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William III of England

William III of England (14 November 1650 – 8 March 1702; also known as William II of Scotland and William III of Orange) was a Dutch aristocrat and a Protestant Prince of Orange from his birth, King of England and King of Ireland from 13 February 1689, and King of Scots from 11 April 1689, in each case until his death.

Born a member of the House of Orange-Nassau, William III won the English, Scottish and Irish Crowns following the Glorious Revolution, during which his uncle and father-in-law, James II, was deposed. In England, Scotland and Ireland, William ruled jointly with his wife, Mary II, until her death on 28 December 1694. He reigned as "William II" in Scotland, but "William III" in all his other realms. Among Unionists in Northern Ireland he is also informally known as King Billy.

William III was appointed to the Dutch post of Stadtholder on 28 June 1672, and remained in office until he died. In that context he is sometimes referred to as "William Henry, Prince of Orange" as a translation of his Dutch title, Willem Hendrik, Prins van Oranje. A Protestant, William participated in many wars against the powerful Roman Catholic King Louis XIV of France. Many Protestants heralded him as a champion of their faith; it was partly due to such a reputation that he was able to take the crown of England, many of whose people were fervent anti-Catholics (though his army and fleet, the largest since the Armada, provided more cogent reasons for his success).

His reign marked the beginning of the transition from the personal control of government of the Stuarts to the Parliamentary type rule of the House of Hanover.

Early life

William III of England or William III of Orange, the son of William II, Prince of Orange and Mary Stuart, was born in The Hague. Eight days before he was born, his father died from battle wounds; thus, William became the Sovereign Prince of Orange at the moment of his birth.

On December 23, 1660, when William was just ten years old, his mother died of smallpox while visiting her brother, King Charles II in England. In her will, Mary designated Charles as William's legal guardian. Charles delegated this responsibility to William's paternal grandmother, the Princess Dowager Amalia, with the understanding that Charles's advice would be sought whenever it was needed. This arrangement did not prevent Charles from corresponding with his nephew.

In 1666, when William was sixteen, the States General of the United Provinces officially made him a ward of the government, or as William himself called it, a "Child of State". This was supposedly done in order to prepare William for a role in the nation's government, although what this role would be was left unspecified. When his time as the government's ward ended three years later, William returned to private life.

Early reign

William II held the office of Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Gelderland and Overijssel. All five provinces, however, suspended the office of Stadtholder upon William II's death. During the "First Stadtholderless Era," power was de facto held by Johan de Witt. In about 1667, as William III approached the age of eighteen, the pro-Orange party attempted to restore the Prince to power by securing for him the offices of Stadtholder and Captain-General. So as to prevent the restoration of the influence of the House of Orange, de Witt procured the issuance of the Eternal Edict (or Perpetual Edict), which declared that the Captain-General or Admiral-General of the Netherlands could not serve as Stadtholder in any province. Furthermore, the province of Holland abolished the very office of Stadtholder. (Other provinces soon followed suit.)

The year 1672 proved calamitous for the Netherlands, becoming known as the "disaster year." The Netherlands was invaded by France, under Louis XIV, who had the aid of England, (Third Anglo-Dutch War), M¸nster, and Cologne (Dutch: Keulen, German: K–ln). The French army quickly overran most of the Netherlands, though Holland managed to remain safe behind the Dutch water line. De Witt failed to secure peace with France, and was overthrown. (Afterwards, he and his brother, Cornelis de Witt, were brutally murdered by an angry mob in The Hague.) Today, most historians assume that William was involved in the murder. The victory for the Orange party was complete; the Eternal Edict was declared void, and William was elected Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland and Utrecht. He was also appointed Captain-General and Admiral-General of the Netherlands. Gelderland and Overijssel, which already had a relative of William's for Stadtholder, did not elect William to the post until 1675.

William III continued to fight against the invaders from England and France, afterwards allying himself with Spain. After admiral Michiel de Ruyter had defeated the Royal Navy, William made peace with the nation he would later come to rule, England, in 1674. To strengthen his position, he endeavoured to marry his first cousin Mary, the daughter of James, Duke of York (the future James II of England). The marriage occurred on 4 November 1677; the union was an unhappy one and fruitless. Finding a war with both England and the Netherlands disadvantageous, the King of France, Louis XIV, made peace in 1678. Louis, however, continued his aggression, leading William III to join the League of Augsburg (an anti-French coalition which also included the Holy Roman Empire, Sweden, Spain and several German states) in 1686.

In 1685, William's father-in-law came to the English Throne as James II, a Roman Catholic who was unpopular in his Protestant realms. William attempted to conciliate James, who he hoped would join the League of Augsburg, whilst at the same time trying not to offend the Protestant party in England. But by 1687, it became clear that James II would not join the League. To gain the favour of English Protestants, William expressed his disapproval of James's religious policies. Seeing him as a friend, many English politicians began to negotiate an armed invasion of England.

Glorious Revolution

William at first opposed the project of invasion. Meanwhile, in England, James II's second wife, Mary of Modena, bore a son (James Francis Edward), who displaced William's wife to become first in the line of succession. Public anger also increased due to the trial of seven bishops who had publicly opposed James II's religious policies and had petitioned him to reform them. The acquittal of the bishops signalled a major defeat for the Government of James II, and encouraged further resistance to its activities.

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