THE SPANISH ROAD

This was the name given to the 700 mile-long overland route that the Spanish were forced to use in order to supply their army fighting in the Netherlands. There was little alternative because Dutch rebels – called Sea Beggars – effectively ran a blockade of ships along the coast of the Netherlands and parts of France so that the Spanish could not easily supply their troops by sea.


Spanish Road: Spanish possessions in orange and red, Austria in Green. Main road in red, along the Rhine also in blue.

Having to travel by this overland route was a crucial factor in the Spanish Army’s lack of success in the Netherlands war - it lasted for over thirty years and ended in stalemate, with Spain controlling the southern Netherlands (modern Belgium and Luxembourg) and the Dutch controlling the north. Infrequent supplies and lack of pay coming through to the Spanish soldiers resulted in a great deal of discontent and several mutinies, where the soldiers just refused to fight. It was also a crucial factor in the defeat of the Spanish Armada, since the fleet of ships were supposed to link up with a sizeable Spanish land force in the Netherlands that would cross the English Channel in smaller boats, under the protection of the Armada, and invade England. The commander of the Spanish Army in the Netherlands repeatedly asked King Philip to send fresh troops and supplies for the planned invasion but the soldiers that eventually arrived, via the Spanish Road, were exhausted, wracked with fever, and poorly trained.
Despite the Spanish government spending a great deal of money on creating bridges; hiring mountain guides, pack mules, carts and boats, travelling along the Spanish Road was difficult and hazardous. There were mountainous passes; alpine valleys (prone to blistering heat in summer, flooding in spring, and avalanches in winter); numerous and treacherous rivers; impenetrable forests; not to mention the hostility of various regions along the route, whose rulers might suddenly decide to refuse the Spanish passage across their land. The journey from Milan in northern Italy could take anything from one and a half months to three months, depending on the time of year and the size of the army attempting the journey.