Nephew to King Philip II of Spain, he served in the Battle of Lepanto and the subsequent campaigns of the Holy League against the Ottoman Empire, being latter appointed general of the Spanish army during the Dutch revolt until his death in 1592.

[6] Under his leadership, Philip II's army achieved the most comprehensive successes in the history of the Eighty Years' War, capturing more than thirty towns between 1581 and 1587 before being diverted from the Netherlands to the French theater.

[7] His campaigns gave Spain back permanent control of the southern provinces, establishing the cultural and religious separation which would eventually become the nation of Belgium.

[1][3][7] Alessandro, born 27 August 1545, was the son of Duke Ottavio Farnese of Parma (a grandson of Pope Paul III) and Margaret of Austria (an illegitimate daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor and king of Spain Charles V).

When Margaret was appointed Governor of the Netherlands, Alessandro accompanied her to Brussels in 1556 and was delivered to Philip II to ensure the loyalty of the Farnese.

Don Juan, who had been sent as governor-general to restore order, found difficulties in dealing with William the Silent, who had succeeded in uniting all the provinces in common resistance to King Philip II.

[20] The rebels in the seven northern provinces then formed the Union of Utrecht, formally abjuring Phillip's rule and pledging to fight to the end.

[11] As soon as he had secured a base of operations in Hainaut and Artois, Farnese set himself in earnest to the task of reconquering Brabant and Flanders by force of arms, beginning with Maastricht.

His strategy was to offer generous terms for surrender: there would be no massacres or looting; historic urban privileges were retained; there was a full pardon and amnesty; return to the Catholic Church would be gradual.

He cut off all access to Antwerp from the sea by constructing a bridge of boats across the Scheldt from Kallo (then spelt Calloo) to Oordam, in spite of the desperate efforts of the besieged townspeople.

Alexander pressed operations in the regions of the Meuse and the Rhine so as to maintain trade with Germany and prepare a gateway for winning Holland and Zeeland.

In December 1585, with the growing food shortage, Farnese marched his troops towards the Rhine and Meuse regions so as to spare Flanders, Brabant and the Walloon provinces the burden of feeding them and, while there, undertake operations to secure trade along those rivers.

However, while retaining him in his command at the head of a formidable army, the king would not give his sanction to his great general's desire to use it for the conquest of England,[11] at the time a supporter of the rebels.

Although Farnese was not enthusiastic about the project, in November 1583, he initially believed it possible to successfully invade England from the Netherlands with a force of 30,000 troops relying mainly on the hope of a native Catholic insurrection, but emphasized to Philip II that it was imperative for three conditions to be met: the main condition was the maintenance of absolute secrecy; second, secure the possession and defence of the Dutch provinces; third, keep the French from interfering either by way of a peace agreement or by sowing division amongst the Huguenots and Catholics.

[36][37] Philip overruled him and solicited the Marquis of Santa Cruz to draft and present an invasion plan which evolved to become the Enterprise of England, more commonly known as the Spanish Armada.

Alexander informed Philip II that his barges were nothing more than flat-bottomed transport vessels, not warships, and he was being blockaded by English ships thus preventing him from leaving Nieuwpoort and Dunkirk.

[39] Farnese broke up his camp in Dunkirk in September and sent the Marquis de Renty to the island of Tholen[40] in preparation to besiege the predominately English garrison at Bergen Op Zoom.

Parma had warned Philip II that the French incursion would endanger the gains made in the Netherlands and stated he would not accept responsibility for the losses or failures resulting from not heeding his advice.

[52] At dawn on 5 September, Lagny was bombarded then stormed by Spanish troops who put its 800-man garrison to the sword, all within sight of Henri's camp, a mere 12 km away.

[56] With the siege of Paris lifted and its supply routes secured, Farnese took the road on 3 November back to the Netherlands, where Maurice of Nassau had gone on the offensive.

[58] Twenty days into the march, on 25 November near Amiens, Henri with his cavalry boldly charged Farnese's column only to himself be routed beyond the river Aisne and getting wounded during the retreat.

Farnese's absence brought with it a reduction in military activity on the part of the Spanish thus allowing the Dutch some time to reflect on what policies they needed to adopt that would be most effective against their enemy.

[63] On the night of 24 July 1591, just days after engaging in the siege of Knodsenburg, Alexander Farnese received orders from Philip II to drop everything and go back to France to aid the Catholic League.

Rather than follow Farnese's advice and attack Henri's camp and destroy his forces, the League's leaders chose to capture Caudebec-en-Caux where he was subsequently wounded by a musket shot in the right forearm during the siege whilst reconnoitring the town.

Rather than risk a full attack against the League's forces, he took a page from Farnese's book and decided to cut off all supply routes and starve them.

The Duke of Parma finally devised a plan to clandestinely cross the Seine in boats leaving just enough men to make Henri believe the entire army was encamped.

[73] After returning to the Netherlands, Alexander received a letter from Pope Clement VIII on 28 June congratulating him “for rescuing the Catholic Army.”[74] Farnese quickly made his way back to Spa for yet more treatments.

Fully aware of his state of health, the Duke of Parma, nevertheless, prepared for this campaign by arranging for loans and sumptuous quarters in Paris so as to give the appearance of a powerful representative of the King of Spain.

[78] He had written his last will and testament, repeatedly went to confession and took holy communion, and sent his son back to Parma so that, upon his death, the Farnesian States would not be deprived of a ruler.

68–91v, to Pietro Caetani, on his way to serve Alessandro Farnese in the Netherlands, on how he should behave with her: Ama il Principe una Signora di qualità e fa piacere che da coloro che stimano il favor suo ella che sia corteggiata e servita… [The Prince loves a lady of quality and is pleased when she is courted and served by those who esteem his favour...] Although there is nothing to say with certainty about children from this relationship, according to Bertini,[83] Farnese arranged for, and gave incentives to,[84] Count Jean-Charles de Gavre, a nobleman in Alessandro's household, to marry Françoise in 1586.