William I (Willem Frederik, Prince of Orange-Nassau; 24 August 1772 – 12 December 1843) was a Prince of Orange, the King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg.
He was the son of the last Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, who went into exile to London in 1795 because of the Batavian Revolution. As compensation for the loss of all his father's possessions in the Low Countries, an agreement was concluded between France and Prussia in which William was appointed ruler of the newly created Principality of Nassau-Orange-Fulda in 1803; this was however short-lived and in 1806 he was deposed by Napoleon. With the death of his father in 1806, he became Prince of Orange and ruler of the Principality of Orange-Nassau, which he also lost the same year after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire and subsequent creation of the Confederation of the Rhine at the behest of Napoleon. In 1813, when Napoleon was defeated at the Battle of Leipzig, the Orange-Nassau territories were returned to William and he was asked as well to become the Sovereign Prince of the United Netherlands. He proclaimed himself King of the Netherlands on 16 March 1815. In that year, William I concluded a treaty with King Frederick William III in which he ceded the Principality of Orange-Nassau to Prussia in exchange for becoming the new Grand Duke of Luxembourg. In 1839, he furthermore became the Duke of Limburg as a result of the Treaty of London. After his abdication in 1840, he styled himself King William Frederick, Count of Nassau.
1815Mar, 16
Prince Willem proclaims himself King of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, the first constitutional monarch in the Netherlands.
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Events on 1815
- 8Jan
Battle of New Orleans
War of 1812: Battle of New Orleans: Andrew Jackson leads American forces in victory over the British. - 1Mar
Hundred Days
Napoleon returns to France from his banishment on Elba, start of the Hundred Days. - 20Mar
Hundred Days
After escaping from Elba, Napoleon enters Paris with a regular army of 140,000 and a volunteer force of around 200,000, beginning his "Hundred Days" rule. - 18Jun
Battle of Waterloo
Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Waterloo results in the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte by the Duke of Wellington and Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher forcing him to abdicate the throne of France for the second and last time. - 15Jul
HMS Bellerophon (1786)
Napoleonic Wars: Napoleon Bonaparte surrenders aboard HMS Bellerophon.