Maurice of Orange (; 14 November 1567 – 23 April 1625) was ''

stadtholder In the Low Countries, a stadtholder ( ) was a steward, first appointed as a medieval official and ultimately functioning as a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and ...

'' of all the provinces of the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

except for

Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...

from 1585 at the earliest until his death on 23 April 1625. Before he became

Prince of Orange Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by the stadtholders of, and then the heirs apparent of ...

upon the death of his eldest half-brother Philip William on 20 February 1618, he was known as Maurice of Nassau. Maurice spent his youth in

Dillenburg Dillenburg, officially Oranienstadt Dillenburg, is a town in Hesse's Gießen region in Germany. The town was formerly the seat of the old Dillkreis district, which is now part of the Lahn-Dill-Kreis. The town lies on the German- Dutch holiday roa ...

in Nassau, and studied in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

and

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

. He succeeded his father

William the Silent William the Silent or William the Taciturn (; 24 April 153310 July 1584), more commonly known in the Netherlands as William of Orange (), was the leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish Habsburg Netherlands, Habsburgs that set off the ...

as stadtholder of Holland and Zeeland in 1585, and became stadtholder of Utrecht, Guelders and Overijssel in 1590, and of Groningen in 1620. As Captain-General and Admiral of the Union, Maurice organized the Dutch rebellion against Spain into a coherent, successful revolt and won fame as a military strategist. Under his leadership and in cooperation with the

Land's Advocate of Holland The Lands' Advocate () of Holland acted as a legal adviser and secretary to the Estates of Holland. They also acted as leader and spokesman of the Holland deputies in the States-General, and negotiated with foreign ambassadors. The office started ...

Johan van Oldenbarnevelt Johan van Oldenbarnevelt (; 14 September 1547 – 13 May 1619), Lord of the manor, Heer van Berkel en Rodenrijs (1600), Gunterstein (1611) and Bakkum (1613), was a Dutch statesman and revolutionary who played an important role in the Dutch rev ...

, the

Dutch States Army The Dutch States Army () was the army of the Dutch Republic. It was usually called this, because it was formally the army of the States-General of the Netherlands, the sovereign power of that federal republic. This army was brought to such a size ...

achieved many victories and drove the Spaniards out of the north and east of the Republic. Maurice set out to revive and revise the classical doctrines of

Vegetius Publius (or Flavius) Vegetius Renatus, known as Vegetius (), was a writer of the Later Roman Empire (late 4th century). Nothing is known of his life or station beyond what is contained in his two surviving works: ''Epitoma rei militaris'' (also r ...

and pioneered the new European forms of armament and drill. During the

Twelve Years' Truce The Twelve Years' Truce was a ceasefire during the Eighty Years' War between Habsburg Spain, Spain and the Dutch Republic, agreed in Antwerp on 9 April 1609 and ended on 9 April 1621. While European powers like Kingdom of France, France began tre ...

, a religious dispute broke out in the Republic, and a conflict erupted between Maurice and Van Oldenbarnevelt, which ended with the latter's decapitation. After the Truce, Maurice failed to achieve more military victories. He died without legitimate children in The Hague in 1625 and was succeeded by his younger half-brother Frederick Henry. Maurice is the namesake of

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

Life

Maurice was the son of

and

Anna of Saxony Anna of Saxony (23 December 1544 – 18 December 1577) was the heiress of Maurice, Elector of Saxony, and Agnes, eldest daughter of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse. Maurice's only son, Albert, died in infancy. Anna was the second wife of Willia ...

and was born at the

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

. He was named after his maternal grandfather, the Elector Maurice of Saxony, who was also a noted general. 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 De Lek and Beverweerd Louis of Nassau, Lord of De Lek and Beverweerd (1602 – The Hague, 28 February 1665) was a Dutch soldier. He was the illegitimate son of Margaretha van Mechelen and Maurice, Prince of Orange, and so a collateral member of the House of Orange- ...

) 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

and later in

where he met

Simon Stevin Simon Stevin (; 1548–1620), sometimes called Stevinus, was a County_of_Flanders, Flemish mathematician, scientist and music theorist. He made various contributions in many areas of science and engineering, both theoretical and practical. He a ...

. The States of

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

and

Zeeland Zeeland (; ), historically known in English by the Endonym and exonym, exonym Zealand, is the westernmost and least populous province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the southwest of the country, borders North Brabant to the east ...

