Editing William the Silent (section)

==Career==

===Imperial favourite===
Being a ward of Charles V and having received his education under the tutelage of the Emperor's sister Mary, William came under the particular attention of the imperial family, and became a favourite. He was appointed [[Captain (OF-2)|captain]] in the [[cavalry]] in 1551 and received rapid promotion thereafter, becoming commander of one of the Emperor's armies at the age of 22. This was in 1555, when Charles sent him to [[Bayonne]] with an army of 20,000 to take the city in a siege from the French. William was also made a member of the [[Council of State (Netherlands)#Habsburg Netherlands|Raad van State]], the highest political advisory council in the Netherlands.<ref>As of 1549, the Low Countries, also known as the "Seventeen Provinces" comprised the present-day Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of northern France and Western Germany.</ref> It was in November of the same year (1555) that the gout-afflicted Emperor Charles leaned on William's shoulder during the ceremony when he abdicated the Low Countries in favour of his son, [[Philip II of Spain]].<ref>J. Thorold Rogers, ''[[s:The Story of Nations - Holland/Chapter 7|The Story of Nations: Holland]]''. London, 1889; Romein, J., and Romein-Verschoor, A. ''[http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/rome002erfl01_01/rome002erfl01_01_0006.htm Erflaters van onze beschaving]''. Amsterdam 1938–1940, p. 150. (Dutch, at [http://www.dbnl.org DBNL.org]).</ref> William was also selected to carry the insignia of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] to Charles's brother [[Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand]], when Charles resigned the imperial crown in 1556 and was one of the Spanish signatories for the April 1559 [[Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis]].{{sfn|Edmundson|1911|p=672}}

In 1559, Philip II appointed William [[stadtholder]] (governor) of the provinces of [[Holland]], [[Zeeland]] and [[Utrecht (province)|Utrecht]], thereby greatly increasing his political power.<ref>Wedgwood (1944) p. 34.</ref> A stadtholdership over [[Franche-Comté]] followed in 1561.

===From politician to rebel===

[[File:Philip II of Spain berating William the Silent Prince of Orange by Cornelis Kruseman.jpg|thumb|Philip II of Spain berating William the Silent by [[Cornelis Kruseman]]<ref>{{cite book| last = Motley| first = John Lothrop| title = The Rise of the Dutch Republic| publisher = Harper Brothers| volume = I| year = 1885| url = http://www.gutenberg.org/files/4811/4811-h/4811-h.htm |quote=As Philip was proceeding on board the ship which was to bear him forever from the Netherlands, his eyes lighted upon the Prince. His displeasure could no longer be restrained. With angry face he turned upon him, and bitterly reproached him for having thwarted all his plans by means of his secret intrigues. William replied with humility that every thing which had taken place had been done through the regular and natural movements of the states. Upon this the King, boiling with rage, seized the Prince by the wrist, and shaking it violently, exclaimed in Spanish, "{{lang|es|No los estados, ma vos, vos, vos!}}—Not the estates, but you, you, you!" repeating thrice the word {{lang|es|vos}}, which is as disrespectful and uncourteous in Spanish as {{lang|fr|"toi"}} in French.}}</ref>]]

Although he never directly opposed the Spanish king, William soon became one of the most prominent members of the opposition in the Council of State, together with [[Philip de Montmorency, Count of Hoorn]], and [[Lamoral, Count of Egmont]]. They were mainly seeking more political power for themselves against the ''de facto'' government of [[Charles de Berlaymont|Count Berlaymont]], Granvelle and [[Viglius|Viglius of Aytta]], but also for the Dutch nobility and, ostensibly, for the Estates, and complained that too many Spaniards were involved in governing the Netherlands. William was also dissatisfied with the increasing persecution of [[Protestant Church|Protestants]] in the Netherlands. Brought up as a Lutheran and later a Catholic, William was very religious but was still a proponent of freedom of religion for all people. The activity of the [[Inquisition of the Netherlands|Inquisition]] in the Netherlands, directed by [[Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle|Cardinal Granvelle]], prime minister to the new [[Governors of the Habsburg Netherlands|governor]] [[Margaret of Parma]] (1522–1583, natural half-sister to Philip II), increased opposition to Spanish rule among the then mostly Catholic population of the Netherlands. Lastly, the opposition wished to see an end to the presence of Spanish troops.

