William the Silent
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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.
Portrait by Adriaen Thomasz. Key, c. 1570–1584
Philip II of Spain berating William the Silent by Cornelis Kruseman
The triumphal entry of the Prince of Orange in Brussels. Print from The Wars of Nassau by Frans Hogenberg.
William the Silent by Willem Jacobsz Delff (1623)
Eighty Years' War
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The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Reformation, centralisation, excessive taxation, and the rights and privileges of the Dutch nobility and cities.
The Battle of Gibraltar, 1607.
The Beeldenstorm or Iconoclastic Fury was a more or less organised destruction of Catholic sacred objects which swept through the Habsburg Netherlands' churches in 1566. 1630 painting by Dirck van Delen
Capture of Brielle in 1572 by Anthonie Waldorp (1862)
Stadtholder Maurice of Nassau during the 1600 Battle of Nieuwpoort, a tactical Dutch victory for little gain