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 The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Reformation, centralisation, exc ...

Only 16 when his father was murdered in

Delft Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...

in 1584, he soon was appointed to his father's office of

(''Stadhouder''). The monarchs of England and France had been requested to accept sovereignty but had refused. This had left Maurice as the only acceptable candidate for the position of Stadtholder. He became stadtholder of

and

in 1585, of

Guelders The Duchy of Guelders (; ; ) is a historical duchy, previously county, of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries. Geography The duchy was named after the town of Geldern (''Gelder'') in present-day Germany. Though the present pr ...

Overijssel Overijssel (; ; ; ) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name comes from the perspective of the Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht, Episcopal principality of Utrecht ...

and

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

in 1590 and of

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

and

Drenthe Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Jan ...

in 1620 (following the death of Willem Lodewijk, who had been stadtholder there and in

). Protestant Maurice was preceded as

(not a Dutch title) by his Roman Catholic eldest half-brother Philip William, Prince of Orange, deceased 1618. However, Philip William was in the custody of Spain, remaining so until 1596, and was thus unable to lead the Dutch independence cause. Maria of Nassau (1556–1616) was a full sister of Philip William from the first marriage of

William I, Prince of Orange William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...

, (assassinated 1584), to wealthy and powerful aristocrat Anna van Egmont (1533–1558), and a contender to Maurice over the estate of their father. He was appointed captain-general of the army in 1587, bypassing the

Earl of Leicester Earl of Leicester is a title that has been created seven times. The first title was granted during the 12th century in the Peerage of England. The current title is in the Peerage of the United Kingdom and was created in 1837. History Earl ...

, who returned to England on hearing this news.

Military career

Maurice organized the

rebellion Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

against Spain into a coherent, successful revolt. He reorganized the

together with Willem Lodewijk, studied

military history Military history is the study of War, armed conflict in the Human history, history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to Politics, local and international relationship ...

, strategy and

tactics Tactic(s) or Tactical may refer to: * Tactic (method), a conceptual action implemented as one or more specific tasks ** Military tactics, the disposition and maneuver of units on a particular sea or battlefield ** Chess tactics In chess, a tac ...

, mathematics and

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

, and proved himself to be among the best strategists of his age. The

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...

was a challenge to his style, so he could prove himself a good leader by taking several Spanish outposts. Paying special attention to the siege theories of

, he took valuable key fortresses and towns during a period known as the ''Ten Glory Years'':

Breda Breda ( , , , ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. ...

in 1590, Zutphen, Knodsenburg in 1591, Steenwijk and

Coevorden Coevorden (; ; ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Drenthe, in the east of Netherlands, the Netherlands. During the ...

in 1592, Geertruidenberg in 1593, and

in 1594. In 1597 he went on a further offensive and took Rheinberg, Meurs, Groenlo,

Bredevoort Bredevoort (West Low German, Low Saxon: ) is a small city with city privileges of about 1600 inhabitants in the municipality of Aalten, Netherlands. It is between the towns of Aalten and Winterswijk. Bredevoort has presented itself as ''Bredevoor ...

Enschede Enschede (; local ) is a list of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the province of Overijssel and the Twente region of the eastern Netherlands. The east of the urban area reaches ...

, Ootmarsum, and

Oldenzaal Oldenzaal (; Tweants: ''Oldnzel'') is a municipality and a city in the eastern province of Overijssel in the Netherlands. It is part of the region of Twente and is close to the German border. It received city rights in 1249. Historically, the ...

and closed off the year with the capture of Lingen. 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 Frederick Henry and many of the commanders of the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

, learned their trade under his command. His victories in the pitched battles at

Turnhout Turnhout () is a Belgium, Belgian Municipalities in Belgium, municipality and city located in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp. The municipality comprises only the city of Turnhout proper. ...

