WILLIAM I: (1533-1584) Prince of Orange 1544-84, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland and Utrecht 1559-67, 1572-84. The Prince, also known as William the Silent, was the main leader of the Dutch Revolt against the Spanish Habsburgs that set off the Eighty Years’ War 1568-1648. L.S., Wilhelm Printz zu Oranien, Graff zu Nassau Catzenelnbogen, two pages, folio, Brussels, 20^th June 1559, to Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, in German. William I states that his loyal servant, George Lange, has arrived in Brussels with him and has handed Ferdinand I’s letter to him, referring to repeatedly sought contributions to the Reichshulffen and emphatically answering that the outstanding debts and claims do not affect him, but rather the King of Spain, and also mentioning Margaret of Parma. With integral address leaf bearing a blind embossed paper seal. Some light staining and minor age wear and with a few small tears to the edges, G

 

A wealthy nobleman, William the Silent originally served the Habsburgs as a member of the court of Margaret of Parma, Governor of the Spanish Netherlands. Unhappy with the centralisation of political power away from the local estates and with the Spanish persecution of Dutch Protestants, William joined the Dutch uprising and turned against his former masters. The most influential and politically capable of the rebels, he led the Dutch to several successes in the fight against the Spanish. Declared an outlaw by King Philip II of Spain in 1580, William was assassinated in Delft in 1584.