 After the Siege of Antwerp in 1585, many families fled north and since Antwerp was a major center for painting, the Haarlem market was flooded with professional painters who competed with Haarlem's own craftsmen.To protect the market, a new charter was issued in 1590.That this was necessary is evidenced by the fact that new charters were issued soon after the "beeldenstorm" in most Dutch cities that had converted to Protestantism and were embroiled in the Eighty Years' War.