Maurice of Nassau summary

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Below is the article summary. For the full article, see Maurice.

Maurice of Nassau, Dutch in full Maurits, prince van Oranje, count van Nassau, (born Nov. 13, 1567, Dillenburg, Nassau—died April 23, 1625, The Hague), Dutch general and statesman. The son of William I (the Silent), he was invested in 1585 as stadtholder (chief executive) of the northern provinces of the Netherlands. With political direction from Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, Maurice consolidated the power of the provinces against Spain and made them trade and shipping centres. He used military planning and siege warfare to defeat Spanish forces in the north and east but failed to take the southern Netherlands and was forced to conclude a truce with Spain in 1609. His development of military strategy and tactics made the Dutch army the most modern in Europe. In 1618 he consolidated his political power after removing Oldenbarnevelt from office, and as prince of Orange, count of Nassau, he became effectively king of the Netherlands.

William I Summary

William I was the first of the hereditary stadtholders (1572–84) of the United Provinces of the Netherlands and leader of the revolt of the Netherlands against Spanish rule and the Catholic religion. William, the eldest son of William, count of Nassau-Dillenburg, grew up in a cultivated Lutheran

army Summary

Army, a large organized armed force trained for war, especially on land. The term may be applied to a large unit organized for independent action, or it may be applied to a nation’s or ruler’s complete military organization for land warfare. Throughout history, the character and organization of

military engineering Summary

Military engineering, the art and practice of designing and building military works and of building and maintaining lines of military transport and communications. Military engineering is the oldest of the engineering skills and was the precursor of the profession of civil engineering. Modern

government Summary

Government, the political system by which a country or community is administered and regulated. Most of the key words commonly used to describe governments—words such as monarchy, oligarchy, and democracy—are of Greek or Roman origin. They have been current for more than 2,000 years and have not