In 2018, it will be 450 years since the Eighty Years’ War began. Everyone has heard of these years of rebellion by the Netherlands under the leadership of William of Orange against the Spanish King Philip II. What is the significance of that war, and why is this conflict important to the Netherlands? In the Eighty Years’ War exhibition, the Rijksmuseum, with special works of art and exciting objects, shows how violence, rebellion and civil war, terror and oppression, religious persecutions and refugees could lead to the emergence of the present Netherlands and Belgium without that ever being the intention.

Information from the museum's website, 28 february 2018