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早年生涯

Portrait of Mary, Princess Royal, in a yellow gown and William II in a black suit
威廉的父母:奥兰治亲王威廉二世和英国长公主玛丽·斯图亚特英语Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange

出生及家庭

奥兰治的威廉·亨德里克于1650年11月4日在位于荷兰共和国海牙出生。[1]他是荷兰省督奥兰治的威廉二世英国长公主玛丽·斯图亚特英语Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange唯一的孩子。玛丽是英格兰、苏格兰及爱尔兰国王查理一世之长女以及查理二世的妹妹和詹姆斯二世及七世的姐姐。

在威廉出生前八天,他的父亲就被天花夺去了生命;因此,威廉从甫出生的那一刻起便成为了奥兰治亲王[2]紧接着,他的母亲玛丽和祖母索姆-布劳菲尔斯的阿玛利亚英语Amalia of Solms-Braunfels在给他这个婴儿起名上起了争执。他的玛丽想给他取名为查尔斯来纪念自己的兄长,但是他的祖母却坚持为他取名为威廉(Willem)以作其成为荷兰省督的垫枕。[3]尽管威廉二世曾在遗嘱中任命太太玛丽为儿子的监护人;但是威廉直到逝世也没有在该遗嘱文件上签字,因而该遗嘱被认定为无效。[4]1651年8月13日,荷兰及新西兰最高法院英语Hoge Raad van Holland en Zeeland(最高理事会)做出裁定,他的母亲、祖母以及勃兰登堡选侯弗里德里希·威廉(“大选侯”)和他的妻子路易丝·亨丽埃特英语Luise Henriette of Nassau(他的姑姑)将共享威廉的监护权。[5]

童年及教育

威廉的母亲对儿子从未显示出私人感情上的兴致,并一直刻意同荷兰社会保持距离,时常数年不在儿子身边。[6]威廉的教育最初掌握在几位荷兰家庭女教师及包括沃尔勃格·霍沃德(Walburg Howard)在内的几个英国后裔手中。从1656年4月开始,反抗议派英语Franciscus Gomarus神学家吉贝尔图斯·沃修斯英语Gisbertus Voetius的一名追随者及加尔文主义的宣传者科内利斯·特利格兰德(Cornelis Trigland)每天都会为亲王讲授宗教改革方面的知识。[7]威廉在一篇名为Discours sur la nourriture de S. H. Monseigneur le Prince d'Orange的短论中,比较详细的描述了理想教育,这篇短论亦可能是其导师之一的康斯坦丁·惠更斯英语Constantijn Huygens所作。[8]通过预定论的这些课程,使威廉深信自己是神圣眷顾英语Divine Providence的工具,并注定要在神佑下改变奥兰治家族的历史命运。[9]

扬·戴维茨·德赫姆英语Jan Davidsz de Heem所绘威廉幼年画像,画中的威廉周围充满了奥兰治家族的象征物——橘子(Orange)

从1659年初开始,威廉在莱顿大学于伦理学教授亨德里克·博尼修(Hendrik Bornius)门下花费了七年时间接受正规教育(尽管他从未作为学生通过官方途径注册入学)。[10]威廉于居住在代尔夫特的普林森霍夫(Prinsenhof)期间,有了一支包括汉斯·威廉·本廷克英语William_Bentinck,_1st_Earl_of_Portland在内的初具规模的侍从队伍以及一位新教师——荷兰省督奥兰治的弗雷德里克·亨德里克的私生子及威廉的伯父弗雷德里克·拿骚·德·祖伊莱斯坦英语Frederick Nassau de Zuylenstein。教导威廉法语的是塞缪尔·恰普佐英语Samuel Chappuzeau(其在威廉的母亲去世后,被威廉的祖母遣走)。[11]

荷兰州英语States of Holland将教育威廉的责任推给了大议长约翰·德维特和他的舅舅科内利斯·德格雷夫英语Cornelis de Graeff。1660年9月25日,荷兰省采取了行动。虽然威廉的国家职能还没有确定,但他们这样做是为了使其获得在未来从事某些国家事务所必需的技能;[12]然而,荷兰当局最初的干预却未能持久。1660年11月23日,威廉的母亲正当在伦敦白厅宫拜访其兄长查理二世国王之时染上天花而逝世,那时威廉只有十岁。[12]玛丽在遗嘱里要求查理照顾着威廉的利益,而查理随即则要求荷兰议会终止他们的干涉。[13]荷兰当局对查理做出让步,于1661年9月30日遵循了这些条件。[14]在1661年,祖伊莱斯坦开始给查理做思想工作。他劝导威廉写信给查理,恳请其为威廉在未来就任省督时助一臂之力。[15]威廉的母亲逝世后,他的教育和监护问题成了他的王朝的支持者英语Orangism (Netherlands)同尼德兰共和党的支持者之间争论的焦点。[16]

起初,荷兰当局以最大的克制对这些阴谋视而不见,但在第二次英荷战争英语Second Anglo-Dutch War期间,当威廉地位的提升成为其舅舅议和的主要条件之一时,他们无法再保持沉默了。[15]作为一项对策,荷兰于1666年正式将威廉置于政府的监护之下,或成为“国家之子”("Child of State")。[15]包括祖伊莱斯坦在内的所有亲英分子皆被驱离威廉的身边。[15]威廉虽然苦苦央求德维特允许祖伊莱斯坦留下,但还是遭到了拒绝。[17]共和国的政界要员德维特将威廉的教育掌控在自己手中,他每周为威廉做一次国务上的指导,并时不时让威廉参加室内网球英语real tennis比赛。[17]

