Maurice of Nassau () (
14 November 1567 –
23 April 1625),
Prince of Orange (1618–1625), son of
William the Silent and
Princess Anna of Saxony, was born at the
castle of
Dillenburg. He was named after his maternal grandfather, the
Elector Maurice of Saxony, who was also a noted general.
Life
Maurice never married but was the father of illegitimate children by
Margaretha van Mechelen (including
Willem of Nassau, lord of the Lek and
Louis of Nassau, lord of den Lek and Beverweerd) and
Anna van de Kelder. He was raised in
Dillenburg by his uncle
Johan of Nassau (Jan the Old). Together with his cousin
Willem Lodewijk he studied in
Heidelberg and later with his brother
Philip in
Leiden where he met
Simon Stevin. The States of
Holland and
Zeeland paid for his studies, as their father had run into financial problems after spending his entire fortune in the early stages of the
Dutch revolt.
Only 16 when his father was murdered in
Delft in 1584, he soon took over as
stadtholder (
Stadhouder), though this title was not inheritable (The monarchs of England and France had refused, and there simply was no one else to take the job). He became stadtholder of
Holland and
Zeeland in 1585, of
Guelders,
Overijssel and
Utrecht in 1590 and of
Groningen and
Drenthe in 1620 (following the death of Willem Lodewijk, who had been Stadtholder there and in
Friesland).
Maurice was preceded as
Prince of Orange (not a Dutch title) by his elder half-brother
Philip William. However, Philip William was in the custody of
Spain, remaining so until 1596, and was thus unable to lead the Dutch cause.
He was appointed captain-general of the army in 1587, bypassing the
Earl of Leicester, who returned to
England on hearing this news.
Military career
Maurice organized the rebellion against
Spain into a coherent, successful revolt. He reorganised the army together with
Willem Lodewijk, studied
military history,
strategy and
tactics,
mathematics and
astronomy, and proved himself to be among the best strategists of his age. Paying special attention to the siege theories of
Simon Stevin, he took valuable key fortresses and towns:
Breda in 1590,
Steenwijk in 1592, and
Geertruidenberg in 1593. These victories rounded out the borders to the Dutch Republic, solidifying the revolt and allowing a national state to develop behind secure borders. They also established Maurice as the foremost general of his time. Many of the great generals of the succeeding generation, including his brother
Fredick Henry and many of the commanders of the
English Civil War learned their trade under his command.
His victories in the cavalry battles at
Turnhout (1597) and at
Nieuwpoort (1600) earned him military fame and acknowledgment throughout
Europe. Despite these successes, the
House of Orange did not attain great respect among European Royalty, as the Stadtholdership was not inheritable.
The training of his army is especially important to
early modern warfare. Previous generals had made use of drill and exercise in order to instill discipline or to keep the men physically fit, but for Maurice, they "were the fundamental postulates of tactics." This change affected the entire conduct of warfare, since it required the officers to train men in addition to leading them, decreased the size of the basic infantry unit for functional purposes since more specific orders had to be given in battle, and the decrease in
herd behavior required more initiative and intelligence from the average soldier.
Maurice and Oldenbarnevelt
Medal in silver, cast and with original gilt,
1615, by A. Rottermont of Prince Maurice
Maurice started out as the protégé of Landsadvocaat (
Land's Advocate, a kind of secretary)
Johan van Oldenbarnevelt. But gradually tensions rose between these two men. Against Maurice's advice, and despite his protests, Van Oldenbarnevelt decided to sign the
Twelve Years' Truce with Spain, which lasted from 1609 - 1621. The required funds to maintain the
army and
navy, and the general course of the war were other topics of constant struggle.
With the religious troubles between
Gomarists (
Calvinist) and
Arminians, the struggle between Van Oldenbarnevelt and Maurice reached a climax. Van Oldenbarnevelt was arrested, tried and decapitated despite numerous requests for
mercy. From 1618 till his death Maurice now enjoyed uncontested power over the
Republic.
Maurice urged his brother
Frederick Henry to marry in order to preserve the
dynasty.
In 1621 the war resumed, and the Spanish, led by
Ambrogio Spinola, had notable successes, including the
recapture of
Breda, the Nassau's old family residence, in 1625. Maurice died with the siege still underway.
Ancestors
Cultural References
- The island nation of Mauritius, located in the Indian Ocean, was named after him. The island was named in the prince's honor by Dutch explorers in 1598 and was first settled by Dutch settlers in 1638.
- In 1624, English explorer Henry Hudson named what is now known as the Hudson River the Mauritius River in honor of the prince.
