Editing Maurice, Prince of Orange

{{short description|Dutch Republic stadtholder and Prince of Orange (1567–1625)}}
{{Other uses|Prince Maurits (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Maurice of Orange
| image               = School of Michiel Jansz. van Mierevelt 001.jpg
| smallimage          =
| caption             = Portrait by [[Michiel Jansz. van Mierevelt]], 1607
| office              = [[Prince of Orange]]
| term_start          = 20 February 1618
| term_end            = 23 April 1625
| predecessor         = [[Philip William, Prince of Orange|Philip William]]
| successor           = [[Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange|Frederick Henry]]
| office2             =  [[List of monarchs of the Netherlands|Stadtholder of Holland and Zeeland]]
| term_start2         = 14 November 1585<ref name=europeanaAppointment />
| term_end2           = 23 April 1625
| predecessor2        = [[William the Silent]]
| successor2          = [[Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange|Frederick Henry]]
| office3             = 
Stadtholder of Utrecht, Guelders and Overijssel
| term_start3         = 1590
| term_end3           = 23 April 1625
| predecessor3        = [[Adolf van Nieuwenaar]]
| successor3          = [[Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange|Frederick Henry]]
| office4             = [[Stadtholder of Groningen]]
| term_start4         = 1620
| term_end4           = 23 April 1625
| predecessor4        = [[William Louis, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg|William Louis]]
| successor4          = [[Ernest Casimir I, Count of Nassau-Dietz|Ernst Casimir]]
| birth_date          = 14 November 1567
| birth_place         = [[Dillenburg]], [[County of Nassau]], [[Holy Roman Empire]]
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1625|04|23|1567|11|14|df=yes}}
| death_place         = The Hague, [[County of Holland]], [[Dutch Republic]]
| restingplace        = [[Nieuwe Kerk (Delft)|Nieuwe Kerk]], [[Delft]], Netherlands
| father              = [[William the Silent]]
| mother              = [[Anna of Saxony]]
| birthname           =
| nationality         =
| partner             =
| children            =
| residence           =
| alma_mater          =
| occupation          =
| profession          =
| religion            =
| signature           = Signature of Maurice, Prince of Orange.svg
}}

'''Maurice of Orange''' ({{langx|nl|Maurits van Oranje}}; 14 November 1567&nbsp;– 23 April 1625) was ''[[stadtholder]]'' of all the provinces of the [[Dutch Republic]] except for [[Lordship of Frisia|Friesland]] from 1585 at the earliest until his death on 23 April 1625. Before he became [[Prince of Orange]] upon the death of his eldest half-brother [[Philip William, Prince of Orange|Philip William]] on 20 February 1618, he was known as '''Maurice of Nassau'''.

Maurice spent his youth in [[Dillenburg]] in [[County of Nassau|Nassau]], and studied in [[Heidelberg University|Heidelberg]] and [[Leiden University|Leiden]]. He succeeded his father [[William the Silent]] as stadtholder of Holland and Zeeland in 1585, and became stadtholder of Utrecht, Guelders and Overijssel in 1590, and of Groningen in 1620. As Captain-General and Admiral of the Union, Maurice organized the [[Dutch Revolt|Dutch rebellion against Spain]] into a coherent, successful revolt and won fame as a military strategist. Under his leadership and in cooperation with the [[Land's Advocate of Holland]] [[Johan van Oldenbarnevelt]], the [[Dutch States Army]] achieved many victories and drove the Spaniards out of the north and east of the Republic. Maurice set out to revive and revise the classical doctrines of [[Vegetius]] and pioneered the new European forms of armament and drill. During the [[Twelve Years' Truce]], a religious dispute broke out in the Republic, and a conflict erupted between Maurice and Van Oldenbarnevelt, which ended with the latter's decapitation. After the Truce, Maurice failed to achieve more military victories. He died without legitimate children in The Hague in 1625 and was succeeded by his younger half-brother [[Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange|Frederick Henry]].

Maurice is the namesake of [[Mauritius]].

==Life==
{{More citations needed|section|date=January 2023}}
Maurice was the son of [[William the Silent]] and [[Anna of Saxony]] and was born at the [[castle]] of [[Dillenburg]]. He was named after his maternal grandfather, the [[Prince-elector|Elector]] [[Maurice of Saxony]], who was also a noted general.

