This eBook was produced by David Widger [NOTE: There is a short list of bookmarks, or pointers, at the end of the file for those who may wish to sample the author's ideas before making an entire meal of them. D.W.] HISTORY OF THE UNITED NETHERLANDS From the Death of William the Silent to the Twelve Year's Truce--1609 By John Lothrop Motley MOTLEY'S HISTORY OF THE NETHERLANDS, Project Gutenberg Edition, Vol. 75 History of the United Netherlands, 1602-1603 CHAPTER XL. Protraction of the siege of Ostend--Spanish invasion of Ireland-- Prince Maurice again on the march--Siege of Grave--State of the archduke's army--Formidable mutiny--State of Europe--Portuguese expedition to Java--Foundation there of the first Batavian trading settlement--Exploits of Jacob Heemskerk--Capture of a Lisbon carrack--Progress of Dutch commerce--Oriental and Germanic republics --Commercial embassy from the King of Atsgen in Sumatra to the Netherlands--Surrender of Grave--Privateer work of Frederic Spinola --Destruction of Spinola's fleet by English and Dutch cruisers-- Continuation of the siege of Ostend--Fearful hurricane and its effects--The attack--Capture of external forts--Encounter between Spinola and a Dutch squadron--Execution of prisoners by the archduke--Philip Fleming and his diary--Continuation of operations before Ostend--Spanish veterans still mutinous--Their capital besieged by Van den Berg--Maurice marches to their relief-- Convention between the prince and the mutineers--Great commercial progress of the Dutch--Opposition to international commerce-- Organization of the Universal East India Company. It would be desirable to concentrate the chief events of the siege of Ostend so that they might be presented to the reader's view in a single mass. But this is impossible. The siege was essentially the war--as already observed--and it was bidding fair to protract itself to such an extent that a respect for chronology requires the attention to be directed for a moment to other topics.