Wilhelm was a frail, thin man, with a high forehead and a nose curved like an eagle's beak. He had a thoughtful, somewhat gloomy look, compressed lips and a cold smile. From childhood until his death, he was a physically weak and sick person - he suffered from shortness of breath and... had a disposition towards consumption. He was constantly plagued by coughing and severe attacks of headache. However, he received from nature strong passions and lively impressionability, which he knew how to cover up with phlegmatic calm.
William belonged to the glorious and famous House of Orange in Holland. Holland was a republic, but the highest position of Supreme Stadtholder was inherited from one Prince of Orange to another. In early childhood, Wilhelm was left an orphan. His father, William II, died a week before his son was born. After the death of the old stadtholder, the States General party prevailed over the Orange party (the latter sought to establish a monarchy in favor of the Orange dynasty) and ruled the country unchallenged for the next 22 years. The supreme power was handed over to the pensioner Jan de Witt, who tried with all his might to strengthen the republican institutions. At his insistence, in 1654 the so-called Act of Elimination was adopted, according to which the Dutch States pledged not to provide William with either military or civil power. But already in 1660, after the restoration of Charles II in England, the Act of Elimination was canceled, and in 1667: the position of stadtholder was also abolished. In 1670, Wilhelm was admitted to the Council of State with the right to vote. From that moment his political career began.
Wilhelm was a frail, thin man, with a high forehead and a nose curved like an eagle's beak. He had a thoughtful, somewhat gloomy look, compressed lips and a cold smile. From childhood until his death, he was a physically weak and sick person - he suffered from shortness of breath and... had a disposition towards consumption. He was constantly plagued by coughing and severe attacks of headache. However, he received from nature strong passions and lively impressionability, which he knew how to cover up with phlegmatic calm. Surrounded since childhood by spies and enemies, he learned to be cautious, secretive and impenetrable. Just before a small amount With intimate friends, he could cast aside his feigned coldness - become kind, welcoming, frank, even cheerful and playful. He was generously endowed with the qualities of a great sovereign and devoted his entire life to one policy. Sciences, arts and literature did not interest him at all. By nature he had the gift of sarcasm. This made his speech strong and bright. He spoke many languages fluently: Latin, Italian, Spanish, French, English and German. By upbringing he was a strict Calvinist, but he always showed enviable religious tolerance.
Such a person could not remain on the sidelines for long. All he lacked was an opportunity to become the head of the republic. Such an opportunity presented itself in 1672, when the war with France began. First, the States General appointed Wilhelm to the position of captain general. Soon, heavy defeats and the uncontrollable invasion of the French produced a revolution in the minds of the Dutch: all hopes were now placed only on the Prince of Orange. Due to unrest that broke out in many cities, Wilhelm was proclaimed Stadtholder in July. In August, the rebellious mob killed Jan Witt and his brother in The Hague. If Wilhelm was not the direct inspirer of these events, he undoubtedly approved of them wholeheartedly. The entire state submitted to the will of the young stadtholder. He found the country already under French rule, and the Dutch army pushed back beyond the line of dams. There was only one last resort left to stop the enemy, and Wilhelm did not hesitate to use it - he ordered the locks to be opened and the sea was released against the invaders. In the fall, the Dutch switched from defense to offensive actions, penetrated all the way to Maastricht, then invaded France and besieged Charlesroi. The Elector of Brunswick and Emperor Leopold entered into an alliance with Holland. The appearance of the imperial army on the Rhine forced Louis XIV to divide his troops. Following this, the Spanish king began the war against France. In 1673 the French were driven out of the Netherlands. The Anglo-French fleet, after a fierce battle at Cape Gelder, had to retreat from the Dutch shores. These victories brought Wilhelm enormous popularity. He was declared hereditary stadtholder and captain general of Holland, Zeeland and Utrecht. The war moved to Spanish Belgium. In the summer of 1674, William, at the head of Spanish and Dutch troops, gave battle to the French commander Prince of Conde at Senef, near Deven. After much bloodshed, victory, although incomplete, remained with the French. William abandoned his intention to invade France and retreated. The following year, the French captured the entire Meuse line - they took the fortresses of Guy, Luttich and Limburg. In 1676, William was unable to save the Spanish fortresses of Bouchain and Condé, besieged by Louis XIV himself. He wanted to take revenge for this by taking Maastricht, but was forced to retreat from it. The famous Dutch admiral Ruyter, who went with the squadron to the Mediterranean Sea, was completely defeated there by Admiral Duquesne and himself fell in battle. In 1677, the French captured Valenciennes, Cambrai and Saint-Omer. William tried to liberate the last city, but was defeated at Moncassel. In 1678 he made peace in Amsterdam. Louis returned Maastricht to Holland, and to William the Principality of Orange. So favorable conditions Peace was greatly facilitated by William's marriage to Mary, daughter of the Duke of York (the future English king James II). This marriage was based on pure political calculation and, nevertheless, turned out to be successful. True, at first Wilhelm could not boast of marital fidelity. But Mary endured her sorrows with meekness and patience, and gradually acquired the love and affection of her husband. Amsterdam world couldn't be long. In 1681, Louis took possession of Strasbourg. After this, Wilhelm and the Swedish king Charles XI signed an alliance treaty directed against France in The Hague. The Emperor and the Spanish King soon joined this alliance. In 1686 the union was formalized into the League of Outsburg.
At this time, fate provided Wilhelm with the opportunity to significantly expand his power. In June 1688, he received a formal invitation from England, from Tory and Whig leaders, to take the English throne. They wrote to him that nineteen out of twenty Englishmen were thirsty for change and would willingly unite to overthrow James. The authors of the letter promised the prince complete success if he came to England at the head of a detachment of 10 thousand people. Wilhelm immediately began to prepare for the campaign. It was very important to turn in your direction public opinion. Wilhelm took care of this in advance by drawing up a manifesto, every word of which was thought out and had weight. He announced that he was speaking in defense of the English laws, which were constantly being violated by the present king, and in defense of the faith, which was subjected to such obvious oppression. He swore that he had no thoughts of conquest and that his army would be maintained by the strictest discipline. As soon as the country is freed from tyranny, he will send the troops back. Its sole purpose is to convene a freely and legally elected parliament. He promised to submit all public affairs to this parliament for consideration.
