William of Orange (1533-1584) became the true father of the nation, the creator of the United Provinces, the future Dutch Republic. In the struggle for independence from Spain, the valiant William managed to unite representatives of different classes, religions and views, to return freedom and self-esteem to his subjects. The book of the British historian S.V. Wedgwood is not only a detailed description of the life of the first staff halter of Holland Zealand from birth to death at the hands of a Spanish mercenary, but also a reliable portrait of the era - a period of political, religious and economic fermentation that radically changed the history of Europe of the New Age.