Willem Hagelijn

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Willem Hagelijn Stadhouder of Batavia Preceded by: Johannes I Hagelijn Succeeded by: Willem I Meijer Born: 23rd of The First Seed 1600, The Heartlands, Courland House: House Hagelijn Father: Johannes I Hagelijn Mother: Paulien Hagelijn-van Leeuwen Sister: Anne Catherijne Hagelijn Spouse: Sterre Hagelijn-de Witt Children: Isaak Hagelijn Johannes II Hagelijn

Willem Hagelijn, also known as William Hagelin, Guillaume Hagelaine and Wilhelm Hageleine, was born on the Heartlander countryside of Axios in the year 1600. In his young years he helped his father on their farm estate but he later grew to be the man to unite the Batavian people. He was a man full of ambition, cultural pride and dreams and ingenious plans - he always had a plan. He made a name for himself and accomplished many great deeds throughout his lifetime.

History

Birth

Willem was born as Willem Karel Hagelijn-van Leeuwen on the Heartlander countryside of Axios, which was under Courlandic control at the time, in the year 1600 on the 23rd of The First Seed. He was the eldest child, only to his younger sister, Anne Catherijne. His mother was Pauline Hagelijn-van Leeuwen, a energetic woman, skilled in cottage industry, a sweet and caring woman. His father was Johannes Hagelijn, a low standing nobleman and by inheritance the Stadhouder of the Batavian people, which was a title of barely any significance at the time. Johannes owned a farming estate, he was a hard worker and someone who knew what he was doing. Someone who knew what he was doing if it entailed farming or foresting at least. He wasn't particulary great at managing finances and the likes, and thus Pauline was the bureaucratic manager of the family. It was this farm estate where Willem would grow up.

Childhood

Not much is known about Willem's childhood. He grew up in the Heartlands of Oren. This region was under Courlandic rule at the time and with Courland having it's capital and other major settlements far away from the region, it was scarcely populated. His parents were low nobility and not much more than major land owners, owning a few farming estates in the fertile plains of the area. Some of the few insights on his youth come from a letter he wrote to his wife at one point. It tells of how his father would teach him how to work the farm, hoard animals and to sail a small boat on which they'd often go fishing just off shore. His mother Pauline taught him how to read and write and sparked a ferocious lust for literature and studying in the young Willem. Nearing the end of his teen years, his parents went on a trip with their ship to sell some of their wares to a port city in Haense. Willem stayed home with his younger sister to look after the estate until their parents would return. Sadly this didn't happen as on their way to the north, they sailed into a storm, leading to their ship to sink and them to drown. Now a young adult orphan, Willem sold his parents' farming estates and took his sister with him to live in Sutica where we begin to get a clearer picture of the young man.

Younger Years

Willem in his younger years was a dashing fellow, his bright blue eyes staring into the world with energy. He was a dreamer. Willem would have wild plans, dreams and ideas of revolutions, coups and wars. All for the glory of his people and for enforcing his heritage. This was clearly visible during his time in Sutica. The Sutican government had allowed him and his people to live within a district of their city, and lead it almost like his own tiny little nation. This wasn't enough for Willem however, and together with his comrades he started planning a coup to overthrown the Sutican government and establish the Batavian Republic, something he had dreamed of for years. His plan was looking quite well. He had made a name for himself in Sutica, being quite popular with the locals and having enough power to do something like staging a coup. He also gained support from almost the entire Sutican population that lived outside the capital, which was mainly the various guilds in the realm. The one problem he made in planning his coup was going to ruin it all though. Willem had been looking abroad for support as well, which he had gained from various nations like Santegia, the Dominion of Malin, Kaz'Ulrah and the warhawkes. With even the Orenian Empire agreeing not to intervene in what he was doing down in the south of Ceru. Here is where he went wrong though, he asked the Prince of Fenn, Sutica's northern neighbour, for his support. And it is thought to this day that it was this prince that sought contact with the Sutican government instead and told them what the Batavians were planning. Soon after, on a quiet afternoon, problem came to Willem. A couple of Sutican guards were at his front door, demanding he came outside. He knew why they were there, they had somehow found out about his plans. That was the day Willem and his fellow Batavians were kicked out of Sutica. He had been lucky though. If it weren't for a secret escape tunnel he had in his basement, he'd have been executed for treason most likely. For various months he and his family roamed around Axios, not knowing where to go. That was until the Santegian King, King Leo, offered him and his kin exile in his Kingdom however. Here he stayed for some time, living a humble life with his young love, Sterre de Witt. Eventually Willem's lust for power and adventure got the better of him though, and he looked to regain his noble status and get land in Santegia, which he got. Soon after the barony of Gelre was founded in the duchy of Mystra in the south of Santegia. Here he lived in prosperity with the small number of loyal Batavians that remained. He got married to Sterre who was now Sterre Hagelijn and he had twin sons with her, Isaak and Johannes II, named after his father Johannes I. This happy life lasted until the migration to Atlas, when disaster struck for Willem...

Willem in his middle ages

Middle Ages

During the voyage to Atlas, Willem got sick. The cold, whet weather of the sea in combination with eating bad food made him terribly ill. With no proper medicine nor a medic on board, he had to sit through for the whole voyage. His wife was by his side at all times to nurse him as best as she could but it didn't help much, leading to him slowly withering away. When the Hagelijns arrived in Atlas however, Willem was able to get proper medication and with more nursing by his wife he slowly got back to good health. This had made him much weaker and more fragile though, with the once lifely man now looking older by the day.

