biography
| name: |
William II (of Orange)
|
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (1626–50)
|
| biography:
| Prince of Orange, Count of Nassau, born in The Hague, W Netherlands, the only son of Stadtholder Frederick Henry and Amalia of Solms. In 1641 he married Mary, the daughter of Charles I of England. He succeeded his father as stadtholder of the provinces of the Northern Netherlands (except Friesland in 1647–50) and as captain-admiral-general of the Union in 1647. He was disappointed by the Treaty of Münster and fell out with the States of Holland, who wanted peace, while he wanted to recover the S Netherlands from Spain, and restore the Stuarts in England. In 1650 he arrested six members of the States of Holland and imprisoned them in Loevestein, and set out to capture Amsterdam, but the city was anxious to protect its trade, and came to a settlement. He died suddenly of smallpox. |
|
|
