John William Friso

John William Friso
John William Friso
Prince of Orange
Reign	8 March 1702 – 14 July 1711
Predecessor	William III
Successor	William IV
Prince of Nassau-Dietz
Reign	25 March 1696 – ca. 1702
Predecessor	Henry Casimir II
Prince of Orange-Nassau
Reign	ca. 1702 – 14 July 1711
Successor	William IV
Stadtholder of Friesland and Groningen
Reign	25 March 1696 – 14 July 1711
Predecessor	Henry Casimir II
Successor	William IV
Born	14 August 1687; Dessau, Anhalt
Died	14 July 1711 (aged 23); Hollands Diep, between Dordrecht and Moerdijk
Burial	25 February 1712; Grote of Jacobijnerkerk, Leeuwarden
Spouse	Landgravine Marie Louise of Hesse-Kassel (m. 1709)
Issue	Amalia, Hereditary Princess of Baden-Durlach; William IV, Prince of Orange
House	Orange-Nassau
Father	Henry Casimir II, Prince of Nassau-Dietz
Mother	Princess Henriëtte Amalia of Anhalt-Dessau
Military service
Battles/wars	War of the Spanish Succession Battle of Oudenarde; Siege of Lille; Crossing of the Scheldt; Siege of Ghent; Siege of Tournai; Battle of Malplaquet; Siege of Mons; Siege of Douai; Siege of Saint-Vernant; ;

John William Friso (Dutch: Johan Willem Friso; 14 August 1687 – 14 July 1711) became the (titular) Prince of Orange in 1702. He was the Stadtholder of Friesland and Groningen in the Dutch Republic. He also served in the Dutch States Army during the War of the Spanish Succession until his death by accidental drowning in the Hollands Diep in 1711.^[1]

Background

Born on 14 August 1687 in Dessau, Anhalt, Friso was the son of Henry Casimir II, Prince of Nassau-Dietz, and Princess Henriëtte Amalia of Anhalt-Dessau who were both first cousins of William III. He was also a member of the House of Nassau (the branch of Nassau-Dietz), and through the testamentary dispositions of William III became the progenitor of the new line of the House of Orange-Nassau.^[2] He was educated under Jean Lemonon, professor at the University of Franeker.^[3]

Succession

With the death of William III of Orange, the legitimate male line of William the Silent (the second House of Orange) became extinct. John William Friso, the senior agnatic descendant of William the Silent's brother and a cognatic descendant of Frederick Henry, grandfather of William III, claimed the succession as stadtholder in all provinces held by William III. This was denied to him by the republican faction in the Netherlands.^[4]

The five provinces over which William III ruled – Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Gelderland and Overijssel – all suspended the office of stadtholder after William III's death. The remaining two provinces – Friesland and Groningen – were never governed by William III, and continued to retain a separate stadtholder, John William Friso. He established the third House of Orange, which became extinct in the male line in 1890. His son, William IV of Orange, later became stadtholder of all seven provinces.^[5]

Under William III's will, Friso stood to inherit the Principality of Orange, but due to the outbreak of the War of the Spanish Succession, Johan Willem Friso was unable to assert his claims to the principality and other possessions of William III. His inheritance was contested by his cousin, Frederick I of Prussia, as well as by his Catholic relative from Nassau-Siegen and various descendants of the old House of Châlon in France. Additionally, King Louis XIV sought to take control of the principality, which had long been a Protestant enclave. He temporarily supported the claims of the Prince of Conti, who was recognized by the French council as the rightful heir. The Protestant population was expelled, and the Principality of Orange remained in French hands following the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, with the Prince of Conti acknowledging Louis XIV’s sovereignty. The inheritance of William III and the title "Prince of Orange" became the subject of a serious dispute between the Frisian branch of the House of Nassau and the Prussian royal family, a conflict that remained unresolved at the time of Johan Willem Friso’s death in 1711.^[6]

Military career

Apointment and first military actions

In 1702 at the start of the War of the Spanish Succession, Friso intended to participate in his first military campaign with the Dutch States Army under the supervision of his governor, Van Heemstra, but was prevented by a fall from his horse. He eventually joined the war effort in 1703, serving under Field Marshal Hendrik van Nassau, Lord of Ouwerkerk. In 1704, after intense debate among the Dutch provinces, he was designated the position of General of Infantry. Although only nominally, as he was just 17 years old. Efforts to appoint him as a member of the Council of State in 1705 were blocked by Holland and Utrecht, and later, in 1707, by Zeeland and Overijssel.^[6]^[7]

When Johan Willem Friso came of age in 1707, he formally assumed his titles in the northern provinces, though in Groningen this did not occur until 1708 and was subject to restrictions. He quickly earned distinction as a general. Although he had previously been present at several engagements without holding an official command—such as the siege of Ostend and the siege of Menin—his first significant action as an active participant was at the Battle of Oudenaarde. At Oudenaarde he led the flank attack of 10,000 Dutch infantrymen that would decide the battle in favour of the Allies, for which he would receive much praise in and outside the Republic.^[6] Following that battle he joined Eugene of Savoy in his Siege of Lille and was in overal command of the Anglo-Dutch troops at the siege. The campaign was concluded with the Siege of Gent and capture of Brugge in which he also played his part.^[6]^[7]