Maurice never married but was the father of illegitimate children by [[Margaretha van Mechelen]] (including [[Willem of Nassau, lord of the Lek|Willem of Nassau, Lord of the Lek]], and [[Louis of Nassau, Lord of De Lek and Beverweerd]]) and Anna van de Kelder. He was raised in Dillenburg by his uncle [[Johan of Nassau]] ("Jan the Old").
Together with his cousin, [[William Louis, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg|Willem Lodewijk]], he studied in [[Heidelberg]] and later in [[Leiden]] where he met [[Simon Stevin]]. The States of [[Holland]] and [[Zeeland]] paid for his studies, as their father had run into financial problems after spending his entire fortune in the early stages of the [[Dutch revolt]].

[[File:Maurits.child.JPG|thumb|left|upright|Maurice as a child]]
Only 16 when his father was murdered in [[Delft]] in 1584, he soon was appointed to his father's office of [[stadtholder]] (''Stadhouder''). The monarchs of England and France had been requested to accept sovereignty but had refused. This had left Maurice as the only acceptable candidate for the position of Stadtholder. He became stadtholder of [[Holland]] and [[Zeeland]] in 1585,<ref name=europeanaAppointment>{{Cite web|title=Maurits benoemd als stadhouder, 1585|url=https://www.europeana.eu/pt/item/90402/RP_P_OB_80_002|access-date=2020-08-21|website=europeana.eu|language=pt-PT}}</ref> of [[Guelders]], [[Overijssel]] and [[Utrecht (province)|Utrecht]] in 1590 and of [[Groningen (province)|Groningen]] and [[Drenthe]] in 1620 (following the death of Willem Lodewijk, who had been stadtholder there and in [[Friesland]]).

Protestant Maurice was preceded as [[Prince of Orange]] (not a Dutch title) by his Roman Catholic eldest half-brother [[Philip William, Prince of Orange]], deceased 1618. However, Philip William was in the custody of Spain, remaining so until 1596, and was thus unable to lead the Dutch independence cause.

[[Maria of Nassau (1556-1616)|Maria of Nassau]] (1556–1616) was a full sister of Philip William from the first marriage of [[William I, Prince of Orange]], (assassinated 1584), to wealthy and powerful aristocrat [[Anna van Egmont]] (1533–1558), and a contender to Maurice over the estate of their father.

He was appointed captain-general of the army in 1587, bypassing the [[Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester|Earl of Leicester]], who returned to England on hearing this news.

==Military career==
{{Main|Eighty Years' War}}

[[File:Adriaen Pietersz van de Venne (follower) Kavalkade der Prinzen von Nassau.jpg|thumb|400px|right|The [[Cavalcade]] of princes of the House of Orange and Nassau, 1. Front Row: Maurice (1567–1625), Philip William (1558–1618), Frederick Henry (1584–1647), 2. Second Row: William Louis (1560–1632), Ernst Casimir (1573–1632) und Johann Ernst. after a print by W. J. Delff (1621) after a painting from A. P. van de Venne]]

Maurice organized the [[Dutch Revolt|rebellion]] against Spain into a coherent, successful revolt. He reorganized the [[Dutch States Army]] together with [[William Louis, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg|Willem Lodewijk]], studied [[military history]], strategy and [[Military tactics|tactics]], mathematics and [[astronomy]], and proved himself to be among the best strategists of his age. The [[Eighty Years' War]] was a challenge to his style, so he could prove himself a good leader by taking several Spanish outposts. Paying special attention to the siege theories of [[Simon Stevin]], he took valuable key fortresses and towns during a period known as the ''Ten Glory Years'': [[Capture of Breda (1590)|Breda]] in 1590, [[Siege of Zutphen (1591)|Zutphen]], [[Siege of Knodsenburg|Knodsenburg]] in 1591, [[Siege of Steenwijk (1592)|Steenwijk]] and [[Siege of Coevorden (1592)|Coevorden]] in 1592, [[Siege of Geertruidenberg (1593)|Geertruidenberg]] in 1593, and [[Siege of Groningen (1594)|Groningen]] in 1594. In 1597 he went on a further offensive and took [[Siege of Rheinberg (1597)|Rheinberg]], [[Siege of Meurs (1597)|Meurs]], [[Siege of Groenlo (1597)|Groenlo]], [[Siege of Bredevoort (1597)|Bredevoort]], [[Capture of Enschede (1597)|Enschede]], [[Capture of Ootmarsum (1597)|Ootmarsum]], and [[Siege of Oldenzaal (1597)|Oldenzaal]] and closed off the year with the [[Siege of Lingen (1597)|capture of Lingen]]. These victories rounded out the borders to the Dutch Republic, solidifying the revolt and allowing a national state to develop behind secure borders. They also established Maurice as the foremost general of his time. Many of the great generals of the succeeding generation, including his brother [[Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange|Frederick Henry]] and many of the commanders of the [[English Civil War]], learned their trade under his command.

