Dutch Revolt · 1585-1648

The Eighty Years' War and the Peace of Münster

After William's death the revolt nearly collapses, then a young republic fights Spain to a standstill. Students follow a long war of sieges, from the fall of Antwerp to the peace signed at Münster in 1648, and see how the Low Countries split in two.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
13–16
On the map
3 steps, AD 1600 to AD 1648
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

After William's death the revolt nearly collapses, then a young republic fights Spain to a standstill. Students follow a long war of sieges, from the fall of Antwerp to the peace signed at Münster in 1648, and see how the Low Countries split in two.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain why the Low Countries split into a northern republic and a southern part under Spain.
  • Locate Antwerp, Breda and Münster and explain their role in the war.
  • Explain what Spain recognised in the Peace of Münster in 1648.
2

Explore the map

12 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1600

The split

Open the map in 1600 and zoom in on the Low Countries. Find the border between the Dutch Republic and the Habsburg Netherlands. Which great port lies just south of it, on the Scheldt?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1600

A war of sieges

Zoom in on the rivers Maas, Waal and Rhine in 1600. Most fighting in this war was sieges of fortified towns along these rivers. Why would rivers make good front lines?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1648

Peace at Münster

Jump to 1648, turn on Historical Events and choose Political Events. Find the Peace of Westphalia marker at Münster. Then compare the Dutch Republic with 1600: what has changed?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. After Antwerp fell in 1585, tens of thousands of people moved north. What did they bring with them?
  2. Maurice of Nassau drilled his soldiers in fixed movements and paid them regularly. Why would that matter in a war of sieges?
  3. Why did both sides agree to a twelve-year truce in 1609, and why did fighting start again?
  4. The peace kept the river Scheldt closed to sea trade. Who won and who lost from that?
  5. Is it fair to call a war that lasted eighty years, with a long truce, one war? Explain.
4

Game round

9 min

Play a round of Rule History as Tokugawa Ieyasu, who in 1600 met the crew of the Dutch ship De Liefde in Japan and later allowed the Dutch to trade. Discuss: why would a Japanese ruler deal with a small republic still at war with Spain?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

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