a Dutch distributary of the river Rhine that flows northward and ultimately discharges into the IJsselmeer (before the 1932 completion of the Afsluitdijk known as the Zuiderzee), a North Sea natural harbour. It more immediatel ...
near
Zutphen
Zutphen () is a city and municipality located in the province of Gelderland, Netherlands. It lies some northeast of Arnhem, on the eastern bank of the river IJssel at the point where it is joined by the Berkel. First mentioned in the 11th centur ...
where he defended a ramp on the West Bank of the river against Dutch attacks. Next he served at
Groningen
Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...
during the winter of 1587 where he commanded a Spanish unit successfully. He distinguished himself when he successfully evacuated his unit from the east to the west bank of the Dollard river. This crossing was made dangerous because of floating ice in the river. Next he took part in breaking the siege of Groningen.
He took part in the 1592
siege of Coevorden, where he and 1,900 men unsuccessfully defended the city against the numerically superior force of
Maurice of Orange
Maurice of Orange (; 14 November 1567 – 23 April 1625) was ''stadtholder'' of all the provinces of the Dutch Republic except for Friesland from 1585 at the earliest until his death on 23 April 1625. Before he became Prince of Orange upon ...
. Immediately recognizing that his small force couldn’t protect the city against the Dutch army, Frederik abandoned the city and set it ablaze. He would fortify himself in the keep. He capitulated in September after a weeks-long siege, most of his demands were met in this negotiated surrender.
In 1593 he marched with 6,000 from
Twente
Twente ( , Tweants dialect: ''Tweante'') is a region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel. Twente is most likely named after the Tuihanti or Tvihanti, a Germanic people ...
to Groningen but his way was blocked to the west of the city by an army under
William Louis of Nassau-Dillenburg, a brilliant commander who played an important role in the military revolution of Maurice of Orange and
Gustavus Adolphus
Gustavus Adolphus (9 December N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December15946 November Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 16 November] 1632), also known in English as ...
. Soon after, battle commenced at Tolbert. During the battle, two horses were killed and he was shot in the arm.
His cavalry unit now became part of his brother Herman’s cavalry regiment.
In 1595 he assisted in breaking the siege of Grol against Maurice of Orange, an action in which Herman also played a role.
He was made stadholder of
Friesland, Frisia,
Groningen
Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...
,
Drenthe
Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Jan ...
,
Overijssel
Overijssel (; ; ; ) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name comes from the perspective of the Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht, Episcopal principality of Utrecht ...
and Lingen. He governed from Lingen and held this position from 1595 until Maurice of Orange won a two-week long siege of the city on 12 November 1597.
In 1598 he conquered
Doetinchem
Doetinchem (; Dutch Low Saxon, Low Saxon: ) is a city and Municipalities in the Netherlands, municipality in the east of the Netherlands. It is situated along the IJssel, Oude IJssel (Old IJssel) river in a part of the Provinces of the Netherland ...
and
Schuilenburg castle. A new lordship would have been created in Doetinchem and granted to him as a reward but Gelre and Zutphen refused to recognize it.
In 1597 he attempted to take
Steenwijk
Steenwijk (; or ), datedly known in English as Stenwick, is a city in the Dutch province of Overijssel. It is located in the municipality of Steenwijkerland. It is the largest town of the municipality.
Steenwijk received city rights in 1327. I ...
. He also took part in the siege of Zaltbommel. In 1598 he was promoted to general-fieldmarshal. In 1600 he took part in the
battle of Nieuwpoort
The Battle of Nieuwpoort (also known as the Battle of the Dunes) was fought on 2 July 1600 during the Eighty Years War and the Anglo-Spanish war in the dunes near Nieuwpoort. A Dutch army met a Spanish force head-on which, although their left f ...
and the
siege of Oostende. He also took part in the
siege of 's-Hertogenbosch of 1601 against Maurice of Orange and William Louis of Nassau-Dillenburg were his personal actions compelled them to retreat to prevent an open battle. 2 years later he again succeeded defending
‘s-Hertogenbosch from Maurice of Orange. He was promoted to captain of the archdukes personal guard, the archduke governing the Netherlands. At the same time he was made the commander of all Spanish troops in
Flanders
Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-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, la ...
. He was successful and won victory after victory in this position, putting Spain in a favourable military position when the
twelve year’s truce was signed.
In 1604 he was made stadholder of Artesia (Comté d'Artois), a post he held until 1611. He was stadholder of
Upper Guelders {{unreferenced, date=November 2011
Upper Guelders or Spanish Guelders was one of the four quarters in the Imperial Guelders, Duchy of Guelders. In the Dutch Revolt, it was the only quarter that did not secede from the Habsburg monarchy to become pa ...
from 1611 to 1618. When Spanish troops retook some of the territory he governed in the north he also reclaimed his position as stadholder there.
Personal life and death
He died 3 September 1618, in
Boxmeer
Boxmeer () is a town and former municipality in upper southeastern Netherlands. Boxmeer as a municipality incorporated the former municipality of Beugen en Rijkevoort and that of Vierlingsbeek.
One of the population centers of the former municip ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergh
1559 births
1618 deaths
Military personnel from the Netherlands in the Spanish army during the Eighty Years' War
Dutch people of the Eighty Years' War (United Provinces)
People from Oude IJsselstreek