早期政治生涯

portrait of a man dressed all in black, looking left
荷兰省大议长约翰·德维特,他在1666年接手小威廉的教育,对其严加管控。德维特后来在1672年被群众凌迟泄愤
portrait of a plump man standing at a desk with papers lying on it
加斯帕·菲格英语Gaspar Fagel,1672年接替约翰·德维特为大议长。不同于前任,他友善地对待威廉并支持其志业

荷兰省督被取消

在威廉的父亲逝后,多数省份执政之位空缺。[18]西敏斯特和约英语Treaty of Westminster (1654)》结束了首次英荷战争,在奥利弗·克伦威尔的坚持下,此合约附带了一个名为《隔离法案英语Act of Seclusion》的密件,该密件要求禁止荷兰省任命奥兰治家族成员担任荷兰执政。[19]英格兰王政复辟英语Restoration (England)之后,早已不再是秘密的《隔离法案》随着英格兰联邦(包括在此联邦期间缔结的条约)的土崩瓦解而被废除。[20]1660年,玛丽和阿玛利亚都试图说服几个省的议会指定威廉为他们未来的省督,但最终均遭到了回绝。[20]

1667年,威廉三世的十八岁生日临近,橙带党英语Orangism_(Netherlands)再次试图通过保证他作为省督和海洋统帅英语Captain-General的地位而将亲王推上权力的舞台,以至于荷兰州党英语Dutch States Party领袖德维特为防止奥兰治家族势力复兴而允许哈勒姆年金领取者英语pensionary加斯帕·菲格英语Gaspar Fagel劝诱荷兰省议会颁布《永久谕令英语Perpetual Edict (1667)》。[21]该谕令宣布,尼德兰联省的陆军统帅或海军统帅不得担任任何一省的省督。[21]即便如此,威廉的支持者仍寻求各种方法提高他的声望。1668年,威廉躲过其家庭教师的眼线,秘密地搭船前往西兰省米德尔堡。同年9月19日,他被西兰省议会英语States_of_Zeeland授予省议长(First Noble)一职。[22]翌月,他在祖母阿玛利亚的同意下,趁机宣布自己已十八岁成年,并开始管理自己的家族。[23]

1670年3月,反橙带党主义的中心荷兰省宣布废除执政这一职务,另外四省也起而效仿,建立了所谓的“和谐局”("Harmony")。[21]而德维特更是要求荷兰省议会的每一位寡头(市政当局的“摄政者”)宣誓坚守《永久谕令》;除一人拒绝外,其余人均表示服从。[21]威廉虽然受到了一连串的打击,但是这些情形实际上却是折中之论——德维特本想对亲王视若罔闻,可亲王如今的官职还是升到了陆军最高统帅。[24]而德维特也容许将威廉纳为参政院国务委员会英语Council of State of the Netherlands的一员,然后让其在国会管理国防预算。[25]尽管德维特坚决将威廉的身份地位限制在顾问上。但在1670年5月31日,威廉获全票荐举进入了委员会。[26]

同共和党的冲突

在1670年11月,威廉在德维特的许可下前往英格兰,敦促其舅父查理至少得偿还斯图亚特欠给奥兰治家族的二百七十九万七千八百五十九债务的一部分。[27]可查理没有能力支付欠债,使威廉不得不同意将债务总额减少至一百八十万盾。[27]威廉在和查理会面之后,查理发现他的外甥不但是个虔诚笃实的喀尔文派教徒,更是个奉行爱国主义的荷兰人。查理经过深思熟虑,决定对威廉隐瞒与法签订的《多佛秘密条约》,打算出兵消灭荷兰共和国,然后把共和国残存的国土封给威廉,扶植威廉当残存国家的“主权领主”。[27]而威廉发现,查理和詹姆斯除政治观点和他不同之外,生活方式也同他截然不然,他们在生活中更关心的是跳舞、赌博及调戏情妇。[28]

翌年,盎格鲁-法兰西联军对安全局势有所恶化的共和国的进攻迫在眉睫。[29]尽管威廉既年轻又无经验,但海尔德兰省国会鉴于这一威胁,仍想要任命他为荷兰陆海军统帅。[30]1671年12月15日,乌德勒支省议会把此作其官方政策。[31]1672年1月19日,荷兰省议会制定了一个反提案:威廉只能在战时任职。[32]亲王于2月25日拒绝达成妥协:按照荷兰国会在一个夏天的约定,他将在二十二岁生日时正式任职。[32]与此同时,威廉在1672年1月给查理写了封密信,询问其舅是否趁机对国会施加压力以任命他为荷兰总督。[33]作为回报,威廉将允许共和国同英格兰结盟,并尽最大努力满足查理的利益“荣誉并效忠其国国会”。[33]查理没有就这个提案采取任何行动,并与其法国盟友继续着作战计划。

Becoming stadtholder

"Disaster year": 1672

For the Dutch Republic, 1672 proved calamitous, becoming known as the "disaster year" (Dutch: rampjaar) because of the Franco-Dutch War and the Third Anglo-Dutch War in which the Netherlands were invaded by France under Louis XIV, England, Münster, and Cologne. Although the Anglo-French fleet was disabled by the Battle of Solebay, in June the French army quickly overran the provinces of Gelderland and Utrecht. William on 14 June withdrew with the remnants of his field army into Holland, where the States had ordered the flooding of the Dutch Water Line on 8 June.[34] Louis XIV, believing the war was over, began negotiations to extract as large a sum of money from the Dutch as possible.[35] The presence of a large French army in the heart of the Republic caused a general panic, and the people turned against de Witt and his allies.[35]

