Comments by "Lynott Parris" (@DenUitvreter) on "BritMonkey" channel.

  1. No, I don't agree, he was appointed by the States, the parliaments of the Dutch provinces consisting of commoners. It was the States-general that paid for his invasion army and fleet, and the goal for both the States-General and William was not to annex England or have him rule like a medieval king, but to make England into a durable, stable protestant religious tolerant ally. That's why he asked to be invited and waged a propaganda war to get popular and nobility support. This was to prevent a catholic absolutist English king being treacherous again and teaming up in secret with catholic absolutist Louis XIV and German bishopries to annihilate the Dutch Republic like in 1672 when they came very close. He was somewhat king like because he was competent, had vision and had build a huge network in foreign relations, so the States let him. There also was no 'countercommoner' (William was a noble), a higly competent well respected figure leading the States like Stadtholder Maurits had decades before. The 'Statists' side with it's disregerad for heridatery posiitons had taken a heavy blow in 1672 because it made Holland to powerful over the other provinces and neglected land defenses there in the preceeding 'Stadtholderless Era'. William stepped in, took command of the army, flooded large parts of the country and kicked the French troops out, he saved the Dutch Republic from annihilation, catholic rule and mass murder of the protestants. The Stadtholder used to be the high command of the army and unifying force, while the commoners in charge of the Dutch Republic were all about Holland, trade and the navy. Holland was protected over land by the Hollandic waterline, a system of defenses by flooding area's. He was a rich man in an extremely rich Dutch Republic and showing off more than other rich Dutch people, in a royal style and he had a court like entourage. He once complained he felt like king of the Dutch Republic and Stadtholder of England because the English parliament was slowing his policies down while the Dutch States gave him more room to manouver. He might look like a king now, but that's because he changed what a king is through that glorious invasion, he created the constitutional monarchy. Back then, kings had the divine right of kings, denounce by the Dutch in their DOI more than a century before, they were king by birth and were absolute monarchs who decided on the religion of their people. Originally the Stadtholder was a steward to the king appointed by the king, and became a steward to the States appointed by the States once the king was declared to have left the throne for being a tyrant.
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