their hold on the provinces. During the initial phase of the war, the revolt was largely unsuccessful. Spain regained control over most of the rebelling provinces. This period is known as the "Spanish Fury" due to the high number of massacres, instances of mass looting, and total destruction of multiple cities between 1572 and 1579. In January 1579, Friesland, Gelderland, Groningen, Holland, Overijssel, Utrecht and Zeeland formed the United Provinces which became the Dutch Netherlands of today. Meanwhile, Spain sent Alessandro Farnese with 20,000 well-trained troops into the Netherlands. Groningen, Breda, Campen, Dunkirk, Antwerp, and Brussels, among others, were put to siege. Farnese eventually secured the Southern provinces for Spain. After the Spanish capture of Maastricht in 1579, the Dutch began to turn on William of Orange. William was assassinated by a supporter of Philip in 1584. After the fall of Antwerp, the Queen of England began to aid the Northern provinces and sent troops there in 1585. English forces under the Earl of Leicester and then Lord Willoughby faced the Spanish in the Netherlands under Farnese in a series of largely indecisive actions that tied down significant numbers of Spanish troops and bought time for the Dutch to reorganize their defenses. The Spanish Armada suffered defeat at the hands of the English in 1588 and the situation in the Netherlands became increasingly difficult to manage. Maurice of Nassau, William's son, recaptured Deventer, Groningen, Nijmegen and Zutphen. The Spanish were on the defensive, mainly because they had wasted too much resources on the attempted invasion of England and on expeditions in northern France. In 1595, King Henry IV of France declared war on Spain, further reducing Spain's ability to launch offensive warfare on the United Provinces. Philip had been forced to declare bankruptcy in 1557, 1560, 1576, and 1596. However, by regaining control of the sea, Spain was able to greatly increase the supply of gold and silver from America, which allowed it to increase military pressure on England and France. Under financial and military pressure, in 1598 Philip ceded the Spanish Netherlands to his daughter Isabella, following the conclusion of the Treaty of Vervins with France. Spanish America Under Philip II, royal power over the Indies increased, but the crown knew little about its overseas possessions in the Indies. Although the Council of the Indies was tasked with oversight there, it acted without advice of high officials with direct