Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma

Timeline

1. 1565–1578Italian states · ItalyGained experience in Italy and the Mediterranean; appointed governor of the Netherlands in 1577 (later retitled commander-in-chief), he arrived in the Low Countries in 1578 to take over the chaotic Spanish military and political command.
2. 1578–1580Flanders and Brabant · FlandersBetween 1578 and 1580 he took Maastricht and other strongpoints through prolonged sieges, split the Union of Utrecht from within, brought the southern Catholic provinces back to Spain, and sharply reduced Orange's controlled territory.
3. 1580–1592Provinces of the Netherlands · Low CountriesHe continued pressuring the seven northern provinces in the 1580s; the fall of Antwerp in 1584 marked the peak of Spanish success in the Low Countries war, after which failing health led to his death near Paris in 1592.