Dictionary of Battles / From the Earliest Date to the Present Time

by Thomas Benfield Harbottle

Brill (Netherlands War of Independence).

This fortress was captured from the Spaniards by the Beggars of the Sea, about 400 strong, under De la Marck and Treslong, April 1, 1572. It was the first success of the Netherlands patriots in their struggle against Spanish rule, and may be said to have laid the foundation of the Dutch republic.