The Dutch Revolt, Eighty Years' War, or The Revolt of the Netherlands (1568–1648), is the revolt of the Seventeen Provinces in the Low Countries against the Spanish (Habsburg) Empire.

Spain is initially successful in suppressing the rebellion.

The rebels capture Brielle in 1572, however, and the rebellion reignites.

The northern provinces become independent, first de facto, and in 1648 de jure.

The United Provinces of the Netherlands, better known as the Dutch Republic, rapidly grows during the revolt to become a world power through merchant shipping and experiences a period of economic, scientific, and cultural growth.

The Southern Netherlands (situated in modern-day Belgium, Luxembourg and Northern France) remain under Spanish rule.

The continuous repression by the Spanish in the south causes many of its financial, intellectual, and cultural elite 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 have 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 Hapsburg dynasty.

The first phase of the conflict can be considered to be the Dutch War of Independence.

The focus of the latter phase is to gain official recognition of the already de facto independence of the United Provinces.

This phase coincides with the rise of the Dutch Republic as a major power and the founding of the Dutch colonial empire.