[1][3] In 1584, after the successful Spanish military campaign of 1583, the Governor-General Don Alexander Farnese, Prince of Parma, was focused in subjecting by hunger the cities located on the Scheldt and its tributaries.

In January, the garrison of Aalst, composed of English troops under the command of Governor Olivier van den Tympel, was surrounded and blocked by the Spanish forces led by Parma.

[5] In this situation, the English soldiers, tired of the lack of supplies and pay, finally surrendered the city to Parma, in exchange for 128,250 florins and entered the service of the Spanish army.

[3][4][5] The advance of the Prince of Parma was unstoppable, and on April 7, after three months of siege, the city of Ypres surrendered.

[4] The next goal of the Spaniards was Bruges, and on May 24, the city capitulated without a single shot fired.