Now that he was in good shape again, Willem could focus more on his family. In the new Santegian city of Presa de Madera he built a large manor for his family and other relatives. It was one of the largest houses of the city and was called Huize Hagelijn. Willem built strong ties with his comrade Johnathan de Cantwell, an army official. They spent a lot of their free time together, hanging around the city's bustling streets. The two men gained eachother's trust and came with a plan. They were both vassals, barons to be precize, under the duchy of Mystra which was led by the wife of Duke Demetrios. Lady Marie had come to lead the duchy since her husband had died a couple of years earlier and her son Andronikos wasn't of age yet. Willem and Johnathan had been very fond of Demetrios, who had always been a close friend, but not so much of his wife, who they considered an incompetent leader. Thus the two men decided they'd declare independance from the duchy and together form a county. They briefly and vaguely mentioned this to the king who seemed to support the thought of it, and thus they went through with their plan. The key thing here is that the king only kind of supported it and was afraid that these actions would lead to a lot of arguing and inviting amongst the upper class. Which it did. So much so that Johnathan and Willem soon abandoned the idea, just to be clear from more uproar.

The position of Lord Ambassador had still been held by Willem all this time, but it annoyed him how little he could get done. The national council wouldn't attend to meetings so there were none. The king wanted a meeting before Willem could pass any laws or concepts and his job's side of international diplomacy was being taken over more and more by the Arch Chancellor. What also annoyed Willem was that the Imam Rashidun faith, followed by the Harian citizens of the Kingdom, began getting a stronger and stronger presence in the nation, which Willem, being a devout canonist, didn't like. Tensions between him and the Harians rose to a climax when a Louis de Castro, along with a Harian called Ibraheem commited several acts of vandalism. One of these acts was throwing a brick through one of the windows of Huize Hagelijn, hitting a relative of Willem and severely injuring her. Louis and Ibraheem were imprisoned and trialed, but during the imprisonment and trial Willem was scolded by the Harians, for they believed Ibraheem to be innocent. The trial was concluded with Ibraheem going free due to a lack of evidence. This angered Willem which in turn angered Auda, a Harian boy and close friend of Ibraheem. He challanged Willem to a duel to death. Willem, who had never really been much of a fighter and was afraid he'd leave his wife widowed and his children without a father, refused. The Harians then put him and all of house Hagelijn to shame for refusing the duel. A few weeks later, the High Pontiff sent men to check in Santegia to see if the Kingdom was properly following canonism like they had promised after the crusade against them. Finding out how big the Imam Rashidun faith had become, the High Pontiff concluded that Santegia wasn't a place for canonists and gave up on any further attempts to support canonism in the nation. He ordered all true canonists to leave within three months or they would not be considered canonists anymore. Thus Willem and his family left Santegia for the Kingdom of Marna.

Willem's time in Marna was quite brief and relatively uneventful. Because of the church having ordered the evacuation of his previous home, and Marna being significantly influenced by said church, he was given a large manor in Marna's capital and got to keep his nobility status. As soon as he really moved into the new Huize Hagelijn, Willem started using the family treasury to buy up real estate in the capital. Within a few months he owned many market stalls and houses, renting them out to those who needed them. However, not long after he settled in Marna, the nation was taken over by Renatus. The Hagelijns lost all their real estate in the city and thus all the money they had invested in it. Without a home or much money, Willem and his family left Marna and used what little cash they had left to buy a boat. The family used this boat as a home for several years and travelled around Atlas with it, living out and about in a practically nomadic way.

Later Life

brief description of figures later life through to death

Death

N/A

Family

description of family, listing off spouse, children, parents etc

Personality

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Notable Feats

• United the Batavians

Willem Hagelijn was the first to make an attempt at properly uniting the Batavian people across the realm. He did this by establishing noble titles for Batavian houses and by giving Batavian people a place to call home. This was the District of Batavia in Sutica at first and later became the Barony of Gelre in Santegia.

• Notable Feat 2

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• Notable Feat 3

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Quotes

Note: Most quotes are translated from Batavian.

There is never as much lying as after a hunting trip, during a war or before elections. -Willem Hagelijn towards his son Isaak, explaining why not to trust politicians.

Imagine women like apple trees in the late spring. The beauty of them is their colourful blossom, but the part you want is the apple. This apple is the woman's personality... -Willem during his younger years as he explains love.

If God had wanted me different, he'd have made me different. -Willem during an argument with a member of the Order of Saint Lucien

Politics is the art of the possible. -Willem in one of his books.

Don't believe a rumor until it's been denied. -Willem Hagelijn, speaking to his friend Johnathan de Cantwell

When a diplomat says 'In theory I agree with you', that's a polite way of refusing. -Willem towards Leo de Savin after a meeting with a diplomat from Caminus.

We Batavians fear God and nothing else! -Willem in a speech to his people during his time in Sutica.

Random Tidbits

• The Batavian culture is in many ways very similar to Waldenian, especially in language.
• Willem designed the Batvian flag (top to bottom: orange, white, blue). The orange stands for the Batavian people, the white for the church and the blue for the nobility. Symbolically, this shows that the people hold higher priority than the church or the nobility which shows that Batavia stands for it's people rather than the church or some nobles.
• On a different note, did you know: random tidbit about an unrelated topic with

“find out more, here!” with a link embedded in the text.

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