As French forces penetrated the Republic, Johan de Witt fell and William III of Orange became stadtholder. Charles II expected family ties to make William more accommodating, but William resisted a proposal to reduce Holland to an English-protected rump state under him. He also rejected demands for strategic ports and political control. Dutch inundation then created a defensive barrier that checked the French advance while negotiations and wider coalition politics continued.
Chapter · 13:28-17:13
Dutch survival, flooding, and William III
French pressure helped bring William of Orange to power, but Dutch defensive flooding prevented a decisive advance and kept the Republic in the war.