Editing 1572 (section)

=== October&ndash;December ===
* [[October 2]] &ndash; [[Spanish Fury at Mechelen]]: The mostly Catholic population of the Netherlands city of [[Mechelen]] (now in Belgium) surrenders to the Spanish Army and signifies its intention to offer no resistance, singing Catholic psalms of penitence to welcome the Catholic Spaniards. Nevertheless, the Duke of Alba authorizes his troops to conduct three days of slaughter, rape and pillaging.<ref name=Arnade>Peter Arnade, ''Beggars, Iconoclasts, and Civic Patriots: The Political Culture of the Dutch Revolt'' (Cornell University Press, 2008) pp.226-229</ref>
* [[October 20]] &ndash; [[Eighty Years' War]] &ndash; [[Relief of Goes]]: Soldiers of the Spanish [[Tercio]]s wade across the estuary of the [[Scheldt]], to relieve the siege of [[Goes]] in the [[Spanish Netherlands]].
* [[November 9]] 
**[[Siege of Sancerre]]: Catholic forces of the king lay siege to [[Sancerre]], a [[Huguenot]] stronghold in central France. The fortified city holds out for nearly eight months, without bombard artillery. This is one of the last times that slings are used in European warfare.
**[[SN 1572|Supernova SN 1572]] is first observed in the [[constellation]] [[Cassiopeia (constellation)|Cassiopeia]], by [[Cornelius Gemma]]. [[Tycho Brahe]], who notes it two days later, will use it to challenge the prevailing view that [[star]]s do not change.<ref>[[University of Otago]] Library exhibition note for [http://www.library.otago.ac.nz/exhibitions/delights/case_eight.html ''The Earth & Beyond''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212211818/http://www.library.otago.ac.nz/exhibitions/delights/case_eight.html |date=February 12, 2012 }}; Allen, R. H. ''Star Names: their Lore and Meaning'', Bill Thayer's edition at [[LacusCurtius]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Topics/astronomy/_Texts/secondary/ALLSTA/Cassiopeia*.html "Cassiopeia."]</ref>  The supernova remnant remains visible through 1574.
* [[November 14]] &ndash; Residents of the Belgian city of [[Zutphen]] are massacred by the Spanish Army.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lTNfFrXJkgsC&q=Massacre+of+Naarden&pg=PA502|title=The Rise of the Dutch Republic: A History|last=Motley|first=John Lothrop|date=1871|publisher=George Routledge and Sons|language=en}}</ref>
* [[November 22]] &ndash; [[Massacre of Naarden|All but 60 of the 3,000 residents are massacred]] by the Spanish Army in the Belgian city of [[Naarden]].<ref name=Arnade/>
* [[December 10]] &ndash; For administrative purposes, the Kingdom of Portugal divides its colony in [[Brazil]] into two colonies, with one Governor-General at Rio de Janeiro and another at Bahia. The two colonies will be reunified on April 12, 1578.<ref>"Grande enciclopédia portuguesa e brasileira" de 1936, citado na página 60.</ref>
* [[December 11]] &ndash; The [[Siege of Haarlem (1572–73)|Siege of Haarlem]] is begun by the [[Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba|Duke of Alva]], Spanish Army commander in the Netherlands, and lasts until July 13, 1573.<ref name=Fergus>{{Cite web|last=O’Sullivan|first=Fergus|date=14 June 2021|title=The Siege of Haarlem, Kenau, and Creating a Heroine|url=https://historyguild.org/the-siege-of-haarlem-kenau-and-creating-a-heroine/|website=History Guild}}</ref>