Historical Figure
William the Silent
1533–1584
Dutch statesman and revolt leader (1533–1584)
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Biography
William the Silent or William the Taciturn, more commonly known in the Netherlands as William of Orange, was the leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish Habsburgs that set off the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) and resulted in the formal independence of the United Provinces in 1648. Born into the House of Nassau, he became Prince of Orange in 1544 and is thereby the founder of the Orange-Nassau branch and the ancestor of the monarchy of the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, he is also known as Father of the Fatherland.
Timeline
The story of William the Silent, told in moments.
Born at Dillenburg Castle in Nassau, in the Holy Roman Empire. Lutheran by birth. Inherited the title Prince of Orange at age 11 from a cousin, on the condition that he be raised Catholic at the Habsburg court in Brussels.
Launched the Dutch Revolt against Spanish Habsburg rule. The trigger: Philip II's Inquisition was executing Protestants by the thousands in the Low Countries. William mortgaged his estates to raise an army. The first campaigns failed.
Converted to Calvinism. Publicly embraced the Protestant cause he'd been leading for five years. His nickname "the Silent" didn't mean he was quiet. It came from his ability to keep diplomatic secrets.
Philip II of Spain declared him an outlaw and put a bounty of 25,000 crowns on his head. William responded with the Apology, a public defense that argued a ruler who tyrannizes his people forfeits his right to rule. It became a founding document of Dutch independence.
Shot by Balthasar Gerard in Delft. Gerard was a Catholic Frenchman who'd spent two years stalking him. William was the first head of state assassinated by handgun. The Netherlands still calls him Father of the Fatherland.
In Their Own Words (20)
One need not hope in order to undertake, nor succeed in order to persevere.
As quoted in O Canada: An American's Notes on Canadian Culture (1963) by Edmund Wilson, 1963
My God, my God, have mercy on me, and on my poor people!
Last words, as quoted in De Vader des Vaderlands (1941) by W. Berkelbach van der Sprenkel, p. 29, 1941
My legal wife is to me dead; the only ecclesiastical authority I recognise pronounces me free; the attacks and threats of men do not disturb me. I am acting according to a clear conscience, and am doing hurt to no man. For my conduct, I will answer to my maker.
William talking about his personal life, as quoted in William the Silent (1897) by Frederic Harrison, p. 176, 1897
I will say no more, than that I will act as I shall answer hereafter to God and to man.
After his wedding ceremony, on marrying his second wife, who was a Lutheran, as quoted in William the Silent (1897) by Frederic Harrison, p. 32, 1897
Sire, have pity on the Spanish infantry, which, for lack of pay and out of sheer starvation, is scouring the low country round, plundering the peasantry in mere need of food. These disorders I cannot repress, much less can I punish them, for necessity has no law.
William to Philip II while William was in command of the forces round Philippeville (5 January 5 1556), as quoted in William the Silent (1897) by Frederic Harrison, Ch. II, p. 20, 1897
Artifacts (1)
Interior of the New Church in Delft with the Tomb of William the Silent
Jan Hendrik Verheyen
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