The "miracle of Empel" and the Immaculate Conception: "The Dutch shouted again and again 'God is Spanish!'"
“The Tercios Do Not Surrender “ is a novel based on the chronicles of Captain Alonso Vázquez and the real-life exploits of the Tercios under the command of Francisco Arias de Bobadilla. An event that further solidified—if any were needed—Spain's devotion to the Immaculate Conception.
What do we know about Captain Alonso Vázquez, and why did he write down his account?
We know a great deal about him: he was a soldier who served the crown from 1575 until his death in 1615. He spent many years in Flanders and France and participated, among other feats, in the relief of Ireland in 1601. Throughout his life, he also cultivated his second vocation: writing. His work, sixteen books in total, in which he recounts his extensive military experience throughout Europe, was not published until after his death, during the reign of Philip IV.
Bobadilla was a man of principle, deeply aware that he was defending the Catholics of the Netherlands against the violence and impositions of the Protestant fanatics who were beginning to ravage Europe. Moreover, at his side, although completely outnumbered and outgunned, was the elite of the Spanish army.
What happened on December 8, 1585?
A clear miracle occurred through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, under her title of the Immaculate Conception. Thanks to this miracle, the Spanish soldiers survived and, against all odds, emerged victorious.
On the eve of the miracle, a soldier found a Flemish painting of the Immaculate Virgin buried in the mud. This painting, similar to other images of the Virgin found during the Reconquista, was in perfect condition: completely clean and undamaged, despite the saturated ground. Bobadilla and his men immediately took it as a sign from Heaven that they would be victorious.
"Indeed, that night it became unusually cold, to the point that those rivers, the largest and most voluminous in Europe, froze over in a few hours. The Spaniards, who had been bogged down by the waters until then, were able to advance across the ice and emerge victorious over the Dutch, whose ships had to flee to avoid being trapped. It should be noted that both the day before and the day after the miracle, the temperature was relatively mild, it was raining, and it was far from freezing."
The first to speak of a miracle were the Dutch themselves who, seeing the extraordinary event and how it benefited the Spanish, did not hesitate to shout again and again: “God is Spanish!” Even the rebel leader, Holak, wrote that “it would seem that God is Spanish, for having worked such a great miracle.”
The phenomenon is known today in Holland as “Het wonder van Empel”, that is: “The miracle of Empel”, and in the place, a small town between Nijmegen and Breda (on the outskirts of ‘S-Hertogenbosch, formerly called Bolduque in Spanish), there is a small church that commemorates it, with texts in Spanish and Dutch, and with a beautiful painting by Ferrer Dalmau.