On October 19, William and his fleet sailed to England, but a strong storm and contrary wind forced him to return. This delay disheartened his English allies, but the prince himself reacted to the failure with complete calm. On November 1, he went to sea for the second time. This time he was completely successful. On November 5, the ships entered the harbor of Tore, and William's army, without meeting any resistance, landed on the English coast. The population greeted her with joyful cries. London was very worried in anticipation of further events. All the sympathies of the British were on the side of William. King James tried to escape, was detained on the shore by fishermen and moved to Rochester. After his departure, on December 18, William solemnly entered London. He wisely refused the crown, which was offered to him by right of conquest, and left the resolution of all controversial issues to parliament. Since James's only parliament had been elected in violation of the laws, the House of Lords summoned on December 26th those members of the House of Commons who had sat in the last parliament of Charles II. This chamber passed a law granting temporary powers to govern the country to the Prince of Orange and voted him 100 thousand pounds sterling for current expenses. Then elections were called for a new parliament. It met the following year and opened its sessions on 22 January. On January 28, it was decided to consider Jacob’s flight tantamount to his formal abdication. The question of who should take the vacant throne caused long controversy. Everyone understood that only Wilhelm could really rule the country now, but the Tories really did not want to proclaim him king. They offered to transfer the crown to his wife Maria. To this, William replied that he would never agree to be his wife’s servant, and if the power was not given to him personally, he would immediately leave England. In view of this, the Tories reluctantly agreed that the kingship should be transferred to both Mary and William. However, government power was entrusted to William alone and was supposed to remain with him even if he survived his wife. The crown was then to be inherited by their children, and if the marriage remained fruitless, by Mary's sister, Anna. But before handing over power to William, Parliament adopted a bill of rights: it clearly set out the basic principles government system England. Among other things, it was stated that the king, without the consent of parliament, could not impose or collect any taxes, convene an army in peacetime, in any way interfere with the free work of parliament and interfere with the affairs of justice, which should be carried out freely and independently on the basis of existing laws. On April 11, William and Mary were crowned kings of England.
The great advantage of the new sovereign was his sincere religious tolerance. Already in May, he very favorably received a deputation from the Scottish Parliament, which informed him of the restoration of the Presbyterian Church in the country. William tried only to ensure that persecution of followers of Anglicanism did not begin in Scotland. Soon, on the initiative of the king, the “Act of Tolerance” was adopted. Although the religious tolerance it proclaimed was very limited and freed only a small part of dissidents from persecution, the Act nevertheless became an important step towards freedom of conscience. Catholics did not receive any relief, but more for political than religious reasons. Both in England and Scotland, the positions of supporters of the deposed king (they were called Jacobites) were strong, among whom the fanatical Anglican clergy, who were very suspicious of William’s religious tolerance, played a large role. Already in 1689, powerful Jacobite uprisings took place in Ireland and the Scottish Highlands. In the summer of 1690, William crossed at the head of a large army to Ireland. Here, on July 30, a decisive battle took place on the Boyne River, in which the British won a complete victory. Dublin surrendered without a fight. All the rebels' estates were confiscated, many of them were forced to leave their homeland. William was recognized as king in all three parts of the state.
In October, William crossed to the continent to wage war against the French. In February 1691, he went to The Hague, where a large congress of the Allies was taking place. It was decided to field an army of 120,000 against France. But before it could be assembled, Louis XIV, who personally commanded the troops in the Netherlands, took Mons, and Marshal Luxembourg defeated the Dutch army at Leze near Tournai. In June 1692, the French took Namur, and in August the Battle of Stenkerken took place, in which the British and Dutch were again defeated. In July 1693, in a bloody battle near the village of Nerwindem, Wilhelm was defeated for the third time. The Allies lost more than 14 thousand people and all their artillery. However, this victory gave little to the French. Wilhelm quickly recovered. In addition, his opponent, Marshal Luxembourg, soon died. The Duke of Villeroy, who replaced him, was much inferior to him in energy. In 1695, William took Namur. Every year he became more and more dependent on British subsidies. To get them, he was forced to make new concessions to parliament. So a law was passed that the king was obliged to convene parliament every year and that the composition of the House of Commons should be renewed every three years. Censorship was destroyed. Ministers became responsible to parliament rather than to the king.
In 1697, a peace was signed, under the terms of which Louis XIV formally recognized William as the English king. It was important success, which crowned his twenty-five-year struggle against France, but Wilhelm considered the concluded peace only a respite and wanted to soon resume hostilities. He dreamed of achieving complete victory over Louis, but parliament decisively stood in the way of his plans. In 1699, the deputies decided to reduce the English army to 7 thousand people, and only the English could serve in it (before this, the army was formed mainly from the Dutch). The offended king left for his Dutch residence. The British did not really regret this, but subsequent events showed that William foresaw the future better. Several years of peace passed, and the dispute over the Spanish inheritance began to clearly develop into a new European war against France. An unfortunate fall from his horse and subsequent sudden death prevented the king from taking part in it, but his projects and his hatred of the French were inherited by his successors.
William III, Prince of Orange, or Willem van Oranje-Nassau (Dutch. Willem Hendrik, Prins van Oranje; November 4, 1650, The Hague - March 8, 1702, London) - ruler of the Netherlands (stathouder) from June 28, 1672, king of England (under named William III, English William III) from February 13, 1689 and King of Scotland (under the name William II, English William II) from April 11, 1689.
English historians almost unanimously give William III as the ruler of England and Scotland, I highly appreciate it. During his reign, profound reforms were carried out that laid the foundation of the country's political and economic system. These years saw the rapid rise of England and its transformation into a powerful world power. At the same time, a tradition is being established according to which the power of the monarch is limited by a number of legal provisions established by the fundamental “Bill of Rights of English Citizens”.
