Birth of William of Orange | History Today - 0 views
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Descendants of the German Counts of Nassau settled in the Netherlands and in 1544 had inherited the minor principality of Orange in southern France
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The salaried chief executive, the stadholder, had limited powers, but potentially considerable influence, and usually commanded the army and navy as captain-general. The house of Orange had been stadholders for generations, but the office was not hereditary and the baby did not succeed to it
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William said he would like a little world like that for himself and when the teacher asked him what he would do with it, the boy said, ‘Just give it to me and I’ll show you
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