His victories in the pitched battles at [[Battle of Turnhout (1597)|Turnhout]] (1597) and at [[Battle of Nieuwpoort|Nieuwpoort]] (1600) were dependent on his innovation of cooperation between arms, with his cavalry playing a major role. The victories earned him military fame and acknowledgement throughout Europe. Despite these successes, the [[House of Orange]] did not attain great respect among European royalty, as the Stadtholdership was not inheritable.

The training of his army was especially important to [[early modern warfare]] and the [[Military Revolution]] of 1560–1650. Previous generals had made use of drill and exercise in order to instill discipline or to keep the men physically fit, but for Maurice, they "were the fundamental postulates of tactics."<ref>Roberts, Michael. ''The Military Revolution 1560–1660'' in Rogers, Clifford. ''The Military Revolution Debate'', p. 14; {{ISBN|978-0-8133-2054-0}}</ref>

This change affected the entire conduct of warfare, since it required the officers to train men in addition to leading them, decreased the size of the basic infantry unit for functional purposes since more specific orders had to be given in battle, and the decrease in [[herd behavior]] required more initiative and intelligence from the average soldier.<ref>Roberts, op. cit. p. 15</ref> One major contribution was the introduction of [[volley fire]], which enabled soldiers to compensate for the inaccuracy of their weapons by firing in a large group. It was first used in European combat at the battle of Nieuwpoort in 1600.<ref>Geoffrey Parker, "The Limits to Revolutions in Military Affairs: Maurice of Nassau, the Battle of Nieuwpoort (1600), and the Legacy", ''Journal of Military History'' (2007) 71#2 pp. 331–372.</ref>
[[File:Wintergezicht op de Vijverberg te Den Haag met op de voorgrond prins Maurits en zijn gevolg Rijksmuseum SK-A-955.jpeg|thumb|400px|Maurice and his followers on the ''Vijverberg'' (the [[Hofvijver]] embankment) in The Hague. [[Adam van Breen]], 1618.]]
As part of his efforts to find allies against Spain, Maurice received Moroccan envoys such as [[Al-Hajari]]. They discussed the possibility of an alliance between [[Holland]], the [[Ottoman Empire]], Morocco and the Moriscos, against the common enemy Spain.<ref name="Hillgarth 210">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vXTs8jJiuu8C&pg=PA210 |title=The mirror of Spain, 1500–1700: the formation of a myth|isbn=0472110926 |pages=210ff|access-date=2013-11-19|last1=Hillgarth |first1=J. N. |year=2000 |publisher=University of Michigan Press }}</ref><ref name="RA 410">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=62SKVQNKMr0C&pg=PA410 |title='Romania Arabica' by Gerard Wiegers |isbn=978-3823351733 |access-date=2013-11-19|last1=Kontzi |first1=Reinhold |year=1996|page=410 |publisher=Gunter Narr Verlag }}</ref> Al-Hajari's journey chronicles, authored in 1637, mentions in detail the discussion for a combined offensive against Spain.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QI8b8jUpJDkC&pg=PA37 |title=In the Lands of the Christians|page=37 | isbn = 0-41-593228-9 |access-date=2013-11-19|last1=Matar |first1=Nabil I. |year=2003 |publisher=Psychology Press }}</ref>

