William the Silent
()
About this ebook
"WHEN we study the foundation of the United Provinces," says a great French writer, "we learn how a State, from an origin almost unnoticed, rapidly rose into greatness, was formed without design, and in the end belied all human forecast. Those large and wealthy provinces of the mainland which began the revolution --Brabant, Flanders, and Hainault--failed to achieve their freedom. In the meantime, a small corner of Europe, which had been won from the sea by infinite labour, and had maintained itself by its herring-fishery, rose suddenly to be a formidable power, held its own against Philip II., despoiled his successors of almost all their possessions in the East Indies, and ended by taking under its protection the monarchy of Spain" (Voltaire, Essai sur les Mœurs, cap. 164).
The man who inspired, founded, and made possible this marvellous development was William, Count of Nassau, titular Prince of Orange, surnamed the Silent.
The eloquent epigram of Voltaire records the result of his achievement. His career, like his nature and his circumstances, was made up of anomalies and filled with complex elements. The man who organised the national rebellion of Holland, by birth a German count, became by inheritance a Flemish magnate and a sovereign prince. A Lutheran by family, he was brought up a Catholic, and died a Calvinist. His early years were passed as a soldier and minister of the Empire, as ambassador and lieutenant of the King of Spain, and as a grandee of boundless magnificence. Himself the mainspring of a national and religious insurrection, his best energies were spent in moderating the political and religious passions which were at once the cause and the result of the struggle. Personally a devout man, he professed in succession all the three great forms of Christian belief, whilst steadily opposing all that was extreme and all that was violent in each. His memory is still passionately cherished in his adopted fatherland: first as the founder of an illustrious Commonwealth, then as the father of a long line of able statesmen and ruling princes, and finally as a martyr to the cause of national independence and liberty of conscience...
Read more from Frederic Harrison
Chatham (Barnes & Noble Digital Library) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLady John Russell A Memoir with Selections from Her Diaries and Correspondence Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStudies in Early Victorian Literature Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to William the Silent
Related ebooks
William the Silent Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWilliam the Third (Barnes & Noble Digital Library) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWilliam III: From Prince of Orange to King of England Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWilliam the Third Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Fall of the Stuarts and Western Europe (Barnes & Noble Digital Library) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWilliam III Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Rise of the Dutch Republic — Volume 04: 1555-59 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHistory of Holland Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fall of the Stuarts Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Development of Modern Europe Volume I: From the Wars of Louis XIV to the Congress of Vienna Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHistory of the United Netherlands, 1595-96 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLouis Philippe Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5French Legends: The Life and Legacy of King Louis XIV Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Frederick the Great and the Rise of Prussia Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Rise and Fall of Austria or the Habsburg Empire Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKing Henry V Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5History of Europe 1500-1815 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHenry the Fifth Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKing William I “The Conqueror”: A Short Biography Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe German Chancellor Angela Merkel: A Short Biography Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5England under the Angevin Kings Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Life and Times of King Henry V of England Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSummary of Dan Jones's The Wars of the Roses Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLouis XIV Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLives of the Queens of England of the House of Hanover, Volume 1 (Barnes & Noble Digital Library) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWilliam the Third Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrance in the Nineteenth Century Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEngland under the Angevin Kings (Vol. 1&2): Historical Account of Medieval England in the 12th and the 13th Century Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLouis Philippe: Makers of History Series Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGermany in the Age of Louis XIV Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Historical Biographies For You
Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer: An Edgar Award Winner Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Doctors From Hell: The Horrific Account of Nazi Experiments on Humans Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mein Kampf Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Agatha Christie: An Elusive Woman Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Coreyography: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Black Like Me: The Definitive Griffin Estate Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Gulag Archipelago: The Authorized Abridgement Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Seven Pillars of Wisdom (Rediscovered Books): A Triumph Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Devil and Harper Lee Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Diary of Anne Frank (The Definitive Edition) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Benjamin Franklin: An American Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/518 Tiny Deaths: The Untold Story of Frances Glessner Lee and the Invention of Modern Forensics Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Profiles in Courage: Deluxe Modern Classic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Frida Kahlo: An Illustrated Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Leonardo da Vinci Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summary of The 1619 Project: by Nikole Hannah-Jones - A Comprehensive Summary Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of the Donner Party Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bonhoeffer Abridged: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Charlie: Wisdom from the Remarkable American Life of a 109-Year-Old Man Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Devil's Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America's Secret Government Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for William the Silent
0 ratings0 reviews