You can helpexpand this article with text translated fromthe corresponding articlein French.(March 2021)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
ThePrincipality of Orange(French:Principauté d'Orange) was, from 1163 to 1713, a feudal state inProvence,in the south of modern-day France, on the east bank of the riverRhone,north of the city ofAvignon,and surrounded by the independent papal state ofComtat Venaissin.
Principality of Orange Principauté d'Orange(French) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1163–1713 | |||||||||
 Coat of arms
| |||||||||
 Map of the Principality of Orange (with south at the top) | |||||||||
| Status | Vassal stateof theHoly Roman Empire | ||||||||
| Capital | Orange | ||||||||
| Government | Feudal Monarchy | ||||||||
| Prince of Orange | |||||||||
• 1171–1185 | Bertrand I of Baux(first) | ||||||||
• 1650–1702 | William III of Orange and England(last) | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Principality status granted | 1163 | ||||||||
• Ceded to France by theTreaty of Utrecht | 1713 | ||||||||
| Area | |||||||||
• Total | 108 sq mi (280 km2) | ||||||||
| |||||||||
It was constituted in 1163, whenHoly Roman EmperorFrederick Ielevated theBurgundianCounty of Orange(consisting of thecity of Orangeand the land surrounding it) to asovereignprincipality within the Empire. Theprincipalitybecame part of the scattered holdings of thehouse of Orange-Nassaufrom the time thatWilliam the Silentinherited the title ofPrince of Orangefromhis cousinin 1544, until it was finally ceded to France in 1713 under theTreaty of Utrecht.Although permanently lost by the Nassaus then, this fief gave its name to the extantRoyal House of the Netherlands.The area of the principality was approximately 12 miles (19 km) long by 9 miles (14 km) wide, or 108 square miles (280 km2).[1]
History
editCounts of Baux
editThe Carolingian counts of Orange had their origin in the 8th century, and the fief passed into the family of thelords of Baux.The Baux counts of Orange became fully independent with the breakup of theKingdom of Burgundyafter 1033.[citation needed]In 1163 Orange was raised to a principality, as afiefof theHoly Roman Empire.
Orange University
editIn 1365, Orange university was founded byCharles IVwhen he was inArlesfor his coronation asking of Arles.
In 1431, the Count of Provence waived taxation duties for Orange's rulers (Mary of Baux-OrangeandJean de Châlonsof Burgundy) in exchange for liquid assets to be used for a ransom. The town and principality of Orange was a part of administration and province ofDauphiné.
House of Orange-Nassau
editIn 1544,William the Silent,count ofNassau,with large properties in the Netherlands, inherited the principality. William, 11 years old at the time, was the cousin ofRené of Châlonwho died without an heir when he was shot at St. Dizier in 1544 during the Franco-Imperial wars. René, it turned out, willed his entire fortune to this very young relative. Among those titles and estates was the Principality of Orange. René's mother, Claudia, had held the title prior to it being passed to young William since Philibert de Châlon was her brother.
When William inherited the Principality, it was incorporated into the holdings of what became theHouse of Orange.This pitched it into theProtestantside in theWars of Religion,during which the town was badly damaged. In 1568 theEighty Years' Warbegan with William asStadtholderof Holland leading the bid for independence of the Netherlands from Spain. William the Silent was assassinated inDelftin 1584. It was his son,Maurice of Nassau(Prince of Orange after his elder brother died in 1618), with the help ofJohan van Oldenbarnevelt,who solidified the independence of the Dutch republic.
As an independent enclave within France, Orange became an attractive destination for Protestants and aHuguenotstronghold. William III of Orange, who ruled England asWilliam III of England,was the last Prince of Orange to rule the principality.