On 4 July the States of Holland appointed William stadtholder, and he took the oath five days later.[36] The next day, a special envoy from Charles, Lord Arlington, met with William in Nieuwerbrug. He offered to make William Sovereign Prince of Holland in exchange for his capitulation—whereas a stadtholder was a mere civil servant.[37] When William refused, Arlington threatened that William would witness the end of the republic's existence.[37] William made his famous answer: "There is one way to avoid this: to die defending it in the last ditch". On 7 July, the inundations were complete and the further advance of the French army was effectively blocked. On 16 July Zeeland offered the stadtholderate to William.[36]

Johan de Witt had been unable to function as Grand Pensionary after having been wounded by an attempt on his life on 21 June.[38] On 15 August William published a letter from Charles, in which the English King stated that he had made war because of the aggression of the de Witt faction.[39] The people thus incited, de Witt and his brother, Cornelis, were murdered by an Orangist civil militia in The Hague on 20 August.[39] After this William replaced many of the Dutch regents with his followers.[40]

Though William's complicity in the lynching has never been proved (and some 19th-century Dutch historians have made an effort to disprove that he was an accessory before the fact) he thwarted attempts to prosecute the ringleaders, and even rewarded some, like Hendrik Verhoeff, with money, and others, like Johan van Banchem and Johan Kievit, with high offices.[41] This damaged his reputation in the same fashion as his later actions at Glencoe.

William III continued to fight against the invaders from England and France, allying himself with Spain and Brandenburg. In November 1672 he took his army to Maastricht to threaten the French supply lines.[42] By 1673, the situation further improved. Although Louis took Maastricht and William's attack against Charleroi failed, Lieutenant-Admiral Michiel de Ruyter defeated the Anglo-French fleet three times, forcing Charles to end England's involvement by the Treaty of Westminster; after 1673, France slowly withdrew from Dutch territory (with the exception of Maastricht), while making gains elsewhere.[43]

Fagel now proposed to treat the liberated provinces of Utrecht, Gelderland and Overijssel as conquered territory (Generality Lands), as punishment for their quick surrender to the enemy.[44] William refused but obtained a special mandate from the States-General to newly appoint all delegates in the States of these provinces.[44] William's followers in the States of Utrecht on 26 April 1674 appointed him hereditary stadtholder.[45] The States of Gelderland on 30 January 1675 offered the titles of Duke of Guelders and Count of Zutphen.[46] The negative reactions to this from Zeeland and the city of Amsterdam, where the stock market collapsed, made William ultimately decide to decline these honours; he was instead appointed stadtholder of Gelderland and Overijssel.[46]

Marriage

portrait of a woman with brown hair in a blue-and-gray dress
William married his first cousin, the future Queen Mary II, in 1677.

During the war with France, William tried to improve his position by marrying his first cousin Mary, elder surviving daughter of James, Duke of York, and eleven years his junior. Although he anticipated resistance to a Stuart match from the Amsterdam merchants who had disliked his mother (another Mary Stuart), William believed that marrying Mary would increase his chances of succeeding to Charles's kingdoms, and would draw England's monarch away from his pro-French policies.[47] James was not inclined to consent, but Charles pressured his brother to go along.[48] Charles wanted to use the possibility of marriage to gain leverage in negotiations relating to the war, but William insisted that the two issues be decided separately.[49] Charles relented, and Bishop Henry Compton married the couple on 4 November 1677.[50] Mary became pregnant soon after the marriage, but miscarried. After a further illness later in 1678, she never conceived again.[51]

Throughout William and Mary's marriage, William had only one acknowledged mistress, Elizabeth Villiers, in contrast to the many mistresses his uncles openly kept.[52]

Peace with France, intrigue with England

By 1678, Louis sought peace with the Dutch Republic.[53] Even so, tensions remained: William remained very suspicious of Louis, thinking the French king desired "Universal Kingship" over Europe; Louis described William as "my mortal enemy" and saw him as an obnoxious warmonger. France's small annexations in Germany (the Réunion policy) and the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, caused a surge of Huguenot refugees to the Republic.[54] This led William III to join various anti-French alliances, such as the Association League, and ultimately the League of Augsburg (an anti-French coalition that also included the Holy Roman Empire, Sweden, Spain and several German states) in 1686.[55]

portrait of a man clad in armour, looking right
Portrait of William, aged 27, by Peter Lely

After his marriage in November 1677, William became a possible candidate for the English throne if his father-in-law (and uncle) James were excluded because of his Catholicism. During the crisis concerning the Exclusion Bill in 1680, Charles at first invited William to come to England to bolster the king's position against the exclusionists, then withdrew his invitation—after which Lord Sunderland also tried unsuccessfully to bring William over but now to put pressure on Charles.[56] Nevertheless, William secretly induced the States-General to send the Insinuation to Charles, beseeching the king to prevent any Catholics from succeeding him, without explicitly naming James.[57] After receiving indignant reactions from Charles and James, William denied any involvement.[57]

In 1685, when James II succeeded Charles, William at first attempted a conciliatory approach, at the same time trying not to offend the Protestants in England.[58] William, ever looking for ways to diminish the power of France, hoped James would join the League of Augsburg, but by 1687 it became clear that James would not join the anti-French alliance.[58] Relations worsened between William and James thereafter.[59] In November, James's wife Mary of Modena was announced to be pregnant.[60] That month, to gain the favour of English Protestants, William wrote an open letter to the English people in which he disapproved of James's policy of religious toleration. Seeing him as a friend, and often having maintained secret contacts with him for years, many English politicians began to negotiate an armed invasion of England.[61]

Glorious Revolution

sepia-toned allegorical engraving representing William III's arrival at Tor Bay
The Arrival of William III by Sir James Thornhill. William landed in England on 5 November (Guy Fawkes day), a day already special in the Protestant calendar.