According to the ''Apology'', William's letter of justification, which was published and read to the [[States General of the Netherlands|States General]] in December 1580, his resolve to expel the Spaniards from the Netherlands had originated when, in the summer of 1559, he and the Duke of Alba had been sent to France as hostages for the proper fulfilment of the [[Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis]] following the Hispano-French war. During his stay in Paris, on a hunting trip to the Bois de Vincennes, King [[Henry II of France]] started to discuss with William a secret understanding between Philip II and himself aimed at the violent extermination of Protestantism in France, the Netherlands "and the entire Christian world".<ref>See William of Orange, ''Apologie contre l'édit de proscription publié en 1580 par Philippe II, Roi d'Espagne'', ed. A. Lacroix (Brussels, 1858), pp. 87–89 (French version); ''Apologie, ofte Verantwoordinghe'', ed. C. A. Mees (Antwerpen, 1923), pp. 48–50 (Dutch version); Pontus Payen, ''Mémoires'', I, ed. A. Henne (Brussels, 1860), pp. 6–9.</ref> The understanding was being negotiated by Alba, and Henry had assumed, incorrectly, that William was aware of it. At the time, William did not contradict the king's assumption, but he had decided for himself that he would not allow the slaughter of "so many honourable people", especially in the Netherlands, for which he felt a strong compassion.<ref>Lacroix (1858), p. 89; Mees (1923), p. 50.</ref>

On 25 August 1561, William of Orange married for the second time. His new wife, [[Anna of Saxony]], was described by contemporaries as "self-absorbed, weak, assertive, and cruel", and it is generally assumed that William married her to gain more influence in [[Saxony]], Hesse and the [[Electoral Palatinate|Palatinate]].<ref name="Wedgwood 1944 p. 49-50">Wedgwood (1944) pp. 49–50.</ref> The couple had five children. The marriage used Lutheran rites, and marked the beginning of a gradual change in his religious opinions, which was to lead William to revert to Lutheranism and eventually moderate [[Calvinism]]. Still, he remained tolerant of other religious opinions.{{sfn|Edmundson|1911|p=672}}

[[File:Intocht van de Prins van Oranje te Brussel 1577, Frans Hogenberg.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The triumphal entry of the Prince of Orange in [[Brussels]]. Print from ''The Wars of Nassau'' by [[Frans Hogenberg]].]]
Up to this time William's life had been marked by lavish display and extravagance. He surrounded himself with a retinue of young noblemen and dependents and kept open house in his magnificent [[Nassau Palace (Brussels)|Nassau palace]] at Brussels. Consequently, the revenue of his vast estates was not sufficient to prevent him being crippled by debt. But after his return from France, a change began to come over William. Philip made him councillor of state, knight of the Golden Fleece, and stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland and Utrecht, but there was a latent antagonism between the natures of the two men.{{sfn|Edmundson|1911|p=672}}

Up to 1564, any criticism of governmental measures voiced by William and the other members of the opposition had ostensibly been directed at Granvelle; however, after the latter's departure early that year, William, who may have found increasing confidence in his alliance with the Protestant princes of Germany following his second marriage,<ref>Herman Kaptein, ''De Beeldenstorm'' (2002), p. 22.</ref> began to openly criticise the King's anti-Protestant politics. In August of that year, Philip issued an order for carrying out the decrees of the anti-Protestant [[Council of Trent]].{{sfn|Edmundson|1911|p=672}} But, in an iconic speech to the [[Dutch Council of State|Council of State]], William to the shock of his audience justified his conflict with Philip by saying that, even though he had decided for himself to keep to the Catholic faith (at the time), he could not agree that monarchs should rule over the souls of their subjects and take from them their freedom of belief and religion.<ref>''"Et quamquam ipse Catholicae Religioni adhaerere constituerit, non posse tamen ei placere, velle Principes animis hominum imperare, libertatemque Fidei & Religionis ipsis adimere."'' C. P. Hoynck van Papendrecht, ''Vita Viglii ab Aytta'', in ''Analecta belgica I'', 41–42 (F. Postma, "Prefigurations of the future? The views on the boundaries of Church and State of William of Orange and Viglius van Aytta (1565–1566)", in A. A. McDonald and A. H. Huussen (eds.), ''Scholarly environments: centres of learning and institutional contexts, 1560–1960'' (2004), 15–32, esp. 15).</ref>

In early 1565, a large group of lesser noblemen, including William's younger brother [[Louis of Nassau|Louis]], formed the [[Compromise of Nobles|Confederacy of Noblemen]]. On 5 April, they offered a petition to Margaret of Parma, requesting an end to the persecution of Protestants. From August to October 1566, a wave of [[iconoclasm]] (known as the ''[[Beeldenstorm]]'') spread through the Low Countries. [[Calvinism|Calvinists]] (the major Protestant denomination), [[Anabaptists]], and [[Mennonites]], angered by Catholic oppression and theologically opposed to the Catholic use of images of saints (which in their eyes conflicted with the [[Ten Commandments|Second Commandment]]), destroyed statues in hundreds of churches and [[monastery|monasteries]] throughout the Netherlands.

