{{Short description|Dutch soldier and administrator (1604–1679)}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = John Maurice of Nassau | title = [[Nassau-Siegen|Prince of Nassau-Siegen]]<br />(formerly Count of Nassau-Siegen) | image = Portrait of Johan Maurits (1604-1679), Count of Nassau-Siegen.jpg | caption = Portrait by [[Jan de Baen]], 1668 | image_size = | alt = | order1 = [[Dutch Brazil|Governor of Dutch Brazil]] | term_start1 = 23 January 1637 | term_end1 = 30 September 1643 | spouse = | issue = | father = [[John VII, Count of Nassau-Siegen]] | mother = Duchess [[Margaret of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg]] | birth_date = {{Birth date|1604|6|17|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Dillenburg]], [[Holy Roman Empire]] | death_date = {{Death date and age|1679|12|20|1604|6|17|df=y}} | death_place = [[Kleve]], [[Brandenburg-Prussia]], Holy Roman Empire | allegiance = {{flag|United Provinces}} | rank = [[Field Marshal]] | battles = {{tree list}} * '''[[Eighty Years' War]]''' ** [[Siege of Groenlo (1627)]] ** [[Siege of 's-Hertogenbosch|Siege of 's-Hertogenbosch (1629)]] ** [[Capture of Maastricht|Siege of Maastricht (1632)]] ** [[Siege of Schenkenschans|Siege of Schenkenschans (1636)]] * '''[[Dutch–Portuguese War]]''' **[[Siege of Salvador (1638)]] **[[Campaign of Porto Calvo]] * '''[[Second Anglo-Dutch War]]''' * '''[[Franco-Dutch War]]''' **[[Battle of Staphorst|Battle of Staphorst (1673)]] **[[Battle of Zwartsluis|Battle of Zwartsluis (1673)]] ** [[Battle of Seneffe|Battle of Seneffe (1674)]] {{tree list/end}} }} '''John Maurice of Nassau''' ({{langx|nl|Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen}} {{IPA|nl|ˈjoːɦɑ ˈmʌurɪts fɑ ˈnɑsʌu ˈsiɣə(n)|}}; {{langx|de|Johann Moritz von Nassau-Siegen}}; {{langx|pt|João Maurício de Nassau-Siegen}}; {{langx|fr|Jean-Maurice de Nassau-Siegen}}; 17 June 1604 – 20 December 1679), called "the Brazilian" for his fruitful period as governor of [[Dutch Brazil]], was [[Count]] and (from 1664) Prince of [[Nassau-Siegen]]. He served as ''Herrenmeister'' (equivalent to [[Grand master (order)|Grand Master]]) of the [[Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg)]] from 1652 until his death in 1679.<ref>Ernst van den Boogaart, et al. eds, ''Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen 1604-1679: A Humanist Prince in Europe and Brazil''. The Hague: Johan Maurits van Nassau Stichting 1979.</ref>
The former residence of John Maurice in [[The Hague]], Netherlands, is now the home of the Royal Cabinet of Paintings, named [[Mauritshuis]], which means "Maurice House" in Dutch.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mauritshuis.nl/en/our-collection/stories/johan-maurits/|title = Johan Maurits | Mauritshuis}}</ref>
==Early years in Europe== He was born in [[Dillenburg]], and his father was [[John VII, Count of Nassau-Siegen|John VII of Nassau-Siegen]]. His grandfather [[John VI of Nassau-Dillenburg|John VI of Nassau]] was the younger brother of Dutch ''[[stadtholder]]'' [[William the Silent|William the Silent of Orange]], making him a grandnephew of William the Silent.
He joined the Dutch army in 1621, at a very early age. He distinguished himself in the campaigns of his cousin, the ''stadtholder'' [[Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange]]. In 1626, he became a captain. In 1629, he was involved in the capture of [[Den Bosch]]. In 1636, he conquered a fortress at [[Siege of Schenkenschans|Schenkenschans]].
