The Battle of Oosterweel took place on 13 March 1567 near the village of , near Antwerp, in present-day Belgium, and is traditionally seen as the beginning of the Eighty Years' War. A Spanish mercenary army surprised a band of rebels and killed or captured almost all of them. Background Beginning in 1566, Protestant mobs in the provincial states of the Netherlands began destroying Catholic art and images (the Beeldenstorm) to protest the taxes, restrictions on religion, and harsh rule of Philip II of Spain, sovereign of the Habsburg Netherlands. In March 1567, under the leadership of a young nobleman, Jean Marnix, rebels gathered and built a fortified compound at Oosterweel, approximately one mile from Antwerp. Battle Attempting to deal with the gathering of the rebels, Margaret of Parma, the Spanish governor of the Habsburg Netherlands, employed a mercenary army to confront the rebels. The army was provided in large part by the loyalist Count Egmont and led by Philip de Lannoy, Seigneur De Beauvoir, who served as the commander of the governor's bodyguards. On 12 March the Spanish mercenary army prepared for the battle in secret. The troop of eight hundred men was split into small groups and quietly placed for deployment. Helmets, bucklers, arquebuses, corselets, spears, standards and drums were distributed silently. Before daybreak on 13 March the soldiers were advised that they would advance on the rebels with banners furled and no drumbeat. Once the enemy was in sight, the soldiers were told that they should fire upon the rebels in volleys. When the battle started, the rebels were caught completely by surprise. Although Jean Marnix exhibited bravery, most of the rebels were panic-stricken and shot wildly. The Spanish mercenaries easily broke into the rebel encampment, killing hundreds of the rebels and causing hundreds more to flee. With the battle won, the Spanish mercenaries preceded to hunt down and kill those rebels who had fled, including Jean Marnix who was sliced to pieces. Hardly any rebels escaped the slaughter, those that were taken prisoner were later executed. In the nearby city of Antwerp, William the Silent, the burgrave of the city, attempted to block those Protestants of Antwerp that desired to go to the aid of the rebels as he said that he was bound by oath to support Philip II. Those citizens that defied him to go to the aid of the rebels quickly retreated for