Following the Beeldenstorm, unrest in the Netherlands grew, and Margaret agreed to grant the wishes of the Confederacy, provided the noblemen would help to restore order. She also allowed more important noblemen, including William of Orange, to assist the Confederacy, and William went to [[Antwerp]] where he succeeded in quelling the riot. In late 1566, and early 1567, it became clear that she would not be allowed to fulfill her promises, and when several minor rebellions failed, many Calvinists and [[Lutheran]]s fled the country. Following the announcement that Philip II, unhappy with the situation in the Netherlands, would dispatch his loyal general [[Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba]], or Alva (also known as "The Iron Duke"), to restore order, William laid down his functions and retreated to his native Nassau in April 1567. He had been financially involved with several of the rebellions.

After his arrival in August 1567, Alba established the ''[[Council of Troubles]]'' (known to the people as the ''Council of Blood'') to judge those involved in the rebellion and the iconoclasm. William was one of the 10,000 to be summoned before the council, but he failed to appear. He was subsequently declared an outlaw, and his properties were confiscated. As one of the most prominent and popular politicians of the Netherlands, William of Orange emerged as the leader of armed resistance. He financed the ''[[Geuzen|Watergeuzen]]'', refugee Protestants who formed bands of [[Privateer|corsairs]] and raided the coastal cities of the Netherlands (often killing Spanish and Dutch alike). He also raised an army, consisting mostly of German [[mercenary|mercenaries]], to fight Alba on land. William allied with the [[French Huguenots]], following the end of the second Religious War in France when they had troops to spare.<ref>Wedgwood (1944) p. 104.</ref> Led by his brother Louis, the army invaded the northern Netherlands in 1568. However, the plan failed almost from the start. The Huguenots were defeated by French royal troops before they could invade, and a small force under Jean de Villers was captured within two days. Villers gave all the plans of the campaign to the Spanish following his capture.<ref>Wedgwood (1944) p. 105.</ref> On 23 May, the army under the command of Louis won the [[Battle of Heiligerlee (1568)|Battle of Heiligerlee]] in the northern province of [[Groningen (province)|Groningen]] against a Spanish army led by the stadtholder of the northern provinces, [[Jean de Ligne, Duke of Arenberg]]. Arenberg was killed in the battle, as was William's brother Adolf. Alba countered by killing a number of convicted noblemen (including the Counts of Egmont and Hoorn on 6 June), and then by leading an expedition to Groningen. There, he annihilated Louis' forces on German territory in the [[Battle of Jemmingen]] on 21 July, although Louis managed to escape.<ref>Wedgwood (1944) p. 108.</ref> These two battles are now considered to be the start of the [[Eighty Years' War]].

===War===
[[File:Willem Jacobsz. Delff - Portrait of William the Silent (detail) - WGA06290.jpg|thumb|William the Silent by [[Willem Jacobsz Delff]] (1623)]]
In October 1568, William responded by leading a large army into [[Duchy of Brabant|Brabant]], but Alba carefully avoided a decisive confrontation, expecting the army to fall apart quickly. As William advanced, disorder broke out in his army, and with winter approaching and money running out, William turned back and crossed into France.<ref>Wedgwood (1944) p. 109.</ref> William made several more plans to invade in the next few years, but little came of them, since he lacked support and money. He remained popular with the public, in part through an extensive propaganda campaign conducted through pamphlets. One of his most important claims, with which he attempted to justify his actions, was that he was not fighting the rightful ruler of the land, the King of Spain, but only the inadequate rule of the foreign governors in the Netherlands, and the presence of foreign soldiers.

On 22 August 1571, his second wife Anna gave birth to a daughter, named Christina von Dietz, and fathered by [[Jan Rubens]], best known as the father of painter [[Peter Paul Rubens]]; Jan Rubens had been sent by Anna's uncle in 1570 to manage her finances.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Midelfort |first=H. C. Erik |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dDu1OHSZ1_8C&dq=Anna+of+Saxony+rubens+christina&pg=PA58 |title=Mad Princes of Renaissance Germany |date=1994 |publisher=University of Virginia Press |isbn=978-0-8139-1501-2 |location=Virginia, United States |publication-date=22 January 1996 |pages=58 |language=en}}</ref> Later that year, William had this marriage legally dissolved on the grounds that Anna was insane.

