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A stadtholder ( Dutch: stadhouder) was the person that ruled an area in the name of the land owner, in the Netherlands (which includes present-day Belgium) from the 15th to the 18th century.After some of the Dutch provinces declared their independence in the late 16th century, the function of stadtholder became obsolete in absence of the land owner, but the function was continued in the provinces of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. Although each province could assign its own stadtholder, most stadtholders ruled over several provinces at the same time.
In 1747, the office of stadtholder was made hereditary for the entire republic. The function of stadtholder was abolished in 1795 with coming of the French and the start of the Batavian Republic.
The stadtholdership of Holland and Zeeland has always been combined. Since the office was instuted there in 1534, the stadtholder of Utrecht has been the same as the one of Holland, with one exception.
In 1572Events January 16 The Duke of Norfolk is tried for treason for his part in the Ridolfi plot to restore Catholicism in England. April 1 The Sea Beggars, Netherlandish Calvinist rebels, capture the port city of Brielle. This leads to a wave of uprisings in, William of OrangeWilliam I, Prince of Orange Count of Nassau ( April 24, 1533 July 10, 1584) was the main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish that set off the Eighty Years' War and resulted in the formal independence of the United Provinces in 1648. A wealthy n was elected as the stadtholder, although Philip II of SpainPhilip II of Spain ( May 21, 1527 September 13, 1598), King of Spain (r. 1556- 1598), Naples and Sicily (r. 1554- 1558), and Portugal, Philip II, the self-proclaimed leader of the Counter-Reformation, assumed the throne in 1556 with a great deal of potent had appointed a different one.
- Hugo van Lannoy , 1433-1440
- Willem van Lalaing , 1440-1445
- Gozewijn de Wilde , 1445-1448
- Jan van Lannoy , 1448-1462
- Lodewijk van Gruuthuse , 1462-1477
- Wolfert VI van Borselen , 1477-1480
- Joost van Lalaing , 1480-1483
- Jan III van Egmond , 1483-1515
- Hendrik III van Nassau , 1515-1521
- Antoon van Lalaing , 1522-1540
- René of ChâlonRene of Chalon (November 1519 18 July 1544), also known as Renatus of Chalon was a Prince of the House of Orange and stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht and Gelre. He was a son of Count Henry III of Nassau-Breda and Claudia of Chalons-Orange. He was, 1540-1544
- Louis of Flanders , 1544-1546
- Maximilian II of Bourgondy , 1547-1558
- William of OrangeWilliam I, Prince of Orange Count of Nassau ( April 24, 1533 July 10, 1584) was the main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish that set off the Eighty Years' War and resulted in the formal independence of the United Provinces in 1648. A wealthy n, 1559-1567
- Maximilian of Hennin , 1567-1573
- Philip of Noircarmes , 1573-1574
- William of OrangeWilliam I, Prince of Orange Count of Nassau ( April 24, 1533 July 10, 1584) was the main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish that set off the Eighty Years' War and resulted in the formal independence of the United Provinces in 1648. A wealthy n, 1572-1584
- Adolf van Nieuwenaar , 1584-1589 (only in Utrecht)
- Maurits of Nassau, 1585-1625
- Frederik Hendrik of Orange, 1625-1647
- William II, Prince of OrangeWilliam II, Prince of Orange ( May 27, 1626 November 6, 1650), stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands ( March 14, 1647 November 6, 1650). William II, Prince of Orange, was the son of stadtholder Frederik Hendrik of Orange. William the Sile, (1647-1650)
- First Stadtholderless Era , 1650-1672
- William III of Orange, 1672-1702
- Second Stadtholderless Era , 1702-1747
- Willem IV of Nassau 1747-1751
- William V of Orange 1751-1795