(1597) and at Nieuwpoort (1600) were dependent on his innovation of cooperation between arms, with his cavalry playing a major role. The victories earned him military fame and acknowledgement throughout Europe. Despite these successes, the

House of Orange The House of Orange-Nassau (, ), also known as the House of Orange because of the prestige of the princely title of Orange, also referred to as the Fourth House of Orange in comparison with the other noble houses that held the Principality of O ...

did not attain great respect among European royalty, as the Stadtholdership was not inheritable. The training of his army was especially important to

early modern warfare Early modern warfare is the era of warfare during early modern period following medieval warfare. It is associated with the start of the widespread use of gunpowder and the development of suitable weapons to use the explosive, including art ...

and the

Military Revolution The Military Revolution is the theory that a series of radical changes in military strategy and tactics during the 16th and 17th centuries resulted in major lasting changes in governments and society. The theory was introduced by Michael Roberts ...

of 1560–1650. 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 Herd behavior is the behavior of individuals in a group acting collectively without centralized direction. Herd behavior occurs in animals in herds, packs, bird flocks, fish schools, and so on, as well as in humans. Voting, demonstrations, ...

required more initiative and intelligence from the average soldier. One major contribution was the introduction of

volley fire Volley fire, as a military tactics, military tactic, is (in its simplest form) the concept of having soldiers shoot in the same direction en masse. In practice, it often consists of having a line of soldiers all discharge their weapons simultane ...

, which enabled soldiers to compensate for the inaccuracy of their weapons by firing in a large group. It was first used in European combat at the battle of Nieuwpoort in 1600. Wintergezicht op de Vijverberg te Den Haag met op de voorgrond prins Maurits en zijn gevolg Rijksmuseum SK-A-955

Wintergezicht op de Vijverberg te Den Haag met op de voorgrond prins Maurits en zijn gevolg Rijksmuseum SK-A-955

As part of his efforts to find allies against Spain, Maurice received Moroccan envoys such as Al-Hajari. They discussed the possibility of an alliance between

, the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, Morocco and the Moriscos, against the common enemy Spain. Al-Hajari's journey chronicles, authored in 1637, mentions in detail the discussion for a combined offensive against Spain. Maurice was known in his time and by historians as the first general of his age. His reputation rests not as much on his ability to win and exploit field battles as it does on his expertise as a siege commander, military organizer, and innovator. Of his two great adversaries, Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma, and Ambrogio Spinola, he cautiously never allowed himself to be brought to battle with Parma and did not follow up chances to offer Spinola battle with forces in his favour on the Yssel in 1606. He was, however, dealt a defeat by the Spanish general at the battle of Mülheim in October 1605. Based on his preference for sieges and small-scale actions, historian David Trim states that it is difficult to reach a verdict on his ability as a tactician.

Jonathan Israel Jonathan Irvine Israel (born 22 January 1946) is a British historian specialising in Dutch history, the Age of Enlightenment, Spinoza's Philosophy and European Jews. Israel was appointed as Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the School of Historic ...

notes that on one of the rare occasions when he did have to fight a major battle in the open – the 1600 Battle of Nieuwpoort – it did end with a Dutch victory, but this outcome was highly risky, and Maurice took care to extricate his army and avoid a second such battle. Maurice founded a whole new school of military professional practice. These pointed the way to the professional armies of the future by reapplying Roman tactics and innovating in the fields of logistics, training, and economics (e.g. paying troops regularly and on time). Many graduates of service under Maurice, such as his nephew, the Marshal Turenne, or his disciples such as

Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden Gustavus Adolphus (9 December ld Style and New Style dates, N.S 19 December15946 November ld Style and New Style dates, N.S 16 November1632), also known in English as Gustav II Adolf or Gustav II Adolph, was King of Sweden from 1611 t ...

, applied the Mauritian reforms to great effect in the remainder of the 17th century.

Maurice and Oldenbarnevelt

Maurice started out as the protégé of Landsadvocaat ( Land's Advocate, i.e. secretary to the nobility of Holland and legal counsel to the States of Holland, but functioning as de facto chief minister of Holland and the States-General)

, but gradually tensions rose between these two men. Against Maurice's advice, and despite his protests, Van Oldenbarnevelt decided to sign the

with Spain, which lasted from 1609 to 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 (strict

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

s) and the

Remonstrants The Remonstrants (or the Remonstrant Brotherhood) is a Protestant movement that split from the Dutch Reformed Church in the early 17th century. The early Remonstrants supported Jacobus Arminius, and after his death, continued to maintain his or ...

