Low Countries
In 1587 Archer was sent to the Low Countries to serve as chaplain to the Spanish forces under the Duke of Parma during the Anglo-Spanish war (1585–1604). William Stanley, commander of a regiment of Irish soldiers under English crown authority, had just surrendered the Belgian city of Deventer to Parma and committed himself and his men to the service of the Spanish king. Archer spent his time hearing confessions from the Irish soldiers and busying himself in administrative duties. Expectations ran high among the forces for an invasion of England, but were defeated in the following year when the Spanish Armada was driven from the Dutch coast.
As Spain gradually regained its strategic initiative over England, Archer was reported to be following Stanley's regiment throughout 1590. In September of the following year he was at Brussels, recovering from an illness. His superiors still considered him of middling ability, and the impression of melancholy and irascibility persisted. A request was then received from the archbishop of Armagh, Edmund McGowran, for his participation in a Jesuit mission to Ireland.
Read more about this topic: James Archer (Jesuit)
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