Willem IV,
Count van den Bergh (1537-1586) was the Dutch
Stadtholder
In the Low Countries, ''stadtholder'' ( nl, stadhouder ) was an office of steward, designated a medieval official and then a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and H ...
of
Guelders
The Duchy of Guelders ( nl, Gelre, french: Gueldre, german: Geldern) 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 pr ...
and
Zutphen
Zutphen () is a city and municipality located in the province of Gelderland, Netherlands. It lies some 30 km northeast of Arnhem, on the eastern bank of the river Ijssel at the point where it is joined by the Berkel. First mentioned in the 1 ...
from 1581 until his arrest for treason in 1583.
Biography
Early Years
Willem was the son of Count Oswald II van den Bergh
[The name "Van den Bergh" is a surname ("De Monte"); the name "Bergh" refers to the lordship ]Bergh
Bergh is a former municipality in the Dutch province of Gelderland. The municipality included the villages of 's-Heerenberg, Zeddam, and Stokkum.
In 2005, it merged with Didam to form the new municipality of Montferland
Montferland () is ...
. and Elisabeth van Dorth. He spent time in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
at the court of
Mary of Austria (1505–1558)
Mary of Austria (15 September 1505 – 18 October 1558), also known as Mary of Hungary, was queen of Hungary and Bohemia as the wife of King Louis II, and was later governor of the Habsburg Netherlands.
The daughter of Queen Joanna and Ki ...
, then
Regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
of the
Habsburg Netherlands
Habsburg Netherlands was the Renaissance period fiefs in the Low Countries held by the Holy Roman Empire's House of Habsburg. The rule began in 1482, when the last House of Valois-Burgundy, Valois-Burgundy ruler of the Netherlands, Mary of Burgu ...
. Here he became acquainted with his contemporary
William the Silent
William the Silent (24 April 153310 July 1584), also known as William the Taciturn (translated from nl, Willem de Zwijger), or, more commonly in the Netherlands, William of Orange ( nl, Willem van Oranje), was the main leader of the Dutch Re ...
,
Prince of Orange
Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title originally associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by sovereigns in the Netherlands.
The title ...
, and married his eldest sister,
Maria of Nassau Maria of Nassau may refer to:
* Maria of Nassau (1539–1599), daughter of William the Rich and Juliana of Stolberg
* Maria of Nassau (1553–1554), first daughter of William the Silent and Anna of Egmond
* Maria of Nassau (1556–1616), second daug ...
, on 11 November 1556 at
Moers
Moers (; older form: ''Mörs''; archaic 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 (d ...
.
Start of the Eigthy Years' War
In 1566 Willem was a prominent member of the
League of Nobles (also known as the Compromis) that presented a petition of grievances about the suppression of heresy to the Brussels government of the new Regent
Margaret of Parma
Margaret of Parma (; 5 July 1522 – 18 January 1586) was Governor of the Netherlands from 1559 to 1567 and from 1578 to 1582. She was the illegitimate daughter of the then 22-year-old Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Johanna Maria van der G ...
(who acted for her brother
Philip II of Spain
Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...
). He could not be present himself, but did join the meeting in Breda on 1 February 1567, and that in Antwerp on 4 February.
This prominence put him at odds with
Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba
Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, 3rd Duke of Alba (29 October 150711 December 1582), known as the Grand Duke of Alba (, pt, Grão Duque de Alba) in Spain and Portugal and as the Iron Duke ( or shortly 'Alva') in the Netherlands, was a Sp ...
, who succeeded Margaret as governor-general of the Netherlands in 1567. Alba and started a program of repression. Together with a number of other "ringleaders", like the Prince of Orange, Willem was indicted before the
Council of Troubles
The Council of Troubles (usual English translation of nl, Raad van Beroerten, or es, Tribunal de los Tumultos, or french: Conseil des Troubles) was the special tribunal instituted on 9 September 1567 by Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of ...
. He fled to
Bremen
Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
with his family, and came in close contact with the leaders of the rebels. His many possessions in the Netherlands were
sequestered.
In 1572 Willem commanded one of the little armies of mercenaries that invaded the Netherlands. These were financed by his brother-in-law the Prince of Orange. Willem was initially successful, and quickly conquered
Doetinchem
Doetinchem (; Low Saxon: ) is a city and municipality in the east of the Netherlands. It is situated along the Oude IJssel (Old IJssel) river in a part of the province of Gelderland called the Achterhoek. The municipality had a population of in ...
,
Zutphen
Zutphen () is a city and municipality located in the province of Gelderland, Netherlands. It lies some 30 km northeast of Arnhem, on the eastern bank of the river Ijssel at the point where it is joined by the Berkel. First mentioned in the 1 ...
,
Deventer
Deventer (; Sallands: ) is a city and municipality in the Salland historical region of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands. In 2020, Deventer had a population of 100,913. The city is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, bu ...
,
Zwolle
Zwolle () is a city and municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Overijssel and the province's second-largest municipality after Enschede with a population of 130,592 as of 1 December 2021. Zwolle is o ...
,
Kampen
Campen or Kampen may refer to:
Places Finland
* Kampen, the Swedish name of Kamppi, a district in Helsinki
Germany
* Campen, Germany, a village by the Ems estuary, northwestern Germany, home of the Campen Lighthouse
* Campen Castle, a part ...
