At the end of the 18th century, William V van Orange-Nassau was the ‘stadtholder’ (chief magistrate) of all provinces of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands.
The actual situation in the Netherlands had grown to such an extent that the stadtholder assumed great personal power. The office of stadtholder increasingly took on monarchical features. This caused William V to be heavily criticized…
Etching, made by Georg Balthasar Probst in 1784
Stadtholder William V (1748-1806) was known as having a good character, but also as a very conservative man, who could not imagine the Netherlands and the world in general in any other way than he had known them all his life. His stubbornness got him into trouble.
