Breda

Breda , city (1994 pop. 129,125), North Brabant prov., S Netherlands, at the confluence of the Mark and Aa rivers. It is an industrial and transportation center. Manufactures include machinery, textiles, and canned foods. Breda was founded by the 11th cent. The city was successfully besieged (1624-25) by the Spaniards under Ambrogio Spinola ; the surrender of its heroic garrison is the subject of a famous painting by Velázquez . Points of interest in the city include a 13th-century Gothic church (Groote Kerk) and a castle (now a military academy).

Breda City in Noord-Brabant province, s Netherlands. A historically important town, it is noted for the 1566 Compromise of Breda (a Dutch alliance against Spanish rule) and Charles II's Declaration of Breda (1660) before the Restoration. Industries: engineering, textiles. Pop. (1998 est.) 157,000.

Breda A Dutch city in North Brabant, historically an important frontier town close to the Belgian border. The Compromise of Breda in 1566 was a league formed by Protestant and Catholic nobles and burghers to fight against PHILIP II's policies in the Netherlands. The most dramatic event in its history was its surrender to the Spanish commander Spinola in 1625; it was retaken by the Dutch in 1636 and finally became part of the Netherlands in 1648. The Declaration of Breda was made by CHARLES II in 1660 just before his Restoration, promising an amnesty, religious toleration, and payment of arrears to the army. The Treaty of Breda (1667) ended the second ANGLO-DUTCH WAR.