On 1 April 1572, a group known as the [[Watergeuzen]] ("Sea Beggars") captured the city of [[Brielle]], which had been left unattended by the Spanish garrison. Contrary to their normal "hit and run" tactics, they occupied the town and claimed it for the prince by raising the Prince of Orange's flag above the city.<ref>Wedgwood (1944) p. 120.</ref> This event was followed by other cities opening their gates for the Watergeuzen, and soon most cities in [[Holland]] and [[Zeeland]] were in the hands of the rebels, notable exceptions being [[Amsterdam]] and [[Middelburg, Zeeland|Middelburg]]. The rebel cities then called a meeting of the ''[[Staten Generaal]]'' (which they were technically unqualified to do), and reinstated William as the stadtholder of Holland and Zeeland.
[[File:De aankomst der Geuzen met Boisot op de Vliet te Leiden.jpg|thumb|William and "[[Sea Beggars]]" enter Leiden after its [[Siege of Leiden|Siege]] in 1574, by Johan Bernhard Wittkamp]]
Concurrently, rebel armies captured cities throughout the entire country, from [[Deventer]] to [[Mons, Belgium|Mons]]. William himself then advanced with his own army and marched into several cities in the south, including [[Roermond]] and [[Leuven]]. William had counted on intervention from the Huguenots as well, but this plan was thwarted after the [[St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre]] on 24 August, which signalled the start of a wave of violence against the Huguenots. After a successful Spanish attack on his army, William had to flee and he retreated to [[Enkhuizen]], in Holland. The Spanish then organised countermeasures, and sacked several rebel cities, sometimes massacring their inhabitants, such as in [[Mechelen]] or [[Zutphen]]. They had more trouble with the cities in Holland, where they [[Siege of Haarlem|took Haarlem]] after seven months and a loss of 8,000 soldiers, and they had to break off their siege of [[Alkmaar]].

In 1573, William joined the Calvinist Church.<ref>Parker, G., ''The Dutch Revolt'' (revised edition, 1985), p. 148.</ref> He appointed a Calvinist theologian, [[Jean Taffin]] (1573–1581) as his court preacher. Taffin was later joined by Pierre Loyseleur de Villiers (1577–1584), who also became an important political advisor to the prince.

[[File:William of Orange engraving by Stephen Alonzo Schoff.png|thumb|William of Orange engraving by [[Stephen Alonzo Schoff]]]] In 1574, William's armies won several minor battles, including several naval encounters. The Spanish, led by Don [[Luis de Zúñiga y Requesens]] since Philip replaced Alba in 1573, also had their successes. Their decisive victory in the [[Battle of Mookerheyde]] in the south east, on the [[Meuse]] embankment, on 14 April cost the lives of two of William's brothers, Louis and Henry. Requesens's armies also besieged the city of [[Leiden]]. They broke off their siege when nearby dykes were breached by the Dutch. William was content with the victory, and established the [[University of Leiden]], the first university in the Northern Provinces.

William married for the third time on 24 April 1575 to [[Charlotte of Bourbon|Charlotte de Bourbon-Montpensier]], a former French nun, who was also popular with the public, although less so with the Catholic faction.{{sfn|Edmundson|1911|p=673}} They had six daughters. The marriage, which seems to have been a love match on both sides, was happy.

After failed peace negotiations in [[Breda]] in 1575, the war continued. The situation improved for the rebels when Don Requesens died unexpectedly in March 1576, and a large group of Spanish soldiers, not having received their salary in months, mutinied in November of that year and unleashed the [[Sack of Antwerp|"Spanish Fury" on Antwerp]], sacking the city in what became a tremendous propaganda coup for the rebels. While the new governor, [[Don Juan of Austria]], was en route, William of Orange got most of the provinces and cities to sign the [[Pacification of Ghent]], in which they declared themselves ready to fight for the expulsion of Spanish troops together. However, he failed to achieve unity in matters of religion. Catholic cities and provinces would not allow freedom for Calvinists.

When Don Juan signed the [[Edict of 1577|Perpetual Edict]] in February 1577, promising to comply with the conditions of the Pacification of Ghent, it seemed that the war had been decided in favour of the rebels. However, after Don Juan took the city of [[Namur]] in 1577, the uprising spread throughout the entire Netherlands. Don Juan attempted to negotiate peace, but the prince intentionally let the negotiations fail. On 24 September 1577, he made his triumphal entry into Brussels, the capital. At the same time, Calvinist rebels grew more radical, and attempted to forbid Catholicism in areas under their control. William was opposed to this both for personal and political reasons. He desired freedom of religion, and he also needed the support of the less radical Protestants and Catholics to reach his political goals. On 6 January 1579, several southern provinces, unhappy with William's radical following, signed the [[Union of Arras|Treaty of Arras]], in which they agreed to accept their Catholic governor, [[Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma and Piacenza|Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma]] (who had succeeded Don Juan).