Invasion of England

William at first opposed the prospect of invasion, but most historians now agree that he began to assemble an expeditionary force in April 1688, as it became increasingly clear that France would remain occupied by campaigns in Germany and Italy, and thus unable to mount an attack while William's troops would be occupied in Britain.[62][63] Believing that the English people would not react well to a foreign invader, he demanded in a letter to Rear-Admiral Arthur Herbert that the most eminent English Protestants first invite him to invade.[64] In June, James's wife, Mary of Modena, bore a son (James Francis Edward Stuart), who displaced William's wife to become first in the line of succession.[65] Public anger also increased because of the trial of seven bishops who had publicly opposed James's Declaration of Indulgence granting religious liberty to his subjects, a policy which appeared to threaten the establishment of the Anglican Church.[66]

On 30 June 1688—the same day the bishops were acquitted—a group of political figures known afterward as the "Immortal Seven", sent William a formal invitation.[64] William's intentions to invade were public knowledge by September 1688.[67] With a Dutch army, William landed at Brixham in southwest England on 5 November 1688.[68] He came ashore from the ship Brill, proclaiming "the liberties of England and the Protestant religion I will maintain". William had come ashore with approximately 11,000-foot and 4,000 horse soldiers.[69] James's support began to dissolve almost immediately upon William's arrival; Protestant officers defected from the English army (the most notable of whom was Lord Churchill of Eyemouth, James's most able commander), and influential noblemen across the country declared their support for the invader.[70]

James at first attempted to resist William, but saw that his efforts would prove futile.[70] He sent representatives to negotiate with William, but secretly attempted to flee on 11 December.[71] A group of fishermen caught him and brought him back to London.[71] He successfully escaped to France in a second attempt on 23 December.[71] William permitted James to leave the country, not wanting to make him a martyr for the Roman Catholic cause.[72]

Proclaimed king

A silver coin picturing William III and his coat of arms
Silver crown coin of William III, dated 1695. The Latin inscription is (obverse) GVLIELMVS III DEI GRA[TIA] (reverse) MAG[NAE] BR[ITANNIAE], FRA[NCIAE], ET HIB[ERNIAE] REX 1695. English: "William III, By the grace of God, King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, 1695." The reverse shows the arms, clockwise from top, of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, centred on William's personal arms of the House of Orange-Nassau.

William summoned a Convention Parliament in England, which met on 22 January 1689,[73] to discuss the appropriate course of action following James's flight.[74] William felt insecure about his position; though his wife ranked higher in the line of succession to the throne, he wished to reign as King in his own right, rather than as a mere consort.[75] The only precedent for a joint monarchy in England dated from the sixteenth century, when Queen Mary I married Philip of Spain.[76] Philip remained king only during his wife's lifetime, and restrictions were placed on his power. William, on the other hand, demanded that he remain as king even after his wife's death.[77] Although the majority of Tory Lords proposed to acclaim her as sole ruler, Mary, remaining loyal to her husband, refused.[78]

The House of Commons, with a Whig majority, quickly resolved that the throne was vacant, and that it was safer if the ruler was Protestant. There were more Tories in the House of Lords which would not initially agree, but after William refused to be a regent or to agree to remaining king only in his wife's lifetime, there were negotiations between the two houses and the Lords agreed by a narrow majority that the throne was vacant. The Commons made William accept a Bill of Rights,[73] and on 13 February 1689, Parliament passed the Declaration of Right, in which it deemed that James, by attempting to flee, had abdicated the government of the realm, thereby leaving the throne vacant.[79] The Crown was not offered to James's eldest son, James Francis Edward (who would have been the heir apparent under normal circumstances), but to William and Mary as joint sovereigns.[75] It was, however, provided that "the sole and full exercise of the regal power be only in and executed by the said Prince of Orange in the names of the said Prince and Princess during their joint lives".[75]

William and Mary were crowned together at Westminster Abbey on 11 April 1689 by the Bishop of London, Henry Compton.[80] Normally, the coronation is performed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, but the Archbishop at the time, William Sancroft, refused to recognise James's removal.[80]

William also summoned a Convention of the Estates of Scotland which met on 14 March 1689, and sent a conciliatory letter while James sent haughty uncompromising orders, swaying a majority in favour of William. On 11 April, the day of the English coronation, the Convention finally declared that James was no longer King of Scotland.[81] William and Mary were offered the Scottish Crown; they accepted on 11 May.[82]

Revolution settlement

Statue of a rider on a horse
Statue of an idealised William III by John Michael Rysbrack erected in Queen Square, Bristol in 1736

William III of England encouraged the passage of the Act of Toleration, which guaranteed religious toleration to certain Protestant nonconformists.[74] It did not, however, extend toleration as far as William wished, still restricting the religious liberty of Roman Catholics, non-trinitarians, and those of non-Christian faiths.[80] In December 1689, one of the most important constitutional documents in English history, the Bill of Rights, was passed.[83] The Act, which restated and confirmed many provisions of the earlier Declaration of Right, established restrictions on the royal prerogative. It provided, amongst other things, that the Sovereign could not suspend laws passed by Parliament, levy taxes without parliamentary consent, infringe the right to petition, raise a standing army during peacetime without parliamentary consent, deny the right to bear arms to Protestant subjects, unduly interfere with parliamentary elections, punish members of either House of Parliament for anything said during debates, require excessive bail or inflict cruel and unusual punishments.[74] William was opposed to the imposition of such constraints, but he chose not to engage in a conflict with Parliament and agreed to abide by the statute.[84]