William Henry of Orange was born in The Hague in the Republic of the United Provinces on November 4, 1650. He was the only child of Stadtholder William II of Orange and Mary Henrietta Stuart. Mary was the eldest daughter of King Charles I and sister of Charles II and James II.
Six days before William was born, his father died of smallpox; Therefore, William bore the title of Prince of Orange from birth. A conflict immediately arose over the baby's name between Mary and William II's mother Amalia of Solms-Braunfels. Maria wanted to name him Karl after his brother, but her mother-in-law insisted on the name "Wilhelm" to reinforce the idea that he would be a Stadtholder. According to the will of William II, his wife became his son's guardian; however, the document was not signed at the time of death and had no legal force. On 13 August 1651, the Supreme Court of Holland and Zeeland ruled that custody would be shared by his mother, paternal grandmother and the Elector of Brandenburg, Friedrich Wilhelm, whose wife Louise Henriette was the elder sister of the baby's father.
Wilhelm's mother was not particularly interested in her son, who saw her quite rarely, and always consciously separated herself from Dutch society. At first, several Dutch governesses, some from England, were involved in William's education. From April 1656, every day the prince received religious instructions from the Calvinist preacher Cornelius Trigland, a follower of the theologian Gisbertus Voetius. The ideal education for Wilhelm is described in the Discours sur la nourriture de S. H. Monseigneur le Prince d'Orange, a short treatise possibly authored by one of Wilhelm's mentors, Constantijn Huygens. According to this material, the prince was taught that he was destined to become an instrument of God's Providence, fulfilling the historical destiny of the Orange dynasty.
From the beginning of 1659, Wilhelm spent seven years at the University of Leiden, where he studied under the guidance of Professor Hendrik Bornius (although he was not officially listed among the students). While living in Delft, William had a small retinue, which included Hans Wilhelm Bentinck and the new tutor, Frederick of Nassau de Zuylenstein, William's paternal uncle, illegitimate son Frederick Henry of Orange. French language he was taught by Samuel Chapezou (after the death of his mother, Wilhelm's grandmother fired him).
Grand Pensionary Jan de Witt and his uncle Cornelis de Graaf forced the States of Holland to take responsibility for William's education. This was to ensure that they received the skills for future public service; On September 25, 1660, the States began to act. The first government intervention did not last long. His mother went to London to visit his brother Charles II and died of smallpox in Whitehall; Wilhelm was then ten years old. In her will, Maria asked Charles to look after her son's interests, and now Charles demanded that the States stop interfering. On September 30, 1661, they submitted to Charles. In 1661, Zuilenstein began working for Charles. He encouraged Wilhelm to write letters to his uncle asking him to help him someday become a stadtholder. After the death of William's mother, his education and guardianship became a matter of dispute between Orangemen and Republicans.
The States General tried with all its might to ignore these intrigues, but one of Charles’s conditions in the peace treaty following the second Anglo-Dutch War was to improve the position of his nephew. To reduce the threat from England, in 1666 the States officially declared him a student of the government. All pro-English courtiers, including Zuilenstein, were removed from William's entourage. Wilhelm asked de Witt to allow Zuilenstein to stay, but was refused. Witt, as the Republic's leading political figure, took Wilhelm's education into his own hands, tutoring him weekly on matters of state and often playing real tennis with him.
After the death of William's father, most of the provinces did not appoint a new stadtholder. The Treaty of Westminster, which ended the First Anglo-Dutch War, had a secret annex, introduced at the request of Oliver Cromwell: it required the adoption of an Act of Exclusion, which prohibited the Netherlands from appointing members of the Orange dynasty to the position of stadtholder. After the Stuart Restoration, it was declared that the act was no longer in force, since the English Republic (with which the treaty had been concluded) no longer existed. In 1660, Maria and Amalia tried to persuade the states of several provinces to recognize William as the future stadtholder, but everyone initially refused.
In 1667, when William III was about to turn 18, the Orange Party again tried to bring him to power, securing for him the positions of stadtholder and captain-general. To prevent the restoration of the influence of the Orange dynasty, de Witt allowed the pensionary of Haarlem, Gaspar Fagel, to induce the States of Holland to accept the "Eternal Decree". By decree, the captain-general of the Netherlands could not simultaneously be stadtholder of any of the provinces. But William's supporters continued to seek ways to raise his prestige, and on September 19, 1668, the States of Zealand proclaimed him "First of the Nobles." To accept this title, Wilhelm had to elude the attention of his teachers and secretly come to Middelburg. A month later, Amalia allowed William to rule her court independently and declared him of age.
The Dutch province, as a Republican stronghold, abolished the office of stadtholder in March 1670, and four more provinces followed. De Witt required every regent (city councilor) in Holland to swear an oath in support of the edict. Wilhelm considered this a defeat, but in fact a compromise was reached: de Witt would have preferred to ignore Wilhelm completely, but there was now the possibility of his promotion to member high command army. De Witt then admitted that Wilhelm might be a member of the Dutch Council of State, which was then the body controlling the military budget. On May 31, 1670, William became a member of the council with full voting rights, although de Witt insisted that he should only participate in the discussions.
In November 1670, William received permission to travel to England to persuade Charles to return at least part of the 2,797,859 guilders that the Stuarts owed to the House of Orange. Charles could not pay, but Wilhelm agreed to reduce the amount of the debt to 1,800,000 guilders. Charles discovered that his nephew was a devoted Calvinist and Dutch patriot, and reconsidered his desire to show him the Treaty of Dover with France, aimed at destroying the Republic of the United Provinces and installing William as the "sovereign" of the stump state. For his part, Wilhelm learned that Karl and Jacob were leading lives different from his, devoting more time to drinking, gambling and mistresses.
