1592. Henry IV eventually achieved victory in 1593, partially by converting to the Catholic faith (reportedly saying "Paris vaut bien une messe", 'Paris is worth a Mass') and then on February 27, 1593, was finally crowned King of France. The Spanish troops remained active in France, however, with the goal of putting Philip's daughter on the French throne. Henry was thus forced to enter the war against Philip II, even though he considered negotiating peace with Spain several times. The Republic of the Seven United Netherlands The Eighty Years' War had been raging in and around the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands since the 1568, though in that time it was still called a revolt. Since the beginning of the revolt, religious freedom had been, after the tax (the so-called tenth penny of Alba, an early form of VAT), one of the main reasons used to justify the rebellion against the King of Spain, Philip II. The Reformation had taken hold in large parts of the Low Countries. Since 1568 both parties had had their share of victories and defeats. From 1589 Maurice of Orange was, as commander of the Dutch army, the main military leader of the Republic. He was supported by his cousin William Louis of Nassau-Dillenburg, who was stadtholder of Friesland. Maurice and William Louis carried out their military operations in close collaboration with the States-General of the Netherlands, which provided the funds for the army. Already in 1585, England aided the Republic by sending 6000 soldiers under the command of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester. In return, England was given the towns of Brill and Flushing on lease. The presence of the Earl of Leicester was not a success and the Republic perceived him mainly as a burden, since England had to be paid for the English forces that had been sent. The Earl had been assigned by Elizabeth I to push for peace between the Republic and Spain, which ultimately resulted in the Earl's forced departure from the Republic in 1587. In the subsequent decades, Maurice of Orange and William Louis of Nassau-Dillenburg obtained a number of victories over the Spanish, expanding the territory over which the States-General had control considerably. The conquered territory included amongst others, Twente, the county of Zutphen, the Oversticht, Groningen and the Ommelanden. Spain During the 16th century Spain was a powerful nation, led by King Philip II.