"The Dutch Revolt, Eighty Years' War or the Revolt of the Netherlands (1568[1]—1648), was the revolt of the Seventeen Provinces in the Low Countries against the Spanish (Habsburg) Empire.
Spain was initially successful in suppressing the rebellion. In 1572, however, the rebels captured Brielle and the rebellion resurged. The northern provinces became independent, first de facto, and in 1648 de jure. During the revolt, the United Provinces of the Netherlands, better known as the Dutch Republic, rapidly grew to become a world power through its merchant shipping and experienced a period of economic, scientific, and cultural growth.
The Southern Netherlands (situated in modern-day Belgium, Luxembourg and Northern France...) remained under Spanish rule. The continuous repression by the Spanish in the south caused many of its financial, intellectual, and cultural élite to flee north, contributing to the success of the Dutch Republic. Additionally, by the end of the war in 1648 large areas of the Southern Netherlands had been lost to France which had, under the guidance of Cardinal Richelieu and Louis XIII of France, allied itself with the Dutch Republic in the 1630s against the Habsburg dynasty.
The first phase of the conflict can be considered to be the Dutch War of Independence. The focus of the latter phase was to gain official recognition of the already de facto independence of the United Provinces. This phase coincided with the rise of the Dutch Republic as a major power and the founding of the Dutch colonial empire...."