Editing William the Silent (section)

===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.