== Dutch governor in Brazil == [[File:Brasão de armas do Príncipe Maurício de Nassau-Siegen.svg|thumb|180px|left|Arms of John Maurice of Nassau, imposed upon the cross of the [[Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg)|''Johanniterorden'']] and encircled by the Danish Order of the Elephant]] He was appointed as the governor of the Dutch possessions in [[Brazil]] in 1636 by the [[Dutch West India Company]] on recommendation of Frederick Henry. He landed at [[Recife]], the port of [[Pernambuco]] and the chief stronghold of the Dutch, in January 1637. Immediately after his arrival, he began a campaign against the Spanish-Portuguese forces, which he defeated in repeated encounters. Believing himself strong enough to hold his own, he dispatched part of his forces [[Battle of Elmina (1637)|to attack the Portuguese possessions on the coast of Africa]],<ref>Ellis (1893), p.42.</ref> and continued to extend his conquests with the aid of the natives who were opposed to Spanish rule, but he received a serious check in [[First Battle of Salvador da Bahia|the attack on São Salvador]], being obliged to raise the siege with the loss of many of his best officers. On receiving reinforcements in 1638, and with the co-operation of the Dutch fleet, which defeated the Spanish-Portuguese squadrons in sight of [[Bay of All Saints]], he captured the latter city. When in 1640, Portugal recovered its independence from Spain under [[John II, 8th Duke of Bragança]], the Prince of Nassau-Siegen, anticipating an alliance with the latter, and believing that a treaty of peace with Portugal would leave Holland in possession of the conquered territory, hastened his operations; to give occupation to the host of adventurers that had assembled under his colors, he dispatched an expedition against the Spanish possessions on [[Plate River]], while in 1643, Johan Maurits equipped the expedition of [[Hendrik Brouwer]] that [[Dutch expedition to Valdivia|attempted to establish an outpost]] in southern Chile.<ref name=Kock>Robbert Kock [http://www.colonialvoyage.com/dutchchile.html The Dutch in Chili] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303204718/http://www.colonialvoyage.com/dutchchile.html |date=2016-03-03 }} at coloniavoyage.com</ref><ref name=Kris>Kris E. Lane [https://books.google.com/books?id=893J8RTsKjgC Pillaging the Empire: Piracy in the Americas, 1500-1750], 1998, pages 88-92</ref> Later, he visited the conquered provinces and arranged their administration.
===Life in the settlements=== By this series of successful expeditions, he gradually extended the Dutch possessions from [[Sergipe]] in the south to [[São Luís de Maranhão]] in the north. With the assistance of the famous architect, [[Pieter Post]] of [[Haarlem]],<ref name="db">[https://www.digibron.nl/search/detail/012dc95c595275b830b1317e/johan-maurits-iii Johan Maurits (III)]; Digibron.nl</ref> he transformed Recife by building a new town adorned with public buildings, bridges, channels, and gardens in the then Dutch style, later naming the newly reformed town Mauritsstad, after himself.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=John Maurice of Nassau|volume=15|page=460}}</ref> He was able to pay the high construction costs from the loot of his expeditions, and from the proceeds of his estates in Germany.<ref name="db"/>
[[File:Brasão de armas de Maurício de Nassau.JPG|thumb|180px|left|Brazilian depiction of arms of Johan Maurits]] By his statesmanlike policy, he brought the colony into a most flourishing condition.<ref name="EB1911"/> His leadership in Brazil inspired two Latin epics from 1647: [[Caspar Barlaeus]]' ''Rerum per octennium in Brasilia et alibi nuper gestarum sub praefectura''<ref>[http://www.s4ulanguages.com/71.html Facsimile of 1647 first edition]</ref> and [[Franciscus Plante]]'s ''Mauritias''. The painters [[Albert Eckhout]], [[Frans Post]], and [[Abraham Willaerts]] served as members of John Maurice's entourage.