The following year it became clear to the Republic that an Anglo-French attack was inevitable. In the face of this threat, the States of Gelderland announced that they wished for William to become captain-general of the Army of the States of the Netherlands as soon as possible, despite his youth and inexperience. On 15 December 1671 the States of Utrecht officially supported this. On January 19, 1672, the States of Holland made a counterproposal: to appoint William for only one campaign. The Prince refused, and on 25 February a compromise was reached: an appointment from the Estates General for one summer, followed by an appointment without time limit on William's 22nd birthday. Meanwhile, in January 1672, Wilhelm wrote a letter to Charles, asking his uncle to take advantage of the situation and put pressure on the States to appoint William as Stadtholder. For his part, William would promote the union of the Republic and England and would promote the interests of England to the extent that “honor and loyalty to this state” would allow him. Karl did nothing about this and continued preparing for war.
In the early 1670s, the Netherlands was involved in endless wars with England and then with France. On July 4, 1672, 21-year-old Prince William was proclaimed stadtholder and commander-in-chief, and on August 20, the de Witt brothers were brutally torn to pieces by a crowd incited by Orangemen, supporters of the prince. Despite the fact that William of Orange was involved in this murder former ruler The Republic of Holland was never proven, it is known that he prevented the instigators of the murder from being brought to trial and even rewarded some of them: Hendrik Verhoeff with money, and others like Jan van Banheim and Jan Kiefit with high positions. This damaged his reputation as much as his subsequent punitive actions in Scotland, known to history as the Glencoe Massacre.
During these years, he showed remarkable abilities as a ruler, a strong character, tempered in difficult years Republican rule. With energetic measures, the young ruler stopped the French advance, then formed a coalition with Brandenburg, Austria and Spain, with the help of which he won a number of victories and brought England out of the war (1674).
In 1677, William married his cousin Mary Stuart, daughter of the Duke of York, the future King of England, James II. Contemporaries reported that the relationship between the spouses was warm and friendly. This alliance and the defeat of the army of Louis XIV at Saint-Denis in 1678 ended the war with France (though not for long).
In 1685, after the death of the English king Charles II, who had no legitimate children, William’s uncle and father-in-law, James II, who was unpopular among the people and among the ruling class, ascended the throne of England and Scotland. He was credited with the desire to restore Catholicism in England and conclude an alliance with France. For some time, Jacob's opponents hoped for the death of the elderly king, after which the throne of England would be taken by his Protestant daughter Mary, William's wife. However, in 1688, 55-year-old James II unexpectedly gave birth to a son, and this event served as the impetus for the coup. In rejection of the policies of King James, the main political groups united and agreed to invite the Dutch couple, Mary and William, to replace the “Catholic tyrant.” By this time, William had visited England several times and gained great popularity there, especially among the Whigs.
Also in 1688, James II intensified the persecution of the Anglican clergy and fell out with the Tories. He had practically no defenders left (Louis XIV was busy with the war for the Palatinate inheritance). The united opposition - parliament, clergy, townspeople, landowners - secretly sent a call to William to lead a coup and become king of England and Scotland.
On November 15, 1688, William landed in England with an army of 40 thousand infantry and 5 thousand cavalry. On his standard were inscribed the words: “I will support Protestantism and the freedom of England.” He met no resistance: the royal army, the ministry and even members of the royal family immediately went over to his side. The decisive factor was the support of the coup by the army commander, Baron John Churchill, who had previously been very close to King James II.
The old king fled to France. However, he did not accept defeat: in 1690, when Ireland rebelled against the British, James received military assistance from France and attempted to return to power. But William personally led the Irish expedition and in the battle on the Boyne River the Catholic army was defeated.
In January 1689, Parliament proclaimed William and his wife monarchs of England and Scotland on equal terms. The Whigs initially offered William to become a consort (simply the husband of the reigning Queen Mary), but Wilhelm categorically refused. Five years later, Maria died, and Wilhelm subsequently led the country himself. He ruled England, Scotland, Ireland, also maintaining his power in the Netherlands - until the end of his life.
During the first years of his reign, William fought against Jacob's supporters (Jacobites), defeating them first in Scotland (1689) and then in Ireland (at the Battle of the Boyne, 1690). Irish Protestants (Orangeists) still celebrate this day as a holiday and honor William of Orange as a hero. Orange color(family name for the Orange dynasty) on the flag of Ireland - a symbol of Protestants.
An irreconcilable opponent of the most powerful Catholic king of Europe, Louis XIV, William repeatedly fought against him on land and at sea while he was the ruler of the Netherlands. Louis did not recognize William as king of England and Scotland, supporting the claims of James II. To fight the Bourbon power, William of Orange created a powerful army and the most significant English fleet since the time of Elizabeth I. After a long series of wars, Louis XIV was forced to make peace and recognize William as the legitimate king of England (1697). Nevertheless, Louis XIV continued to support James II, and after his death in 1701, his son, who declared himself James III.
William was personally acquainted and friendly with the Russian Tsar Peter I, who during the Great Embassy (1697-1698) visited the Prince of Orange in both his possessions - both in the Netherlands and in England.
The reign of William III marked a decisive transition to a constitutional (parliamentary) monarchy. Under him, the Bill of Rights was adopted (1689) and a number of other fundamental acts that determined the development of the English constitutional and legal system for the next two centuries. The Act of Tolerance also played a positive role. It should be noted that religious toleration applied exclusively to Protestants who did not belong to the Church of England; infringements on the rights of Catholics continued until the second half of the 19th century centuries.
In 1694, with the support of the king, the Bank of England was founded, and in 1702, shortly before his death, the king approved the creation of a united East India Company. The flowering of literature (Jonathan Swift), science (Isaac Newton), architecture (Christopher Wren), and navigation began. Preparations for mass colonization are being completed North America. This is commemorated by the name of the capital of the Bahamas, Nassau (1695).
Shortly before his death (in 1701, after the death of the Duke of Gloucester’s infant nephew), William approved the “Act of Succession to the Throne,” according to which Catholics and persons married to Catholics could not occupy the British throne.
At the end of his life he suffered from asthma.