( Arminians), the struggle between Van Oldenbarnevelt and Maurice reached a climax. Van Oldenbarnevelt was arrested, tried and decapitated despite numerous requests for mercy. Important municipal regents such as Jacob Dircksz de Graeff and Cornelis Hooft from Amsterdam were temporarily removed from office by Moritz' powerful supporter Reynier Pauw. From 1618 till his death Maurice now enjoyed uncontested power over the Republic. He expanded the Stadtholder's palace at the

Binnenhof The Binnenhof (; ) is a complex of buildings in the city centre of The Hague, Netherlands, next to the Hofvijver (Court Pond). It houses the meeting place of both houses of the States General of the Netherlands, as well as the Ministry of Gener ...

in the Hague. The Maurice Tower is now part of the building complex of the

Senate of the Netherlands The Senate ( , literally "First Chamber of the States General", or simply ; sometimes ) is the upper house of the States General, the legislature of the Netherlands. Its 75 members are elected on lists by the members of the twelve States-Provi ...

. In 1618, he also succeeded his elder half-brother Philip William as

, a title he seems rarely to have used. Maurice urged his cadet half brother Frederick Henry to marry in order to preserve the

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

Thirty Years' and Eighty Years' War

Historian

places upon Maurice part of the responsibility for the outbreak of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

in which Germany was devastated and a large part of its population killed. As noted by Israel, German Protestants were not eager for an all-out confrontation with the Catholics. Maurice significantly helped precipitate such a confrontation by persuading his nephew Frederick V, Elector Palatine, to accept the Bohemian Crown, as well as actively encouraging the Bohemians to confront Habsburg rule, providing them 50,000 guilders as well as sending Dutch troops to fight in the doomed Battle of the White Mountain. This ill-considered decision proved disastrous to the Bohemians, who were thereby plunged into prolonged oppression, and to Frederick who lost his ancestral lands. It also worsened the Dutch Republic's own strategic position. In 1621 the war with Spain resumed after a 12-year period of truces. The Spanish, led by Ambrogio Spinola, had notable successes, including the Siege of Breda, the old Nassau family residence, in 1625. Maurice died on 23 April 1625, with the siege still underway. Justin of Nassau surrendered Breda in June 1625 after a costly eleven-month siege. Slag bij Nieuwpoort

Seven United Netherlands Janssonius 1658

List of battles

Maurice participated in these battles as principal commander of Dutch forces: * Axel * 1st Bergen op Zoom, 1588 * Medemblik, 1588 * 3rd Breda, 1590 * 2nd Steenbergen, 1590 * 3rd Zutphen, 1591 * 2nd Deventer, 1591 * Delfzijl, 1591 * Knodsenburg, 1591 * Hulst, 1591 * Nijmegen, 1591 * Steenwijk, 1592 * 1st Coevorden, 1592 * Gertrudenberg, 1593 * 2nd Coevorden, 1593 * Groningen, 1594 * 2nd Groenlo, 1595 * 1st Hulst, 1596 * Turnhout, 1597 * 2nd Venlo, 1597 * 2nd Rheinberg, 1597 * 1st Meurs, 1597 * 3rd Groenlo, 1597 * 1st Bredevoort, 1597 * Enschede, 1597 * Ootmarsum, 1597 * 1st Oldenzaal, 1597 * 1st Lingen, 1597 * 2nd Meurs, 1598 * 3rd Rheinberg, 1598 *

Doetinchem Doetinchem (; Dutch Low Saxon, Low Saxon: ) is a city and Municipalities in the Netherlands, municipality in the east of the Netherlands. It is situated along the IJssel, Oude IJssel (Old IJssel) river in a part of the Provinces of the Netherland ...

* Rees, 1599 * Zaltbommel (1599) * San Andreas * Nieuwpoort, 1600 * Ostend, 1601 * Siege of 's-Hertogenbosch (1601) *

Siege of Sluis (1604) The siege of Sluis (1604), also known as the Sluis campaign or the Battle of the Oostburg Line, was a series of military actions that took place during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo–Spanish War (1585), Anglo–Spanish War from 19 May to 1 ...

* 2nd Oldenzaal, 1605 * 2nd Lingen, 1605 * Mülheim, 1605 * Wachtendonk * Krakau Castle * 2nd Bredevoort, 1606 * 4th Rheinberg, 1606 * 4th Groenlo, 1606 * 3rd Venlo, 1606 * Jülich, 1621–22 * 2nd Bergen op Zoom, 1622 * 3rd Steenbergen, 1622 * 4th Breda, 1624

Namesakes

* The island nation of

, located in the Indian Ocean, was named after him. The island was named in the prince's honour by Wybrant Warwijck in 1598 and Dutch emigrants first settled it in May 1638. * In 1611, the Dutch variously named what is now known as the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

the Mauritius River or the Mauritz River, in honour of the prince. It was also similarly referred to as the Nassau River.

