450 Anniversary – The Spanish Road

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Spain – This year, on the occasion of the celebration of the 450th anniversary of the opening of the well-known Spanish Way, Correos issues a new stamp that includes an illustration of the profile face of King Philip II, who is considered the creator of this route, Aiming to bring money and troops to war in the Netherlands.

At the bottom of the stamp, the diffuse image of an old map appears on which are drawn five red arrows representing the five main routes of this road.The Spanish Way is a historical route that toured the Spanish armies during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, linking Milan and Brussels, with the aim of keeping the Netherlands and the center of the Spanish Monarchy connected.

The routes crossed states allied to the Crown like Savoy and Lorraine and also territories that belonged to her. In this way they tried to protect the Mediterranean from Muslim attacks and other possible enemies. Throughout the years several routes were used to make that Way, but there are five that can be considered as main:

Route of 1567, the Duke of Alba
Route of 1595, by Archduke Alberto
Route 1601, the Gressin Bridge
Route of 1604, Virués
Route of 1634, Nordlingen

It was that first route of 1567 which marked a turning point in the history of Europe. The Duke of Alba along with 10,000 veterans of the thirds, traveled 1,100 kilometers to Brussels, carrying out one of the greatest logistical feats of military and diplomatic history.

Although it had already been used before, this was the first time that was made with that large number of people marching at the same time without generating problems to the locals, who baptized it as “Le Chemin des Espagnols”

Issue Date: 16.03.2017
Process: Offset
Size: 28.8 x 40.9 mm
Values: 2 €