Wilhelm died of pneumonia, which was a complication after a broken shoulder. The king broke his shoulder in a fall from his horse, and it was rumored that it was caused by the horse stepping into a wormhole. The Jacobites then willingly raised a toast “to that mole” (“the gentleman in the black vest”). William and Mary had no children, and Mary's sister, Anne, took the throne.
Plan
Introduction
1 Biography
2 Family and children
3 Bibliography
Introduction
William (Willem) I of Orange, nicknamed the Silent (Dutch. Willem van Oranje; Willem de Zwijger, 1533-1584) - Prince of Orange, Count of Nassau, first Stadtholder (Stadtholder) of Holland and Zealand, one of the leaders of the Netherlands bourgeois revolution.
1. Biography
Wilhelm was born on April 24, 1533 in the city of Dillenburg in the German county of Nassau. He was the eldest son of Wilhelm, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg, and Juliana of Stolberg-Wernigerode. His father already had a daughter from a previous marriage, and his mother also already had four children from a previous marriage. He was baptized into the Lutheran Church on May 4, 1533. After him, four more brothers were born - Jan (1535-1606), Louis (1538-1574), Adolf (1540-1568), Hendrik (1550-1574) and eight sisters. Until the age of eleven, Wilhelm was raised in the Lutheran faith at the family castle of Dillenburg in Germany.
He owned vast lands in the Netherlands and France (Principality of Orange). Having acted at the head of the opposition of the Dutch nobility to the Spanish regime in the early 1560s, William, after the invasion of the Netherlands by the Spanish army (1567), took refuge in Germany and, with the help of German Protestant princes and French Huguenots, organized several campaigns in the Netherlands (1568, 1572).
The successes of the popular uprising in the north of the Netherlands prompted William I of Orange to go over to the side of the revolution; in 1572 he was recognized by the States of Holland and Zeeland as stadthouder (governor) of these provinces and received almost dictatorial powers.
In 1576, after the victory of the uprising in the south of the Netherlands, William moved from Holland to Brussels. In 1577, he took the post of ruward (the highest extraordinary administrative position) of Brabant and tried to wage a war against Spain, relying on foreign help.
William was assassinated on July 10, 1584 by the Spanish agent Balthasar Gerard. The assassin was hiding in the royal chambers at Prinsenhof and, when the prince entered, he shot him three times. Orange cried out: “Oh God, have pity on my soul... Have pity on this unfortunate people” (“Mon Dieu, ayez pitié de mon âme; mon Dieu, ayez pitié de ce pauvre peuple.”). He died almost instantly. He was buried in Delft, in the New Church.
2. Family and children
· 1st wife: (from 1551) Anne d'Egmont(1533-1555), Countess van Buren, daughter of Maximilian van Egmont, Count of Buren. Had 3 children, including:
1. Philip William of Orange (1554-1618), Prince of Orange; w- (from 1606) Eleanor de Bourbon-Condé (1587-1619), daughter of Prince Henry I de Bourbon-Condé.
· 2nd wife: (from 1561, divorced in 1574) Anna of Saxony(1544-1577), daughter of Elector Moritz of Saxony. Had 5 children, including:
1. Moritz of Orange (1567-1625), Count of Nassau, Stadtholder of Holland, Zealand, Geldern, Utrecht and others, Prince of Orange.
· 3rd wife: (from 1575) Charlotte de Bourbon-Monpensier(1547-1582), daughter of Duke Louis III de Montpensier. They had 6 children, including:
1. Elizabeth-Flandrina (1577-1642); m- (from 1595) Henry de La Tour d'Auvergne (1555-1623), Duke of Bouillon, one of their children was the Great Turenne;
2. Charlotte-Brabantine (1580-1631); m- (from 1598) Claude de La Tremouille (1566-1604), Duke of Thouars.
· 4th wife: (from 1583) Louise de Coligny(1555-1620), daughter of Count Gaspard II de Coligny, admiral of France. Had one son:
1. Friedrich-Henry (1584-1647), Prince of Orange, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht and others. His grandson, Wilhelm III Orange, ascended the throne of England.
Bibliography Rachfahl F., Wilhelm von Oranien..., Bd 1-3, Halle - Haag, 1906-24; Blok P. J., Willem de Eerste Prins van Oranje, dl 1-2, Arnst., 1919-20; Schelven A. A., Willem von Oranje , Haarlem, 1933. Links
Participation in wars:
Campaigns in the Netherlands (1568, 1572). War against Spain.
Participation in battles: Battle of Roermond. Battle between Erkelenz and Dahlem. Battle of Saint Valery. Battle of Gemmingen. Battle of Goethe. Battle of Montecourt. Capture of Roermond. Battle between Bergenop Zoo and Romersval. Battle of Mookerheiden. Battle of Gembloux.
He came from the princely family of Nassau. At Emperor Charles V was appointed Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland and Utrecht. During the reign of the Spanish king Philip II, especially during the period of administration of the Netherlands Duke of Alba, Wilhelm became the head of the opposition and, leaving the borders of Holland, took over the general leadership of the uprising.
As a German sovereign prince, William had the right to maintain his own army and navy, which he took advantage of to equip troops for the invasion of the Netherlands using his own funds and those of Dutch patriots, as well as a Huguenot subsidy. His first detachment of three thousand people under the command Villara crossed the border at Julierie (near Maastricht) and was defeated on April 25, 1568. under Roermond, and between Erkelenz and Dahlem in clashes with the Spanish detachment Sanho de Lodronje. The second detachment, composed of Huguenots under the command de Coqueville, was defeated on July 18, 1568 upon entering Artois at Saint Valery Picardy governor Marshal de Lossay and thrown abroad. The third squad was defeated at Gemmingen.
