William III of Orange

Birth and Family

Wilhelm Heinrich of Orange was born in The Hague in the Republic of the United Provinces on November 4 ( 14 ), 1650 ^[2] . He was the only child of the stalgarter William II of Orange and Maria Henrietta Stewart. Mary was the eldest daughter of King Charles I and sister of Charles II and James II .

Eight days before the birth of William, his father died of smallpox . The cradle of the newborn prince was draped in black cloth as a sign of grief for his father. Since the titles of the staffhaler of the Netherlands and the Prince of Orange were not inherited, little Wilhelm did not receive them immediately after birth ^[3] . Immediately, a conflict arose over the name for the baby between Maria and the mother of William II Amalia Solms-Braunfelskaya . Maria wanted to name him in honor of her father, Karl ^[3] , but her mother-in-law insisted on the name "Wilhelm" in reinforcing the idea that he would be a staffer ^{[4] [5]} . According to the will of William II, his wife became the guardian of the son; however, the document was not signed at the time of death and did not have legal force ^[4] . On August 13, 1651, the Supreme Court of Holland and Zealand ruled that custody would be shared by his mother, paternal grandmother and Elector of Brandenburg, Friedrich Wilhelm , whose wife Louise Henrietta was the elder sister of the infant’s father ^[6] .

Childhood and Education

Wilhelm's mother was not particularly interested in her son, who saw her quite rarely, and always deliberately separated herself from Dutch society ^{[7] [8]} . At first, several Dutch governesses, some from England, were involved in the formation of William. Since April 1656, every day the prince received religious instruction from the Calvinist preacher Cornelius Trigland, a follower of the theologian Gisbert Voetius ^[9] . The ideal education for Wilhelm is described in Discours sur la nourriture de SH Monseigneur le Prince d'Orange , a short treatise authored by perhaps one of Wilhelm’s mentors Constantine Huygens ^[8] . According to this material, the prince was taught that he was destined to become an instrument of the Providence of God , fulfilling the historical mission of the Oran dynasty ^[10] .

Since the beginning of 1659, Wilhelm spent seven years at the University of Leiden , where he studied under the guidance of Professor Hendrick Bornius (although he was not officially listed among students) ^[11] . While living in Delft , Wilhelm had a small retinue, which included Hans Wilhelm Bentink and a new governor, Frederick Nassau van Zuilestein - Wilhelm's paternal uncle (illegitimate son of Frederick Heinrich of Orange ). He was taught French by Samuel Chapezu (after the death of his mother, Wilhelm's grandmother fired him).

The great pensioner Jan de Witt and his uncle Cornelis de Graff forced the States of Holland to take responsibility for the formation of William. This was to guarantee the acquisition of skills for future public service; September 25, 1660, the States began to act ^[12] . The first intervention of the authorities did not last long. His mother went to London to visit Brother Charles II and died of smallpox in Whitehall ; Wilhelm was then ten years old ^[12] . In the will, Maria asked Karl to take care of her son’s interests, and now Karl demanded that the States stop the intervention ^[13] . September 30, 1661 they obeyed Karl ^[14] . In 1661, Zuilestein began working for Karl. He encouraged Wilhelm to write uncle letters asking him to help him someday become a stalter ^[15] . After the death of Wilhelm's mother, his education and custody of him became the subject of a dispute between Orangists and Republicans ^[16] .

The General States did their best to ignore these intrigues, but one of Karl’s conditions in the peace treaty following the Second Anglo-Dutch War was an improvement in the situation of his nephew ^[15] . To reduce the threat from England, in 1666, the States officially proclaimed him a graduate of the government ^[15] . All pro-English courtiers, including Zuilestein, were removed from Wilhelm’s entourage ^[15] . Wilhelm asked de Witt to allow Zuilestein to stay, but was refused ^[17] . De Witt, as the leading politician of the republic, took over Wilhelm’s education, instructing him on government affairs every week and often playing real tennis with him ^[17] .

Suspension

After the death of Wilhelm's father, most of the provinces did not begin to appoint a new staffalter ^[18] . The Westminster Peace Treaty , which ended the First Anglo-Dutch War , had a secret application, made at the request of Oliver Cromwell : it required the adoption of the Act of Elimination , which forbade Holland to appoint members of the Oran Dynasty to the post of staff halter ^[19] . After the restoration of the Stuarts, it was proclaimed that the act was no longer valid, since the English Republic no longer exists (with which an agreement was concluded) ^[20] . In 1660, Maria and Amalia tried to convince the states of several provinces to recognize Wilhelm as the future state halter, but all initially refused ^[20] .

