and now that the treaty has been revealed to the general public, some more of the highly interesting William of Orange-Nassau, nicknamed "the Silent"
Valladolid, Spain
After a long, but uneventful, journey, William arrived in Valladolid, together with his new mentor, Granvelle, and the Spanish crown-prince Philip, who both were in Brussels at the time of the whole inheritance issue.
Philip, being seven years older than William, was clearly Granvelle’s senior student, and of course, Philip was crown-prince of Spain, while William would only rule over the estates of Orange and Nassau.
Granvelle, at first, feared that the young William would not be able to keep up with the pace of his education, but soon William caught up with Philip, and at times was even quicker to understand Granvelle’s teachings.
William, looking up to Philip as if he was an older brother, and Philip, who soon develop a sort of pride for what William was capable of, became good friends in these years.
April 24, 1551.
Brussels, centre of the Spanish rule in the Lowlands.
” We are together here on this joyful day to celebrate William’s 18th birthday. William now truly is a man, and he will thus be allowed to govern his possessions himself.
Furthermore, he will be made captain, commanding a cavalry company.”
One year later, William had already sufficiently proven himself, and was made colonel, commanding 10 companies. At the age of 22, he was made captain-general, member of the “raad van state” and was knighted in the order of the Golden Fleece. His friend Philip, who had only recently inherited most of the Spanish possessions from his father, the Emperor, Charles V, knowing William’s other capacities, asked William to travel to Italy, and report to the Duke of Alba. There William would, together with the Duke, be representing Spain on various diplomatic missions.
In these years, much was achieved for Spain, and although Alba received most credit, insiders knew that it was, in fact, William who made the best deals. The treaty of Vienna (1559) was clearly the most important of these events. The talks were very difficult for William, firstly, the League formed through the treaty aimed to eradicate Protestantism, whereas William himself was a Protestant, but on the other hand he aimed to represent Philip to the best of his abilities. Secondly, the Duke of Alba, in this case, likely was not the best choice for representing Spain, because the Polish war (’35-’40) had created great animosity between the Poles and the Duke, and had left him disdainful of Austrian military capacities. Thus, the talks were mostly Alba insulting both Austrians and Poles, and William attempting to keep the talks going. Eventually, a draft version of the treaty was written down. In a last ditch attempt, William was able to weaken some statements regarding Protestants, but was not completely successful, surrounded as he was by fanatical Catholics. The final agreement thus was slightly less anti-Protestant, but likely would still mean persecution for Protestants in the Holy Roman Empire.*
William’s star was indeed rising, and people began to speculate that he would probably be sent as Spain’s prime representative to some diplomatic missions, while Alba would be leading others. Some even speculated that William would soon take Alba’s place as head of the Spanish diplomatic effort.
Once again it was Philip who changed William’s future, as he needed a new governor for the Lowlands, and who would be better than his friend William, a great diplomat, an able military commander and administrator , and owner of some important estates within the Spanish Lowlands. Thus, William was made “stadhouder ende gouverneur der staaten Vlaanderen, Zeeland, Holland en Utrecht” (stadtholder and governor of Flanders, Zeeland, Holland and Utrecht) with the consent of the local rulers of these territories, thus giving William great responsibility, but also considerable freedom and authority.
After accepting this, William soon began diplomatic efforts to bring the independent states of Geldre, Overijssel, Friesland, Groningen and Ostfriesland within the Spanish empire, and to keep this acceptable, he and Philip were willing to leave them limited autonomy and full religious freedom, but under the governance of William.
Notes:
*- William most notably attempted to replace the following clauses:
to bind the Mother Church against the Heretical Doctrines of the Followers of Luther, already so deep in the hearts and minds of the Germans, deceived most cruelly and disabused of their sacred rights, and to restore the Holy Father to their hearts and minds as well, as is Catholic Duty and Sacrament;
and
The Emperor submits All Catholic Princes and Electors of the Empire to its Inclusion, and Compels Those That Have Been Lost to enter into It, reserving the right as is His by God’s grace to include them by force, and to retrieve them by the same means as at a later date withdraw. The King of Poland shall as asked Provide Support in these actions, if Necessary and Just.
with
to bind the Mother Church against the Heretical Doctrines of the Followers of Luther, already so deep in the hearts and minds of the Germans, so unfortunately deceived by events beyond the control of their rulers, and within the Limitations of Reason and the Bounds of Earthly Constraint , act to restore the Holy Father to their hearts and minds as well, as is Catholic Duty and Sacrament.;
and
The Emperor submits All Catholic Princes and Electors of the Empire to its Inclusion, and Compels Those That Have Been Lost to enter into It, reserving the right as is His by God’s grace to include them by force, and to retrieve them by the same means as at a later date withdraw. The King of Poland shall as asked Provide Support in these actions, if Necessary and Just.
respectively.
)