WILLIAM III. ( 1650-17021. King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 16S9 to 1702. He was the posthumous and only son of William 11. of Orange, Stadtholder of the United Netherlands. His mother was Mary, eldest daughter of Charles I. of England. He was born on November 14 (old style, November 4). 1650. The ambitions of the elder William to increase the power of the Stadtholder had aroused an aristocratic reaction under Jan De Witt which created much trouble for the young prince. The alliance of his family with the Stuarts excited the jealousy of Oliver Cromwell. by whose influ ence William and hi- descendants were excludes]. in 1654, from the Stadtholdership. The restora tion of the Stuarts to the English throne, how ever, caused the revocation of this act, and on the invasion of Holland by Louis XIV. of France in 1672 William was elected Stadtholder. Captain General, and Admiral. A few weeks later (Au gust. 1672) some partisans murdered his great opponent -Jan De Witt (9.v.), in a riot. By the wisdom and determination of the young Stadtholder the contest with France was brought to a close by the Treaty of Nimeguen in I675. which left the Netherlands unimpaired. As their ruin had seemed inevitable. William's unexpected success made him famous throughout Europe. Before the close of the war he had mar ried his cousin, the Princess Mary. eldest daugh ter of the Duke of York, who became King James 11. (q.v.) of England in 16s5. As the tyranny of James soon began to estrange the affections of every class of his subjects. the eyes of all were turned toward the Stadtholder as their only hope. Accepting an invitation signed by seven repre sentative leaders of the two English parties, Wil liam with an army of 15,000 English and Dutch landed at Torbay, November 5, 1688. His success was rapid and bloodless, and on December ISth he entered London as a national deliverer. On Feb ruary 13, 1659. William and Mary. after accept ing the Declaration of Rights, were proclaimed King and Queen of England. The adherents of James held out for some time in Scotland and Ireland. The death of Dundee (see GRAHAM, JOHN) in 16s9 ended their resistance in the for mer country. hut in the latter they kept up a vigorous contest until the battle of the Boyne (July, 1690) broke the power of the Jaeobites.
William was now aisle to combat Louis XIV. with the united forces of England and Holland. lie tank the field in the Belgian Netherlands, but was unable to cope with Marshal Luxem bourg, who defeated bin) at Steenkerke in 1692 and at Neerwinden in 1693. he signed the Peaee of Ilyswiek whieh, how ever, pyovol highly popular. In spite of his sterling qualities. and of the debt which they owed him, the English never really liked William 1H. The death in 1694 of his on whom the crown had been conferred jointly with him self, materially injured his position. Hi. scheme. were thwarted by Parliament and continual plots for his assassination mere hatched by the adhe rents of The succession of Philip of An jou to the throne of Spain on the death of Charles H. in 1700, tending to the aggrandizement of Frame, was a blow to William's policy. lie per severed with unflagging vigor in his determina tion to unite Europe against France, and he left England at the head of the 'Grand Alliance.' (see SurcEssioN WARS.) He died on March 19 (old style, March S), 1702, in consequence of a fall from his horse. The massacre of the Macdon alds of Glencoe (q.v.) is a blot on William's reputation which his most thoroughgoing apolo gists have been unable to efface. Hi. services, however, both to England and to his native coun try can hardly be overrated. In hi- reign the Bank of England was founded, the modern system of finance introduced. ministerial responsibility recognized, and the liberty of the press secured. William's manner was wholly Dutch, and even his countrymen thought him blunt. "In his in tercourse with the world in general." says Macau lay, "he appeared ignorant or negligent of those art, which double the value of a favor, and take away the sting of a refusal." Consult: Grimblot, Letters of William III. and Louis (London, 1848 ; Train. William the Third (ib., 1Ssi4) Hippold. William III., Prin..; 'von Oranirn. Erbstatthalter ron Holland, lionig con England (Berlin, 1900) ; Kiopp. des Hauses Stuart. i.-ix. (Vienna. 1875-7S), critical and exhaustive: Burnet, History of His Olen Time (0 vols., Oxford. 1S33) ; Banke, His tory of England (6 vols., Oxford, 1875). See FRANCE; NETI1ERLANDS.