He also established representative councils in the colony for local government, and developed Recife's transportation infrastructure. His large schemes and lavish expenditures alarmed the parsimonious directors of the West India Company, and John Maurice, refusing to retain his post unless he were given a free hand, returned to Europe in July 1644.<ref name="EB1911"/>
[[File:Jaspar Beckx (tidl. tilskrevet) - Don Miguel de Castro, Emissary of Kongo - KMS7 - Statens Museum for Kunst.jpg|thumb|180px|right|A [[Portrait of Dom Miguel de Castro, Emissary of Congo|portrait]] of Dom Miguel de Castro, Emissary of the Kingdom of Kongo to the court of Johan Maurits]] As governor-general of a Brazilian colony setup by the Dutch West India Company from 1636 until 1644, Johan Maurice was both personally involved in keeping Africans slaves, and personally profited from the trade and transport of Africans to Brazil.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Monteiro|first1=Carolina|last2=Odegard|first2=Erik|date=2020-09-11|title=Slavery at the Court of the 'Humanist Prince' Reexamining Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen and his Role in Slavery, Slave Trade and Slave-smuggling in Dutch Brazil|url=https://brill.com/view/journals/jeah/10/1/article-p3_3.xml|journal=Journal of Early American History|volume=10|issue=1|pages=3–32|doi=10.1163/18770703-01001004|s2cid=225229838|issn=1877-0223|doi-access=free|hdl=1887/137436|hdl-access=free}}</ref> In 1643, Nassau received an [[Diplomatic mission|embassy]] from the [[Manikongo]] to strengthen the economic relations between the [[Kingdom of Kongo|Kingdom of the Kongo]] and [[Dutch Brazil]] through the sale of slaves.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Boechat Correia |first=Stephanie Caroline |date=2012 |title=The Kingdom of Congo and the Wretched of the Sea: the Congo, the Dream, and the Dutch in the Atlantic |url=https://www.historia.uff.br/academico/media/aluno/1662/projeto/Dissert-stephanie-caroline-boechat-correia.pdf |website=www.historia.uff.br}}</ref>
== Return to Europe == [[File:Portret van Johan Maurits, graaf van Nassau-Siegen Portretten van edelen (serietitel), RP-P-OB-27.439X.jpg|thumb|200px|left|John Maurice of Nassau]] Shortly after returning to Europe, John Maurice was appointed by Frederick Henry to the command of the cavalry in the Dutch army, and he took part in the campaigns of 1645 and 1646. When the war was ended by the [[Peace of Münster]] in January 1648, he accepted from [[Frederick William, the Great Elector|Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg]] (who had just married John Maurice's niece [[Countess Louise Henriette of Nassau|Louise]]) the post of governor of [[Duchy of Cleves|Cleves]], [[Mark (county)|Mark]] and [[County of Ravensberg|Ravensberg]], and later also of [[Principality of Minden|Minden]]. His success in the [[Rhineland]] was as great as it had been in Brazil, and he proved himself a most able and wise ruler.<ref name="EB1911"/> Also, he created large baroque gardens in and around Kleve, as well as a new residence, the [[Prinzenhof]] palace.
At the end of 1652, John Maurice was appointed head of the [[Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg)]] and made a [[Princes of the Holy Roman Empire|prince of the Empire]] with the style of [[Serene Highness]]. In 1664, he came back to [[Holland]]; when war broke out with an England supported by the invading [[bishop of Münster]], he was appointed commander-in-chief of the [[Dutch States Army]]. Though hampered in his command by the restrictions of the states-general, he repelled the invasion, and the bishop, [[Christoph Bernhard von Galen]], nicknamed "Bommen Berend", was forced to conclude peace. His campaigning was not yet at an end, for in 1668, he was appointed first field-marshal of the States Army, and in 1673, he was charged by ''stadtholder'' [[William III of England|William III]] to command the forces in [[Friesland]] and [[Groningen (province)|Groningen]], and to defend the eastern frontier of the provinces, again against Van Galen.<ref name="EB1911"/> This he did with success and the troops of Von Galen were forced to withdraw. The next year John Maurice commanded troops against the French during the [[Battle of Seneffe]]. [[File:Nason Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen.jpg|thumb|John Maurice of Nassau]] In 1675, his health compelled him to give up active military service, and he spent his last years in his beloved [[Cleves]], where he died in December 1679.<ref name="EB1911"/>
==Legacy== The residence he built in [[The Hague]] is now called the [[Mauritshuis]], and houses the Royal Cabinet of Paintings. It is now a major museum of old Dutch paintings. In the [[National Library of Paris]] are two folio volumes containing a fine collection of colored prints of Brazilian animals and plants, which were executed by order of the prince, and accompanied with a short explanation by him.
He is said to have had an affair with [[Anna Gonsalves Paes de Azevedo]].
Brazilian author [[Paulo Setúbal]] wrote a [[historical fiction|historic novel]] about John Maurice and the Dutch settlement in Brazil, ''O Príncipe de Nassau'' ("''The Prince of Nassau''", translated into [[Dutch language|Dutch]] by R. Schreuder and [[J. Slauerhoff]] in 1933 as ''Johan Maurits van Nassau'').
[[HNLMS Johan Maurits van Nassau|Two ships]] of the [[Royal Netherlands Navy]] have been named after him.
