After some delay, the States-General appointed Nieuwenaar as stadtholder of these provinces in his uncle's place. In Utrecht a political struggle ensued between radical Calvinists and more conservative nobles and regents. In this conflict, Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, who became the new Governor-General on the side of the States-General in the northern Netherlands in 1585, chose the side of the radicals, and so did Nieuwenaar. However, after Leicester's departure for England in 1587, Nieuwenaar gradually changed his stance. He brought about a (nominal) reconciliation between the warring parties. After a bloodless coup in 1588 the radicals were ousted from the city of Utrecht, but this did not undermine Nieuwenaar's position as stadtholder. As stadtholder, Nieuwenaar was also commander-in-chief of the military forces of the States-General in his provinces. As such he led several campaigns, but with little success. He captured Neuss in 1585, but this city was soon lost again to Spain. During his retreat, Nieuwenaar destroyed Kamp Abbey in 1586. In 1585, the Spanish general Juan Baptista de Tassis defeated him and Maarten Schenk van Nydeggen at the Battle of Amerongen on 23 June 1585. Schenk would in the same year build the fortress of Schenkenschans (Schenk's fortress) on his orders. Nieuwenaar died in an explosion at Arnhem, while testing a new piece of artillery, on 18 October 1589. Notes Sources "Nieuwenaar, Neuenahr Adolf," in: Nieuw Nederlandsch biografisch woordenboek. Deel 5, p. 374 External links „Neuenahr, Adolf Graf von“ in: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, herausgegeben von der Historischen Kommission bei der Bayrischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Band 23 (1886), pp. 484ff |- |- Dutch people of the Eighty Years' War Dutch stadtholders Dutch military commanders Year of birth unknown 1589 deaths