Editing William III of England (section)

==="Disaster year" and Franco-Dutch War===
{{Main|Rampjaar}}
{{Infobox historical era
| name      = Stadtholderate of William III
| location  =
| start     = 1672
| end       = 1702
| image     = Willem III inspecteert Waterlinie, 1672.jpg
| alt       = William inspects the Dutch Waterline
| caption   = William inspects the Dutch Waterline
| before    = [[First Stadtholderless Period]]
| including = 
| after     = [[Second Stadtholderless Period]]
| monarch   = 
| leaders   = 
| presidents = 
| primeministers = 
| key_events =
}}

For the Dutch Republic, 1672 proved calamitous. It became known as the ''[[Rampjaar]]'' ("disaster year") because in the [[Franco-Dutch War]] and the [[Third Anglo-Dutch War]], the Netherlands was invaded by France and its allies: England, [[Prince-Bishopric of Münster|Münster]], and [[Electorate of Cologne|Cologne]]. Although the Anglo-French fleet was disabled by the [[Battle of Solebay]], in June the French army quickly overran the provinces of Gelderland and Utrecht. On 14 June, William withdrew with the remnants of his field army into Holland, where the States had ordered the flooding of the [[Dutch Waterline]] on 8 June.<ref>Troost, p. 74</ref> [[Louis XIV]] of France, believing the war was over, began negotiations to extract as large a sum of money from the Dutch as possible.<ref name="troost78">Troost, pp. 78–83</ref> The presence of a large French army in the heart of the Republic caused a general panic, and the people turned against De Witt and his allies.<ref name=troost78/>

On 4 July, the States of Holland appointed William stadtholder, and he took the oath five days later.<ref name="troost76">Troost, p. 76</ref> The next day, a special envoy from Charles II, [[Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington|Lord Arlington]], met William in [[Nieuwerbrug]] and presented a proposal from Charles. In return for William's capitulation to England and France, Charles would make William Sovereign Prince of Holland, instead of stadtholder (a mere civil servant).<ref name="troost80">Troost, pp. 80–81</ref> When William refused, Arlington threatened that William would witness the end of the Republic's existence.<ref name=troost80/> William answered famously: "There is one way to avoid this: to die defending it in the last ditch." On 7 July, the inundations were complete and the further advance of the French army was effectively blocked. On 16 July, Zeeland offered the stadtholdership to William.<ref name=troost76/>

Johan de Witt had been unable to function as Grand Pensionary after being wounded by an attempt on his life on 21 June.<ref>Troost, p. 75</ref> On 15 August, William published a letter from Charles, in which the English king stated that he had made war because of the aggression of the De Witt faction.<ref name="troost85">Troost, pp. 85–86</ref> The people thus incited, De Witt and his brother, [[Cornelis de Witt|Cornelis]], were [[Johan de Witt#Disaster year and De Witt's Death|brutally murdered]] by an Orangist [[civil militia]] in The Hague on 20 August.<ref name=troost85/> Subsequently, William replaced many of the Dutch regents with his followers.<ref>Troost, pp. 89–90</ref>

[[File:Recapture of Naarden by William III in 1673 -Belegeringe der Stadt Naerden (Romeyn de Hooghe).jpg|thumb|left|[[Siege of Naarden (1673)|Recapture of Naarden]] by William of Orange in 1673]]

Though William's complicity in the lynching has never been proved (and some 19th-century Dutch historians have made an effort to disprove that he was an accessory), he thwarted attempts to prosecute the ringleaders, and even rewarded some, like [[Hendrik Verhoeff]], with money, and others, like [[Johan van Banchem]] and [[Johan Kievit]], with high offices.<ref>Rowen, H. H. (1986) ''John de Witt: Statesman of the "true Freedom"'', Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|0-5215-2708-2}}, p. 222; Nijhoff, D. C. (1893) ''Staatkundige Geschiedenis van Nederland. Tweede Deel'', pp. 92–93, and fn. 4 p. 92; [[Fruin, Robert]], [http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/_gid001186701_01/_gid001186701_01_0008.php "De schuld van Willem III en zijn vrienden aan den moord der gebroeders de Witt"], in ''De Gids'' (1867), pp. 201–218</ref> This damaged his reputation in the same fashion as his later [[Massacre of Glencoe|actions at Glencoe]].