Maurice was known in his time and by historians as the first general of his age. His reputation rests not as much on his ability to win and exploit field battles as it does on his expertise as a siege commander, military organizer, and innovator. Of his two great adversaries, [[Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma]], and [[Ambrogio Spinola, 1st Marquis of the Balbases|Ambrogio Spinola]], he cautiously never allowed himself to be brought to battle with Parma and did not follow up chances to offer Spinola battle with forces in his favour on the Yssel in 1606. He was, however, dealt a defeat by the Spanish general at the battle of Mülheim in October 1605.<ref>Esteban Estrígana, Alicia: "Preparing the Ground: The Cession of the Netherland's Sovereignty in 1598 and the Failure of its Peace-Making Objective, 1607–1609". In ''The Twelve Years Truce (1609): Peace, Truce, War, and Law in the Low Countries at the Turn of the 17th Century''. Leiden: Koninklijke Brill NV, 2014; {{ISBN|978-90-04-27491-4}}, p. 38.</ref> Based on his preference for sieges and small-scale actions, historian [[David Trim]] states that it is difficult to reach a verdict on his ability as a tactician.<ref>Messenger, Charles (ed.): ''Reader's Guide to Military History''. New York: Routledge, 2013. {{ISBN|1-135-95977-3}}, p. 825.</ref> [[Jonathan Israel]] notes that on one of the rare occasions when he did have to fight a major battle in the open – the 1600 [[Battle of Nieuwpoort]] – it did end with a Dutch victory, but this outcome was highly risky, and Maurice took care to extricate his army and avoid a second such battle.<ref>Jonathan I. Israel, ''The Dutch Republic'', Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1995, Ch. 12, "The Republic becomes a Great Power".{{ISBN?}}</ref>

Maurice founded a whole new school of military professional practice. These pointed the way to the professional armies of the future by reapplying Roman tactics and innovating in the fields of logistics, training, and economics (e.g. paying troops regularly and on time). Many graduates of service under Maurice, such as his nephew, the [[Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne|Marshal Turenne]], or his disciples such as [[Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden]], applied the Mauritian reforms to great effect in the remainder of the 17th century.<ref>{{cite book|first1=John|last1=Keegan|first2=Andrew|last2= Wheatcroft|title=Who's Who in Military History: From 1453 to the Present Day|publisher=Routledge|location=London|year=2014}}.{{ISBN?}}</ref>

==Maurice and Oldenbarnevelt==
[[File:Het afdanken der waardgelders door prins Maurits op de Neude te Utrecht, 31 juli 1618 (Joost Cornelisz. Droochsloot, 1625).jpg|thumb|right|400px|Maurice disbands the ''waardgelders'' (municipal mercenary army) on the Neude (town square) in the city of Utrecht on 31 July 1618, a pivotal event in the [[Twelve Years' Truce#Remonstrants and Counter-Remonstrants|Remonstrant/Counter-Remonstrant tensions]], by [[Joost Cornelisz Droochsloot]]]]

Maurice started out as the protégé of Landsadvocaat ([[Land's Advocate of Holland|Land's Advocate]], i.e. secretary to the nobility of Holland and legal counsel to the States of Holland, but functioning as de facto chief minister of Holland and the States-General) [[Johan van Oldenbarnevelt]], but gradually tensions rose between these two men. Against Maurice's advice, and despite his protests, Van Oldenbarnevelt decided to sign the [[Twelve Years' Truce]] with Spain, which lasted from 1609 to 1621. The required funds to maintain the army and navy and the general course of the war were other topics of constant struggle.

With the religious troubles between [[Gomarists]] (strict [[Calvinist]]s) and the [[Remonstrants]] ([[Arminians]]), the struggle between Van Oldenbarnevelt and Maurice reached a climax. Van Oldenbarnevelt was arrested, tried and decapitated despite numerous requests for mercy. Important municipal regents such as [[Jacob Dircksz de Graeff]] and [[Cornelis Hooft]] from Amsterdam were temporarily removed from office by Moritz' powerful supporter [[Reynier Pauw]]. From 1618 till his death Maurice now enjoyed uncontested power over the Republic. He expanded the Stadtholder's palace at the [[Binnenhof]] in the Hague. The Maurice Tower is now part of the building complex of the [[Senate of the Netherlands]]. In 1618, he also succeeded his elder half-brother [[Philip William, Prince of Orange|Philip William]] as [[Prince of Orange]], a title he seems rarely to have used.

Maurice urged his cadet half brother [[Frederick Henry, prince of Orange|Frederick Henry]] to marry in order to preserve the [[dynasty]].

