BREDA, town, province of North Brabant, Holland, at the confluence of the canalized rivers Merk and Aa. Pop. (1930) Breda was in the 11th century a direct fief of the Holy Roman empire, its earliest known lord being Henry I. (1098 1I25), in whose family it continued, until Alix, heiress of Philip (d. 1323), sold it to Brabant. It passed ultimately to William I. the first stadtholder of the Netherlands. Breda ob tained municipal rights in 1252, but was first surrounded with walls in 1534 by Count Henry of Nassau, who also restored the old castle, originally built by John of Polanen in 135o. It remained until the 19th century the most important of the line of fortresses along the Meuse. Captured by the Spaniards in 1581, in 1590 it fell again into the hands of Maurice of Nassau. Its surrender to the Spaniards (162 5) of ter a siege, is the subject of the famous picture by Velasquez in the Museo del Prado in Madrid. In 1637 Breda was recaptured by Frederick Henry of Orange, and in 1648 it was finally ceded to Holland by the treaty of Westphalia. It was the residence, during his exile, of Charles II. of England. In 1696 William, prince of Orange and king of England, built the new castle, now a military academy. During the wars of the French Revolution, it was taken by Dumouriez in 2793, evacuated soon of ter and retaken by Pichegru in 1795. In 1813, the citizens of Breda again made themselves masters of the town. It has been the scene of various political congresses, e.g., in 2575 a conference was held here between the ambassadors of Spain and those of the United Provinces; in 1667 a peace was signed by England, Holland, France and Denmark; and by the same Powers in 1746-47. The town has a fine quay, town hall and park. The principal Protestant church is a Gothic building (13th century), with a fine tower, and a choir (1410).