Five northern provinces, later followed by most cities in Brabant and [[Flanders]], then signed the [[Union of Utrecht]] on 23 January, confirming their unity. William was initially opposed to the Union, as he still hoped to unite all provinces. Nevertheless, he formally gave his support on 3 May. The Union of Utrecht would later become a ''de facto'' constitution, and would remain the only formal connection between the Dutch provinces until 1797.

===Declaration of Independence===
[[File:Nicholas Hilliard 002.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Francis, Duke of Anjou|Duke of Anjou]], who had been recruited by William as the new sovereign of the Netherlands, was hugely unpopular with the public.]]
In spite of the renewed union, the Duke of Parma was successful in reconquering most of the southern part of the Netherlands. Because he had agreed to remove the Spanish troops from the provinces under the [[Union of Arras|Treaty of Arras]], and because Philip II needed them elsewhere subsequently, the Duke of Parma was unable to advance any further until the end of 1581.

In March 1580 Philip issued a royal ban of outlawry against the Prince of Orange, promising a reward of 25,000 crowns to any man who would succeed in killing him. William responded with his ''Apology'', a document (in fact written by Villiers) in which his course of actions was defended, the person of the Spanish king viciously attacked,<ref>H. R. Rowen, ''The Princes of Orange: The Stadholders in the Dutch Republic'' (Cambridge, 1990), p. 25; M. van Gelderen, ''The Political Thought of the Dutch Revolt 1555–1590'' (Cambridge, 1992), p. 151.</ref> and his own Protestant allegiance restated.

In the meantime, William and his supporters were looking for foreign support. The prince had already sought French assistance on several occasions, and this time he managed to gain the support of [[Francis, Duke of Anjou]], brother of King [[Henry III of France]]. On 29 September 1580, the Staten Generaal (with the exception of Zeeland and Holland) signed the [[Treaty of Plessis-les-Tours]] with the Duke of Anjou. The Duke would gain the title "Protector of the Liberty of the Netherlands" and become the new sovereign. This, however, required that the Staten Generaal and William renounce their formal support of the King of Spain, which they had maintained officially up to that moment.

On 22 July 1581, the Staten Generaal declared that they no longer recognised Philip II of Spain as their ruler, in the [[Act of Abjuration]]. This formal [[declaration of independence]] enabled the Duke of Anjou to come to the aid of the resisters. He did not arrive until 10 February 1582, when he was officially welcomed by William in [[Vlissingen|Flushing]]. On 18 March, the Spaniard [[Juan de Jáuregui (assassin)|Juan de Jáuregui]] attempted to assassinate William in [[Antwerp]]. Although William suffered severe injuries, he survived thanks to the care of his wife Charlotte and his sister Mary. While William slowly recovered, Charlotte became exhausted from providing intensive care and died on 5 May. The Duke of Anjou was not very popular with the population. The provinces of Zeeland and Holland refused to recognise him as their sovereign, and William was widely criticised for what was called his "French politics". When Anjou's French troops arrived in late 1582, William's plan seemed to pay off, as even the Duke of Parma feared that the Dutch would now gain the upper hand.

However, Anjou himself was displeased with his limited powers and secretly decided to seize Antwerp by force. The citizens, who had been warned in time, ambushed Anjou and his troops as they entered the city on 18 January 1583,
in what is known as the "[[French Fury]]". Almost all of Anjou's men were killed, and he was reprimanded by both [[Catherine de Medici]] and [[Elizabeth I of England]] (whom he had courted). Anjou's position became untenable, and he subsequently left the country in June. His departure discredited William, who nevertheless maintained his support for Anjou. William stood virtually alone on this issue and became politically isolated. Holland and Zeeland nevertheless maintained him as their stadtholder and attempted to declare him count of Holland and Zeeland, thus making him the official sovereign. In the middle of all this, William married for the fourth and final time on 12 April 1583 to [[Louise de Coligny]], a widowed French Huguenot and daughter of [[Gaspard II de Coligny|Gaspard de Coligny]]. She was to be the mother of [[Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange|Frederick Henry]] (1584–1647), William's fourth legitimate son. With her, "Father William", as he was affectionately styled, settled at the [[Prinsenhof]] at Delft, and lived like a simple Dutch [[Burgher (title)|burgher]].{{sfn|Edmundson|1911|p=674}}