Annexation by France
editThe principality was captured by the forces ofLouis XIVunder François Adhémar de MonteilComte de Grignan,in 1672 during theFranco-Dutch War,and again in August 1682, but William did not concede his claim to rule. In 1702, William III died childless and the right to the principality became a matter of dispute betweenFrederick I of PrussiaandJohn William Friso of Nassau-Dietz,who both claimed the title 'Prince of Orange'. In 1702 also, Louis XIV of France enfeoffedFrançois Louis, Prince of Conti,a relative of the Châlon dynasty, with the Principality of Orange, so that there were three claimants to the title.
Finally in 1713 in theTreaty of Utrecht,Frederick I of Prussia ceded the Principality to France (without surrendering the princely title) in which cession the Holy Roman Empire as suzerain concurred, though John William Friso of Nassau-Dietz, the other claimant to the principality, did not concur. Only with the treaty of partition in 1732 did John William Friso's successorWilliam IV, Prince of Orange,renounce all his claims to the territory, but again (like Frederick I) he did not renounce his claim to the title. In the same treaty an agreement was made between both claimants, stipulating that both houses be allowed to use the title.[2]
In 1713, after Orange was officially ceded to France, it became a part of the Province of theDauphiné.
Following theFrench Revolutionof 1789, Orange was absorbed into the FrenchdépartementofDrômein 1790, thenBouches-du-Rhône,then finallyVaucluse.
In 1814, after the defeat of Napoleon, theDutch Republicwas not revived but replaced into theKingdom of the United Netherlands,under a King of theHouse of Orange-Nassau.In 1815 theCongress of Viennatook care of a French sensitivity by stipulating that the Kingdom of the Netherlands would be ruled by theHouse of Oranje-Nassau– "Oranje", not "Orange" as had been the custom until then. The English language, however, continues to use the termOrange-Nassau.[3]
Today, Dutch crown princessAmaliacarries the title "Princess of Orange" in the official form ofPrinses van Oranje.
Constituent parts
edit
The territory of the principality was 180 square km (70 sq. mi.), 19 km (12 miles) long and 15 km (10 miles) wide. It was oriented with its base on the eastern bank of theRhôneextending east to west towardsDentelles de Montmirail.It also included several enclaves in the Dauphiné.
The principality comprised the following towns:
- Bouchet(only the 13th through the 14th century);[5]
- Causans(today part of the Jonquières[6]);
- Châteauneuf-de-Redortier(today part of the Suzette[7]);
- Condorcet(enclave in the Dauphiné);[8]
- Courthézon;[9]
- Derboux(today, part ofMondragon[10]);
- Gigondas;[11]
- Jonquières;[12]
- Montbrison[13][8](enclave in the Dauphiné, bordering on the Comtat Venaissin);
- Montmirail;
- Montréal-les-Sources;[13]
- Montségur[8]until its reattachment to the County ofGrignanin Provence;
- Orange;[14]
- Saint-Blaise,today a dependency of Bollène[14](it consists of the ruin of a castle and a Roman era chapel);
- Suze-la-Rousse;[13]
- Suzette;[15]
- Saint-André-de-Ramières(today part ofGigondas);
- Tulette,[13]from the 12th to the 16th century, when it was annexed to the Dauphiné;
- Villebois-les-Pins[13](enclave en Dauphiné), where, in 1256, there was a tribute from Lord Guillaume des Baux, Prince of Orange, to the Seneschal of Provence;
- Violès.[16]
Defences
editGeography
edit
The capital of the principality was the castle, fortress and town ofOrange.The castle and fortress sat on an outcropping of rock from theColline Saint-Eutropewith the town below. The natural defense provided by the escarpment allowed the princes to control all the approaches to Orange and the surrounding countryside, including the passage up and down the Rhone, and the approaches from the Mediterranean. It also made the fortress impervious to the military technology of the time until Louis XIV overwhelmed it with his armies in 1672.
- « Du sommet de la colline, s'élevant à une centaine de mètres au-dessus de la plaine, et dominant la Ville d'Orange, la vue embrasse l'admirable paysage du Comtat jusqu'au-delà d'Avignon, et des Cévennes au mont Ventoux.
