Spanish Road Totally Explained

Everything about Spanish Road totally explained

The "Spanish Road" was a military supply/ trade route used from 1567-1620, which stretched from Northern Italy to the Low Countries. It crossed through relatively neutral territory, and was therefore Europe's most preferred military route . In the days of its use it was also known as "le chemin des espagnols" .

The Need for the Spanish Road

The conflict between the Spanish King Philip II and Spain's rebels of the Low Countries symbolized the prominent European power struggle of the 16th century . In 1550, the wars had stretched Spain's finances thin . 1566 was known as the "Year of Hunger" or "Year of Wonders," when the people of the Lower Countries revolted against their king because they were not given a say in their government, Spanish troops occupied their country and religious persecution was prominent . When this revolt occurred, Philip realized he'd need a route to get to the Netherlands and crush the opposition. The Spanish Road was observed and mapped out, and Philip sent the duke of Alva and a ruthless army to wage war in 1567, using Brussels as his headquarters . When the Emperor of the Netherlands plead for peace in 1569, Philip rejected the plea, and continued to use the Spanish Road to try and meet his military goals .

The Building of the Spanish Road

To get to the Netherlands, the armies and travelers of the 16th century had to surpass many obstacles including extremely high mountain passes, large rivers, deep forests, and roadways filled with criminals. Therefore, it was necessary to find a route that would go around these barriers, for safer and easier traveling, and the Spanish Road proved to be the answer. Contrary to its name, Spain wasn't the primary discoverer or user of the Spanish Road. Parts of it were devised by Philip II in 1565, when he realized he was going to have to travel to the Netherlands, and wanted to use his own land and neutral territory . Merchants regularly used parts the road between France and Italy to trade goods with neighboring countries. Despite this fact, it was fully mapped out by European militaries to go through neutral countries, the main ones being Franche Comté, Burgundy, Luxemburg, Metz, Lorraine and Savoy . The way in which the Spanish Road was organized showed a large improvement in the previous system of moving troops through neutral territory. Any maps used for Spanish expeditions had only the information that pertained directly to the military, excluding any other details. However, this caused the armies to use guides and scouts when they crossed unfamiliar terrain, since their extremely generalized maps wouldn't be able to guide them . Traveling along the road took an average of 12 miles a day. Although, in 1577, Spanish veterans left the Netherlands and marched 15 miles a day because of the heat, and in 1578, they made the trip in 23 miles a day during the cold month of February .

Utilization of the Spanish Road

For military purposes, the Spanish Road was first used by the duke of Alba in 1567, and the last army passed through it in 1620 . It wasn't only utilized by troops, but also traders, and both were in need of food and shelter to complete their journeys. Shelter was rarely given to those who traveled on the road, especially soldiers. Officers would sometimes be able to stay in a nearby town, but their armies had to sleep under bushes or flimsy huts that they'd make themselves . Residents of towns along the "road" were rightfully fearful of the armies that passed through because they'd often find themselves victims of a robbery if they offered up their generosity. In 1580, the officers of the passing Spanish "tercios" occupied a house in Franche Comté that had no furniture and a guarded temporary crockery because the providers were too scared their possessions would be vandalized, burned or stolen . The Spanish Road was only used once or twice per year by the military, and the rest of the time by merchants. Because of this, military magazines were seen to be unimportant by some countries . The military did, however, use a system of staples called etapés. This system was going to be put into place after the successful proposal of Don Cristóbal de Benavente, to the Council of War in Madrid. Unfortunately, the Spanish King wasn't impressed, so Spain did support them. However, other European countries did think the etapés were a good idea, so they set them up along the Spanish Road, using commissioners from Brussels or Milan to work out pricing details, so that the providers were always paid and not used for their services . The first type of etapés was permanent and found only in Savoy. It consisted of a place where soldiers and other travelers had access to food and shelter when they passed through. The second type was in Franche Comté, Lorraine and the Low Countries, and was to created only when asked in advance by a private contractor, who would work out the payments, shipments and quantities of food based on the approach of individual military excursion . This system made the use of the Spanish Road more bearable.

Effects of the Spanish Road

Along with the Spanish Road having the obvious effects of faster military movement, and a convenient route to the Netherlands, there was one effect which helped to alter the course of history. This was the Spanish Road's effect on the spread of the plague or Black Death. This large transport of people played a huge role in the circulation of the disease, and affected civilians in many of the surrounding towns of the Spanish Road . In addition, the Spanish Road established permanent diplomatic agreements such as permanent embassies in Savoy and the Swiss Cantons, which were under the supervision of the Spanish government in Lombardy . The Spanish Road also inflamed the religious aspect of Europe because the nation saw it as a threat. When France broke out into its religious wars, the Spanish Road brought people and money to help out the French Catholics beat Henry Navarre .

The Fall of the Spanish Road

The Treaty of Lyon (January 17, 1601) forced the Spanish Road to be reduced to a narrow valley and a bridge over the Rhône. This loss of territory made Spanish passage on the road dependent on the approval of France. The final Spanish and Italian army was allowed to cross the Spanish Road in 1620. Savoy's anti-Spanish Treaty in 1622 ended Spanish travel on the Spanish Road forever .

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