==Thirty Years' and Eighty Years' War==

Historian [[Jonathan Israel]] places upon Maurice part of the responsibility for the outbreak of the [[Thirty Years' War]] in which Germany was devastated and a large part of its population killed. As noted by Israel,<ref>Israel, Jonathan I. ''The Dutch Republic''. Clarendon Press, 1995, Ch. 21, "The Republic under siege, 1621–1628".</ref> German Protestants were not eager for an all-out confrontation with the Catholics. Maurice significantly helped precipitate such a confrontation by persuading his nephew [[Frederick V, Elector Palatine]], to accept the Bohemian Crown, as well as actively encouraging the Bohemians to [[Defenestrations of Prague|confront Habsburg rule]], providing them 50,000 guilders as well as sending Dutch troops to fight in the doomed [[Battle of the White Mountain]]. This ill-considered decision proved disastrous to the Bohemians, who were thereby plunged into prolonged oppression, and to Frederick who lost his ancestral lands. It also worsened the Dutch Republic's own strategic position.

In 1621 the war with Spain resumed after a 12-year period of truces. The Spanish, led by [[Ambrogio Spinola, marqués de los Balbases|Ambrogio Spinola]], had notable successes, including the [[Siege of Breda (1624)|Siege of Breda]], the old Nassau family residence, in 1625.

Maurice died on 23 April 1625, with the siege still underway. [[Justin of Nassau]] surrendered Breda in June 1625 after a costly eleven-month siege.

[[File:Slag bij Nieuwpoort.jpg|thumb|400px|Maurice at the [[battle of Nieuwpoort]], 1600. By [[Pauwels van Hillegaert]]]]
[[File:Seven United Netherlands Janssonius 1658.jpg|thumb|right|The Seven United Provinces were known as the Netherlands, protagonists of the [[Eighty Years' War]] against Spain, from a 1658 map by [[Janssonius]]]]
:

==List of battles==

Maurice participated in these battles as principal commander of Dutch forces:

{{multiple image | direction = horizontal | width = 200 | footer=  Prince Maurice of Nassau |image1 = Emanuel-van-Meteren-Historien-der-Nederlanden-tot-1612 MG 9969.tif
|alt1 = Maurice on Horseback|caption1= Engraving of Maurice on horseback
|image2 = Michiel Jansz van Mierevelt - Maurits van Nassau, prins van Oranje en Stadhouder.jpg
|alt2 =Muarice as a General|caption2=Maurice at the height of his power}}
* [[Capture of Axel|Axel]]
* [[Siege of Bergen op Zoom (1588)|1st Bergen op Zoom, 1588]]
* [[Capture of Medemblik (1588)|Medemblik, 1588]]
* [[Capture of Breda (1590)|3rd Breda, 1590]]
* [[Siege of Steenbergen (1590)|2nd Steenbergen, 1590]]
* [[Siege of Zutphen (1591)|3rd Zutphen, 1591]]
* [[Siege of Deventer (1591)|2nd Deventer, 1591]]
* [[Capture of Delfzijl|Delfzijl, 1591]]
* [[Siege of Knodsenburg|Knodsenburg, 1591]]
* [[Siege of Hulst (1591)|Hulst, 1591]]
* [[Siege of Nijmegen (1591)|Nijmegen, 1591]]
* [[Siege of Steenwijk (1592)|Steenwijk, 1592]]
* [[Siege of Coevorden (1592)|1st Coevorden, 1592]]
* [[Siege of Geertruidenberg (1593)|Gertrudenberg, 1593]]
* [[Siege of Coevorden (1593)|2nd Coevorden, 1593]]
* [[Siege of Groningen (1594)|Groningen, 1594]]
* [[Siege of Groenlo (1595)|2nd Groenlo, 1595]]
* [[Siege of Hulst (1596)|1st Hulst, 1596]]
* [[Battle of Turnhout (1597)|Turnhout, 1597]]
* [[Siege of Venlo (1597)|2nd Venlo, 1597]]
* [[Siege of Rheinberg (1597)|2nd Rheinberg, 1597]]
* [[Siege of Meurs (1597)|1st Meurs, 1597]]
* [[Siege of Groenlo (1597)|3rd Groenlo, 1597]]
* [[Siege of Bredevoort (1597)|1st Bredevoort, 1597]]
* [[Capture of Enschede (1597)|Enschede, 1597]]
* [[Capture of Ootmarsum (1597)|Ootmarsum, 1597]]
* [[Siege of Oldenzaal (1597)|1st Oldenzaal, 1597]]
* [[Siege of Lingen (1597)|1st Lingen, 1597]]
* [[Capture of Meurs (1598)|2nd Meurs, 1598]]
* [[Siege of Rheinberg (1598)|3rd Rheinberg, 1598]]
* [[Capture of Doetinchem|Doetinchem]]
* [[Siege of Rees (1599)|Rees, 1599]]
* [[Siege of Zaltbommel|Zaltbommel (1599)]]
* [[Siege of San Andreas (1600)|San Andreas]]
* [[Battle of Nieuwpoort|Nieuwpoort, 1600]]
* [[Siege of Ostend|Ostend, 1601]]
* [[Siege of 's-Hertogenbosch (1601)]]
* [[Siege of Sluis (1604)]]
* [[Siege of Oldenzaal (1605)|2nd Oldenzaal, 1605]]
* [[Siege of Lingen (1605)|2nd Lingen, 1605]]
* [[Battle of Mülheim (1605)|Mülheim, 1605]]
* [[Siege of Wachtendonk|Wachtendonk]]
* [[Siege of Krakau Castle|Krakau Castle]]
* [[Siege of Bredevoort (1606)|2nd Bredevoort, 1606]]
* [[Siege of Rheinberg (1606)|4th Rheinberg, 1606]]
* [[Siege of Groenlo (1606)|4th Groenlo, 1606]]
* [[Siege of Venlo (1606)|3rd Venlo, 1606]]
* [[Siege of Jülich (1621–22)|Jülich, 1621–22]]
* [[Siege of Bergen-op-Zoom (1622)|2nd Bergen op Zoom, 1622]]
* [[Siege of Steenbergen (1622)|3rd Steenbergen, 1622]]
* [[Siege of Breda (1624)|4th Breda, 1624]]

