Jezuïeten en Minderbroeders verlaten Antwerpen, 1578 1613 - 1615

This anonymous engraving, created between 1613 and 1615, depicts the expulsion of Jesuit and Franciscan friars from Antwerp in 1578. The scene shows a group of friars, some carrying weapons, boarding a ship as they leave the city, while townspeople watch on. The inscription at the bottom of the image details the events, noting the expulsion was ordered by the "furnere Lanum" (the "furnace" or "oven" may refer to the heated rhetoric of the time) and highlighting the conflict between the church and the city's "profane" citizens. This artwork provides a valuable glimpse into the turbulent religious and political climate of the late 16th century in the Netherlands.