William+the+Silent

====William I, also known as William of Orange, was born on April 24, 1533 in the castle of Dillenburg in the duchy of Nassau in the Holy Roman Empire, now in Hesse, Germany. He was the oldest out of twelve children. When his cousin, René of Chalon, Prince of Orange, died with no children in 1544, William inherited all of Chalon's property, including the title of Prince of Orange on the condition that he received a Roman Catholic education since he was only ten years old. But because of his age, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V served as the regent of the Principality until he was fit to rule. He was sent to the Netherlands to get his required education and in Brussels he was taught foreign languages and received a military and diplomatic education. On July 6, 1551 he married his first wife, Anna va Egmond en Buren. Together, they had three kids. Later that year William was appointed Captain in the Cavalry and was quickly promoted since he was favored by Charles V, and became commander of one of the Emperor's armies at the age of 22. He was sent with an army to Bayonne to take the city by siege from the French. He was then made a member of the Raad van State, which is the highest political advisory council in the Netherlands.====

His wife, Anna died in 1558. He then later had a short relationship with Eva Elincxand and had his illegitimate son, Justinus van Nassau, who he took full responsibility for. Later on, William soon became one of the most prominent members of the opposition in the council of State. Even though William was very religious, he was still a proponent of freedom of religion for all people. He and the Duke of Alva were actually sent to France as hostages for the proper fulfillment of the Treaty of Cateau-cambrésis which was followed by the Hispano-French war. During a hunting trip, King Henry II of France told William about a secret understanding with Philip II and himself which aimed at the violent extermination of Protestantism in France. William swore to himself he would not allow the slaughter of "so many honorable men". On August 25, 1561, William married a second time to Anna of Saxony, who many people said she was weak and cruel. They had five children. In August of 1567, he was declared an outlaw for not appearing with 10,000 others before the council to be judged of those involved in the rebellion and iconoclasm. He raised an army of mostly German Mercenaries to fight Alba (one of the leaders in the battle) on land. He allied with the French Huguenots. In 1568, the army invaded the northern Netherlands but the plan failed from the beginning. The Duck of Aremberg and William's brother was killed in battle.

In 1571, William's second wife cheated on him and had a daughter with Jan Rubens. Later, William had his marriage legally dissolved on the claim that Anna was crazy. Rebel armies captured cities throughout the entire country. William planned on intervention from the Huguenots but his plan was ruined after the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre on August 24. William married a third time on April 27, 1575 to Charlotte de Bourbon-Monpensier. They had six daughters and had a very happy marriage. In March of 1580, Philip issued a royal ban of outlawry to the Prince of Orange, promising a reward of 25,000 crowns to any man who would be able to kill him. On March 18, 1582, a Spaniard by the name of Juan de Jáuregui tried to assassinate William in Antwerp. He was severely wounded but was slowly healing thanks to his wife and sister. Unfortunately, after providing intensive care, his wife died from exhaustion on May 5. Eventually, William was left alone on the issue of Anjou (French troops who decided to seize Antwerp by force but was severely defeated and left the country.) and became politically isolated. The people of Holland and Zeeland attempted to make him the count of Holland and Zeeland. During this, William married a final time to Louise de Coligny on April 12,1583 and together they had one son.

Balthazar Gérard, a subject and supporter of Phillip II, saw William as a traitor and went to the Netherlands to assassinate him. He waited two years to close enough in war but never could. In 1584, he presented himself to William as a French nobleman and gave him the seal of the Count of Mansfelt, it allows forgeries of the messages of Mansfelt to be made. William sent Gérard back to France with a reply. On July 10, 1584, Gérard returned with two wheel-lock pistols and made an appointment with William in his home in Delft, now known as the Prinsenhof. William was having dinner with a guest of the name Rombertus van Uylenburgh. He heard Gérard shoot William twice in the chest at close range. William's last words were "My God, have pity on my soul; my God, have pity on this poor people". Gérard was caught and tortured and was sent on trail and was executed brutally even by the standards of that time. His right hand was burned off with a red-hot iron, his flesh was torn from his bones with pinchers in six different places, he was also quartered and disemboweled alive. Even his heart was cut out and thrown at his face and if blood loss didn't kill him, he was beheaded. William was buried in the New Church in Delft. According to a British historian of science, he was the first head of State who was assassinated by a hand gun. By: Caitlyn Dixon