Editing William the Silent (section)

===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]].