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( Spanish road)
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"[1]. 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 [2]. In 1550, the wars had stretched Spain's finances thin [3]. 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 [4]. When this revolt occurred, Philip realized he would 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 [5]. 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 [6]. 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 was not 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 as going through neutral countries, the main ones being Franche Comté, Burgundy, Luxemburg, Metz, Lorraine and Savoy[1]. The layout of the Spanish Road was a large improvement over the previous system of moving troops through neutral territory. Maps used for Spanish expeditions had only the information that pertained directly to the military, excluding any other details. However, this forced the armies to use guides and scouts when they crossed unfamiliar terrain, since their extremely generalized maps could not guide them[1]. 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[1].
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