==Namesakes==
* The island nation of [[Mauritius]], located in the Indian Ocean, was named after him. The island was named in the prince's honour by Wybrant Warwijck in 1598 and Dutch emigrants first settled it in May 1638.<ref name="ColonialVoyage">{{Cite web |last=Ramerini |first=Marco |date=2014-01-11 |title=The Dutch on Mauritius 1638–1658, 1664–1710 |url=https://www.colonialvoyage.com/dutch-mauritius/ |access-date=2021-01-01 |website=Colonial Voyage |language=en-US}}</ref>
* In 1611, the Dutch variously named what is now known as the [[Hudson River]] the Mauritius River or the Mauritz River, in honour of the prince. It was also similarly referred to as the Nassau River.<ref>Arthur G. Adams, ''The Hudson River Guidebook'', Fordham University Press, New York, 1996, p. 10{{ISBN?}}</ref>

== Coat of arms and titles ==
[[File:Maurits van Oranje wapen.svg|thumb|right|upright|The coat of arms used by Maurice showing the county of Moers ''(top left center and bottom right center)'' and his mother's arms of Saxony ''(center)''<ref>{{cite book |title=The Dutch in the Seventeenth Century|first=K(enneth) H(arold) D(obson)|last =Haley|publisher=Thames and Hudson|year=1972|page= 78|isbn=0-15-518473-3}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 |last=Anonymous
 |title=Wapenbord van Prins Maurits met het devies van de Engelse orde van de Kouseband
 |work=From an exhibit of a painted woodcut of Maurice's Arms encircled by the Order of the Garter in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
 |publisher=Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
 |url=https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/NG-NM-10152
 |access-date=26 April 2011
}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Armorial général, contenant la description des armoiries des familles nobles et patriciennes de l'Europe: précédé d'un dictionnaire des termes du blason|first=Johannes Baptist|last =Rietstap|publisher=G.B. van Goor|year=1861|page=746}}
</ref>]]

Maurice, besides being stadtholder of several provinces and Captain-General, both non-hereditary and appointive titles, was the hereditary [[Prince of Orange|sovereign]] of the [[principality of Orange]] in what is today [[Provence]] in France. He also was the lord of many other estates, which formed his wealth:
* [[Marquis]] of [[Veere]] and [[Vlissingen]]
* [[Nassau-Dillenburg|Count of Nassau-Dillenburg]], [[Buren]], [[Leerdam]], [[County of Katzenelnbogen|Katzenelnbogen]], and [[Vianden]]
* [[Viscount]] of Antwerp and [[Besançon]]
* [[Baron]] of Aggeris, [[Breda]], [[Cranendonck]], [[Cuijk|Lands of Cuijk]], Daesburg, [[Eindhoven]], [[Grave (Netherlands)|City of Grave]], [[Lek (river)|Lek]], [[IJsselstein]], [[Diest]], [[Grimbergen]], [[Herstal]], [[Warneton, Belgium|Warneton]], {{Interlanguage link|Beilstein (Westerwald)|de|3=Beilstein (Westerwald)}}, [[Bentheim-Lingen]], [[Moers]], [[Arlay]], and [[Nozeroy]]; [[Lord]] of [[Dasburg]], [[Geertruidenberg]], [[Hooge en Lage Zwaluwe]], [[Klundert]], [[Montigny-Montfort|Montfort]], [[Naaldwijk]], [[Klundert|Niervaart]], [[Houtrijk en Polanen|Polanen]], [[Steenbergen]], [[Sint-Maartensdijk]], [[Willemstad (North Brabant)|Willemstad]], [[Bütgenbach]], [[St. Vith|Sankt Vith]], and [[Besançon]].

