Five Brothers and a War

History—1600 to 1700 AD

This meant that the line from Willem van Oranje ( de Zwijger /The Silent) became extinct, and the line had to be traced back to descendants of Willem van Oranje’s father, Willem I of Nassau-Dillenburg. That Willem had another son, the brother of Willem van Oranje, Johann VI, who had a son, Ernst Casimir I, who had a son, Willem Frederik, who had a son, Henry Casimir II, who finally had a son, Johan Willem Friso. Johann was the Stadhouder of Groningen and Friesland, but made claim to the other five Dutch provinces of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Gelderland, Overijssel, and Groningen. Those five were never governed by Willem III, and denied Johan Willem Friso’s claim. The Stadhoudership of the two northern provinces created the “Third House of Orange”. Johan Willem Friso’s son, Willem IV, was born six weeks after the death of his father, and did manage to combine all seven provinces, called the “United Provinces”, in the last year of his life. Upon his death, Willem IV’s son, Willem V, who was born six weeks after the death of his father, succeeded him. When Willem V died in 1806, the Stadhoudership had been abolished. The First Anglo-Dutch War broke out between England and Holland in 1652, a war fought entirely between navies. The issues were economic. In the end, Holland was forced to concede the supremacy of England in matters of trade with England and her widespread colonies.

holland

The Battle of Scheveningen, 10 August 1653, by Jan Abrahamsz. Beerstraaten, 1654.

Five Brothers and a War

Page 78