Editing Helmond (section)

=== Under the Dutch Republic and the Revolutionary era ===
Helmond was also embroiled in the [[Eighty Years' War|Eighty Years War]]. Since it remained loyal to [[Philip II of Spain]], the army of the [[Dutch Republic]] twice captured and lost the city, with only the castle remaining uncaptured. The effects of the war and a plague outbreak in 1636 decimated the textile industry in Helmond, and many weavers fled to [[Haarlem]]. Only with the peace of 1648 could the city start to recover.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kasteel Helmond |url=https://www.absolutefacts.nl/kastelen/data/helmond.htm |access-date=2022-11-03 |website=www.absolutefacts.nl}}</ref> The weavers of Helmond gained a fruitful partnership with merchants in Haarlem, and the city could rebuild from the war. Catholics were pushed underground. Although the city recovered its prosperity, it was once again plunged into instability during the ''[[Patriottentijd]]'' of the late 18th century. Following several skirmishes and political maneuvers in the city, the Patriots were crushed through the intervention of [[Prussia]] in 1787, but only five years later in 1793, the French Republic invaded. The liberal French administration allowed the Patriots to re-assert themselves in the city, and in 1795, universal male suffrage came to Helmond. By 1798, the vestiges of the Dutch Republic were abolished, and Catholics were once again allowed to take part in city governance.