During his lifetime he kept using the arms as during his father's life-time shown here, and never changed to the simpler arms used by his father and half brothers.

== Descendants ==
Maurice never married but was the father of several illegitimate children:

by [[Margaretha van Mechelen]]:
* [[Willem of Nassau, lord of the Lek|Willem of Nassau, Lord of the Lek]] (1601–1627)<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last1=Broomhall|first1=Susan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vknUDAAAQBAJ&dq=Willem+of+Nassau+Margaretha+van+Mechelen+children&pg=PT117|title=Gender, Power and Identity in the Early Modern House of Orange-Nassau|last2=Gent|first2=Jacqueline Van|year=2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-12990-5|language=en}}</ref>
* [[Louis of Nassau, Lord of De Lek and Beverweerd]] (Lodewijk) (1604–1665)<ref name=":0" />
* Maurice (Maurits) (1604– 5 June 1617)<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" />

by Cornelia Jacobsdochter:
* Anna (?– 11 June 1673)<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last1=Broomhall|first1=Susan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lQm4CwAAQBAJ&dq=Cornelia+Jacobsdochter+children&pg=PT86|title=Dynastic Colonialism: Gender, Materiality and the Early Modern House of Orange-Nassau|last2=Gent|first2=Jacqueline Van|date=2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-26636-5|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Broomhall|first1=Susan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vknUDAAAQBAJ&dq=Ursula+de+Rijck+children&pg=PT119|title=Gender, Power and Identity in the Early Modern House of Orange-Nassau|last2=Gent|first2=Jacqueline Van|date=2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-12990-5|language=en}}</ref> married François de Ferrier

by Ursula de Rijck:
* Elisabeth (1611–1679)<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last1=Broomhall|first1=Susan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vknUDAAAQBAJ&dq=Ursula+de+Rijck+children&pg=PT120|title=Gender, Power and Identity in the Early Modern House of Orange-Nassau|last2=Gent|first2=Jacqueline Van|date=2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-12990-5|language=en}}</ref>
* Karl (Carel) (ca. 1612–28 March 1637) died during the battle in Brazil.

by Anna van de Kelder:
* Karl (Carel) Maurice<ref name=":1" />

by Deliana de Backer:
* Eleonora (?–1673)

==See also==
* [[Dutch Empire]] (begun during his reign, circa 1603–1605)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite journal |last1=Parker |first1=Geoffrey |author-link= Geoffrey Parker (historian)|title=The Limits to Revolutions in Military Affairs: Maurice of Nassau, the Battle of Nieuwpoort (1600), and the Legacy |journal=Journal of Military History |date=2007 |volume=71 |issue=2 |pages=331–372|doi=10.1353/jmh.2007.0142 |s2cid=159953429 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Herbert H. |first1=Rowen |author-link1=Herbert H. Rowen |title=The Princes of Orange: the Stadholders in the Dutch Republic |date=1988 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge and New York |isbn=0521345251}}
* [[John Lothrop Motley]], "History of the United Netherlands from the Death of William the Silent to the Synod of Dort".  London:  John Murray, 1860.
* [[John Lothrop Motley]], "The Life and Death of John of Barenvelt". New York & London:  Harper and Brothers Publishing, 1900.
* [[Petrus Johannes Blok]], "History of the people of the Netherlands". New York:  G. P. Putnam's sons, 1898.

==External links==
* {{Commons category inline}}

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{{s-hou|[[House of Orange-Nassau]]|14 November|1567|23 April|1625|[[House of Nassau]]}}
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{{s-bef|before=[[Philip William of Orange|Philip William]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Prince of Orange]]<br>[[Baron]] of [[Breda]]|years=1618–1625}}
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{{s-end}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange}}
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