Maurice of Nassau (redirected from Maurits, prince van Oranje, count van Nassau)

Maurice of Nassau (môr`ĭs, năs`ô), 1567–1625, prince of Orange (1618–25); son of William the Silent by Anne of Saxony. He became stadtholder of Holland and Zeeland after the assassination (1584) of his father. He was later appointed (1588) captain general and admiral of the United Netherlands and became (1589) stadtholder of Utrecht, Gelderland, and Overijssel. In 1618 he succeeded his elder brother, Philip William, as prince of Orange. Throughout his career the Netherlands continued to struggle for independence from Spain. In 1590 he took the offensive against the Spanish under Alessandro Farnese. His campaigns were primarily distinguished by his skill in siegecraft. His successes on land and on sea enabled the Netherlands to conclude (1609) a 12-year truce with the Spanish (then commanded by Spinola). The truce virtually established the independence of the seven United Provinces. During the first part of Maurice's career his principal adviser was Oldenbarneveldt, chief author of the truce of 1609. Relations between the two men were, however, strained after 1600 and flared into open conflict when the struggle between Remonstrants and strict Calvinists broke out. Maurice took the part of the Calvinists and in 1618 compelled the summoning of the Synod of Dort, which suppressed the Remonstrants. Oldenbarneveldt, as a leader of the Remonstrants, was arrested, tried, and executed. Thus the house of Orange became dominant in the Netherlands. Maurice's campaigns after the resumption (1621) of hostilities with Spain met with little success. He was succeeded by his brother Frederick Henry.

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Maurice of Nassau

 Dutch in full Maurits, prince van Oranje, count van Nassau

(born Nov. 13, 1567, Dillenburg, Nassau—died April 23, 1625, The Hague) Dutch general and statesman. The son of William I (the Silent), he was invested in 1585 as stadtholder (chief executive) of the northern provinces of the Netherlands. With political direction from Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, Maurice consolidated the power of the provinces against Spain and made them trade and shipping centres. He used military planning and siege warfare to defeat Spanish forces in the north and east but failed to take the southern Netherlands and was forced to conclude a truce with Spain in 1609. His development of military strategy and tactics made the Dutch army the most modern in Europe. In 1618 he consolidated his political power after removing Oldenbarnevelt from office, and as prince of Orange, count of Nassau, he became effectively king of the Netherlands.

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Maurice of Nassau 

(prince of Orange; Maurits van Oranje). Born Nov. 14, 1567, in Dillenburg; died Apr. 23, 1625, in The Hague. State figure and military leader of the Republic of the United Provinces (the Netherlands). Son of William I of Orange.

Maurice was stadtholder of the provinces of Holland, Zeeland, West Friesland (from 1585), Utrecht and Overijssel (from 1590), Gelderland (from 1591), and Groningen (from 1621). In 1590, Maurice became commander in chief. He was an outstanding military leader and military reformer. He introduced a standard training program for the troops and strict military discipline; he laid the basis for a new, linear tactic and improved the tactics of defending and laying siege to fortresses. (In the area of fortifications he was a forerunner of the Marquis de Vauban.) He created a new form of cavalry, the cuirassiers, and a light artillery. In the 1590’s he directed the final liberation of the republic from Spanish troops and won a number of victories over Spain, the main one at Nieuport in 1600. Maurice carried out a policy of centralizing the state and consolidating his personal authority. His conflict with the chief political officer of Holland, Jan van Oldenbarneveldt, ended in the latter’s execution.