May 23, 1568 - The Dutch Defeat the Spanish in the Battle of Heiligerlee

Holland became a firmly Protestant stronghold in the 1500s, and it became more and more resentful towards the rule of Catholic Spain. Because of this Holland declared war on Spain to gain its independence. On May 23, 1568, the Dutch rebels defeated the Spanish in the first battle of the Eighty Years War at the Battle of Heiligerlee. The Dutch were led by a Protestant reformer named Louis of Nassau whose brother William of Orange would become King of England with his wife Mary II.