In 1667, when William III was about to turn 18, the Orange Party again tried to bring him to power, securing him the posts of staff- captain and general-general . To prevent the restoration of the influence of the Oran dynasty, de Witt allowed pensioner Harlem Gaspar Fagel to induce the States of Holland to accept the Eternal Edict ^[21] . According to the decree, the captain-general of the Netherlands could not simultaneously be a stalter of any of the provinces ^[21] . But supporters of William continued to look for ways to enhance his prestige, and on September 19, 1668, the States of Zealand proclaimed him "the first of the noble" ^[22] . To accept this title, Wilhelm had to escape the attention of teachers and secretly come to Middelburg ^[22] . A month later, Amalia allowed Wilhelm to independently manage his court and proclaimed him an adult. ^[23]

The Dutch province, as a stronghold of the Republicans, abolished the position of the halter in March 1670, and four more provinces followed ^[24] . De Witt demanded that every regent (member of the city council) in Holland take an oath in support of the edict ^[24] . William considered this a defeat, but in fact a compromise was reached: de Witt would prefer to completely ignore William, but now there is the possibility of his promotion to a member of the high command of the army ^[25] . De Witt then admitted that Wilhelm could be a member of the Council of State of the Netherlands , which was then the body controlling the military budget. ^[26] On May 31, 1670, Wilhelm became a member of the council with full voting rights, although de Witt insisted that he should only participate in discussions ^[27] .

Conflict with Republicans

In November 1670, Wilhelm received permission to travel to England to convince Charles to return at least part of the 2,797,859 guilders that the Stuarts owed to the Oran dynasty ^[28] . Karl could not pay, but William agreed to reduce the amount owed to 1,800,000 guilders ^[28] . Karl discovered that his nephew was a loyal Calvinist and a Dutch patriot, and revised his desire to show him the Dover Treaty with France, aimed at destroying the Republic of the United Provinces and establishing Wilhelm in the post of “sovereign” of the cutting state ^[28] . For his part, Wilhelm found out that Karl and Jacob lead a life different from him, devoting more time to drinking, gambling and lovers ^[29] .

The following year, it became clear to the Republic that an Anglo-French attack was inevitable ^[30] . Before this threat, the States of Gelderland announced that they wanted Wilhelm to become captain-general of the army of the States of the Netherlands , as soon as possible, despite his youth and inexperience ^[31] . On December 15, 1671, the States of Utrecht officially supported this. ^[32] On January 19, 1672, the States of Holland made a counter-proposal: to appoint William only for one campaign ^[33] . The prince refused, and a compromise was reached on February 25: an appointment from the General States for one summer, followed by Wilhelm’s 22nd birthday appointment without a time limit ^[33] . Meanwhile, in January 1672, Wilhelm wrote a letter to Karl asking his uncle to take advantage of the situation and put pressure on the States to designate William as a staff halt. ^[34] For his part, William would have contributed to the union of the Republic and England and would have contributed to the interests of England to the extent that he would be allowed "honor and loyalty to this state" ^[34] . Karl did not take anything in this regard and continued preparations for the war.

In the early 1670s, the Netherlands was involved in endless wars with England, and then with France. On July 4, 1672, the 21-year-old Prince Wilhelm was proclaimed a staff hanger and commander in chief, and on August 20, the de Witt brothers were brutally torn to pieces by a mob set against the Orangemen, supporters of the Prince. Despite the fact that the involvement of William of Orange in this murder of the former ruler of the Republic of Holland was never proven, it is known that he prevented the instigators of the murder from being brought to trial and even rewarded some of them: Hendrick Verhoff with money, and others like Ian Van Banham and Yana Kifita - high posts ^[35] . This damaged his reputation, as did his subsequent retaliatory actions in Scotland, known in history as the Glenco Massacre .

During these years, he showed the remarkable abilities of the ruler, a strong character, hardened during the difficult years of the Republican rule. By energetic measures, the young ruler stopped the French advance, then formed a coalition with Brandenburg , Austria and Spain, with the help of which he won a number of victories and led England out of the war ( 1674 ).

In 1677, William married his cousin Mary Stuart , daughter of the Duke of York, the future king of England, James II . Contemporaries reported that the relationship between the spouses was warm and friendly. This alliance and the defeat of the army of Louis XIV at Saint-Denis in 1678 ended the war with France (though not for long).

