Dutch Royalty: Prince William I of Orange (1533-84)


Figure 1.-- Philip II upon the death of his father (Charles V) inherited many titles and lands including the Spanish Netherlands (1558). Philip lived in the Netherlands during the later years of his fathert's reign. He attempted to centralize power and usurp the historic rights of the local estates. Philip mwas also very harsh with the Dutch Protestants who were growing in number, but unlike Spain, there was no well-established Inquisition to deal with them. He decided to return to Spain (1559). This shows Philip berating William I, the Silent, Prince of Orange on the quay in Amsterdam as he left for Spain. Philip accused William of personally leading the resistance oif the Dutch nobility against the Emperor. At the time the Reformation was just beginning in the Netherlands. Philip and his retinue are on the left. Notice the Catholic priest. Prominently depicted are two unidentified page boys, probably Rui Gomes da Silva and Luis de Requesens. They are wearing fancy court clothing with a dog, part of Philiips retinue. In the background you cam see the sails of his ship. The king grasps the hand of Prince William while pointing his finger acusingly at him. William stands to the right holding his hat in his hand with his retinue, also including a more modestly dressed boy, perhaps one of his sons--William had 16 children. In the foreground a Spanish soldier is kneeling holding a box--perhaps Philip's treasure box. This was added to suggest thstr Pjilip had accumulated wealth in the Netherlands. This is not a contemprary portrait, but an historical creation painted by Dutch artist Cornelis Kruseman in 1832. So we have the Dutch view.

Revolt flared again led by William the Silent of the House of Orange (1568). William and the House of Orange are commonly seen as Dutch. They did not, however, begin in the Netherlands. In fact both were German. William was born in Hesse. He received both Protestant and Catholic teachngs as a boy. And William was a faithful servant of Emperor Charles V who rewarded him at a young age for his military service. Charles in return appounted him stadtholder of the counties Holland, Zeeland, and Utrecht. From this position he played a key role in the formation of the Dutch nation. Philip II upon the death of his father (Charles V) inherited many titles and lands including the Spanish Netherlands (1558). Philip lived in the Netherlands during the later years of his fathert's reign. He attempted to centralize power and usurp the historic rights of the local estates. Philip was also very harsh with the Dutch Protestants who were growing in number, but unlike Spain, there was no well-established Inquisition to deal with them. He decided to return to Spain (1559). This shows Philip berating William I, the Silent, Prince of Orange on the quay in Amsterdam as he left for Spain. Philip accused William of personally leading the resistance oif the Dutch nobility against the Emperor. At the time the Reformation was just beginning in the Netherlands. Here we Philip leaving for Soain (fogure 1). Philip would deal with the Dutch by sending a Spanish army. It was the beginning of which the Dutch call the 'tachtig jarige oorlog' -- the War for Independence which lasted for 80 years. Philip would deal with the Dutch by sending a Spanish army. Spain at the time was the strongest country in Europe with a powerful army. William was a deply religious man, but not particularly sectarian. And when Phulip II began to supress the Dutch, William came to their defense and played an imprtant part of the Dutch Revolt. The War for independence began with Prince William I of Orange's efforts to seize control of the Dutch provinces to protect them from King Philips plan to destoy Protestantism. He financed mercinary invasions (1568 and 1572). Both failed, supressed by the Duke of Alva. It was Geuzen raids, irregular Dutch land and sea forces, that sized control from the Spanish (1573). They completed the Reformation in Holland and Zeeland and firmly established Calvanist theology. The other provinces joined the revolt (1576) and a political union was forged. Philip declared William an outlaw and offered a reward of 25,000 crowns for his assassination knowing that he could not arrest William through Dutch courts (1581). A Burgundian Catholic Balthasar Gérard for both religious and political reasons as well as Philip's bounty shot William (1584). He was the first head of state to be assainated with a hand gun. It became a dreadful, vicious war as religious wars often are. Spanish brutality in the Netherlands was very much on the mind of Queen Elizabeth as the Spanish Armada approached (1588). Elizabeth had a spymaster, Sir Francis Walsingham, to protect her from Catholic assassins.








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Created: 3:51 AM 10/21/2015
Last updated: 11:58 AM 1/12/2021