However, these failures did not weaken the energy of William of Orange, and at the end of September 1568 he managed to concentrate a new army of forty thousand in the Trier province, near the Romersdorf monastery. Wanting to take revenge for his defeat at Gemmingen, Wilhelm moved to Brabant to Keizerslaber (near Maastricht), where the Spanish army stood in a fortified camp Alba, which avoided a decisive battle. 29 times the prince changed positions, and with each movement the duke followed him, avoiding battle. The local population refused food to the prince, fearing anger Alba. William of Orange's dissatisfied mercenaries began to rebel, demanding payment of money, and with great difficulty he managed to suppress the indignation in his own camp. Vanguard clashes continued as before, but it did not come to a battle. The prince was forced to retreat to Stokem, and from there to Togru, where he was followed by the Spanish army, which became in close proximity.
From Togr, William moved to St. Trond, pursued by troops Alba. Following south, to Zhoduan, he took the direction of Waveron, where French reinforcements were supposed to arrive Count Zhanlis, who had already crossed the Meuse at Charlemont. Approaching the Goethe River on October 20, 1568, William of Orange put forward a detachment of three thousand, under the cover of which he began to transfer the army to the other bank. Then Duke of Alba sent four thousand infantry and three hundred cavalry and easily destroyed the covering detachment. Deceived in his hopes for a general battle and for the support of the local population, William of Orange after the defeat under Goethe retreated to Waveron, where at the end of October he united with a detachment of three thousand Zhanlisa. The uprising, which could have become general if victory had been achieved, became impossible. Rebellious outbreaks in the rebel camp became more frequent, and he Zhanlisi other French officers began to demand that the prince leave the Netherlands and move to the aid of the Huguenots, who had resumed religious war. However, German mercenaries spoke out against this plan, who did not want to fight against Charles IX in France. In these conditions William of Orange was forced to withdraw his troops through Champagne and Lorraine to Strasbourg and disband there.
Having settled matters regarding the payment of salaries to the troops, William of Orange joined the detachment Duke of Depont, recruited in Germany to support the French Huguenots. But soon a battle took place near Jarnac, as a result of which the Huguenot army was defeated. William of Orange, with a detachment of more than a thousand horsemen, accompanied by two of his brothers, joined the army Coligny. But soon something new happened Battle of Montecourt, where the Huguenot army was finally defeated and scattered. Even earlier, William of Orange, having changed into a simple dress, managed to pass through the enemy front and return safely to Germany in the fall of 1569.
During 1571, he was preparing a new expedition, sending his agents to places where help could be obtained. April 1, 1572 his supporters captured the Brillem fortress, whose inhabitants swore allegiance to William of Orange as royal governor of Holland. This was the beginning of a new uprising, which soon spread throughout the northern provinces. But while all these events were happening, William of Orange remained in Germany, busy recruiting troops and raising money. He managed to recruit an army consisting of fifteen thousand infantry and seven thousand cavalry, which was joined by another three thousand Walloons.
On July 7 he crossed the Rhine at Duisburg, and on July 23, after a strong cannonade took possession of Roermond. Here he had to stay for a whole month, since his troops, due to lack of money, refused to further march to the Netherlands. Only after receiving a guarantee from the Dutch cities for a three-month salary did William of Orange cross the Meuse on August 27 and move through Diet, Tirlemont, Shechem, Luvan, Meheln and Thurmond to Oudenard and Nivelle. Many cities let his troops through, others were bought off with money. Meanwhile, the city of Monet, captured on May 23 by his brother William Louis of Nassau, was besieged by Spanish troops Don Frederico de Toledo and could barely hold on. Soon after taking Mons, Louis sent Count Zhanlis to France for reinforcements promised to him Charles IX, and asked him to unite with his brother’s troops and only then, with joint forces, begin an offensive towards Mons. However, the Huguenot leader ignored this advice and on July 19 was defeated just two miles from Mons. Only about a hundred soldiers were able to enter Monet, and this was the only help Louis received from France, on which he had such high hopes.
At this time, William of Orange arrived in Peronne, and Duke of Alba- to the camp of the Spanish troops besieging Monet. Wilhelm's position again became critical. He could neither attack Alba in his camp nor send reinforcements to the besieged Monet. 11 September 4,000 troops Don Frederico occupied the village of Saint-Florian near the fortress, while the army of William of Orange himself was camped half a mile from the said village, at Herminy, from where he tried to bring reinforcements to Monet.
On the night of September 12, Dol Frederico made an attempt to attack the camp of William of Orange. Six hundred selected musketeers under the command Juliana Romero, creeping up to the advanced posts of the Orangemen, killed the sentries and took the rebels by surprise. For two hours, the Spaniards destroyed the enemy, who was unaware of the small number of Spaniards. Only after the Spaniards lit the tents did the light of the fire show the Orangemen the small number of the enemy. However, before they could launch a counterattack, Romero was able to withdraw his musketeers without losing fifty men. The Orangemen lost more than six hundred people. William of Orange was forced to withdraw his army to Nivelle, informing his brother about the failure of the expedition and advising him to agree to surrender on possibly acceptable terms.
September 19 Monet capitulated. William of Orange, having crossed the Meuse, headed towards the Rhine. Having crossed it to Orsua, he disbanded his troops and returned alone to Holland. He no longer hoped to gather a new army and was now only trying to help Harlem, besieged by the troops of Don Frederico.
He sent food and supplies to the city and formed a detachment of four thousand in Leiden de la Marca, intending to introduce it into the besieged city, and after the defeat inflicted on this detachment by Romero's troops, he raised a new detachment of two thousand with seven guns and several wagons of shells under the command of Batenburg. But this detachment suffered the same fate as the first.
At the end of January, William of Orange still managed to transport a supply of gunpowder and grain to the city on 170 sleighs on the ice of Lake Harlem and four hundred reinforcements. When the lake opened up at the end of February, William of Orange acquired several dozen ships various sizes. Naval clashes began to occur almost daily, until finally, on May 28, the Spanish squadron of Bossu defeated the Orange fleet.
