Although it is tempting to view the Eighty Years’ War as exclusively a clash between Dutch and Spanish, the reality of warfare in the period was that many nations poured men into the struggle, whether officially, as allied forces, or unofficially, in the form of mercenaries.
Maurice’s army at Nieuwpoort included a sizeable English volunteer contingent, which was considered something of an elite and entrusted with the centre of the line, but there were also Scottish, German, Swiss and Walloon (Belgian) soldiers present as well. There were Germans and Walloons in the Spanish army also, alongside Italians, Irishmen, Burundians and, of course, Spaniards. (The Spanish king was not averse to digging deep for men, at one time forming a tercio comprised of Catalan criminals, although these colourful characters did not…
