William I of the Netherlands
William I of the Netherlands was born in 1772 in The Hague, Netherlands. He was the son of Prince William V of Orange and his wife, Princess Wilhelmina of Prussia. In 1815, William became the first King of the Netherlands after the country gained independence from the French Empire. He worked hard to build a strong Dutch economy, particularly through trade and industry. He also focused on expanding the country's infrastructure, including building new roads and canals. However, his rule was not without controversy. There were tensions between Protestants and Catholics, and William's policies sometimes favored the Protestant majority. As a result, there were several uprisings in the Catholic-dominated southern provinces of the country. In 1830, the southern provinces declared independence and formed the country of Belgium. William fought to keep them as part of the Netherlands, but ultimately failed. He abdicated in 1840 in favor of his son, William II, and lived out the rest of his life in exile in Germany. He died in 1843.
