Justinus van Nassau (1559–1631) was the only extramarital child of

William the Silent William the Silent (24 April 153310 July 1584), also known as William the Taciturn (translated from nl, Willem de Zwijger), or, more commonly in the Netherlands, William of Orange ( nl, Willem van Oranje), was the main leader of the Dutch Re ...

. He was a Dutch army commander known for his role in the defeat of the

Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada (a.k.a. the Enterprise of England, es, Grande y Felicísima Armada, links=no, lit=Great and Most Fortunate Navy) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by the Duke of Medina Sidonia, an ar ...

, his leadership of the forces in Breda during the siege of 1624, and the depiction of his surrender in the painting by

Diego Velázquez Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (baptized June 6, 1599August 6, 1660) was a Spanish painter, the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV of Spain and Portugal, and of the Spanish Golden Age. He was an individualistic artist of th ...

, ''

The Surrender of Breda ''La rendición de Breda'' (English: ''The Surrender of Breda'', also known as ''Las lanzas'' – ''The Lances'') is a painting by the Spanish Golden Age painter Diego Velázquez. It was completed during the years 1634–35, inspired by Velázque ...

''. His mother was Eva Elincx, William's mistress between his first and second marriages. William of Orange recognized Justinus and raised him with his other children. Justinus studied in Leiden and became

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

on 17 May 1583. On 28 February 1585 he became lieutenant-admiral of

Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...

, and fought in 1588 against the

, capturing two galleons. From 1601 until 1625 he was governor of

Breda Breda () is a city and municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Brabant. The name derived from ''brede Aa'' ('wide Aa' or 'broad Aa') and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. Breda has ...

. In 1625 he had to surrender Breda to the Spanish general Ambrogio Spinola after a siege of 11 months. Justinus was allowed to leave for

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration w ...

Issue

On 4 December 1597 he married Anne, Baronesse de Mérode (9 January 1567 – Leiden, 8 October 1634) and had three children. * Willem Maurits van Nassau (June 1603 – d. 1638 in Leiden), married Maria van Aerssen van Sommelsdijk and had issue: ** Justinus, no issue. ** Justina van Nassau (March 1635 – c. 1676), married George van Cats ter Coulster (1632–1676) and had issue: *** Willem Maurits van Cats, (c. 1670 – December 1743). ** Anna van Nassau (c. 1638 – The Hague, 1721), married Willem Adriaan Count van Horn Batenburg and had issue. * Louise Henriëtte van Nassau (1604 – between 1637 and 1645), no issue. * Philips van Nassau (1605 – somewhere between 1672 and 1676), married and had issue. He and his wife were buried in the

Hooglandse Kerk The Hooglandse Kerk is a Gothic church in Leiden. Its earliest parts date back to the last quarter of the fourteenth century. Most of the current structure dates from the fifteenth century. The brick church was dedicated to St. Pancras and toda ...

in Leiden. The following arms are recorded for Justinus, based on those of his father

. File:Justinus van Nassau wapen.svg, Arms of Justinus van Nassau.

Family tree

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nassau, Justinus Van 1559 births 1631 deaths Justinus Justinus People of the Anglo-Spanish War (1625–1630)