Gaspar de Robles (1527,Madrid, Spain – 1585,Antwerp) wasStadholder ofFriesland andGroningen at the beginning of theEighty Years' War (reign: 1568 to 1576).
Robles was the son of Doña María de Leyte, probably the wet nurse forPhilip II of Spain, and João Lopes of Robles.[1] In 1558 he married Jeanne de Saint-Quentin, baroness of Billy, their son wasJean de Roblès [fr] 1st Count of Annappes. They are considered to be the founders of the Flemish branch of the house and became owner of the castle and lands inBilly in theCounty of Artois south ofLille. Amongst his many descendants we find theDukes of Ursel.
donJoão Lopes of Robles
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On 17 May 1568, de Robles landed with 1800Walloon soldiers under his leadership inHarlingen. Six days later he was defeated byLouis of Nassau in theBattle of Heiligerlee, together with the Spanish army ofJean de Ligne, Duke of Aremberg, who was killed.
De Robles then took part in the victoriousbattle of Jemmingen against the Dutch rebels led byLouis of Nassau, who only just managed to escape. Consequently, De Robles becameStadtholder of Frisia and prevented the uprising of the Frisian cities which had only limited defences. He supportedFadrique Álvarez de Toledo with 1000 Walloon soldiers during thesiege of Haarlem. On 23 May 1573, he was slightly injured by amusket shot.
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On 1 November 1570, Friesland was devastated by theAll Saints Flood which flooded almost the entire region. Major damage and broken dikes were the results. Dike repairs was urgently needed, but the Frisians could not agree on costs. Thanks to the efforts of de Robles it was quickly agreed to close and strengthen the dikes (especially aroundHarlingen). The work on the dikes was divided into two parts. The northern part was to be maintained by theInner Dijkers and the southern part maintained by theOuter Dijkers.
When the work was done, the Inner Dijkers decided to construct a monument, marking the border of their territory. They chose to build a memorial pillar in honor of De Robles that came to be called theStenen Man (English:Stone Man) (Frisian: Stiennen Man). This memorial column on the Westerburcht Zeedijk south of Harlingen for many years marked the boundary between the two water boards and can still be visited today. De Robles was also responsible for the construction of theKolonelsdiep (Colonels-deep, named after him), betweenBergumermeer andBriltil (west ofZuidhorn). This linked Leeuwarden and Groningen by a secure land fairway. It took three months to build and was used for 400 years, only being replaced in 1965 by a new canal.[1]
Over the years, Caspar de Robles was increasingly hated. The Spanish soldiers were already a month's pay behind and were very dissatisfied and he askedthe Duke of Alva to be paid for his work. In 1576 he went to Groningen in order to soothe the feelings of the soldiers, but was captured by his own soldiers when Spain was declared bankrupt. That was the end of the power of Caspar de Robles in the north of the Netherlands.
Caspar de Robles died in 1585 at theSiege of Antwerp. During the siege the Spaniards had blocked theSchelde with a bridge of ships in order to starve the city. Dutch troops made several attempts to break through the blockade, but those attempts all failed. However, one of the attempts involved sending in twofire ships that were filled with gunpowder. The first ship exploded harmlessly against the shore, but the other reached the bridge and exploded with devastating force, instantly killing over 800 Spanish soldiers, and de Robles was one of the casualties.[citation needed]
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