Tilting at windmills Cervantes wrote and published "Don Quixote" during the Eighty Years' War, or Dutch War of Independence (1568–1648), a revolt by the Habsburg Netherlands to end Spanish rule. In "Don Quixote", the eponymous protagonist consistently misinterprets the motives and actions of his adversaries and allies, and struggles to even understand his own at times — a conundrum regularly resulting in apparently unjustified violent actions and consequences. One way of interpreting Don Quixote's tilting at windmills could be allegorically, thereby promoting critical, skeptical, or satirical evaluation of either a hero's motives, rationales and actions, or the ultimate aims of a nation's foreign
Portland Windmills and the Hutchins map of 1710, where they were depicted as prominent landmarks. It is believed that the two windmills are two of the earliest of their type in the United Kingdom and were probably built by local craftsmen. The mills, which were traditionally operated by the Pearce family, ceased use in the 1890s as mass-produced flour and bread became available through Portland's modern rail and road links. During World War II, the south tower was used as a look-out post. The same tower was renovated by ARC Ltd in 1991. In 2000, some care was given to the windmills