After the adventure with the Duke of Anjou, support from France, itself going through a time of internal conflict, had become a highly problematic matter.

On August 20, 1585, she concluded the Treaty of Nonesuch with the States General, which provided for the sending of an army of 6,000 men, while receiving Flushing and Brielle as collateral for the costs to be incurred.

[3] To make the situation of the hungry Spanish troops even worse, Dutch commander Philip of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein arrived with a strong land force and 100 ships.

Philip of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein breached the dikes of Bommelwaard, forcing the Spanish back over the river Maas to higher ground around Empel.

Bobadilla interpreted the discovery as a sign from God, and had the painting raised next to the Spanish flag for veneration.

That night, a sudden further drop in temperature started to freeze the shallow waters of the flooded countryside.

On December 8, 1854, Pope Pius IX defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.