How did Spain come to occupy The Netherlands?

Charles V of the HRE was the heir to the dynastic alliance between Spain and Austria therefore he also held the title of duke of Burgundy which included the Netherlands. He tried to maintain peace by allowing the protestants to remain autonomous from the catholic affairs during the Diet of Ausburg. read more

The Netherlands had the same king as Spain, through inheritence, but because countries were more or less private property of their king at the time, the king of Spain could use Spanish money and Spanish armies to fight the Dutch rebels. read more

Better times came, when in 1598 the Spanish Netherlands passed to Philip's daughter Isabella Clara Eugenia and her husband Archduke Albert VII of Austria.The couple's rule brought a period of much-needed peace and stability to the economy, which stimulated the growth of a separate South Netherlandish identity and consolidated the authority of the House of Habsburg reconciling previous anti-Spanish sentiments. read more

So, the Netherlands were technically never “occupied” by Spain because the king of Spain and the king of the Netherlands were the same person. Besides, during the war of independence the king never controlled more than parts of The Netherlands. read more

Well, Spain did not wanted the Netherlands. The Holy Roman Empire wanted it. The empire was not only in Spain, but a great part of europe (and the world) was under the control. Charles I of Spain was Charles V in Germany, for example. It is said that it was the Spanish Empire, but the royal family was not even from Spain. read more

Spanish Netherlands (Spanish: Países Bajos Españoles; Dutch: Spaanse Nederlanden; French: Pays-Bas espagnols, German: Spanische Niederlande) was the collective name of States of the Holy Roman Empire in the Low Countries, held in personal union by the Spanish Crown (also called Habsburg Spain) from 1556 to 1714. read more