The Bill of Rights also settled the question of succession to the Crown. After the death of either William or Mary, the other would continue to reign. Next in the line of succession was Mary II's sister, Princess Anne, and her issue.[83] Finally, any children William might have had by a subsequent marriage were included in the line of succession. Roman Catholics, as well as those who married Catholics, were excluded.[83]

Rule with Mary II

Resistance to validity of rule

Although most in Britain accepted William and Mary as sovereigns, a significant minority refused to accept the validity of their claim to the throne, holding that the divine right of kings was authority directly from God, not delegated to the monarch by Parliament. Over the next 57 years Jacobites pressed for restoration of James and his heirs.[85] Nonjurors in England and Scotland, including over 400 clergy and several bishops of the Church of England and Scottish Episcopal Church as well as numerous laymen, refused to take oaths of allegiance to William.[86]

Painting of a battle scene
Battle of the Boyne between James II and William III, 12 July 1690, Jan van Huchtenburg

Ireland was controlled by Roman Catholics loyal to James, and Franco-Irish Jacobites arrived from France with French forces in March 1689 to join the war in Ireland and contest Protestant resistance at the Siege of Derry.[87] William sent his navy to the city in July, and his army landed in August. After progress stalled, William personally intervened to lead his armies to victory over James at the Battle of the Boyne on 1 July 1690,[88] after which James II fled back to France.[89]

Upon King William's return to England, his close friend Dutch General Godert de Ginkell, who had accompanied William to Ireland and had commanded a body of Dutch cavalry at the Battle of the Boyne, was named Commander in Chief of William's forces in Ireland and entrusted with further conduct of the war there. Ginkell took command in Ireland in the spring of 1691, and following several ensuing battles, succeeded in capturing both Galway and Limerick, thereby effectively suppressing the Jacobite forces in Ireland within a few more months. After difficult negotiations a capitulation was signed on 3 October 1691—the Treaty of Limerick. Thus concluded the Williamite pacification of Ireland, and for his services the Dutch general received the formal thanks of the House of Commons, and was awarded the title of Earl of Athlone by the King.

A series of Jacobite risings also took place in Scotland, where Viscount Dundee raised Highland forces and won a victory on 27 July 1689 at the Battle of Killiecrankie, but he died in the fight and a month later Scottish Cameronian forces subdued the rising at the Battle of Dunkeld.[90] William offered Scottish clans that had taken part in the rising a pardon provided they signed allegiance by a deadline, and his government in Scotland punished a delay with the Massacre of Glencoe of 1692, which became infamous in Jacobite propaganda as William had countersigned the orders.[91][92] Bowing to public opinion, William dismissed those responsible for the massacre, though they still remained in his favour; in the words of the historian John Dalberg-Acton, "one became a colonel, another a knight, a third a peer, and a fourth an earl."[91]

William's reputation in Scotland was further damaged when he refused English assistance to the Darien scheme, a colony which then failed disastrously.[93]

Parliament and faction

Engraving depicting a king, queen, throne, and arms
A 1703 engraving of King William III and Queen Mary II

Although the Whigs were William's strongest supporters, he initially favoured a policy of balance between the Whigs and Tories.[94] The Marquess of Halifax, a man known for his ability to chart a moderate political course, gained William's confidence early in his reign.[95] The Whigs, a majority in Parliament, had expected to dominate the government, and were disappointed that William denied them this chance.[96] This "balanced" approach to governance did not last beyond 1690, as the conflicting factions made it impossible for the government to pursue effective policy, and William called for new elections early that year.[97]

After the Parliamentary elections of 1690, William began to favour the Tories, led by Danby and Nottingham.[98] While the Tories favoured preserving the king's prerogatives, William found them unaccommodating when he asked Parliament to support his continuing war with France.[99] As a result, William began to prefer the Whig faction known as the Junto.[100] The Whig government was responsible for the creation of the Bank of England. William's decision to grant the Royal Charter in 1694 to the Bank, a private institution owned by bankers, is his most relevant economic legacy.[101] It laid the financial foundation of the English take-over of the central role of the Dutch Republic and Bank of Amsterdam in global commerce in the 18th century.

William dissolved Parliament in 1695, and the new Parliament that assembled that year was led by the Whigs. There was a considerable surge in support for William following the exposure of a Jacobite plan to assassinate him in 1696.[102] Parliament passed a bill of attainder against the ringleader, John Fenwick, and he was beheaded in 1697.[103]

War in Europe

William continued to be absent from the realm for extended periods during his war with France, leaving each spring and returning to England each autumn.[104] England joined the League of Augsburg, which then became known as the Grand Alliance.[105] Whilst William was away fighting, his wife, Mary II, governed the realm, but acted on his advice. Each time he returned to England, Mary gave up her power to him without reservation, an arrangement that lasted for the rest of Mary's life.[106]

After the Anglo-Dutch fleet defeated a French fleet at La Hogue in 1692, the allies for a short period controlled the seas, and Ireland was pacified thereafter by the Treaty of Limerick.[107] At the same time, the Grand Alliance fared poorly in Europe, as William lost Namur in the Spanish Netherlands in 1692, and was badly beaten at the Battle of Landen in 1693.[108]

Later years

Mary II died of smallpox on 28 December 1694, leaving William III to rule alone.[109] William deeply mourned his wife's death.[110] Despite his conversion to Anglicanism, William's popularity plummeted during his reign as a sole monarch.[111]

Allegations of homosexual relations

During the 1690s rumours grew of William's alleged homosexual inclinations and led to the publication of many satirical pamphlets by his Jacobite detractors.[112] He did have several close, male associates, including two Dutch courtiers to whom he granted English titles: Hans Willem Bentinck became Earl of Portland, and Arnold Joost van Keppel was created Earl of Albemarle. These relationships with male friends, and his apparent lack of more than one mistress, led William's enemies to suggest that he might prefer homosexual relationships. William's modern biographers, however, still disagree on the veracity of these allegations, with many contending that they were just figments of his enemies' imaginations,[113] and others suggesting there may have been some truth to the rumours.[114]

