Eighty Years War (Dutch War of Independence) (1568-1648)
Contemporary prints and maps of the battles and sieges of the Eighty Years War
Cadzand and the siege of Sluis, 1604
25a Aprilis anni 1604 occupavit / Princeps Mauritius Casandam: 19a / Maij slusa aditus omnes clausit: 15a / Augusti conabatur hostis hac via / irrumpere in casandam: / sed repulsus fuit.
c.1604 or laterEngraving and etching; printed from two copperplates on two sheets of paper, joined; partly laid down on paper; mounted on paper, mount cropped (Type not discernible) | Scale: 1:17,000 approx. | RCIN 721124
A oblique map of the taking of Cadzand and siege of Spanish-held Sluis by Maurice of Nassau (14 November 1567-23 April 1625), 23 May-20 August 1604. The Eighty Years War (Dutch War of Independence) (1568-1648). Oriented with east-north-east to top.
This large-scale map extends from Isendyck (IJzendijke 51°19ʹ18ʺN 03°37ʹ00ʺE) in the north-east and Watervliet (51°16ʹ30ʺN 03°37ʹ34ʺE) to Ardenbourch (Aardenburg 51°16ʹ24ʺN 03°26ʹ50ʺE) in the west with Sluis towards the bottom. The taking by Maurice of IJzendijke, Cadzand and Aardenburg, followed by the siege of Sluis was another attempt by the States General to draw Spanish forces away from the continuing siege of Ostend. Maurice occupied all the small redoubts surrounding Sluis, shown in this map which illustrates in detail the difficult nature of the surrounding terrain, criss crossed by wide ditches and streams and areas of inundation indicated by closely ruled parallel lines. This map probably represents the state of affairs which existed in the early stages of the siege because it does not show the long pontoon bridges (350 and 400 feet) which had been built by July.
There is no key to the numbers on the map; the detail of the two plates does not match at the join.
Floris Balthasarsz. van Berckenrode (1562/3-1616) (printmaker)
Hendrik Hondius I (1573-1650) (publisher) [bottom right of cartouche at bottom right of bottom sheet:] Florentius Balthazarius Delphensis [and] Hhondius exc.
Watermark: A design resembling the figures '4' and '1' and a reverse '4'
Condition: four fold lines. Verso: old paper repairs to right edge; remains of Mount Type A or B; no gilt edges, some pressure marks
Scale: 1:17,000 approx. Scale bar: Schala 12 pedum [85 mm =] 400.
90.6 x 61.0 cm (image and sheet)
cropped (platemark)
Printed title:
25a Aprilis anni 1604 occupavit / Princeps Mauritius Casandam: 19a / Maij slusa aditus omnes clausit: 15a / Augusti conabatur hostis hac via / irrumpere in casandam: / sed repulsus fuit. [top left of bottom sheet, in a cartouche]
Additional text:
[top right of bottom sheet, in a cartouche above scale bar:] 12a May ex oppido Ardenburgo / aufugit hostis anni 1604. [bottom right of bottom sheet, in an ornate cartouche, flanked by allegorical symbols on the left, and justice on the right, surmounted by a Maid of Holland, seated within a gated pallisade, flanked on each side by a lion rampant:] Obsidionem hanc nobilissimam oppidi Slusa in Flandria franconatu…
Annotations:
George III heading: Cadsant occupied by Prince Maurice; with the Siege of Sluys in 1604.
Other annotations: (Recto) none. (Verso) [bottom right, red pencil:] 1/107 [and, black pencil:] I/111.
George III catalogue entry:
Cadsant A Map of the Country between Sluys and Isendyck relative to the occupation of Cadsant and the Siege of Sluys by Prince Maurice of Nassau in 1604: by Florentius Balthasari, published by Hondius. 2 sheets.
Subject(s)
Cadzand [Cadsant], Zeeland, Netherlands (51°22ʹ06ʺN 03°24ʹ30ʺE)
Sluis, Zeeland, Netherlands (51°18ʹ30ʺN 03°23ʹ10ʺE)
Bibliographic reference(s)
M. McDonald, The Print Collection of Cassiano dal Pozzo. Part II, Architecture, Topography and Military Maps, 3 vols, London 2019, cat. no. 2798
O. van Nimwegen, The Dutch army and the military revolutions, 1588-1688, Woodbridge 2010, pp.187-188
Page revisions
14 March 2024
Current version
