Ka cika wannan magana: A shekara ta 1568, larduna bakwai da suka sa hannu a yarjejeniyar Utrecht () sun yi tawaye ga Philip II na Spain wanda ya kai ga Yaƙin Shekaru Takwas. Kafin a sake mamaye ƙasashen Low Countries gaba ɗaya, yaƙin tsakanin Ingila da Spain, Yaƙin Anglo-Spanish na 1585-1604, ya ɓarke, ya tilasta sojojin Spain su dakatar da ci gaban su kuma ya bar su cikin ikon manyan biranen kasuwanci na Bruges da Ghent, amma ba tare da ikon Antwerp ba, wanda a lokacin ya kasance mafi mahimmancin tashar jiragen ruwa a duniya.
Antwerp ya faɗi a ranar 17 ga Agusta, 1585, bayan kewaye, kuma an kafa rarrabuwa tsakanin Arewa da Kudancin Netherlands (mafi yawanci Belgium na zamani).