Bentinck's closeness to William did arouse jealousies in the Royal Court at the time, but most modern historians doubt that there was a homosexual element in their relationship.[115] William's young protege, Keppel, aroused more gossip and suspicion, being 20 years William's junior and strikingly handsome, and having risen from being a royal page to an earldom with some ease.[116] Portland wrote to William in 1697 that "the kindness which your Majesty has for a young man, and the way in which you seem to authorise his liberties ... make the world say things I am ashamed to hear".[117] This, he said, was "tarnishing a reputation which has never before been subject to such accusations". William tersely dismissed these suggestions, however, saying, "It seems to me very extraordinary that it should be impossible to have esteem and regard for a young man without it being criminal."[117]

Peace with France

Black and white depiction of six small portraits arrayed in a circle around a larger portrait
Engraving from 1695 showing the Lord Justices who administered the kingdom while William was on campaign.

In 1696, the Dutch territory of Drenthe made William its Stadtholder. In the same year, Jacobites plotted to assassinate William III in an attempt to restore James to the English throne, but failed. In accordance with the Treaty of Rijswijk (20 September 1697), which ended the Nine Years' War, Louis recognised William III as King of England, and undertook to give no further assistance to James II.[118] Thus deprived of French dynastic backing after 1697, Jacobites posed no further serious threats during William's reign.

As his life drew towards its conclusion, William, like many other European rulers, felt concern over the question of succession to the throne of Spain, which brought with it vast territories in Italy, the Low Countries and the New World. The King of Spain, Charles II, was an invalid with no prospect of having children; amongst his closest relatives were Louis XIV (the King of France) and Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor. William sought to prevent the Spanish inheritance from going to either monarch, for he feared that such a calamity would upset the balance of power. William and Louis XIV agreed to the First Partition Treaty, which provided for the division of the Spanish Empire: Duke Joseph Ferdinand of Bavaria would obtain Spain, while France and the Holy Roman Emperor would divide the remaining territories between them.[119] Charles II accepted the nomination of Joseph Ferdinand as his heir, and war appeared to be averted.[120]

Portrait of Louis XIV of France, standing, wearing an ermine robed faced with fleur-de-lis
Louis XIV of France was William's lifelong enemy.

When, however, Joseph Ferdinand died of smallpox, the issue re-opened. In 1700, the two rulers agreed to the Second Partition Treaty (also called the Treaty of London), under which the territories in Italy would pass to a son of the King of France, and the other Spanish territories would be inherited by a son of the Holy Roman Emperor.[121] This arrangement infuriated both the Spanish, who still sought to prevent the dissolution of their empire, and the Holy Roman Emperor, to whom the Italian territories were much more useful than the other lands.[121] Unexpectedly, the invalid King of Spain, Charles II, interfered as he lay dying in late 1700.[122] Unilaterally, he willed all Spanish territories to Philip, a grandson of Louis XIV. The French conveniently ignored the Second Partition Treaty and claimed the entire Spanish inheritance.[122] Furthermore, Louis XIV alienated William III by recognising James Francis Edward Stuart, the son of the former King James II who had died in 1701, as King of England.[123] The subsequent conflict, known as the War of the Spanish Succession, continued until 1713.

English succession

The Spanish inheritance was not the only one which concerned William. His marriage with Mary II had not yielded any children, and he did not seem likely to remarry. Mary's sister, the Princess Anne, had borne numerous children, all of whom died during childhood. The death of Prince William, Duke of Gloucester, in 1700 left the Princess Anne as the only individual left in the line of succession established by the Bill of Rights.[124] As the complete exhaustion of the line of succession would have encouraged a restoration of James II's line, Parliament passed the Act of Settlement 1701, which provided that if Anne died without surviving issue and William III failed to have surviving issue by any subsequent marriage, the Crown would be inherited by a distant relative, Sophia, Electress of Hanover, a granddaughter of King James VI and I, and her Protestant heirs.[125] The Act debarred Roman Catholics from the throne thereby excluding the candidacy of several dozen people whose claims would otherwise have been genealogically superior to Sophia's. The Act extended to England and Ireland, but not to Scotland, whose Estates had not been consulted before the selection of Sophia.[125]

Death

Statue of William III by Henry Cheere in Petersfield

In 1702, William died of pneumonia, a complication from a broken collarbone following a fall from his horse, Sorrel.[126] Because his horse had stumbled into a mole's burrow, many Jacobites toasted "the little gentleman in the black velvet waistcoat."[127] Years later, Sir Winston Churchill, in his A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, stated that the fall "opened the door to a troop of lurking foes".[128] William was buried in Westminster Abbey alongside his wife.[129] His sister-in-law Anne became queen regnant of England, Scotland and Ireland.

