Avatar Posted by lanerough 172 days ago (http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com)
Category: Today's Birthday
William I of Orange was born to the House of Nassau and became prince of Orange in 1544. Though he was initially a favored page of the Spanish king, Spanish encroachments on the independence of the Netherlands and the introduction of the Spanish Inquisition led him to turn against Spain. He subsequently led the Dutch revolt that instigated the Eighty Years' War and resulted in the formal independence of the United Provinces of the Netherlands in 1648. Why was he known as “William the Silent”?

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