In June of 1709, as the allies marched on Tournai Friso was tasked with capturing Mortange and Saint-Amand, to safeguard the siege operations against French attacks from the side of Valenciennes. The primary objective was Fort l'Escarpe, which controlled the crossing of the Scheldt. Friso was fortunate when, after about a dozen shots from his accompanying field guns, the drawbridge unexpectedly fell without being destroyed. Taking advantage of this, his troops swiftly stormed the fort, met little resistance, and captured the garrison.^[8]

Battle of Malplaquet

Following the capture of Tournai on 3 September the French and Allied armies met at the Battle of Malplaquet. Here he commanded the infantry on the Allied left together with François Nicolas Fagel.^[9] Overall control was exercised by Count Tilly, who had succeeded Ouwerkerk as senior Dutch commander. In reality, Tilly's anti-Orangist sympathies meant his largely pro-Orangist senior officers allegedly took their orders from Friso.^[10]

The Duke of Marlborough, the Allied commander in overal control, tasked the 30 Dutch infantry battalions Dutch on left with attacking the French rightwing. This was a hopeless task. The French right wing, commanded by the seasoned military leader Louis-François de Boufflers, was shielded by a forest and a triple line of entrenchments. Additionally, Boufflers commanded twice as many troops as Friso. The Dutch initially expected to be reinforced by a division under Withers, which was still advancing from Tournai. However, with the plans having changed, the left flank’s forces were now insufficient to execute the operation successfully.^[11]

Half an hour after the Allied right wing had engaged the enemy, Friso ordered his troops to join the fray. His Dutch forces, which included Scottish and Swiss regiments, were among the finest in Europe and launched three determined assaults on the French positions. Despite their tenacity and the ground they managed to seize, they were each time repelled with heavy casualties. Throughout the brutal combat, the prince fought courageously, and had his horse shot out from under him twice. At one point, Friso even seized a banner from the Swiss Mey Regiment, planted it on a redoubt, and called out to his troops: 'By me, my friends, by me, you must stand!^[11]^[12]

It was only when Frederik Sirtema van Grovestins and his cavalry approached the French fortifications from behind that Friso was able to capture them. The Dutch forces paid a heavy price at Malplaquet, suffering around 10,000 dead and wounded. Yet, Friso’s assaults were not in vain. These fierce attacks made it impossible for Boufflers to reinforce the vulnerable French center, where the Allies ultimately broke through. Nonetheless, he faced significant criticism from the Republic where he was blamed for youthful recklessness and the unnecessary sacrifice of lives.^[11]

Last military actions and Death

After Malplaquet the Allies marched on Mons and Friso was tasked with leading all operations at the siege. In 1710 he led the Siege of Douai together with the Prince of Anhalt-Dessau. Dessau commanded the right, while Orange led the left. During the siege, the left side made significantly more progress than the right. Years later, Hertel, the Dutch engineer who had served under Dessau, confessed to Vegelin van Claerbergen that he had sabotaged the right-wing's efforts, as the Prince of Orange had requested him under four eyes that the progress be delayed there.^[13] Later that year he managed to capture Saint Vernant. The prestige that he acquired from his military service should have favored his eventual elevation as stadtholder in the remaining five provinces. However, in 1711, when traveling from the front in Flanders to meet the King of Prussia in The Hague in connection with his suit in the succession dispute, he drowned on 14 July when the ferry boat on the Moerdyk was overturned in heavy weather. His son was born six weeks after his death.^[14]

Name	Birth	Death	Notes
Anna Charlotte Amalia	23 October 1710	18 September 1777	married Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Baden-Durlach; had issue, including Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Baden
William IV, Prince of Orange	1 September 1711	22 October 1751	married Anne, Princess Royal; had issue, including William V, Prince of Orange

Dutch nobility
John William Friso House of Orange-Nassau (second creation) Cadet branch of the House of Nassau Born: 14 August 1687 Died: 14 July 1711
Preceded by William III	Prince of Orange 1702–1711	Vacant Title next held by William IV
Regnal titles
Preceded by Henry Casimir II	Prince of Nassau-Dietz 1696–1702	Title obsolete merged into German principality of Orange-Nassau
New title	Prince of Orange-Nassau 1702–1711	Succeeded by William IV
Preceded by William III	Baron of Breda 1702–1711	Succeeded by William IV
Political offices
Preceded by Henry Casimir II	Stadtholder of Friesland and Groningen 1696–1711	Succeeded by William IV

Background

Succession

Military career

Apointment and first military actions

Battle of Malplaquet

Last military actions and Death

Marriage and issue

Royal descendants

Legacy

Ancestry

See also

References

Sources