In 1685, after the death of the English king Charles II , who did not have legal children, the uncle and father-in-law of William, James II, unpopular among the ruling stratum, took the throne of England and Scotland. He was credited with the desire to restore Catholicism in England and to form an alliance with France. For some time, the opponents of Jacob hoped for the death of the elderly king, after which the throne of England would have been taken by his Protestant daughter Maria, wife of William. However, in 1688, a 55-year-old Jacob II suddenly had a son , and this event triggered a coup. In rejection of the policy of King Jacob, the main political groups united and agreed to invite the Dutch couple - Maria and Wilhelm - to replace the "tyrant-Catholic". By this time, Wilhelm had visited England several times and gained great popularity there, especially among the Whigs .

In the same 1688, Jacob II intensified the persecution of the Anglican clergy and quarreled with the Tories . He almost had no defenders (Louis XIV was busy with the war for the Palatinate inheritance ). The united opposition - parliament, clergy, city dwellers, landowners - secretly sent Wilhelm an appeal to lead the coup and become king of England and Scotland.

On November 5 ( 15 ), 1688, William landed in England with an army of 40 thousand foot soldiers and 5 thousand cavalry. The words were inscribed on his standard: "I will support the Protestantism and freedom of England." He met no resistance: the royal army, the ministry, and even members of the royal family immediately switched to his side. Decisive was the support of the coup by army commander Baron John Churchill , formerly very close to King James II.

The old king fled to France. However, he did not accept defeat: in 1690 , when Ireland rebelled against the British, Jacob received military assistance in France and attempted to return to power. But Wilhelm personally led the Irish expedition and the Catholic army was defeated in the battle on the Boyne River .

In January 1689, Parliament proclaimed William and his wife the monarchs of England and Scotland on an equal footing. The Whigs initially proposed that Wilhelm become a consort (just the spouse of the reigning Queen Mary), but William categorically refused. After 5 years, Mary died, and subsequently Wilhelm led the country himself. He ruled England, Scotland, Ireland, while also retaining his power in the Netherlands - until the end of his life.

The early years of the reign of William fought with Jacob's supporters ( Jacobites ), defeating them first in Scotland ( 1689 ), and then in Ireland (in the battle on the Boyne River , 1690 ). Irish Protestants ( Orangemen ) still celebrate this day as a holiday and honor William of Orange as a hero. The orange color (familial for the Oran Dynasty) on the flag of Ireland is a symbol of Protestants.

The irreconcilable opponent of the most powerful Catholic king of Europe, Louis XIV , William repeatedly fought against him on land and at sea while he was still ruler of the Netherlands. Louis did not recognize William as king of England and Scotland, supporting the claims of James II. To fight the Bourbon power , William of Orange created a powerful army and the most significant English fleet since the time of Elizabeth I. After a long series of wars, Louis XIV was forced to make peace and recognize William as the rightful king of England ( 1697 ). Nevertheless, Louis XIV continued to support Jacob II, and after his death in 1701, his son, who declared himself Jacob III .

Wilhelm was personally acquainted and friendly with the Russian Tsar Peter I , who during the Great Embassy (1697–1698) visited the Prince of Orange in both his possessions - both in the Netherlands and in England.

The reign of William III marked a decisive transition to a constitutional (parliamentary) monarchy. Under him, the Bill of Rights ( 1689 ) and a number of other fundamental acts that determined the development of the English constitutional and legal system for the next two centuries were adopted. The Tolerance Act also played a positive role. It should be noted that religious tolerance applied exclusively to Protestants who did not belong to the Church of England, and Roman Catholic rights were infringed until the second half of the 19th century.

In 1694, with the support of the king, the Bank of England was founded, and in 1702 , shortly before his death, the king approved the creation of a united East India Company . The flowering of literature ( Jonathan Swift ), science ( Isaac Newton ), architecture ( Christopher Wren ), navigation began. Preparations for the massive colonization of North America are nearing completion. The memory of this is the name of the capital of the Bahamas Nassau ( 1695 ).

Shortly before his death (in 1701 , after the death of the young nephew of the Duke of Gloucester), William approved the “Act of Succession” , according to which Catholics and persons married to Catholics could not occupy the British throne.

At the end of his life he suffered from asthma.

Wilhelm died of pneumonia , which was a complication after a fracture of the shoulder. The king broke his shoulder when falling from a horse, and there were rumors that this happened due to the horse stepping into a mole hole. After this, the Jacobites readily made a toast “for that mole” (“gentleman in a black vest”). William and Maria had no children, and the throne was taken by Mary's sister, Anna .

On the left is the line of the father ( Oran ), on the right is the line of the mother ( Stuart ).

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