Nevertheless, William of Orange tried in June to launch a third expedition to assist Haarlem, sending four hundred wagons with supplies with Batenburg's five thousand detachment. On June 8, at dusk, the detachment set out from Sassenheim and might have safely reached the besieged city if, two days earlier, carrier pigeons carrying letters containing details of the upcoming expedition had not been shot down by the Spaniards. The discovered correspondence was immediately delivered to Don Frederico's camp, and he immediately made the appropriate orders. After a fierce battle, almost the entire Batenburg detachment was exterminated or scattered. The last hope for the release of the blockade of Harlem was lost, and on July 13 its surrender to the Spaniards followed. After this, Don Frederico attacked the city of Alkmeer, located at the end of the peninsula between the lagoons and meadows of North Holland, and by August 21, 1573, he closely surrounded it. Three assaults launched by the Spaniards were unsuccessful, and the huge losses suffered by the attacking troops left a grave impression on the Spanish army. The soldiers began to refuse to launch a new assault. Knowing this, William of Orange ordered the dams to be broken to flood the country and sweep the entire Spanish army into the sea. But his plans accidentally became known to Don Frederico. On October 8, the siege, which had lasted seven weeks, was lifted and Spanish troops retreated to Amsterdam.
Three days later the Dutch flotilla Admiral Dirozoon destroyed in the waters of the North Sea a numerically superior Spanish squadron under the command of Admiral Bossu. The following year, William of Orange began actions to capture Middolburg, occupied by the Spanish troops of Mondrabon, which was assisted by the entire Spanish army under the command of Zunit Reckwesens, who replaced the Duke of Alba in the Netherlands. January 30, 1574 between Bergenop Zoo and Romersval A naval battle took place in which the Spanish squadron was defeated, and on February 18 the siege of Middolburg was lifted. The Orangemen failed to achieve any other successes, and in Battle of Mookerheiden they were defeated. Both brothers of William of Orange died in this battle.
But soon unrest began in the Spanish army, which allowed William to provide assistance Leiden, besieged by Spanish troops General Valdez. At this time, the main apartment of William of Orange was located in Delft, near which there was the Polederwart fortress, which was attacked by Valdez on July 29. However, the assault was repulsed, and the prince retained his position, the only one that allowed him to hope to free Leiden from the siege. He tried to cause a flood around the city, but this attempt failed, and therefore he had to turn to other means. Under the leadership of William of Orange and his active assistant Admiral Boisot More than two hundred ships and about three thousand sailors were assembled. On the night of September 11, the Orangemen captured Landscheidin, but then the water turned out to be too shallow for ships. On September 18, the water rose again, and this made it possible for Boizot's flotilla to approach the besieged city. The Spaniards were pushed back into the belt of forts in the immediate vicinity of Leiden. After the shallow waters set in, on the night of October 2, a storm raised the water again, which made it possible for Boiseau’s flotilla to approach the besieged city, and on October 3 it was liberated.
However, William of Orange's attempt to provide assistance to the city of Zierik-See, besieged by troops Mondragena was not successful. May 25 Admiral Boisot tried to bring reinforcements into the city from the sea, but his attack on the Spanish barriers ended in failure. June 21, 1576 Zierik See surrendered to the Spaniards.
Immediately after his surrender, a mutiny of Spanish troops broke out. The soldiers occupied the citadels of Ghent, Antwerp, Precht and Valenciennes, and plundered Alost, Maastricht and Antwerp. William of Orange took advantage of the mutiny of the Spanish troops to induce the Council of State to hold a general meeting of the Estates General in Ghent. But the Ghent citadel, which dominated the city, was still in the hands of the Spaniards and, despite the small number of the garrison, held out stubbornly. Only after William of Orange sent reinforcements from Zealand on November 8, 1576 did the citadel fall.
Four days before the promulgation of the Truce of Ghent, a new governor, the king's son, arrived in the Netherlands John of Austria. Negotiations between him and William of Orange led nowhere, since both pursued completely opposite goals. Don Juan insisted on restoring the absolute power of the king and the dominance of Catholicism in the Netherlands. The prince demanded the restoration of the old constitution and complete religious freedom. Reinforcements have already arrived on both sides. On January 31, 1578, a thirty-thousand-strong Spanish army, consisting of selected Spanish-Italian veterans, struck at Zhem-blue defeat of the Dutch troops and soon captured almost the entire territory of the Netherlands. On October 1, Don Juan died, leaving his assistant as his successor. Alexander of Parma. Meanwhile, on the initiative of William of Orange, the northern provinces, seeing the unreliability of their alliance with the southern ones and their indecision and constant hesitation, concluded the so-called Union of Utrecht. This marked the beginning of a special federal state. The union was drawn up in the name of the king, but already in 1581 the united provinces seceded from Spain.
July 10, 1584 William of Orange was killed Balthasar Gerard in Delft. His death took away all hope of uniting all of the Netherlands into one republic, and Spanish rule over the southern provinces (Belgium) continued until 1714.
WILLIAM III of Orange(English) William, Netherlands Willem van Oranje) (November 4 (14), 1650, The Hague - March 19, 1702, London), King of England and Scotland from 1689, Stadtholder of the Republic of the United Provinces from 1672. The reign of William III of Orange became for England the time of the formation of the principles of parliamentarism.
Stathouder of Holland
The son of William II of Orange and Mary Stuart, daughter of Charles I Stuart, heir to the House of Orange was born after the death of his father. A few years later, the Estates General of the Republic of the United Provinces decided to deny William III the position of Stadtholder, which was traditionally inherited by the Princes of Orange. Later, the position of state leader was completely abolished. The prince grew up under the control of Republicans, who suspected him of trying to seize power in the country.
William of Orange, surrounded by enemies and political rivals since childhood, became a cautious, secretive and withdrawn person. From his youth, he prepared himself for a political career; his education and interests were subordinated to this goal. He spoke eight languages (except Dutch), but showed little interest in art or literature. Despite his strict Calvinist upbringing, the Prince of Orange was rather indifferent to matters of religion, but was a sincere supporter of religious tolerance.
