​WILLIAM II. (1626–1650), prince of Orange, born at TheHague on the 27th of May 1626, was the son of Frederick Henry,prince of Orange, and his wife Amalia von Solms, and grandsonof William the Silent. By the act of survivance passed in 1631the offices and dignities held by Frederick Henry were madehereditary in his family. On the 12th of May 1641 Williammarried, in the royal chapel at Whitehall, Mary, princess royalof England, eldest daughter of King Charles I. At the time ofthe wedding the bridegroom was not yet fifteen years old, thebride was five years younger. William from his early youthaccompanied his father in his campaigns, and already in 1643highly distinguished himself in a brilliant cavalry fight atBurgerhout (September 5). On the death of Frederick HenryWilliam succeeded him, not only in the family honours andpossessions, but in accordance with the terms of the act ofsurvivance in all his official posts, as stadtholder of Holland,Zeeland, Utrecht, Gelderland, Overyssel and Groningen andcaptain-general and admiral-general of the Union. At themoment of his accession to power the negotiations for a separatetreaty of peace with Spain were almost concluded, and peace wasactually signed at Münster on the 30th of January 1648. Bythis treaty Spain recognized the independence of the UnitedNetherlands and made large concessions to the Dutch. William,who had always been bitterly opposed to the policy of abandoningthe French alliance in order to gain better terms from Spain, didhis utmost to prevent the ratification, but matters were too far ​advanced for his interposition to prevail in the face of thedetermination of the states of Holland to conclude a peace soadvantageous to their trade interests. William, however, speedilyopened secret negotiations with France in the hope of securingthe armed assistance of that power for the carrying out of hisambitious projects of a war of aggrandisement against the SpanishNetherlands and of a restoration of his brother-in-law, Charles II.,to the throne of England. The states of Holland, on the otherhand, were determined to thwart any attempts for a renewal ofwar, and insisted, in defiance of the authority of the captain-generalsupported by the states-general, in virtue of their claimto be a sovereign province, in disbanding a large part of theregiments in their pay. A prolonged controversy arose, whichended in the states-general in June 1650 commissioning theprince of Orange to visit the towns of Holland and secure arecognition of their authority. The mission was unsuccessful.Amsterdam refused any hearing, at all. William resolvedtherefore to use force and crush resistance. On the 30th ofJuly six leading members of the states of Holland were seizedand imprisoned in the castle of Loevestein. On the same dayan attempt was made to occupy Amsterdam with troops. Thecitizens were, however, warned in time, and the gates closed.William's triumph was nevertheless complete. Cowed by thebold seizure of their leaders, the states of Holland submitted.The prince had now obtained that position of supremacy in therepublic at which he had been aiming, and could count on thesupport alike of the states-general and of the provincial statesfor his policy. He lost no time in entering into fresh negotiationswith the French government, and a draft treaty was alreadyearly in October drawn up in Paris and the Count d'Estradeswas commissioned to deliver it in person to the prince of Orange.It was, however, never to reach his hands. William had, on the8th of October, after his victory was assured, gone to his huntingseat at Dieren. Here on the 27th he became ill and returnedto The Hague. The complaint proved to be small-pox, and onthe 6th of November he died. William was one of the ablestof a race rich in great men, and had he lived he wouldprobably have left his mark upon history. A week after hisdeath his widow gave birth to a son, who was one day to becomeWilliam III., king of England. (G. E.)