William III of England - Legacy

Legacy

William's primary achievement was to contain France when it was in a position to impose its will across much of Europe. His life was largely opposed to the will of Louis XIV of France. This effort continued after his death during the War of the Spanish Succession. Another important consequence of William's reign in England involved the ending of a bitter conflict between Crown and Parliament that had lasted since the accession of the first English monarch of the House of Stuart, James I, in 1603. The conflict over royal and parliamentary power had led to the English Civil War during the 1640s and the Glorious Revolution of 1688. During William's reign, however, the conflict was settled in Parliament's favour by the Bill of Rights 1689, the Triennial Act 1694 and the Act of Settlement 1701.

William endowed the College of William and Mary (in present day Williamsburg, Virginia) in 1693. Nassau, the capital of The Bahamas, is named after Fort Nassau, which was renamed in 1695 in his honour. Similarly Nassau County, New York a county on Long Island, is a namesake. Long Island itself was also known as Nassau during early Dutch rule. Though many alumni of Princeton University think that the town of Princeton, N.J. (and hence the university) were named in his honour, this is probably untrue. Nassau Hall, at the university campus, is so named, however.

The modern day Orange Order is named after William III, and makes a point of celebrating his victory at the Battle of the Boyne with annual parades by Orangemen all over Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland on 12 July. William or "Good King Billy" as he is sometimes known in Northern Ireland, has featured prominently in many loyalist murals. He is traditionally depicted mounted on his white horse.

New York City was briefly renamed New Orange for him in 1673 after the Dutch recaptured the city, which had been renamed New York by the British in 1665. His name was applied to the fort and administrative center for the city on two separate occasions reflecting his different sovereign status—first as Fort Willem Hendrick in 1673, and then as Fort William in 1691 when the English evicted Colonists who had seized the fort and city.