Maurice

Maurice, PRINCE OF ORANGE and COUNT OF NASSAU, one of the most skilful generals of his age, was the son of William the Silent, Prince of Orange, and was born at Dillenburg, 13th November 1567. After his father's assassination in 1584, the provinces of Holland and Zeeland, and afterwards Utrecht and the others, elected him their stadtholder. A great portion of the Netherlands was still in the hands of the Spaniards; but, under the admirable leadership of Maurice, the Dutch, aided by an English contingent under the Earl of Leicester and Sir Philip Sidney, rapidly wrested cities and fortresses from their enemies. In 1590 Breda, and in 1591 Zutphen, Deventer, Nimeguen, and other places fell into their hands, in 1593 Geertruidenberg, and in 1594 Groningen. In 1597 he defeated the Spaniards at Turnhout in Brabant, and in 1600 won a splendid victory at Nieuwpoort. Then for more than three years he baffled all the power of Spain by his defence of Ostend. Finally, in 1609, Spain was compelled to acknowledge the United Provinces as a free republic. But from this time keen dissension grew up between the Orange party, who favoured the Gomarists, and the Remonstrants or Arminians, who found their chief supporters in aristocratic republicans like Olden Barneveldt (q.v.; see also ARMINIUS). The former emerged victors from the struggle, and Maurice at once (1621) renewed the war with Spain. He died, unmarried, at The Hague, 23d April 1625. See Groen van Prinsterer, Maurice et Barnveldt (Utrecht, 1875).