biography
| name: |
William I (of Orange),
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known as William the Silent
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1533–84)
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| biography:
| Dutch ruler, born in Dillenburg, WC Germany, the eldest son of William of Nassau (the Rich). Brought up at Charles V's court, he had a distinguished military career, was made Knight of the Golden Fleece, was appointed stadtholder (governor) of Holland, Zeeland, and Utrecht by Philip II of Spain (1559–67), and in 1569 was made a member of the Council of State. He married (1) Anne of Buren, (2) Anne of Saxony-Meissen, (3) Charlotte de Bourbon, and (4) Louise de Coligny, and had three sons (Philip William, Maurice, and Frederick Henry), and eleven daughters. After the Treaty of Cateau Cambresis William was one of four hostages chosen by the French king to go to Paris. According to an apocryphal story Henry II of France told Orange of the secret plan, later carried out on St Bartholomew's night, to massacre all the leading Huguenots; Orange kept the secret to himself and so earned the soubriquet the Silent, but was always afterwards distrustful of France and Spain. He inherited the title of Prince of Orange from Réné de Chalon, and his first marriage in 1551 brought him extensive estates in The Netherlands, making him the most important aristocrat in The Netherlands. With other members of the aristocracy he opposed Philip II's oppressive policy, as carried out by Granvelle. He condemned the Iconoclasm, but on Alva's arrival retired to his German estates, having advised Egmont and Hoorn to do the same. From there, the following year (1568) he took up arms on the side of the reformed religion with little success, first with the German Lutheran princes and later (1568–70) with Admiral de Coligny in France. After the capture of Den Briel by the Sea Beggars in 1572 and Alva's capture of Malines, Zutphen, and Naarden, William finally committed himself to the revolt in the Netherlands, declared himself a Calvinist, was appointed stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, and Utrecht by the States-General, and took a leading part in achieving the Pacification of Ghent. After that had broken down into the two rival Unions of Arras and Utrecht, he supported the idea of François of Anjou as the new sovereign of The Netherlands. His support of Anjou and his departure from Antwerp before the siege reduced his popularity. In 1584 he was assassinated in Delft by Balthasar Gerards, a Spanish agent. |
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