Editing House of Orange-Nassau (section)

== Eighty Years' War ==
{{Main|Eighty Years' War}}
[[File:WilliamOfOrange1580.jpg|thumb|right|155px|[[William the Silent]], Prince of Orange, leader of the [[Dutch Revolt]], and stadholder of Holland, Zeeland, and Utrecht by [[Adriaen Thomasz. Key]], c. 1580]]
Although [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] pretended to resist the [[Protestant Reformation]], he ruled the Dutch territories wisely with moderation and regard for local customs, and he did not persecute his [[Protestant]] subjects on a large scale. His son [[Philip II of Spain|Philip II]] inherited his antipathy for the Protestants but not his moderation. Under the reign of Philip, a true persecution of Protestants was initiated and taxes were raised to an outrageous level. Discontent arose and William of Orange (with his vague [[Lutheran]] childhood) stood up for the Protestant (mainly [[Calvinist]]) inhabitants of the Netherlands.  Things went badly after the [[Eighty Years' War]] started in 1568, but luck turned to his advantage when Protestant rebels attacking from the North Sea captured [[Brielle]], a coastal town in present-day [[South Holland]] in 1572. Many cities in Holland began to support William. During the 1570s he had to defend his core territories in Holland several times, but in the 1580s the inland cities in Holland were secure. William of Orange was considered a threat to Spanish rule in the area and was assassinated in 1584 by a hired killer sent by Philip.<ref name=Blok/>{{rp|vol3,p177}}<ref name=Israel/>{{rp|216}}<ref name="Motley1">{{cite book |title=The Rise of the Dutch Republic|url=https://archive.org/details/risedutchrepubl35motlgoog|first=John Lothrop|last =Motley|publisher=Harper & Brothers|year=1855}}</ref>

William was succeeded by his second son [[Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange|Maurits]], a Protestant who proved an excellent military commander. His abilities as a commander and the lack of strong leadership in [[Spain]] after the death of Philip II (1598) gave Maurits excellent opportunities to conquer large parts of the present-day Dutch territory.<ref name=Blok/>{{rp|vol 3,pp243-253}}<ref name="Motley2">{{cite book |title=History of the United Netherlands from the Death of William the Silent to the Synod of Dort|url=https://archive.org/details/historyunitedne11motlgoog|first=John Lothrop |last =Motley|publisher=John Murray|location=London|year=1860}}</ref> In 1585 Maurits was elected [[stadtholder]] of the provinces of Holland and Zealand as his father's successor and as a counterpose to Elizabeth's delegate, the [[Robert Dudley, earl of Leicester|Earl of Leicester]]. In 1587 he was appointed captain-general (military commander-in-chief) of the armies of the [[Dutch Republic]]. In the early years of the 17th century there arose quarrels between stadtholder and [[oligarchy|oligarchist]] [[regenten|regents]]—a group of powerful merchants led by [[Johan van Oldebarnevelt]]—because Maurits wanted more powers in the Republic. Maurits won this power struggle by arranging the judicial murder of Oldebarnevelt.<ref name=Israel/>{{rp|421–432,459}}<ref name=Motley2/>