William's death brought an end to the Dutch House of Orange, members of which had served as stadtholder of Holland and the majority of the other provinces of the Dutch Republic since the time of William the Silent (William I). The five provinces of which William III was stadtholder—Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Gelderland and Overijssel—all suspended the office after his death. Thus, he was the last patrilineal descendant of William I to be named stadtholder for the majority of the provinces. Under William III's will, John William Friso stood to inherit the Principality of Orange as well as several lordships in the Netherlands.[130] He was William's distant agnatic relative, as well as son of William's aunt Albertine Agnes. However, King Frederick I of Prussia also claimed the Principality as the senior cognatic heir, his mother Louise Henriette being Albertine Agnes's older sister.[131] Under the Treaty of Utrecht, which was agreed to in 1713, Frederick William I of Prussia (who kept the title as part of his titulary) ceded the Principality of Orange to the King of France, Louis XIV; Friso's son, William IV, shared the title of "Prince of Orange", which had accumulated high prestige in the Netherlands as well as in the entire Protestant world, with Frederick William after the Treaty of Partition (1732).[132][133]

Legacy

A modern Orange Banner representing the Cooke's Defenders Lodge 609, Ballymacarrett District number 6

William's primary achievement was to contain France when it was in a position to impose its will across much of Europe. His life was largely opposed to the will of Louis XIV of France. This effort continued after his death during the War of the Spanish Succession. Another important consequence of William's reign in England involved the ending of a bitter conflict between Crown and Parliament that had lasted since the accession of the first English monarch of the House of Stuart, James I, in 1603. The conflict over royal and parliamentary power had led to the English Civil War during the 1640s and the Glorious Revolution of 1688.[134] During William's reign, however, the conflict was settled in Parliament's favour by the Bill of Rights 1689, the Triennial Act 1694 and the Act of Settlement 1701.[134]

William endowed the College of William and Mary (in present day Williamsburg, Virginia) in 1693.[135] Nassau, the capital of The Bahamas, is named after Fort Nassau, which was renamed in 1695 in his honour.[136] Similarly Nassau County, New York a county on Long Island, is a namesake.[137] Long Island itself was also known as Nassau during early Dutch rule.[137] Though many alumni of Princeton University think that the town of Princeton, N.J. (and hence the university) were named in his honour, this is probably untrue. Nassau Hall, at the university campus, is so named, however.[138]

New York City was briefly renamed New Orange for him in 1673 after the Dutch recaptured the city, which had been renamed New York by the British in 1665. His name was applied to the fort and administrative center for the city on two separate occasions reflecting his different sovereign status—first as Fort Willem Hendrick in 1673, and then as Fort William in 1691 when the English evicted Colonists who had seized the fort and city.[139] Nassau Street, NY was also named some time before 1696 in his honor. Orange County, just north of New York City, is also his namesake.

Ireland

Mural in Donegall Pass, a loyalist area in south Belfast, depicting "Good King Billy" astride his white horse

The modern day Orange Order is named after William III, and makes a point of celebrating his victory at the Battle of the Boyne with annual parades by Orangemen in Northern Ireland, parts of Scotland and other countries as far afield as Canada, Australia and Togo on 12 July.

William or "King Billy" as he is sometimes known in Northern Ireland is usually called "Good King Billy" by loyalists (with various negative phrases, eg "To Hell with" in place of "Good" for Republicans). He has featured prominently in many loyalist murals. He is traditionally depicted mounted on his white horse.