Coat of arms and titles

Maurice, besides being stadtholder of several provinces and Captain-General, both non-hereditary and appointive titles, was the hereditary

sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title that can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to ...

of the principality of Orange in what is today

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

in France. He also was the lord of many other estates, which formed his wealth: *

Marquis A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or wido ...

of Veere and

Vlissingen Vlissingen (; ) is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the island of Walcheren. With its strategic location between the Scheldt river and the North Sea, Vlissingen has been an importan ...

* Count of Nassau-Dillenburg,

Buren Buren () is a town and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Betuwe region of the Netherlands. Buren has 27,168 inhabitants as of 1 January 2022. Geography Buren is located in Gelderland, a province of the Netherlands. It is pa ...

Leerdam Leerdam () is a city and former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The municipality was merged with the municipalities of Vianen and Zederik on 1 January 2019. The name of the new municipalit ...

, Katzenelnbogen, and Vianden *

Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is ...

of Antwerp and

Besançon Besançon (, ; , ; archaic ; ) is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerland. Capi ...

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

of Aggeris,

, Cranendonck, Lands of Cuijk, Daesburg,

Eindhoven Eindhoven ( ; ) is a city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, located in the southern Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant, of which it is the largest municipality, and is also locat ...

, City of Grave, Lek, IJsselstein,

Diest Diest () is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. Situated in the northeast of the Hageland region, Diest neighbours the provinces of Antwerp to its North, and Limburg to the East and is situated around ...

Grimbergen Grimbergen () is a Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant, in the Flemish region of Belgium, north of the capital Brussels. The municipality comprises the towns of Beigem, Grimbergen, Hu ...

Herstal Herstal (; ), formerly known as Heristal, or Héristal (), is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city of Wallonia located in the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. It lies along the Meuse river. Herst ...

, Warneton, , Bentheim-Lingen,

Moers Moers (; older form: ''Mörs''; Dutch language, Dutch: ''Murse'', ''Murs'' or ''Meurs'') is a German List of cities and towns in Germany, city on the western bank of the Rhine, close to Duisburg. Moers belongs to the district of Wesel (distric ...

, Arlay, and Nozeroy;

Lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage o ...

of Dasburg, Geertruidenberg,

Hooge en Lage Zwaluwe Hooge en Lage Zwaluwe was a municipality in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It included the villages of Lage Zwaluwe Lage Zwaluwe is a village in the municipality Drimmelen, North Brabant, the Netherlands. The Lage Zwaluwe railway station a ...

, Klundert, Montfort, Naaldwijk, Niervaart, Polanen,

Steenbergen Steenbergen () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a town in the province of North Brabant in the south of the Netherlands. The municipality had a population of in and covers an area of of which is water. The municipality ...

, Sint-Maartensdijk,

Willemstad Willemstad ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea that is a Countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was the cap ...

, Bütgenbach, Sankt Vith, and

. During his lifetime he kept using the arms as during his father's life-time shown here, and never changed to the simpler arms used by his father and half brothers.

Descendants

Maurice never married but was the father of several illegitimate children: by Margaretha van Mechelen: * Willem of Nassau, Lord of the Lek (1601–1627) *

(Lodewijk) (1604–1665) * Maurice (Maurits) (1604– 5 June 1617) by Cornelia Jacobsdochter: * Anna (?– 11 June 1673) married François de Ferrier by Ursula de Rijck: * Elisabeth (1611–1679) * Karl (Carel) (ca. 1612–28 March 1637) died during the battle in Brazil. by Anna van de Kelder: * Karl (Carel) Maurice by Deliana de Backer: * Eleonora (?–1673)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange 1567 births Counts of Nassau 1625 deaths People from Dillenburg Stadtholders in the Low Countries Dutch military commanders Dutch people of the Eighty Years' War (United Provinces) 17th-century Dutch military personnel 17th-century Dutch politicians House of Orange-Nassau Princes of Orange Lords of Breda Knights of the Garter Burials in the Royal Crypt at Nieuwe Kerk, Delft Military strategists People of the Anglo-Spanish War (1625–1630) 16th-century governors Stadtholders of Guelders and Zutphen Sons of princes regnant