William V, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel
| William V | |
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| Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel | |
Engraving by Friedrich van Hulsen, 1633
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| Spouse(s) | Amalie Elisabeth von Hanau-Münzenberg |
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Issue
Agnes
Moritz Elisabeth Wilhelm Emilie William VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel Charlotte, Electress Palatine Philipp Adolf Karl Susanna Elisabeth Luise |
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Titles and styles
The Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel
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| Noble family | Hesse-Kassel |
| Father | Maurice, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel |
| Mother | Agnes of Solms-Laubach |
| Born |
13 February 1602 Kassel, Hesse-Kassel |
| Died | 21 September 1637 (aged 35) Leer, East Frisia |
| Buried | Martinskirche, Kassel |
| Religion | Calvinism |
William V (German: Wilhelm) (13 February 1602 – 21 September 1637), a member of the House of Hesse, was Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel from 1627 to 1637. Having come to rule in unfavorable circumstances and in the midst of the Thirty Years' War, he continued to suffer losses of territory and wealth.
William was born in Kassel, the son of Landgrave Maurice of Hesse-Kassel and his consort Agnes of Solms-Laubach. His mother died shortly after his birth, and his father subsequently married Countess Juliane of Nassau-Dillenburg.
Maurice, of broad education and interests, inherited half of the estates held by the extinct landgraves of Hesse-Marburg in 1604. However, when he converted to Calvinism the next year, he entered into a protracted legal dispute with his Lutheran cousin Landgrave Louis V of Hesse-Darmstadt. The Aulic Council decided in favour of Louis, and on 17 March 1627, after losing much of the territory to the Darmstadt line and leaving the family in financial ruin, Maurice finally abdicated in favor of his son.
William's first order was to obey the verdict and to stabilise the economic situation of the landgraviate. He fought against the Kipper und Wipper debasement crisis and aimed at reducing the debt burden. In the Thirty Years' War, he allied with his relative King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, whose army disembarked on 6 July 1630 in Pomerania.
As a commander, he drove out the Imperial troops under Aldringen and Fugger from Hesse. After the Protestant victory at the 1631 Battle of Breitenfeld, King Gustavus Adolphus ceded William the abbeys of Abbey, Hersfeld and Corvey as well as the prince-bishoprics of Paderborn and Münster.
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