From 1667, Wilhelm received the right to sit on the State Council, thereby beginning a political career. Gradually, his popularity in the country and army grew along with the decline in the prestige of the republican government of Jan de Witt. From the early 1670s, with the growing French threat, William led the army of Holland, and in 1672, at the beginning of the war, he was appointed to the restored post of stadthouder. Under his leadership, the Dutch managed to turn the tide of military operations in favor of France: its troops invaded deep into Dutch territory, and the French fleet dominated the sea. However, the flooding of part of the country, carried out by order of William III, stopped the advance of the French. A coup d'état took place in Holland itself. Jan de Witt was killed and control of the state passed to the Stadthouder. Having gained power, William III managed to find allies in the fight against France (England, the Holy Roman Empire, Spain). As a result of the war that ended in 1678, Holland managed to defend its independence and the integrity of its territory.
Chances of the English throne
The alliance with England was marked by the marriage of William III to his cousin Mary, the eldest daughter of the Duke of York, who later became King James II Stuart. This marriage gave William a chance at the English throne. He began to establish contacts with the English Protestant opposition, gradually organizing a circle of his supporters in Britain, and strengthening the alliance against Louis XIV of Bourbon.
The marriage to Mary Stuart was the result of a political calculation. William III of Orange was not prone to marital fidelity. However, relations between the spouses remained quite warm thanks to Mary's affection for her husband and her complete non-interference in state affairs. William's contacts with the English Protestant opposition aroused suspicion among the Duke of York, who feared that his son-in-law was trying to bypass him to become king of England. These fears were reinforced by the fact that in 1680, at the height of the conflict over the succession to the throne in England, the Prince of Orange offered himself as a “protector” (ruler) under the Catholic king as a guarantee of the preservation of the Protestant faith. After the defeat of the Whig opposition in the early 1680s, William provided its leaders with refuge in Holland. The figure of the Prince of Orange becomes a banner for all those dissatisfied with the policies of James II.
After the birth of a son to James II, who deprived the Prince of Orange of the chance to become king of England legally, the opposition leaders, uniting representatives of different parties in their ranks, turned to William with a letter calling on him to come to England and rid it of the tyranny of James Stuart. In the spring of 1688, Wilhelm decided to act and began preparing a landing force for landing in England.
Glorious Revolution
On October 10, 1688, William issued a declaration in which he promised to come to the aid of the English nation in order to preserve “the Protestant religion, liberty, property and a free parliament.” On October 19, 1688, 600 ships of the Dutch fleet with an army of 15,000 on board set off for England and a few days later landed troops in the southwest of the country. Soldiers and officers of the army of King James II Stuart went over to William's side; he was also supported by uprisings in a number of counties. The English nobles en masse went over to the side of the challenger. In December 1688, William entered London, from where James II managed to escape. Hastily assembled deputies of the "Whig" parliaments of 1679-1681 declared him the temporary ruler of the country and called elections to a new parliament, which was supposed to resolve the issue of state power.
The opposition that brought William to power was not unique: the Tory Protestants who supported him were afraid of violating the principle of legitimacy and abandoning the hereditary monarchy. They proposed transferring power to James II's rightful heir, Mary, with her husband, William III, to become co-emperor. Some Whigs sought to establish a republic. The Prince of Orange was not satisfied with both options, which deprived him of the power that he had counted on. According to a compromise reached by him and both houses of the new parliament, William and Mary were elected king and queen, but William's wife never interfered in the affairs of government, and William III became the de facto ruler.
During the reign of William of Orange, a regime of constitutional monarchy was actually established in England. The new king received power with a number of restrictions formulated in the Bill of Rights adopted by Parliament in 1689: the king could not suspend laws or levy taxes. Parliament met annually from then on: it controlled the allocation of funds to the king and the armed forces. Freedom of parliamentary debate was guaranteed. The king retained the right to convene and dissolve parliament, he was free to elect and dismiss ministers, but ministers were responsible to parliament. According to the Bill of Tolerance adopted in the summer of 1689, some sectarians were exempt from persecution. The Bill of Toleration did not apply to Catholics, although in fact, during the reign of William III, persecution against them ceased.
English king
Despite William's victory, many supporters of the deposed King James II (Jacobites) remained in the British Isles: immediately after the coup, powerful uprisings broke out in Scotland and Ireland, which were suppressed only in 1691. But even later, conspiracies to raise a rebellion or kill William III of Orange did not stop.
The French king Louis XIV of Bourbon supported the deposed James II Stuart and refused to recognize the achievements of the Glorious Revolution. William III of Orange, in turn, initiated the creation of the League of Augsburg, hostile to France. As a result of the War of the Palatinate Succession (1688-1697), William III of Orange achieved international recognition of his rights to the English throne and a number of important concessions from the defeated French.
After the conclusion of the Peace of Ryswick in 1697, William III of Orange made great efforts to reach an agreement with Louis XIV of Bourbon regarding the fate of the Spanish possessions after the death of the childless King Charles II of Habsburg. The contenders for the Spanish throne were French Bourbons and the Austrian Habsburgs. William III of Orange sought to prevent excessive strengthening of either France or Austria. According to an agreement reached in 1701, the French Prince Philip was to receive Spanish territories in Italy, and Spain itself, along with other possessions, was to go to the Austrian Habsburgs. This project caused criticism in the English Parliament, which believed that British interests were not sufficiently taken into account.
After the death of Charles II of Habsburg french king refused to comply with the treaty and put forward claims to all Spanish possessions. The Austrian Habsburgs opposed it. In 1701, the War of the Spanish Succession began. However, English society was not ready for war. It was dominated by fears that a large army under the command of the king could become an instrument for a return to an absolutist regime.
However, after Louis XIV of Bourbon granted French merchants privileges in trade with the Spanish colonies in America, thereby infringing on the interests of the Dutch and English, public opinion changed. In addition, in 1701, James II Stuart, who was living in exile, died, and the French king recognized his son as the legitimate king of England - James III. In response, Parliament voted to provide funds to prepare the British army for war. At the height of military preparations, William III of Orange died and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
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