William continued to fight against the invaders from England and France, allying himself with [[Spain]], [[Electorate of Brandenburg|Brandenburg]], and Emperor [[Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor|Leopold I]]. In November 1672, he took his army to [[Maastricht]] to threaten the French supply lines and then [[Siege of Charleroi (1672)|attacked Charleroi]].<ref>Troost, p. 122</ref> In September 1673, the Dutch situation further improved. The resolute defence by [[John Maurice of Nassau-Siegen]] and [[Hans Willem van Aylva]] in the north of the Dutch Republic finally forced the troops of Münster and Cologne to withdraw, while William crossed the Dutch Waterline and [[Siege of Naarden (1673)|recaptured Naarden]]. In November, a 30,000-strong Dutch-Spanish army, under William's command, marched into the lands of the Bishops of Münster and Cologne. The Dutch troops took revenge and carried out many atrocities. Together with 35,000 Imperial troops, they then [[Siege of Bonn (1673)|captured Bonn]], an important [[Magazine (artillery)|magazine]] in the long logistical lines between France and the Dutch Republic. The French position in the Netherlands became untenable and Louis was forced to evacuate French troops. This deeply shocked Louis and he retreated to [[Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye|Saint Germain]] where no one, except a few intimates, were allowed to disturb him. The next year only [[Grave, Netherlands|Grave]] and Maastricht remained in French hands.{{sfn|Panhuysen|2009|pp=391–398}}

Fagel now proposed to treat the liberated provinces of Utrecht, Gelderland and [[Overijssel]] as conquered territory ([[Generality Lands]]), as punishment for their quick surrender to the enemy.<ref name="troost106">Troost, pp. 106–110</ref> William refused but obtained a special mandate from the States General to appoint all delegates in the States of these provinces anew.<ref name=troost106/> William's followers in the States of Utrecht on 26 April 1674 appointed him hereditary stadtholder.<ref>Troost, p. 109</ref> On 30 January 1675, the States of Gelderland offered him the titles of Duke of [[Guelders]] and [[Zutphen County|Count of Zutphen]].<ref name="troost109">Troost, pp. 109–112</ref> The negative reactions to this from Zeeland and the city of Amsterdam made William ultimately decide to decline these honours; he was instead appointed stadtholder of Gelderland and Overijssel.<ref name=troost109/> [[Baruch Spinoza]]'s warning in his [[Political Treatise]] of 1677 of the need to organize the state so that the citizens maintain control over the sovereign was an influential expression of this unease with the concentration of power in one person.<ref>Bartholomew Begley, "Spinoza, Before and After the Rampjaar", European Legacy 27.6 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10848770.2022.2083912</ref>

[[File:SA 4868-Anno 1674. De plechtige dankdienst na de inneming van Grave.jpg|thumb|right|The thanksgiving service of William's army in Grave after [[Siege of Grave (1674)|its capture]]]]

