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William III of Orange

Type Figure Region Dutch Republic Time 1650–1702 Also known as William III、William of Orange、King William III of England

William III of Orange (1650–1702) of the Dutch House of Orange became Dutch stadtholder after the 'Disaster Year' of 1672 in the Franco-Dutch War, en…

Timeline

  1. 1650–1666The Hague · HollandBorn in The Hague, son of William II and Mary Stuart; his father died only weeks after his birth. During the republican stadtholderate the House of Orange was excluded from the stadtholderate, and William grew up under the guardianship of his mother and grandmother, receiving a military and political education.
  2. 1666–1672The Hague · Dutch RepublicFrom 1666–1670 he was prevented by republican pressure from taking the stadtholderate, but Orangist supporters grew in number. After the secret Treaty of Dover was exposed in 1670, Anglo-French threats intensified and domestic calls to restore the Orangist stadtholderate rose.
  3. 1672–1688Dutch Republic · Dutch RepublicAppointed stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht and other provinces after the Disaster Year of 1672. He led the war against France, stabilized the situation through De Ruyter's navy and dike-flooding strategies, gradually consolidated Orangist rule, and became the republic's de facto supreme military and political leader.
  4. 1688–1702London · Greater LondonIn 1688, at the invitation of the English Whigs, he landed at Torbay with a Dutch army; James II fled, and Parliament established the joint rule of William and Mary II. He then led the Grand Alliance war against Louis XIV, establishing the English constitutional monarchy and a lasting Anglo-Dutch alliance.

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