- Enfin ses flancs plantés d'arbres forment un décor grandiose aux imposants vestiges romains, constituant dans leur ensemble un site dont la protection et la conservation s'imposent au premier chef.[17]»
The Château
editIn the 12th century,Tiburge d'Orange,daughter ofCount Raimbaud of Nice,rebuilt the Roman walls of the town and rehabilitated the ancient "castrum Aurasice". In the 14th century, the Les Baux princes of Orange consolidated the donjon and rampart of the chateau in order to resist the assaults of the "grandes compagnies" that were devastating Provence at the time. The population of the town was concentrated around the fortress in an area much smaller than the ancient Roman town. PrinceJean de Chalonadded three wings to the dungeon in the last years of the century, which gave it a square shape.
The Citadel of the Princes
edit
By the 17th century, the chateau had suffered damage due to theFrench Wars of Religion.Much of the essential defenses were in need of complete rebuilding. The incumbent prince of Orange, the celebrated generalMaurice of Nassau,executed a plan by the architect Servole to build a fortress incorporating the modern science of fortification he had pioneered in his wars in the Netherlands. The fortress was composed of three parts: the 14th century castle, the curtain wall, and the "Vignasse", an esplanade, says Joseph of Pisa, capable of containing 10,000 men at arms. The entire complex and the city were surrounded by moats andBastion fortwalls to protect against cannon fire similar to the fortifications of towns in the Netherlands.
When completed, the citadel consisted of 11 bastions connected by curtain walls and ditches. It was built with walls of extraordinary thickness extending over the whole hill. It was heavily fortified and garrisoned. In 1672, in reprisal for the youngWilliam III,prince of Orange and "stadtholder" of Holland defending the interests of his nation and of the Protestant religion, Louis XIV instructed the count of Grignan to lay siege to the citadel and to destroy it. Gunpowder was used to demolish the enormous walls of which one can see today some vestiges on the hill. In 1991, an excavation studied the architectural and military features.[18]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^George Ripley And Charles A. Dana (1873).The New American Cyclopædia. 16 volumes complete.article on Principality of Orange: D. Appleton And Company.
- ^"Treaty between Prussia and Orange-Nassau, Berlin, 1732".Heraldica.org(in French).Retrieved16 June2015.
- ^Couvée, D.H.; G. Pikkemaat (1963).1813-15, ons koninkrijk geboren.Alphen aan den Rijn: N. Samsom nv. pp.119–139.
- ^George Ripley; Charles A. Dana (1873).The New American Cyclopædia. 16 volumes complete.article on Principality of Orange: D. Appleton And Company.
- ^Jean Pagnol (1979).Valréas et "l'enclave des papes" tome 1(in French). Aubenas: Lienhart. p. 297.
- ^Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui:Commune data sheet Causans,EHESS(in French).
- ^Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui:Commune data sheet Châteauneuf-de-Redortier,EHESS(in French).
- ^abcCharles-Laurent SALCH (1979).Dictionnaire des châteaux et des fortifications du Moyen-Âge en France(in French). Strasbourg: PUBLITOTAL. p. 1287.ISBN2-86535-070-3.
- ^Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui:Commune data sheet Courthézon,EHESS(in French).
- ^Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui:Commune data sheet Derboux,EHESS(in French).
- ^Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui:Commune data sheet Gigondas,EHESS(in French).
- ^Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui:Commune data sheet Jonquières,EHESS(in French).
- ^abcdeMichel de la Torre (1992).Drôme: le guide complet de ses 371 communes(in French). DESLOGIS-LACOSTE. p. Suze-la-Rousse.ISBN2-7399-5026-8.
- ^abDes villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui:Commune data sheet Orange,EHESS(in French).
- ^Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui:Commune data sheet Suzette,EHESS(in French).
- ^Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui:Commune data sheet Violès,EHESS(in French).
- ^Extrait du rapport de la Commission supérieure des sites, mars 1933 (dossier Ministère).
- ^Guide historique Orange ville d'art et d'histoire