Meanwhile, the front of the war against France had shifted to the [[Spanish Netherlands]]. In 1674, Allied forces in the Netherlands were numerically superior to the French army under [[Louis, Grand Condé|Condé]], which was based along the [[Piéton]] river near [[Charleroi]]. William took the offensive and sought to bring on a battle by outflanking the French positions but the broken ground forced him to divide his army into three separate columns. At [[Battle of Seneffe|Seneffe]], Condé led a cavalry attack against the Allied vanguard and by midday on 11 August had halted their advance. Against the advice of his subordinates, he then ordered a series of frontal assaults which led to very heavy casualties on both sides with no concrete result.{{sfn|Lynn|1999|pp=80–81}} William and the Dutch blamed the Imperial commander, [[Jean-Louis Raduit de Souches|de Souches]], and after a failed attempt to capture [[Oudenaarde]], largely due to obstructionism from de Souches, he was relieved of command. Frustrated, William joined the army under Rabenhaupt with 10,000 troops instead of campaigning further in the Spanish Netherlands. He assumed command of operations [[Siege of Grave (1674)|at Grave]], which had been besieged since 28 June. Grave surrendered on 27 October. The Dutch were split by internal disputes; the powerful Amsterdam mercantile body was anxious to end an expensive war once their commercial interests were secured, while William saw France as a long-term threat that had to be defeated. This conflict increased once ending the war became a distinct possibility when Grave was captured in October 1674, leaving only Maastricht.{{sfn|Jacques|2007|p=408}}

[[File:1677 Valenciennes.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Siege of Valenciennes (1676–1677)|Capture of Valenciennes by the French]]]]

On both sides, the last years of the war saw minimal return for their investment of men and money.{{sfn|Nolan|2008|pp=126–128}} The French were preparing a major offensive, however, at the end of 1676. Intended to capture [[Valenciennes]], [[Cambrai]] and [[Saint-Omer]] in the Spanish Netherlands. Louis believed this would deprive the Dutch regents of the courage to continue the war any longer. In this, however, he was mistaken. The impending French offensive actually led to an intensification of Dutch-Spanish cooperation. Still, the French offensive of 1677 was a success. The Spaniards found it difficult to raise enough troops due to financial constraints and the Allies were defeated in the [[Battle of Cassel (1677)|Battle of Cassel]]. This meant that they could not prevent the cities from falling into French hands. The French then took a defensive posture, afraid that more success would force England to intervene on the side of the Allies.{{sfn|Van Nimwegen|2020|pp=157–161}}

[[File:Johannes Hinderikus Egenberger - Anno 1678. De slag bij Saint-Denis - SA 4933 - Amsterdam Museum.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.7|[[Hendrik Overkirk]] saves William of Orange from a French dragoon at the [[Battle of Saint-Denis (1678)|Battle of Saint-Denis]], by Jacob de Vos]]

The peace talks that began at [[Nijmegen]] in 1676 were given a greater sense of urgency in November 1677 when William married his cousin [[Mary II of England|Mary]], Charles II of England's niece. An Anglo-Dutch defensive alliance followed in March 1678, although English troops did not arrive in significant numbers until late May. Louis seized this opportunity to improve his negotiating position and captured [[Ypres]] and [[Ghent]] in early March, before signing a peace treaty with the Dutch on 10 August.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lesaffer |first=Randall |title=The Wars of Louis XIV in Treaties (Part V): The Peace of Nijmegen (1678–1679) |url=http://opil.ouplaw.com/page/peace-of-nijmegen |access-date=30 December 2018 |website=Oxford Public International Law}}</ref>

The [[Battle of Saint-Denis (1678)|Battle of Saint-Denis]] was fought three days later on 13 August, when a combined Dutch-Spanish force under William attacked the French army under [[François-Henri de Montmorency, duc de Luxembourg|Luxembourg]]. Luxembourg withdrew and William thus ensured [[Mons, Belgium|Mons]] would remain in Spanish hands. On 19 August, Spain and France agreed an armistice, followed by a formal peace treaty on 17 September.{{sfn|Van Nimwegen|2020|p=166}} 

The war had seen the rebirth of the Dutch States Army as one of the most disciplined and best-trained European armed forces. This had not been enough to keep France from making conquests in the Spanish Netherlands, which William and the regents blamed mainly on the Spaniards; the Dutch expected the once powerful Spanish Empire to have more military strength.{{sfn|Van Nimwegen|2020|pp=166–167}}