==References== {{Commons category|John Maurice, Prince of Nassau-Siegen}} {{reflist}} * [http://www.colonialvoyage.com/eng/america/brazil/dutch.html The Dutch in Brazil]
'''Attribution:''' * {{Cite Appletons'|wstitle=Nassau-Siegen, John Maurice, Prince of|year=1900 |notaref=x |short=x}}
==Further reading== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} *Boogaart, Ernst van den, et al. eds. ''Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen 1604-1679: A Humanist Prince in Europe and Brazil''. The Hague: Johan Maurits van Nassau Stichting 1979. *Bouman, Paul. ''Johan Maurits van Nassau: de Braziliaan''. Utrecht: Oosthoek 1947. *[[Charles R. Boxer|Boxer, Charles R.]] ''The Golden Age of Brazil, 1624-1654''. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press 1962. *Brunn, Gerhard, ed. ''Aufbruch in Neue Welten: Johann Moritz von Nassau-Siegen (1604-1679): der Brasilianer''. Siegen: Johann Moritz Gesellschaft 2004. *Driesen, Ludwig. ''Leben des Fürsten Johann Moritz von Nassau-Siegen''. Berlin: Deckers 1849. * {{cite book|first =Alfred Burdon|last =Ellis|author-link =Alfred Burdon Ellis|title =History of the Gold Coast of West Africa|url =https://archive.org/details/ahistorygoldcoa00elligoog|year=1893|publisher =Chapman and Hall, ld.}} *Françozo, Mariana, "Global Connections: Johan Maurtis of Nassau-Siegen's Collection of Curiosities" in Michiel Van Groesen, ''The Legacy of Dutch Brazil''. New York: Cambridge University Press 2014. *[[Gilberto Freyre|Freyre, Gilberto]]. "Johan Maurtis van Nassau-Siegen from a Brazilian Viewpoint" in Ernst van den Boogaart et al.eds. ''Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen 1604-1679: A Humanist Prince in Europe and Brazil''. The Hague: Johan Maurtis van Nassau Stichting 1979. *Glaser, Otto. ''Prinz Johann Mortiz von Nassau-Siegen und die Niederländischen Kolonien in Brasilien''. Berlin: Staercke 1938. *Gouvêa, Fernando da Cruz. ''Mauricio de Nassau e o Brasil Holandês: Correspondência com os Estaos Gerais''. Recife: Editôra Universitaria da UFPE 1998. *Hantsche, Irmgard, ed. ''Johann Moritz von Nassau-Siegen (1604-1679) als Vermittler, Politik und Kultur am Niederhein im 17. Jahrhunder''. Münster: Waxman 2005. *Herz, Silke. "Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen," in M. Schacht, ed. ''Onder den Oranje boom. Nederlandse kunst en cultuur aan Duitse vorstenhoven in de zeventiende en achttiende eeuw''. Munich: Hirmer 1999, pp. 155–204. *Setúbal, Paulo. ''Johan Maurits van Nassau: historische roman uit den tijd der Hollandsche bezetting van Brazilië'', eds. and trans. R. Schreuder and J.J. Slauerhoff. Amsterdam: Wereldbibliotheek 1933 (1925). {{div col end|2}}
{{S-start}} {{S-hou||17 June|1604|20 December|1679}} {{S-bef|before=Georg von Winterfeld, Landvogt der Neumark, Komtur zu Schivelbein}} {{S-ttl|title=[[Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg)|''Herrenmeister'' (Grand Master) of the Order of Saint John]]|years=1652–1679}} {{S-aft|after=[[Prince Georg Friedrich of Waldeck|Georg Friedrich, Fürst zu Waldeck, Graf zu Pyrmont]]}} {{s-gov}} {{succession box|title=Governor of Brazilian [[Captaincy of Pernambuco]]|before=[[Sigismund van Schoppe]]||after=[[Hendrik Hamel]] |years=1637–1644}} {{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:John Maurice of Nassau}} [[Category:1604 births]] [[Category:1679 deaths]] [[Category:People from Dillenburg]] [[Category:House of Nassau-Siegen]] [[Category:People from Dutch Brazil]] [[Category:Dutch military commanders]] [[Category:Dutch slave traders]] [[Category:Dutch slave owners]] [[Category:Counts of Nassau]] [[Category:Princes of Nassau]] [[Category:People of the Dutch–Portuguese War]] [[Category:17th-century Dutch colonial governors]] [[Category:17th-century Dutch military personnel]] [[Category:Dutch West India Company people]] [[Category:Military personnel from Hesse]]