 "Aphractus", in turn, derived from the Ancient Greek phrase ἄφρακτος ναῦς ("aphraktos naus") – "undefended ship".In 1583, during the Eighty Years' War of 1568–1648, Habsburg Spain recovered the southern Netherlands from the Protestant rebels.This soon resulted in the use of the occupied ports as bases for privateers, the "Dunkirkers", to attack the shipping of the Dutch and their allies.