This is a story about a surprise attack by the Spanish army on Sluis, a small city in a southern coastal province of The Low Countries, now known as The Netherlands.
During the early 1500's, the Reformation spread through the Low Countries. Emperor Charles V tried to stop this threat to Roman Catholicism by persecuting the Protestants. His son, Philip II of Spain, stepped up this persecution. As a result the nobles, led by William I of Orange, revolted against his harsh rule.
The Dutch fought for their freedom from Spain in an eighty year war, from 1568 to 1648. The surprise attack on Sluis is part of that war.