This is a story about a surprise attack by the Spanish army on Sluis, a small city in a southern coastal province of The Low Countries, now known as The Netherlands.During the early 1500's, the Reformation spread through the Low Countries. Emperor Charles V tried to stop this threat to Roman Catholicism by persecuting the Protestants. His son, Philip II of Spain, stepped up this persecution. As a result the nobles, led by William I of Orange, revolted against his harsh rule.The Dutch fought for their freedom from Spain in an eighty year war, from 1568 to 1648. The surprise attack on Sluis is part of that war. Jan Folkerts de Haan was a Dutch journalist and author. He was born in 1906 in Boornbergum, and village in the province of Friesland, and died in 1978. He worked for a series of newspapers, including the Trouw.His first love of teaching was evident in his authorship of a number of books for children. Besides De Torenklok Zweeg (The Tower Clock Stopped), he also wrote in the Dutch and Friesen languages Het kolenschip van Venlo (The coal ship of Venlo)(1960), De holle polsstok (The hollow pole)(1952), 't Geweld onttogen (1948), Een schip in de dorpsvaart (1950), It Frysk findel (1982), De Friese kurassier: historisch verhaal 1812 – 1824 (1944), Fen bûgjen frjemd (1945), and Zulke galgebrokken (1946).