See also

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ Claydon, 9
  2. ^ Claydon, 14
  3. ^ Troost, 26; van der Zee, 6–7
  4. ^ Troost, 26
  5. ^ Troost, 26–27. 这位普鲁士王侯被选中是因为其能够作为一个中间力量来调和婆媳二人的分歧, 同时也因为阿玛利亚深恐玛丽将会把奥兰治家族的财产挥霍掉, 而作为潜在的继承人的他一定会积极地保护后者的安全.
  6. ^ Van der Kiste, 5–6; Troost, 27
  7. ^ Troost, 34–37
  8. ^ Troost, 27. 这篇短论的真实作者可能是约翰·范德海格 (Johan van den Kerckhoven). Ibid.
  9. ^ Troost, 36–37
  10. ^ Troost, 37–40
  11. ^ Meinel
  12. ^ 12.0 12.1 Troost, 43
  13. ^ Troost, 43–44
  14. ^ Troost, 44
  15. ^ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Troost, 49
  16. ^ Van der Kiste, 12–17
  17. ^ 17.0 17.1 Van der Kiste, 14–15
  18. ^ 威廉的姻叔父威廉·弗雷德里克 (奥兰治-迪茨亲王)弗里斯兰省执政.
  19. ^ Troost, 29–30
  20. ^ 20.0 20.1 Troost, 41
  21. ^ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 Troost, 52–53
  22. ^ Van der Kiste, 16–17
  23. ^ Troost, 57
  24. ^ Troost, 53–54
  25. ^ Troost, 59
  26. ^ Troost, 60
  27. ^ 27.0 27.1 27.2 Troost, 62–64
  28. ^ Van der Kiste, 18–20
  29. ^ Troost, 64
  30. ^ Troost, 65
  31. ^ Troost, 66
  32. ^ 32.0 32.1 Troost, 67
  33. ^ 33.0 33.1 Troost, 65–66
  34. ^ Troost, 74
  35. ^ 35.0 35.1 Troost, 78–83
  36. ^ 36.0 36.1 Troost, 76
  37. ^ 37.0 37.1 Troost, 80–81
  38. ^ Troost, 75
  39. ^ 39.0 39.1 Troost, 85–86
  40. ^ Troost, 89–90
  41. ^ Rowen, H.H. (1986) John de Witt: Statesman of the "true Freedom", Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-52708-2, p. 222; Nijhoff, D.C. (1893) Staatkundige Geschiedenis van Nederland. Tweede Deel, pp. 92–93, and fn.4 p. 92; Robert Fruin, "De schuld van Willem III en zijn vrienden aan den moord der gebroeders de Witt", in De Gids (1867), pp. 201–218 [1]
  42. ^ Troost, 122
  43. ^ Troost, 128–129
  44. ^ 44.0 44.1 Troost, 106–110
  45. ^ Troost, 109
  46. ^ 46.0 46.1 Troost, 109–112
  47. ^ Van der Kiste, 38–39
  48. ^ Van der Kiste, 42–43
  49. ^ Van der Kiste, 44–46
  50. ^ Van der Kiste, 47
  51. ^ Chapman, 86–93
  52. ^ Van der Zee, 202–206
  53. ^ Troost, 141–145
  54. ^ Troost, 153–156
  55. ^ Troost, 156–163
  56. ^ Troost, 150–151
  57. ^ 57.0 57.1 Troost, 152–153
  58. ^ 58.0 58.1 Troost, 173–175
  59. ^ Troost, 180–183
  60. ^ Troost, 189
  61. ^ Troost, 186
  62. ^ e.g. Troost, 190
  63. ^ Claydon, Tony. William III and II (1650–1702). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. September 2004; rev. May 2008 [8 August 2008].  (Subscription required)
  64. ^ 64.0 64.1 Troost, 191
  65. ^ Troost, 191; van der Kiste, 91–92
  66. ^ Van der Kiste, 91
  67. ^ Troost, 193–196
  68. ^ Troost, 200–203; van der Kiste, 102–103
  69. ^ Van der Kiste, 105
  70. ^ 70.0 70.1 Troost, 204–205
  71. ^ 71.0 71.1 71.2 Troost, 205–207
  72. ^ Baxter, 242–246; Miller, 208
  73. ^ 73.0 73.1 Legitimism in England. [10 November 2009]. 
  74. ^ 74.0 74.1 74.2 Davies, 614–615
  75. ^ 75.0 75.1 75.2 Troost, 207–210
  76. ^ Davies, 469; Israel, 136
  77. ^ Van der Kiste, 107–108
  78. ^ Troost, 209
  79. ^ Troost, 210–212
  80. ^ 80.0 80.1 80.2 Troost, 219–220
  81. ^ Troost, 266–268
  82. ^ Davies, 614–615. William was "William II" of Scotland, for there was only one previous Scottish King named William.
  83. ^ 83.0 83.1 83.2 Van der Kiste, 114–115
  84. ^ Troost, 212–214
  85. ^ The Jacobite Heritage. [9 November 2009]. 
  86. ^ Nonjurors. [9 November 2009]. 
  87. ^ The Siege of Derry (1688–1689). [10 November 2009]. 
  88. ^ Due to the change to the Gregorian calendar, William's victory is commemorated annually by Northern Irish and Scottish Protestants on The Twelfth of July – cf. Troost, 278–280
  89. ^ The Battle of the Boyne (1689–1690). [10 November 2009]. 
  90. ^ Troost, 270–273
  91. ^ 91.0 91.1 Troost, 274–275
  92. ^ BBC – History – Scottish History – Restoration and Revolution (II). The Making of the Union. [9 November 2009]. 
  93. ^ BBC – History – British History in depth: The Jacobite Cause. [9 November 2009]. 
  94. ^ Troost, 220–223
  95. ^ Troost, 221
  96. ^ Van der Zee, 296–297
  97. ^ Troost, 222; van der Zee, 301–302
  98. ^ Troost, 223–227
  99. ^ Troost, 226
  100. ^ Troost, 228–232
  101. ^ Claydon, 129–131
  102. ^ Van der Zee, 402–403
  103. ^ Van der Zee, 414
  104. ^ Troost, 239–241; van der Zee, 368–369
  105. ^ Troost, 241–246
  106. ^ Van der Kiste, 150–158
  107. ^ Troost, 281–283
  108. ^ Troost, 244–246
  109. ^ Van der Kiste, 179–180
  110. ^ Van der Kiste, 180–184
  111. ^ Van der Kiste, 186–192; Troost, 226–237
  112. ^ Culture and Society in Britain, J. Black (ed.), Manchester, 1997. p97
  113. ^ Van der Kiste, 204–205; Baxter, 352; James Falkner, 'Keppel, Arnold Joost van, first earl of Albemarle (1669/70–1718)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004.
  114. ^ Troost, 25–26; Van der Zee, 421–423
  115. ^ Van der Kiste, 205
  116. ^ Van der Kiste, 201
  117. ^ 117.0 117.1 Van der Kiste, 202–203
  118. ^ Troost, 251
  119. ^ Troost, 253–255
  120. ^ Troost, 255
  121. ^ 121.0 121.1 Troost, 256–257
  122. ^ 122.0 122.1 Troost, 258–260
  123. ^ Troost, 260
  124. ^ Troost, 234
  125. ^ 125.0 125.1 Troost, 235
  126. ^ Van der Kiste, 251–254
  127. ^ Van der Kiste, 255
  128. ^ Churchill, 30–31
  129. ^ William III. Westminster Abbey Official site. [8 August 2008]. (原始内容存档于6 January 2008). 
  130. ^ Israel, 959–960
  131. ^ Israel, 962, 968
  132. ^ Israel, 991–992
  133. ^ Text of the Treaty of Partition. Heraldica. [8 August 2008] (French). 
  134. ^ 134.0 134.1 Claydon, 3–4
  135. ^ Historical Chronology, 1618–1699. College of William and Mary. [30 July 2008]. (原始内容存档于15 July 2008). 
  136. ^ Craton, Michael; Saunders-Smith, Gail. Islanders in the Stream: A History of the Bahamian People. University of Georgia Press. 1992: 101. ISBN 0-8203-2122-2. 
  137. ^ 137.0 137.1 History of Nassau County. Nassau County website. [30 July 2008]. 
  138. ^ Norris, Edwin Mark. The Story of Princeton. Little, Brown. 1917: 5–6. 
  139. ^ "The Dutch Under English Rule" The History of North America by Guy Carleton Lee Francis and Francis Newton Thorpe. Published 1904 by G. Barrie & Sons, p. 167

Bibliography