Posted
on October 3, 2013
 |
| Leiden, the Netherlands, which features a series of canals. |
It was 1584.
The
Dutch city of Leiden had been under siege by the Spanish army for
months, and food had run out.
The Prince of Orange gathered together
200 small ships and a quantity of food, and he was determined to lead
a rescue effort—over land—with those ships.
How
could he lead a fleet of ships over land?
The
Netherlands is famous for being very low-lying land that is only
protected from flooding with sea water by a series of dikes built to
restrain the ocean. The Prince of Orange intended to sail to the
first dike, battle the Spanish soldiers guarding it, and cut the
dike. This would flood the next bit of land, so he could sail to the
next dike—and so on.
Of
course, the prince knew that all this sea water flooding the Dutch
farms would be devastating—but the Spaniards had already proved
themselves to be devastating rulers, themselves...And so the Prince
of Orange carried out his plan.
The
plan didn't work smoothly. Unfavorable winds slowed the flooding, so the Dutch ships ran aground several times; also, the Spanish troops
kept attacking them. Eventually, however, the relief ships reached
Leiden. The Spaniards had been frightened off by the rising waters and abandoned their fort on this date in 1574. Ironically, on this same
date one part of the wall that protected Leiden fell because it had
been eroded by those same rising waters.
But the Spaniards didn't
stick around long enough to notice that the city was finally
vulnerable!
The
Prince of Orange led his relief army into the city and fed the people
who had survived three months of siege, including an entire month
without food. He fed them herring and white bread. According to
legend, a little boy poking around the abandoned Spanish fort found a
cooking pot filled with hutspot (carrot and onion stew). So
today these three foods—herring, white bread, and hutspot—are
prepared and eaten to celebrate the long-ago event.
The
3 October Festival is pretty big in Leiden! There is a funfair with
rides and sideshows, and there is a huge market. Herring sandwiches
(on white bread, of course) are handed out to festival goers—for
free! Two parades and a fireworks show complete the fun. The
festivities are only a short walk away from the canals, and the city
provides free boat and canoe rides on the canals.
By
the way...
One
of the oddest facts about the siege of Leiden is that the mayor, who
was trying to encourage his people to wait for the relief party that
was fighting its way toward them, offered his own arm as food.
However, I guess nobody took him up on this offer!
Also
on this date:
Plan
ahead:
And
here are my Pinterest boards for November
holidays, November
birthdays, and historical
anniversaries in November.
