Map of the week – Confiscated lands in Zutphen, 1573

This week we are looking at a map showing confiscated lands in Zutphen in 1573.

Map of confiscated land in Zutphen, 1573. Credits: Thomas Witteroos, collection Gelders Archief (public domain)

This map was created during the Eighty Years War, when the Netherlands fought to become independent from the Habsburg Empire, ruled by King Philip II of Spain. In 1572, Zutphen was besieged and conquered by Dutch troops, and then by the Spanish. The Spanish seized all the assets of the town, which included several pieces of land in the area.

The map shown above shows the location of six pieces of land just outside the town’s “nieu Stadts poort” [New city gate]. It shows some derelict houses (“vervallen huijsen”) south of the road from Deventer. The land was located in an arm of the Berkel (“Barkel”) river, not far from the town moat (“Stadtgraft”).

In 1573, the Spanish commissioned Thomas Witteroos to survey all the confiscated lands, which led to an atlas with nineteen maps, including the one shown above. The series is now part of the records of the Gelderland Account Chamber at the Gelders Archief, and can be accessed from the finding aid.