, and
Steenwijk
Steenwijk (; Low German: ''Steenwiek'', ''Stienwiek'' English: ''Stenwick'') is a city in the Dutch province of Overijssel. It is located in the municipality of Steenwijkerland. It is the largest town of the municipality.
Steenwijk received city ...
. These cities then greeted him as Stadholder of Guelders for the Prince of Orange. However, he was not able to withstand the onslaught of the Spanish troops under Alba's son
Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo, 4th Duke of Alba
Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo y Enríquez de Guzmán, 4th Duke of Alba, Grandee of Spain, (in full, ), (21 November 1537 – 11 December 1583), was a commander in the Spanish army during the Eighty Years' War.
Biography
He was the first leg ...
. It led to the siege and bloodbath of Zutphen in November 1572, and a subsequent total failure of his campaign.
Wavering loyalty
Willem benefitted from the amnesty of the 1576
Pacification of Ghent
The Pacification of Ghent, signed on 8 November 1576, was an alliance between the provinces of the Habsburg Netherlands. The main objectives were to remove Habsburg Spain, Spanish mercenaries who had made themselves hated by all sides due to their ...
. He was able to return to the Netherlands and to regain part of his forfeited possessions. Meanwhile his younger brother Frederik had been allotted Hedel and Boxmeer by
Requesens. Willem then had the citizens of 's-Hertogenbosch chase his brother from Hedel Castle. In September 1577 Willem seized
Boxmeer Castle by arms, inflicting some deathly casualties. On 28 February 1579 this action was condemned by the court in Brussel, still under control of the Republican side.
Willem had hoped to be appointed Stadtholder of Gelderland on behalf of the
States-General of the Netherlands
The States General of the Netherlands ( nl, Staten-Generaal ) is the supreme bicameral legislature of the Netherlands consisting of the Senate () and the House of Representatives (). Both chambers meet at the Binnenhof in The Hague.
The States ...
. This ambition was initially thwarted when his other brother-in-law
Johann VI, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg
Count John VI of Nassau-Dillenburg (22 November 1536 – 8 October 1606) was the second son of William the Rich and the younger brother of William the Silent. He has a special place in the history of the Netherlands because he is the male-lin ...
got the post on 10 March 1578. Disaffected by this disappointment he secretly approached the new royal governor-general of the Netherlands,
Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma
Alexander Farnese ( it, Alessandro Farnese, es, Alejandro Farnesio; 27 August 1545 – 3 December 1592) was an Italian noble and condottiero and later a general of the Spanish army, who was Duke of Parma, Piacenza and Castro from 1586 to 1592 ...
with the object of becoming the royal stadtholder of Guelders. However, by late 1579 Willem was far from an agreement with Spain. While Willem came ever closer to the Spanish party, Johann resigned the office of Stadtholder in 1581. In November 1581 Willem was then appointed stadtholder for the rebellious States-General. It is quite possible that Willem now again became a sincere adherent of the Republican side.
Arrested for treason
In September 1583 the sudden seizure of Zutphen by the Spanish side cast suspicion on the stadtholder of Guelders. On 5 November 1583 Willem, his wife and younger sons and servants were taken prisoner, and their papers sequestered. The action was led by the chancellor of Guelders,
Elbertus Leoninus Elbertus Leoninus was the Latinized name of Elbert de Leeuw (1519 or 1520 in Zaltbommel – 6 December 1598 in Arnhem), Dutch jurist and statesman, who helped negotiate the Pacification of Ghent.
Biography
Family life
Leoninus was born into a n ...
. Willem was first sent to Dordrecht, then to Zaltbommel, and finally to Delfshaven. Willem was not release till March 1584.
Willem was released after he promised to retire to his castle in Ulft and to remain neutral in the conflict. In light of the evidence that was found, this was an incredibly lenient treatment. A possible explanation is that he was blackmailed by contacts from the time before he became stadholder.
Joins the Royalist side
In late 1584 Willem openly joined the Royalist side together with his sons. He died at Ulft Castle in
Ulft
Ulft () is a town in Oude IJsselstreek in the Achterhoek area in the province of Gelderland, Netherlands.
The town has over 10,000 inhabitants and is the biggest town in the municipality Oude IJsselstreek. Until 1 January 2005, Ulft was part of ...
in 1586.
Offspring
Some of Willem's children:
* Count
Herman van den Bergh
Herman, Count van den Bergh (2 August 1558 in Huis Bergh, 's-Heerenberg, Gelderland – 12 August 1611 in Spa) was a Dutch soldier in the Eighty Years' War, knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece and stadtholder of Spanish Guelders.
Life
In 15 ...
(1558–1611),
* Count
Frederik (1559–1618),
* Count
Oswald III (1561-1586),
* Count
Hendrik van den Berg (1573–1638) he ended up defecting from the Spanish to the States side.
References
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*
Notes
External links
*
Willem IV graaf van den Bergh
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergh, Willem IV van den
1537 births
1586 deaths
People from Montferland
Dutch stadtholders
16th-century Dutch people
Dutch people of the Eighty Years' War